Carlos
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Photos!!!
Carlos
3 wishes!
Remember when you were a kid and you pretended you had 3 wishes and they would all come true? What would you wish for? Money? Vacations? 3 more wishes???
Some of our supporters through the years have occasionally challenged Mark and I to put a wish list on our newsletters. We really haven't a lot and I'm not exactly sure why! We just didn't. Maybe it's because we are just so appreciative of the fact that people send us money every month and it seems extravagant to ask for more! But this last newsletter we added 3 things to a wish list that we were needing/wanting. A new laptop--the one we have is extremely overworked and there's just too many people needing to do school and work on it and there aren't enough hours in the day for everyone to get done what needs to be done! A new camera--ours broke about a year ago and we haven't been able to replace it and haven't been able to take any photos. And a kitchen aid stand up mixer--I do a TON of cooking and baking for our family and others and even though it isn't truly a need it is something that would make my life a lot easier!
A week after we put it out someone wrote to us that they felt God leading them to give us all 3!!! Praise God! We are so thankful and we are truly enjoying the blessings! Our new camera is amazing! It is more than we could have ever expected. I am LOVING my new mixer--I call her Julia since Julia Child is one of my cooking heroes. And we are getting our new computer in about a week or so.
The lesson in all of this is that God is faithful! He is faithful with our needs and He is faithful with our wishes. He wants to bless us! What are your wishes?
Some of our supporters through the years have occasionally challenged Mark and I to put a wish list on our newsletters. We really haven't a lot and I'm not exactly sure why! We just didn't. Maybe it's because we are just so appreciative of the fact that people send us money every month and it seems extravagant to ask for more! But this last newsletter we added 3 things to a wish list that we were needing/wanting. A new laptop--the one we have is extremely overworked and there's just too many people needing to do school and work on it and there aren't enough hours in the day for everyone to get done what needs to be done! A new camera--ours broke about a year ago and we haven't been able to replace it and haven't been able to take any photos. And a kitchen aid stand up mixer--I do a TON of cooking and baking for our family and others and even though it isn't truly a need it is something that would make my life a lot easier!
A week after we put it out someone wrote to us that they felt God leading them to give us all 3!!! Praise God! We are so thankful and we are truly enjoying the blessings! Our new camera is amazing! It is more than we could have ever expected. I am LOVING my new mixer--I call her Julia since Julia Child is one of my cooking heroes. And we are getting our new computer in about a week or so.
The lesson in all of this is that God is faithful! He is faithful with our needs and He is faithful with our wishes. He wants to bless us! What are your wishes?
Give Us This Day...
It's interesting to me how we can learn the Lord's Prayer as a kid and not really know what it means until we grow up and live out a life of faith.
I remember praying "Give us this day our daily bread..." and thinking as a kid how much I like bread and that it's just so cool that God gives us bread every day! YAY God!!! It wasn't until we moved here on the mission field that I truly understood what that phrase meant.
When we lived in the US and things got tight we went out and got an extra job. Sometimes it was a less than glamorous job--but it got us through the tight spots. We struggled a little but could truly make things happen when we needed to. Thank you God for providing jobs and the opportunity to work and provide for our needs. He was giving us our daily bread.
Moving to Guatemala where we can't just go out and get a job (we don't have the right visa for that) if things get tight has really opened my eyes to what this means in our lives. Sometimes God provides daily--not ahead of time.
I have the American mentality that a savings account and a bit of a cushion is a good thing and a desirable thing to have. It's irresponsible not to have some extra little bit put away in case of an emergency. I have been under a lot of self-condemnation because that doesn't happen for us! It's been a tough thing for me to see. I often wonder why I can't save. Then I think about it a little and realize this: maybe God wants to provide DAILY.
We get our offering and it seems to be more than enough and I think "NOW we can put some away." Only to find that our car needs hundreds of dollars of more work than we realized or there's a medical situation to deal with or one of our homeless people needs some meds or one of our guys in rehab needs shampoo and eye glasses or our electric bill was figured wrong and now we have to make up the difference! This is a part of daily life here in Guatemala. Sometimes we can't plan ahead--and just when we think we have it's all gone!
I find it interesting that it's taken me this long to realize that daily means day by day. We may not be able to plan for tomorrow we just have to take God's provision as it comes--daily. This is faith! This is where the rubber meets the road. This is where we trust that He is our daily provider as we are faithful with what He provides.
So now when I pray "Give us this day our daily bread..." I smile because I realize now what it means to actually live completely and totally dependent on God for every. single. day. Not easy--but always worth it.
I remember praying "Give us this day our daily bread..." and thinking as a kid how much I like bread and that it's just so cool that God gives us bread every day! YAY God!!! It wasn't until we moved here on the mission field that I truly understood what that phrase meant.
When we lived in the US and things got tight we went out and got an extra job. Sometimes it was a less than glamorous job--but it got us through the tight spots. We struggled a little but could truly make things happen when we needed to. Thank you God for providing jobs and the opportunity to work and provide for our needs. He was giving us our daily bread.
Moving to Guatemala where we can't just go out and get a job (we don't have the right visa for that) if things get tight has really opened my eyes to what this means in our lives. Sometimes God provides daily--not ahead of time.
I have the American mentality that a savings account and a bit of a cushion is a good thing and a desirable thing to have. It's irresponsible not to have some extra little bit put away in case of an emergency. I have been under a lot of self-condemnation because that doesn't happen for us! It's been a tough thing for me to see. I often wonder why I can't save. Then I think about it a little and realize this: maybe God wants to provide DAILY.
We get our offering and it seems to be more than enough and I think "NOW we can put some away." Only to find that our car needs hundreds of dollars of more work than we realized or there's a medical situation to deal with or one of our homeless people needs some meds or one of our guys in rehab needs shampoo and eye glasses or our electric bill was figured wrong and now we have to make up the difference! This is a part of daily life here in Guatemala. Sometimes we can't plan ahead--and just when we think we have it's all gone!
I find it interesting that it's taken me this long to realize that daily means day by day. We may not be able to plan for tomorrow we just have to take God's provision as it comes--daily. This is faith! This is where the rubber meets the road. This is where we trust that He is our daily provider as we are faithful with what He provides.
So now when I pray "Give us this day our daily bread..." I smile because I realize now what it means to actually live completely and totally dependent on God for every. single. day. Not easy--but always worth it.
Friday, October 7, 2011
It's been How Long?
I couldn't believe when I looked on here that it had been since June the last time I wrote something! Time flies when you're having fun!
So what has our family been up to? Well here's a little run down:
Alicia: She spent the summer at Chico YWAM doing their summer program. It was a great experience for her and she has decided to go back in the fall to do her DTS before she heads off to college to pursue a degree in nursing. She is currently enjoying Guatemala and finishing her senior year. She is also working hard on translating a Spanish book on values used in the school system here from Spanish to English to be used in African schools.
Bailey: She is working hard on her sophomore year of high school and enjoying music and art. She wants to go to Chico YWAM next summer to do the same program Alicia did this past summer. She just turned 15 and is already talking about the time when Mark will teach her driving!!
Christopher: He is now in 8th grade and attending youth group and having fun with his friends. He is still really gifted at all things technical and I am constantly amazed at what he knows how to do. It blows my mind! He has been teaching at our church's kids classes on Sunday mornings helping to translate.
Soup Run
We have been working with the homeless doing soup run for almost 2 years now. This year it has really grown and we have also been blessed with a few teams who have gone out with us. Previously we paid for the soup and food that we brought to people and recently we have been blessed with a LOT of dried soup mixes with veggies and beans. It's been such a blessing since we are regularly feeding about 50 people! We are looking forward to working with more churches in another city nearby to start doing some soup runs there as well.
Evangelism/Street Ministry
We've been busy getting the bus ready to use and have even used it a few times to show movies and do outreaches. The most recent one was in September with our Discipleship Training School students in Chimaltenango. We were there all day doing children's ministry and evangelism near the central square. We were able to partner with a church there and pray with many people. We are hoping to take the bus out more once rainy season ends!
Mark still does street ministry every Saturday night and has had great talks and times of prayer with people in Central Park in Antigua. He is continuing to go out and bring others with him to share the gospel.
Discipleship Training School
On July 24th of this year we began our DTS with 12 students from Canada the US and Curacao. It has been a busy time!!! Mark is working with the 3 guys and I am working with 3 of the girls. We've been doing one-on-ones and small groups as well as coordinating activities for the weekends. It's been a lot of fun! They leave for 5 weeks in Haiti and then return to Guatemala towards the middle of November to do their last 3 weeks in different locations here. Mark may be joining them for the last 3 weeks of outreach but he will remain at home to work on outreach here and a team that will be arriving in November.
Prayer Requests
--Please pray for the 6 people that are in their rehab programs that God will work in them.
--Pray for our family to be able to have some time off for a little relaxation in the next few months. It's been
2 years since our trip to the US and even though we can't return there we would like to take some time off
here in Guatemala.
--Please continue to pray for our street people that God would continue to move in their lives.
--Pray for continued financial support for us to do the work we have here in Guatemala.
--Dayle
So what has our family been up to? Well here's a little run down:
Alicia: She spent the summer at Chico YWAM doing their summer program. It was a great experience for her and she has decided to go back in the fall to do her DTS before she heads off to college to pursue a degree in nursing. She is currently enjoying Guatemala and finishing her senior year. She is also working hard on translating a Spanish book on values used in the school system here from Spanish to English to be used in African schools.
Bailey: She is working hard on her sophomore year of high school and enjoying music and art. She wants to go to Chico YWAM next summer to do the same program Alicia did this past summer. She just turned 15 and is already talking about the time when Mark will teach her driving!!
Christopher: He is now in 8th grade and attending youth group and having fun with his friends. He is still really gifted at all things technical and I am constantly amazed at what he knows how to do. It blows my mind! He has been teaching at our church's kids classes on Sunday mornings helping to translate.
Soup Run
We have been working with the homeless doing soup run for almost 2 years now. This year it has really grown and we have also been blessed with a few teams who have gone out with us. Previously we paid for the soup and food that we brought to people and recently we have been blessed with a LOT of dried soup mixes with veggies and beans. It's been such a blessing since we are regularly feeding about 50 people! We are looking forward to working with more churches in another city nearby to start doing some soup runs there as well.
Evangelism/Street Ministry
We've been busy getting the bus ready to use and have even used it a few times to show movies and do outreaches. The most recent one was in September with our Discipleship Training School students in Chimaltenango. We were there all day doing children's ministry and evangelism near the central square. We were able to partner with a church there and pray with many people. We are hoping to take the bus out more once rainy season ends!
Mark still does street ministry every Saturday night and has had great talks and times of prayer with people in Central Park in Antigua. He is continuing to go out and bring others with him to share the gospel.
Discipleship Training School
On July 24th of this year we began our DTS with 12 students from Canada the US and Curacao. It has been a busy time!!! Mark is working with the 3 guys and I am working with 3 of the girls. We've been doing one-on-ones and small groups as well as coordinating activities for the weekends. It's been a lot of fun! They leave for 5 weeks in Haiti and then return to Guatemala towards the middle of November to do their last 3 weeks in different locations here. Mark may be joining them for the last 3 weeks of outreach but he will remain at home to work on outreach here and a team that will be arriving in November.
Prayer Requests
--Please pray for the 6 people that are in their rehab programs that God will work in them.
--Pray for our family to be able to have some time off for a little relaxation in the next few months. It's been
2 years since our trip to the US and even though we can't return there we would like to take some time off
here in Guatemala.
--Please continue to pray for our street people that God would continue to move in their lives.
--Pray for continued financial support for us to do the work we have here in Guatemala.
--Dayle
Saturday, June 25, 2011
So...here's what happened this week!
Usually when our kids go to camp I have a week to myself and Mark gets a little bit of a break as well. Not this year!!!! It was one of our busier weeks, doing good things, but, busy.
We had a team from South Korea here this week doing street ministry, children's ministry, and soup run with us. It was interesting because they didn't speak any Spanish and only a few on the team spoke a little bit of English--so translation was a tad tricky--but, they did wonderful! They were able to communicate through drama, song, and dance. They were able to pray with people in their language and bless our base with watching them play with the children. It's so great to see how God can use different kinds of communication to convey His love!
This week was a busy street ministry week. Tuesday night we took the Korean team out for soup run and fed over 50 people soup and tortillas. Mark took a different team from Kansas here working with another ministry out for street evangelism that same night. Wednesday night we did "Feed the Hungry" at our church for the 3rd and last Wednesday night (for this time anyway) and brought people in from the homeless shelter and streets for dinner at our church. We fed almost 95 people that night and everyone left with a New Testament as well! Thursday night we took the Kansas team out for Soup Run and fed about 50 people again.
All of that plus meetings with our YWAM team, a pastor from another city near us, and planning for and organizing Parent's Day at camp for Friday. This was a busy week!
One thing I know, as I work with the street people and addicts, I'm so grateful for God's power in the lives of those who are in rehab overcoming their addictions. It's a long road and they are struggling--please pray for them! Jaimie is in Teen Challenge. Ana and Miguel are in a rehab affiliated with a church in San Lucas. Charlie is in Hogar de la Roca. There are those who are working toward going to rehab: William and Victoria. Please pray that God helps them to walk in the direction of their freedom.
It's been raining a lot in Antigua and it's been raining hard. This is a difficult time for those who live on the streets. We are so grateful that we have been able to visit them more than usual. We are also glad when we can give them a fresh change of clothes that are dry and clean. We are hoping to stock up on men's clothing and warmer clothes for them. Also, it would be a blessing to them to be able to buy plastic tarps for some of them to use. Please pray that we are able to do that.
Also, we are praying for several of them who are sick right now--the weather is tough on their bodies. Dora, Carlos, Chmarco, and Ana have been battling sickness.
Pray for us as we continue to minister to the needs of the extremely poor and addicted people here in Antigua.
We had a team from South Korea here this week doing street ministry, children's ministry, and soup run with us. It was interesting because they didn't speak any Spanish and only a few on the team spoke a little bit of English--so translation was a tad tricky--but, they did wonderful! They were able to communicate through drama, song, and dance. They were able to pray with people in their language and bless our base with watching them play with the children. It's so great to see how God can use different kinds of communication to convey His love!
This week was a busy street ministry week. Tuesday night we took the Korean team out for soup run and fed over 50 people soup and tortillas. Mark took a different team from Kansas here working with another ministry out for street evangelism that same night. Wednesday night we did "Feed the Hungry" at our church for the 3rd and last Wednesday night (for this time anyway) and brought people in from the homeless shelter and streets for dinner at our church. We fed almost 95 people that night and everyone left with a New Testament as well! Thursday night we took the Kansas team out for Soup Run and fed about 50 people again.
All of that plus meetings with our YWAM team, a pastor from another city near us, and planning for and organizing Parent's Day at camp for Friday. This was a busy week!
One thing I know, as I work with the street people and addicts, I'm so grateful for God's power in the lives of those who are in rehab overcoming their addictions. It's a long road and they are struggling--please pray for them! Jaimie is in Teen Challenge. Ana and Miguel are in a rehab affiliated with a church in San Lucas. Charlie is in Hogar de la Roca. There are those who are working toward going to rehab: William and Victoria. Please pray that God helps them to walk in the direction of their freedom.
It's been raining a lot in Antigua and it's been raining hard. This is a difficult time for those who live on the streets. We are so grateful that we have been able to visit them more than usual. We are also glad when we can give them a fresh change of clothes that are dry and clean. We are hoping to stock up on men's clothing and warmer clothes for them. Also, it would be a blessing to them to be able to buy plastic tarps for some of them to use. Please pray that we are able to do that.
Also, we are praying for several of them who are sick right now--the weather is tough on their bodies. Dora, Carlos, Chmarco, and Ana have been battling sickness.
Pray for us as we continue to minister to the needs of the extremely poor and addicted people here in Antigua.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Update!!!!
Sometimes things are just INSANE!!! You know how it is, you start the week thinking you have your schedule under control, and then the week begins and you realize it's just a crazy time. Ministry has never been better--we are just so excited about all the opportunities heading our way. The bus will be busy with outreaches, our homeless ministry is going well with good relationships being built, street church is a blessing to us and the street people, we are working with other missionaries and their teams to do street ministry and soup run. Whew!
With all of that, we add in the Discipleship Training School (DTS) that is starting in about a month! Mark and I will be working more closely with that than we have in past years because we are a little short staffed. We have 13 students coming which is a huge blessing!!! Mark will be working with the guys in the group doing one-on-one time with each of them every week, small group, and helping to coordinate the activities for the whole group. I will be working with about 4 girls doing one-on-ones, small group, and helping Mark coordinate the activities. We will also be doing some of the meals on Sundays for the group.
With all of that going on we have a few requests! Here are some things that you all could be praying for:
1. We absolutely NEED to up our monthly financial support. There are some major ministry things coming up and we pay for all our ministry with the homeless out of our monthly support. As our ministry grows, our financial need grows.
2. Our car, which is essential to our ministry, is in need of some major tlc! The brakes need fixing and now the starter is going. Please pray that we can get the work done and that our car lasts!!! We love our car!
3. Our kids are really stepping up and helping with a lot of what we do. Pray for them! They are figuring out what God has for their futures and making some big decisions. Pray for us as their parents to guide them.
4. Continue to pray for those in rehab: Jaimie, Charlie, Ana, and Miguel.
5. Pray for William who wants to return to rehab.
6. We have several others who want to change their life: Victoria, Carlos, Dora, Ana. Please pray for them and for opportunities to open up for them.
With all of that, we add in the Discipleship Training School (DTS) that is starting in about a month! Mark and I will be working more closely with that than we have in past years because we are a little short staffed. We have 13 students coming which is a huge blessing!!! Mark will be working with the guys in the group doing one-on-one time with each of them every week, small group, and helping to coordinate the activities for the whole group. I will be working with about 4 girls doing one-on-ones, small group, and helping Mark coordinate the activities. We will also be doing some of the meals on Sundays for the group.
With all of that going on we have a few requests! Here are some things that you all could be praying for:
1. We absolutely NEED to up our monthly financial support. There are some major ministry things coming up and we pay for all our ministry with the homeless out of our monthly support. As our ministry grows, our financial need grows.
2. Our car, which is essential to our ministry, is in need of some major tlc! The brakes need fixing and now the starter is going. Please pray that we can get the work done and that our car lasts!!! We love our car!
3. Our kids are really stepping up and helping with a lot of what we do. Pray for them! They are figuring out what God has for their futures and making some big decisions. Pray for us as their parents to guide them.
4. Continue to pray for those in rehab: Jaimie, Charlie, Ana, and Miguel.
5. Pray for William who wants to return to rehab.
6. We have several others who want to change their life: Victoria, Carlos, Dora, Ana. Please pray for them and for opportunities to open up for them.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
A strange thing happened on the way to the meeting...
Do you ever feel like God is trying to tell you something. All at once. Loudly.
This afternoon has been like that for me. Within the space of one hour we experienced a strange variety of things that has me going, "Hmmmm..."
On the way to our weekly staff meeting at the YWAM base we saw a jack-knifed semi truck trying to make an impossibly sharp turn from a highway (under construction) to a little side road where all the regular highway traffic is being routed through. I felt so bad for the driver and felt a little bit of how frustrating it would be to try to manoeuvre through a centuries old, cobble-stoned, city to make deliveries in narrow, quaint little streets. Antigua is charming until you are a truck driver I'll bet!
So we had to take the long way around through another little town to get to our meeting. While on the road we were behind a police truck with 2 officers in it just minding our own business until a large can was thrown out the window of the police truck. Right away I said to Mark, "Did you see that? They just littered!" Why that was so surprising I still don't know! Then the second can was thrown out. That's when I noticed that they weren't just any cans, they were the large 20 oz. Gallo beer cans! So they were drinking and driving, on duty, and littering. "Hmmmm..."
Right about then my phone went off that I have a text message. Now, I usually don't check texts because, frankly, it's usually just ads for the company we have our phones with. But, for some reason I checked this one. It said that I had a court date. Tomorrow. For the Q4,000 (about $500) debt I haven't paid. The text was complete with case numbers and everything. I said to Mark, "What debt? We don't owe anyone that kind of money! What do you think this is?" When we got to the base we showed our director and he said not to answer it or even call the number because it's an extortion. ???????? Yeah, an extortion text message.
Then, while we were in the meeting I heard a truck trying to get through the street and heard a crash. Not good. Mark went outside and saw that the driver had hit our car with his truck and put a decent dent in it. For real. Not even kidding. I went out to look at what had happened and there was the driver trying to get away! I stopped him and our director helped me out while Mark was moving our car to assess the damage more accurately. The driver immediately started blaming US because we had parked on the street. Now, there's nowhere else to park at the base. There's only the street. WE had parked on the street and that's why he hit us and it's our fault. Our director made him get out of the truck and I said to him that it's not our fault it's his fault and he said that here in Guatemala it is the parked car that is blamed for these types of accidents! Again--????????
Our director immediately got on the phone to the police, and miraculously, that changed his tune. All of a sudden, he was all apologetic and wanted to know what he could do to make it right. We took his information and left it at that for now. The damage doesn't effect the performance of the car only the look--so it's not too bad. But, we do feel he needs to take responsibility for his actions so we're thinking of how to do that without causing his family hardship by demanding money. And in case you're wondering, the police never did show up.
So what do you think God is trying to teach us? Is He trying to tell us that justice is His and we can't look at man's idea of justice to work for us? Is He trying to tell us that He is in control and we need to rely on Him?
I don't know. But, I do know that God is good, and just, and He is in control. So, I'm not going to worry too much about it all. I'm going to continue to pray for our beautiful home country of Guatemala. I'm going to pray that HIS justice reigns here and thank Him for his grace and mercy that keeps us working here. I'm going to believe that He loves this country more than we do and that we can be instruments of His will here in Guatemala. I'm thankful that we are able to do what He's asked us to do. And tonight I'm going to bring soup to homeless people and addicts and be thankful for the things that keep MY life here normal for me.
This afternoon has been like that for me. Within the space of one hour we experienced a strange variety of things that has me going, "Hmmmm..."
On the way to our weekly staff meeting at the YWAM base we saw a jack-knifed semi truck trying to make an impossibly sharp turn from a highway (under construction) to a little side road where all the regular highway traffic is being routed through. I felt so bad for the driver and felt a little bit of how frustrating it would be to try to manoeuvre through a centuries old, cobble-stoned, city to make deliveries in narrow, quaint little streets. Antigua is charming until you are a truck driver I'll bet!
So we had to take the long way around through another little town to get to our meeting. While on the road we were behind a police truck with 2 officers in it just minding our own business until a large can was thrown out the window of the police truck. Right away I said to Mark, "Did you see that? They just littered!" Why that was so surprising I still don't know! Then the second can was thrown out. That's when I noticed that they weren't just any cans, they were the large 20 oz. Gallo beer cans! So they were drinking and driving, on duty, and littering. "Hmmmm..."
Right about then my phone went off that I have a text message. Now, I usually don't check texts because, frankly, it's usually just ads for the company we have our phones with. But, for some reason I checked this one. It said that I had a court date. Tomorrow. For the Q4,000 (about $500) debt I haven't paid. The text was complete with case numbers and everything. I said to Mark, "What debt? We don't owe anyone that kind of money! What do you think this is?" When we got to the base we showed our director and he said not to answer it or even call the number because it's an extortion. ???????? Yeah, an extortion text message.
Then, while we were in the meeting I heard a truck trying to get through the street and heard a crash. Not good. Mark went outside and saw that the driver had hit our car with his truck and put a decent dent in it. For real. Not even kidding. I went out to look at what had happened and there was the driver trying to get away! I stopped him and our director helped me out while Mark was moving our car to assess the damage more accurately. The driver immediately started blaming US because we had parked on the street. Now, there's nowhere else to park at the base. There's only the street. WE had parked on the street and that's why he hit us and it's our fault. Our director made him get out of the truck and I said to him that it's not our fault it's his fault and he said that here in Guatemala it is the parked car that is blamed for these types of accidents! Again--????????
Our director immediately got on the phone to the police, and miraculously, that changed his tune. All of a sudden, he was all apologetic and wanted to know what he could do to make it right. We took his information and left it at that for now. The damage doesn't effect the performance of the car only the look--so it's not too bad. But, we do feel he needs to take responsibility for his actions so we're thinking of how to do that without causing his family hardship by demanding money. And in case you're wondering, the police never did show up.
So what do you think God is trying to teach us? Is He trying to tell us that justice is His and we can't look at man's idea of justice to work for us? Is He trying to tell us that He is in control and we need to rely on Him?
I don't know. But, I do know that God is good, and just, and He is in control. So, I'm not going to worry too much about it all. I'm going to continue to pray for our beautiful home country of Guatemala. I'm going to pray that HIS justice reigns here and thank Him for his grace and mercy that keeps us working here. I'm going to believe that He loves this country more than we do and that we can be instruments of His will here in Guatemala. I'm thankful that we are able to do what He's asked us to do. And tonight I'm going to bring soup to homeless people and addicts and be thankful for the things that keep MY life here normal for me.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
How's the kids?
We get this question a lot because, they grow so fast!
Alicia
She is now 16 and finishing up her junior year of high school. She speaks pretty fluent Spanish and does a lot of translating for teams. She is participating on the drama team that Mark put together that participates in school ministry as well as street ministry. Alicia will be spending the summer in Chico, CA participating in the 24-7 program at YWAM Chico. This program is like a mini-dts that teaches leadership and service. She's excited to venture out on her own for 8 weeks! We aren't as excited for her to be gone, but, really happy that this opportunity has presented itself for her. Her future plans include some college online next year and then in 2013 she plans on moving in with her grandparents and attend nursing school in Brainerd. After school, she wants to return to Guatemala to work with villages that don't have a lot of medical care. She is also trying to coordinate a mission trip for our youth group here in Antigua to go to San Andres Quiche to minister to needs there.
Bailey
Bailey is 14 and finishing her freshman year of high school. She speaks really good Spanish and also participates in the drama team ministering in schools and on the street. She loves music and art and is very gifted in drawing. She has been taking piano and excelling at it! She hopes to participate in the youth worship team later this summer after a few more weeks of lessons. She will be spending the summer working with the different teams that will be arriving to work with YWAM Antigua this summer as well as helping to get ready for the DTS students who arrive in July.
Christopher
Christopher has just turned 13 and is finishing up 7th grade. He is taller than I am and he is still growing--too fast in my opinion! He speaks excellent Spanish and also has been helping with translating with teams and also for Mark in the park. He is busy with computers and friends and we are so thankful that he has a gift for computer technology and has fixed things here many times! He LOVES spending time with his friends and playing computer games and just hanging out. He just started attending our church's youth group and it's been fun to see him be part of what God is doing in our youth. He will be helping with sound and video editing for our ministry this summer and with the teams that are coming.
So that's it! They are growing fast and it's fun to see God work in their lives. Thanks so much for all the support and prayer we receive for our family--it's such a blessing!
--Dayle
Alicia
She is now 16 and finishing up her junior year of high school. She speaks pretty fluent Spanish and does a lot of translating for teams. She is participating on the drama team that Mark put together that participates in school ministry as well as street ministry. Alicia will be spending the summer in Chico, CA participating in the 24-7 program at YWAM Chico. This program is like a mini-dts that teaches leadership and service. She's excited to venture out on her own for 8 weeks! We aren't as excited for her to be gone, but, really happy that this opportunity has presented itself for her. Her future plans include some college online next year and then in 2013 she plans on moving in with her grandparents and attend nursing school in Brainerd. After school, she wants to return to Guatemala to work with villages that don't have a lot of medical care. She is also trying to coordinate a mission trip for our youth group here in Antigua to go to San Andres Quiche to minister to needs there.
Bailey
Bailey is 14 and finishing her freshman year of high school. She speaks really good Spanish and also participates in the drama team ministering in schools and on the street. She loves music and art and is very gifted in drawing. She has been taking piano and excelling at it! She hopes to participate in the youth worship team later this summer after a few more weeks of lessons. She will be spending the summer working with the different teams that will be arriving to work with YWAM Antigua this summer as well as helping to get ready for the DTS students who arrive in July.
Christopher
Christopher has just turned 13 and is finishing up 7th grade. He is taller than I am and he is still growing--too fast in my opinion! He speaks excellent Spanish and also has been helping with translating with teams and also for Mark in the park. He is busy with computers and friends and we are so thankful that he has a gift for computer technology and has fixed things here many times! He LOVES spending time with his friends and playing computer games and just hanging out. He just started attending our church's youth group and it's been fun to see him be part of what God is doing in our youth. He will be helping with sound and video editing for our ministry this summer and with the teams that are coming.
So that's it! They are growing fast and it's fun to see God work in their lives. Thanks so much for all the support and prayer we receive for our family--it's such a blessing!
--Dayle
George!
There is a man named George (Jorge) who has been coming to street church and we have been speaking to for a few months now. He speaks perfect English and tells everyone he's from Hollywood, CA. He has lead a rough life.
Mark has talked with George very strongly about his need for Jesus and George kept saying "Someday, I'm just not ready now." But, he kept coming to street church and talking with us. He's has a lot of anger inside and is constantly getting into fights.
Last Sunday night when Mark asked if people would like prayer, George came forward and said, "I'm ready now, Mark." Mark looked at him and said, "I've been waiting for you for a long time!" George received Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior.
Please continue to pray for George! He has a long way to go with his addictions and his anger. We are hoping to start working with him towards rehab.
--Dayle
Mark has talked with George very strongly about his need for Jesus and George kept saying "Someday, I'm just not ready now." But, he kept coming to street church and talking with us. He's has a lot of anger inside and is constantly getting into fights.
Last Sunday night when Mark asked if people would like prayer, George came forward and said, "I'm ready now, Mark." Mark looked at him and said, "I've been waiting for you for a long time!" George received Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior.
Please continue to pray for George! He has a long way to go with his addictions and his anger. We are hoping to start working with him towards rehab.
--Dayle
What's Up with Street Ministry?
This is something I get a lot of questions about!
It's been so busy!!! During the month of April and into May the local homeless shelter shuts down and many of the people who sleep there on a regular basis are on the street. Needless to say, we've been crazy busy with soup run and gone through over 50 cups of soup every night that we do it. It's been great because we are building relationships with these people. It's important for them to see us on a regular basis so that they are able to build trust with us.
We currently have 4 of our street people in rehab! Jaimie and William are in Teen Challenge. Mark just visited them this week and took William to a doctor's appointment. William is doing well and still in the beginning stages of his rehab program. Jaimie is in the middle of it and is struggling a bit. Please pray for him. This is a difficult time when things are being dealt with deep inside of them and it's easy for Satan to come in and make them feel "picked on". Miguel and Ana are in a different program and are nearing the end of their time there in the next few months. We met with them this week and they are looking to join us with the street ministry we do here. There are a few things to consider with this so pray for wisdom for us!
In the past we've talked a lot about Charlie who was at Hogar de la Roca. He has chosen to leave rehab after 7 months in the program. We have run into him in the streets and he is drinking again. We are concerned about what will happen to his health for returning to alcohol after his rehab. Please pray for Charlie. He did tell us that he wants to return to rehab, but, didn't show up for some of the things we set up for him to do in order to return.
It's been a wonderful thing to minister to these people. We are so blessed to be able to do what we do! We have also started meeting every Sunday evening with them to do a "street church". We do worship and preaching and prayer with them. They have responded so well to it and we are seeing some definite results in their hearts! Keep praying that this continues to turn into discipleship of their lives and many more are set free from the bonds of alcohol and drug abuse.
--Dayle
It's been so busy!!! During the month of April and into May the local homeless shelter shuts down and many of the people who sleep there on a regular basis are on the street. Needless to say, we've been crazy busy with soup run and gone through over 50 cups of soup every night that we do it. It's been great because we are building relationships with these people. It's important for them to see us on a regular basis so that they are able to build trust with us.
We currently have 4 of our street people in rehab! Jaimie and William are in Teen Challenge. Mark just visited them this week and took William to a doctor's appointment. William is doing well and still in the beginning stages of his rehab program. Jaimie is in the middle of it and is struggling a bit. Please pray for him. This is a difficult time when things are being dealt with deep inside of them and it's easy for Satan to come in and make them feel "picked on". Miguel and Ana are in a different program and are nearing the end of their time there in the next few months. We met with them this week and they are looking to join us with the street ministry we do here. There are a few things to consider with this so pray for wisdom for us!
In the past we've talked a lot about Charlie who was at Hogar de la Roca. He has chosen to leave rehab after 7 months in the program. We have run into him in the streets and he is drinking again. We are concerned about what will happen to his health for returning to alcohol after his rehab. Please pray for Charlie. He did tell us that he wants to return to rehab, but, didn't show up for some of the things we set up for him to do in order to return.
It's been a wonderful thing to minister to these people. We are so blessed to be able to do what we do! We have also started meeting every Sunday evening with them to do a "street church". We do worship and preaching and prayer with them. They have responded so well to it and we are seeing some definite results in their hearts! Keep praying that this continues to turn into discipleship of their lives and many more are set free from the bonds of alcohol and drug abuse.
--Dayle
Holy Week!
It's been so long since I've been able to update! It's been crazy busy--but that's all good, right?
We had a great Holy Week--the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. It was busy with preparing for outreach on Holy Thursday. We had our church's youth group helping with the outreach and had a tremendous time with dramas and preaching right up until it started to rain. Hard. This was interesting since it wasn't rainy season and usually doesn't rain that time of year.
But these teens wouldn't stop. They went out anyway and just started talking with people and praying with people and handing out tracts. They were inspirational. So many people got to hear the gospel that night and we were out until 6:30 am. I can't wait until next year!!!
Good Friday evening is completely crowded in Antigua and Mark went out with a small team of people to do some street ministry. It was so fruitful that he was out until after midnight again! Saturday night he was out again until really late. It was a wonderfully fruitful time of ministry and the gospel was preached to crowds of people who had spent a lot of time that day thinking about what Jesus had done for them so many years ago. What a blessing!
Another answer to prayer--we are always needing tracts. It's been something that has been a real trick with getting them ordered and then shipped to someone who is coming down all at the same time that we need them. God is so good! Another missionary couple that we are friends with down here were talking with their chiropracters in California while they were home over Christmas and these doctors have a passion for evangelism. They also LOVE the Living Waters tracts that Mark uses! They wrote to him and asked him to make up a wish list of tracts that he uses. They ordered over 52 pounds of tracts, videos, and literature for us to use!!!!!!! They also paid for an extra suitcase for someone coming down to bring them to us. All in time for Holy Week! We are so grateful! Mark had all the tracts he could use and still has some to use. They also want to be kept up-to-date when he needs more. What a HUGE blessing!
Thank you all for your prayers during Holy Week. So many wonderful things happened!
--Dayle
We had a great Holy Week--the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. It was busy with preparing for outreach on Holy Thursday. We had our church's youth group helping with the outreach and had a tremendous time with dramas and preaching right up until it started to rain. Hard. This was interesting since it wasn't rainy season and usually doesn't rain that time of year.
But these teens wouldn't stop. They went out anyway and just started talking with people and praying with people and handing out tracts. They were inspirational. So many people got to hear the gospel that night and we were out until 6:30 am. I can't wait until next year!!!
Good Friday evening is completely crowded in Antigua and Mark went out with a small team of people to do some street ministry. It was so fruitful that he was out until after midnight again! Saturday night he was out again until really late. It was a wonderfully fruitful time of ministry and the gospel was preached to crowds of people who had spent a lot of time that day thinking about what Jesus had done for them so many years ago. What a blessing!
Another answer to prayer--we are always needing tracts. It's been something that has been a real trick with getting them ordered and then shipped to someone who is coming down all at the same time that we need them. God is so good! Another missionary couple that we are friends with down here were talking with their chiropracters in California while they were home over Christmas and these doctors have a passion for evangelism. They also LOVE the Living Waters tracts that Mark uses! They wrote to him and asked him to make up a wish list of tracts that he uses. They ordered over 52 pounds of tracts, videos, and literature for us to use!!!!!!! They also paid for an extra suitcase for someone coming down to bring them to us. All in time for Holy Week! We are so grateful! Mark had all the tracts he could use and still has some to use. They also want to be kept up-to-date when he needs more. What a HUGE blessing!
Thank you all for your prayers during Holy Week. So many wonderful things happened!
--Dayle
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Answered Prayer
I was just looking at our sidebar on this blog and realized that one of the prayer requests we put on there (over a year ago) was for new opportunities in the schools. We have been praying and believing for opportunities to go into the schools here to share the love of Jesus to the students.
In the last 2 months this has been starting to happen! Mark and the girls have been working with a group of missionary teens here to start a drama team to work on dramas and a program for public schools. This is a group of about 9 or 10 teens.
Since they've started this team they have ministered in at least 3 school programs! One was in a part of the City where the school called and asked for help because things in the school are bad and they need a change!
God is so good! If we prepare for rain, it will pour!
In the last 2 months this has been starting to happen! Mark and the girls have been working with a group of missionary teens here to start a drama team to work on dramas and a program for public schools. This is a group of about 9 or 10 teens.
Since they've started this team they have ministered in at least 3 school programs! One was in a part of the City where the school called and asked for help because things in the school are bad and they need a change!
God is so good! If we prepare for rain, it will pour!
Friday, March 18, 2011
When you Least Expect it...
I've been wondering for over a week how to post this story. It's been something that happened when we weren't expecting it and it's not exactly encouraging. I like to post really great and positive things that happen here in our beautiful home, but, sometimes it just isn't great or positive. This is one of those times.
Last week (Tuesday) we had a busy day as a family in the City running errands and getting some things done we needed to do. After we finally got home (about 3:30 or so) we all sat down for a quiet evening and a family time with maybe a movie or something. We were all tired.
About 6:00 or so someone started knocking frantically on our door. We went to the door and it was our neighbor telling us that they needed us in the house across from us because one of the young men who was living there had hung himself and there was a woman and a baby in there and the woman was bleeding terribly. Mark ran over there quickly to help out. In the room was the man, the woman was lying on the floor and her baby (about 9-10 months old) was lying next to her. He saw that the woman was still alive but not able to respond to anything and the baby was fine as far as he could tell. Alicia went in to see if she could help the baby and to bring medical gloves to her dad. Mark stayed with the woman until help could come.
The medics got here and went right in to help and came out with the baby, who by this time was screaming, and handed her to me. We got towels and blankets for her (they had to cut off her clothes because she was covered in blood and they needed to see if she was hurt) and tried to calm her. My neighbor came to help and Bailey and I ran to the nearby pharmacy to get a bottle, baby shampoo, and diapers. We came home and asked if it was possible to give her a bath and were told yes. They wanted to know if there was some wound they couldn't see in her hair or something--she was covered in blood and it was dried on.
By the time the whole thing was finished, about 4 hours later, we were still in total shock. What happened? Why did this happen? It was a very emotional evening for our family and our kids were a little bit shaken up. It was a tough night for sleeping.
We have since found out that the young man was very depressed, he was in an attempted robbery about 9 months ago (someone attempted to rob him while he was working) and was shot. As a result, he was paralyzed from the waist down. I can understand his depression. It would be hard to deal with that when you are as young as he was and face your entire life in that situation. The woman was his ex-girlfriend and the baby was his. He was angry about the failure of the relationship.
It made me realize that whenever I have seen him around he seemed, on the outside, to be doing okay. I mean, he didn't seem as angry or depressed as he obviously was. Could I have reached out to my neighbor more? Would it have mattered? I don't know. I can't beat myself up about what is past, but, I can change the future. It makes me more determined to be compassionate, open to the Holy Spirit leading me to speak to people, open to really taking time to find out about people and reach out to them.
It's so easy to go about my busy day and life and not really take the time. How many people do we know who could use encouragement? And, really, how hard is it to encourage someone?
This young man had people in his life helping him and encouraging him and working with him. People who loved him. He was unable to receive it. It's important to not only be givers but receivers. We have to allow people to give encouragement to us and love on us. It's just as important as being someone who helps and encourages others. Maybe more.
In an update--the young woman died this past Saturday. She lived for 3 days after the attack. The baby is fine and living with her mom's family in the City. Please pray for her.
Last week (Tuesday) we had a busy day as a family in the City running errands and getting some things done we needed to do. After we finally got home (about 3:30 or so) we all sat down for a quiet evening and a family time with maybe a movie or something. We were all tired.
About 6:00 or so someone started knocking frantically on our door. We went to the door and it was our neighbor telling us that they needed us in the house across from us because one of the young men who was living there had hung himself and there was a woman and a baby in there and the woman was bleeding terribly. Mark ran over there quickly to help out. In the room was the man, the woman was lying on the floor and her baby (about 9-10 months old) was lying next to her. He saw that the woman was still alive but not able to respond to anything and the baby was fine as far as he could tell. Alicia went in to see if she could help the baby and to bring medical gloves to her dad. Mark stayed with the woman until help could come.
The medics got here and went right in to help and came out with the baby, who by this time was screaming, and handed her to me. We got towels and blankets for her (they had to cut off her clothes because she was covered in blood and they needed to see if she was hurt) and tried to calm her. My neighbor came to help and Bailey and I ran to the nearby pharmacy to get a bottle, baby shampoo, and diapers. We came home and asked if it was possible to give her a bath and were told yes. They wanted to know if there was some wound they couldn't see in her hair or something--she was covered in blood and it was dried on.
By the time the whole thing was finished, about 4 hours later, we were still in total shock. What happened? Why did this happen? It was a very emotional evening for our family and our kids were a little bit shaken up. It was a tough night for sleeping.
We have since found out that the young man was very depressed, he was in an attempted robbery about 9 months ago (someone attempted to rob him while he was working) and was shot. As a result, he was paralyzed from the waist down. I can understand his depression. It would be hard to deal with that when you are as young as he was and face your entire life in that situation. The woman was his ex-girlfriend and the baby was his. He was angry about the failure of the relationship.
It made me realize that whenever I have seen him around he seemed, on the outside, to be doing okay. I mean, he didn't seem as angry or depressed as he obviously was. Could I have reached out to my neighbor more? Would it have mattered? I don't know. I can't beat myself up about what is past, but, I can change the future. It makes me more determined to be compassionate, open to the Holy Spirit leading me to speak to people, open to really taking time to find out about people and reach out to them.
It's so easy to go about my busy day and life and not really take the time. How many people do we know who could use encouragement? And, really, how hard is it to encourage someone?
This young man had people in his life helping him and encouraging him and working with him. People who loved him. He was unable to receive it. It's important to not only be givers but receivers. We have to allow people to give encouragement to us and love on us. It's just as important as being someone who helps and encourages others. Maybe more.
In an update--the young woman died this past Saturday. She lived for 3 days after the attack. The baby is fine and living with her mom's family in the City. Please pray for her.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sad and happy.
Saturday morning when Mark and I went to the street to check on our people, we found Mauel de Jesus, one of the men we had been checking on and concerned about, dead. Mark went and got the first responders while I sat with his girlfriend, Sonja, and comforted her. It was sad. We waited for them to come and investigate and then went to the morgue with one of the guys to find out what can be done about burial.
That night, Mark, Carlos (a good friend of ours), Alicia, Bailey, and I went to where they stay and had a memorial service for him. I made food and Mark and Carlos shared from the Bible Ps. 23. We prayed with 8 people to receive Christ! Then Carlos played music and led them in worship and praise while we prayed with others and did the medical things we've been doing for them.
They asked Mark and Carlos to come back and do Bible Study with them, so they are starting to plan once a week or so to go back and do praise and worship with them as well as Bible study.
Please pray as we begin this new phase of street church (something we've been wanting to do for a while!) that God would lead us. Also, pray for Sonja as she mourns Manuel's death.
That night, Mark, Carlos (a good friend of ours), Alicia, Bailey, and I went to where they stay and had a memorial service for him. I made food and Mark and Carlos shared from the Bible Ps. 23. We prayed with 8 people to receive Christ! Then Carlos played music and led them in worship and praise while we prayed with others and did the medical things we've been doing for them.
They asked Mark and Carlos to come back and do Bible Study with them, so they are starting to plan once a week or so to go back and do praise and worship with them as well as Bible study.
Please pray as we begin this new phase of street church (something we've been wanting to do for a while!) that God would lead us. Also, pray for Sonja as she mourns Manuel's death.
Teen Challenge
Last Monday, we brought another man to a great Christian rehab in Guatemala City. Jaimie went into Teen Challenge and we are so thankful that he is taking the opportunity to grab hold of God's freedom for his life! Keep him in prayers!
Charlie, the man we brought to another Christian rehab in November, is doing amazing! We are so proud of him and his determination to stick with it even when it gets tough. He is growing in his relationship with the Lord and understanding freedom from alcohol and drugs.
Keep both Jaimie and Charlie in your prayers.
Charlie, the man we brought to another Christian rehab in November, is doing amazing! We are so proud of him and his determination to stick with it even when it gets tough. He is growing in his relationship with the Lord and understanding freedom from alcohol and drugs.
Keep both Jaimie and Charlie in your prayers.
Where do I begin?
I'm in awe of all the things that have been happening lately. It seems that all we have to do is talk about a dream or an idea and before we know it, it's reality. We haven't even had to pray before it's already answered! It's like God can't wait!!!
The first thing is our bus. Back in November Mark and I were talking about how great it would be if someday we could buy a minibus and renovate it into something to use for our homeless ministry and street evangelism. We talked about being able to cook on it, having a place for medical work (something that has come up a lot recently in our homeless ministry), and Mark even joked that it wouldn't be complete without a screen to show Christian movies like the Jesus film! We also wanted plenty of room to bring sound equipment and a place to store Christian literature to give away.
Just 2 weeks ago, we brought it home! We are in shock still!!!!
We started thinking about what to do to make it more streamlined for what we needed (neither of us are very mechanically inclined) and that we should start praying for someone to help us out with that when our friend Rusty Johnson showed up! Rusty just spent time last year gutting an RV and renovating it for he and his wife to use for traveling and ministry. He was looking for a project and we were looking for someone with skills to help us with it all! God is so awesome!!!
Next, we were talking about how we needed to get some medical supplies when someone from our church asked us if we ever needed medical supplies. I said we did and they gave us 3 boxes of left over supplies from a missions team! And wouldn't you know, it had just about everything we had listed as potential needs for the bus!
Then we were talking about how we needed to have someone look at our engine and do some body work on it. We have a potential trip coming up and Mark wanted to make sure all was in good condition. Mark was talking with a guy at church yesterday about it all to see if he knew someone who could help. Here's the funny part: HE'S WORKED ON THIS BUS BEFORE! He knows everything about it! He remembers all they've done to it in the last year and is able to get it all going well.
How great is God? He answers before we even ask!
The first thing is our bus. Back in November Mark and I were talking about how great it would be if someday we could buy a minibus and renovate it into something to use for our homeless ministry and street evangelism. We talked about being able to cook on it, having a place for medical work (something that has come up a lot recently in our homeless ministry), and Mark even joked that it wouldn't be complete without a screen to show Christian movies like the Jesus film! We also wanted plenty of room to bring sound equipment and a place to store Christian literature to give away.
Just 2 weeks ago, we brought it home! We are in shock still!!!!
We started thinking about what to do to make it more streamlined for what we needed (neither of us are very mechanically inclined) and that we should start praying for someone to help us out with that when our friend Rusty Johnson showed up! Rusty just spent time last year gutting an RV and renovating it for he and his wife to use for traveling and ministry. He was looking for a project and we were looking for someone with skills to help us with it all! God is so awesome!!!
Next, we were talking about how we needed to get some medical supplies when someone from our church asked us if we ever needed medical supplies. I said we did and they gave us 3 boxes of left over supplies from a missions team! And wouldn't you know, it had just about everything we had listed as potential needs for the bus!
Then we were talking about how we needed to have someone look at our engine and do some body work on it. We have a potential trip coming up and Mark wanted to make sure all was in good condition. Mark was talking with a guy at church yesterday about it all to see if he knew someone who could help. Here's the funny part: HE'S WORKED ON THIS BUS BEFORE! He knows everything about it! He remembers all they've done to it in the last year and is able to get it all going well.
How great is God? He answers before we even ask!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
"God has sent you to me"
These are the words we heard from Victoria while Alicia was helping to clean her wound on her leg.
We first met Victoria about 6 months ago. I don't think I've ever met a more bitter and angry person. She told us that she didn't believe in God since her husband, mother, and sister all died within a few months of each other. She has been living on the streets, drinking rubbing alcohol for a while. She's so hardened.
We kept running into Victoria and even sang "Happy Birthday" to her on her birthday a few weeks ago while we were delivering soup. She smiled! It was good to see.
Victoria fell and hurt her leg badly about 2 weeks ago. She went to the hospital and got some stitches put in, but, she has been fighting a horrible infection for that long. Her leg was in bad shape. We've been going 2 times a day to the area where she lives (basically a dirt pile) to clean it, bandage it, and give her antibiotics. While we've been doing that, we've been seeing her soften. She greets us with a smile. She tells us thank you.
One evening while Alicia was cleaning it and putting on a new bandage, she said to Alicia, "I know now that God is real because He has sent you to me to take care of me." It made us all choke up to hear her say that. It was such a big step!
Mark and I went today to talk with her son--who is a doctor--to find out if he can make sure that there isn't more that needs to be done with her leg. She wants to get off the street and deal with her alcoholism. We told him that there is a program for her, but, she needs to be willing to do it for one year. He's going to talk with her today. Pray that she takes advantage of it!
We first met Victoria about 6 months ago. I don't think I've ever met a more bitter and angry person. She told us that she didn't believe in God since her husband, mother, and sister all died within a few months of each other. She has been living on the streets, drinking rubbing alcohol for a while. She's so hardened.
We kept running into Victoria and even sang "Happy Birthday" to her on her birthday a few weeks ago while we were delivering soup. She smiled! It was good to see.
Victoria fell and hurt her leg badly about 2 weeks ago. She went to the hospital and got some stitches put in, but, she has been fighting a horrible infection for that long. Her leg was in bad shape. We've been going 2 times a day to the area where she lives (basically a dirt pile) to clean it, bandage it, and give her antibiotics. While we've been doing that, we've been seeing her soften. She greets us with a smile. She tells us thank you.
One evening while Alicia was cleaning it and putting on a new bandage, she said to Alicia, "I know now that God is real because He has sent you to me to take care of me." It made us all choke up to hear her say that. It was such a big step!
Mark and I went today to talk with her son--who is a doctor--to find out if he can make sure that there isn't more that needs to be done with her leg. She wants to get off the street and deal with her alcoholism. We told him that there is a program for her, but, she needs to be willing to do it for one year. He's going to talk with her today. Pray that she takes advantage of it!
The Way Things Often Work
One thing you can count on is that you can't really count on anything happening the way you would expect it to! In the last few weeks we have seen this truth lived out in our lives in a way we would never have expected.
Many of you remember that in November of 2009 we started a ministry to the homeless in Antigua and called it "Soup Run". It was kind of born out of frustration a little--I'm just being honest. We had been noticing a LOT of people in the streets just passed out drunk. It was frustrating to try to help them and have absolutely nothing work. We tried even buying them food from a tienda (store) and had seen at least one of them return the food for the money. So, we decided that if we made something and brought it to them they wouldn't be able to return it. We could also start to build relationships with these people and try to minister to their needs.
How could we know that this would become something so big in our lives? It never started out that way.
We have been doing soup run now for over a year and we feed roughly 50 people a week with it. It's also become a medical situation because of many injuries and sicknesses that the homeless suffer. We've been dispensing antibiotics (if they have a doctor's prescription), tylenol for pain, bandaging wounds, cleaning sores, and trying to fight off infection in many instances.
All of this has helped us to build relationships with these people. This morning, while we were cleaning some wounds and replacing bandages, they told us that they pray for us and our family every morning. They also spend time every morning reading the New Testament we were able to bring them and discussing it before they head off for their day. Many of them work--surprising, but, true. They don't make enough to afford a house or apartment, so they live on the street.
We've talked about Charlie in the past. He is doing well, living in rehab and getting his life straightened out. There is another man, Kuka, who wants to go to rehab and we will be taking him to Teen Challenge on Monday. These are lives who are coming off the streets and learning to walk in faith and allowing God to heal them. It's exciting to see.
Tomorrow, we are picking up the ministry bus that will help us to be more effective and serve more people. It's a mini bus that has been renovated into a functioning clinic with room for a small kitchen area to make food and a movie screen to show Christian videos. We were blessed by friends with the money to purchase the bus, insure it, and money to keep it running for one year! God is so good!
We have the opportunity to use this bus in other areas around our valley to minister to more homeless and needy people. There is so much need! We will be needing support to keep it stocked with the equipment we need to meet those needs--medical supplies, food, clothing, material needs, evangelistic materials (bibles, tracts, videos...).
Will you pray about partnering with us?
Many of you remember that in November of 2009 we started a ministry to the homeless in Antigua and called it "Soup Run". It was kind of born out of frustration a little--I'm just being honest. We had been noticing a LOT of people in the streets just passed out drunk. It was frustrating to try to help them and have absolutely nothing work. We tried even buying them food from a tienda (store) and had seen at least one of them return the food for the money. So, we decided that if we made something and brought it to them they wouldn't be able to return it. We could also start to build relationships with these people and try to minister to their needs.
How could we know that this would become something so big in our lives? It never started out that way.
We have been doing soup run now for over a year and we feed roughly 50 people a week with it. It's also become a medical situation because of many injuries and sicknesses that the homeless suffer. We've been dispensing antibiotics (if they have a doctor's prescription), tylenol for pain, bandaging wounds, cleaning sores, and trying to fight off infection in many instances.
All of this has helped us to build relationships with these people. This morning, while we were cleaning some wounds and replacing bandages, they told us that they pray for us and our family every morning. They also spend time every morning reading the New Testament we were able to bring them and discussing it before they head off for their day. Many of them work--surprising, but, true. They don't make enough to afford a house or apartment, so they live on the street.
We've talked about Charlie in the past. He is doing well, living in rehab and getting his life straightened out. There is another man, Kuka, who wants to go to rehab and we will be taking him to Teen Challenge on Monday. These are lives who are coming off the streets and learning to walk in faith and allowing God to heal them. It's exciting to see.
Tomorrow, we are picking up the ministry bus that will help us to be more effective and serve more people. It's a mini bus that has been renovated into a functioning clinic with room for a small kitchen area to make food and a movie screen to show Christian videos. We were blessed by friends with the money to purchase the bus, insure it, and money to keep it running for one year! God is so good!
We have the opportunity to use this bus in other areas around our valley to minister to more homeless and needy people. There is so much need! We will be needing support to keep it stocked with the equipment we need to meet those needs--medical supplies, food, clothing, material needs, evangelistic materials (bibles, tracts, videos...).
Will you pray about partnering with us?
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