Update on José Xol

We received support from a lot of different places for José and for the entire amount that he needed! Tuesday I was able to take the money that people had sent and visit him personally. When I arrived at his house, he gave me a big bear hug and through tears he said, "Brother, I'm so sad." After a long time he let go and we sat and talked. I explained where the money came from and all the people that had given and were still praying for him. He was very grateful that so many would want to help him in this time of need.

He already sold his truck because he could no longer stand the thoughts and memories it brought back up. He also mentioned the death threats he has been receiving even now. Monday they signed another agreement with the family in front of the Ministerio Público of that area. Legally he is responsible to pay the money, so this agreement and paying the Q50,000 frees him of any future responsibilities or extortion attempts. Even during the process they were still verbally abusive. Several times now different vehicles have made slow trips in front of his house while staring. While that could be any number of things, in this situation you can't be too quick to brush things off as coincidence.

With everything going on, José has been counseled to move, if only for a few years. His wife doesn't want to, but understands the risks to her and her daughters if they stay. They are seriously considering buying land in San Pancho, close to us. Since we are building we have had several people talk to our mason about land for sale and the prices are cheaper than most places.

This would put José the same distance from the church's headquarters, but 2.5 hours closer to the villages where he works each week. It will cut down considerably on his costs and travel time. Please pray for wisdom and opportunity for him to do this.

Thank you so much to all of you who have been praying and especially to those who gave and sacrificed to help our friend. You know the difference you made in his life and that of his family's but you may never know the number Kekchi people who will accept Christ because José is still around to minister to them.

Sometimes we look back at our ministry and see those times we've been able to encourage another national pastor or missionary, or make a small difference in the life of somebody here when there wasn't anybody else around who could help. While we would like to think and believe that God has even bigger plans for our ministry, sometimes we wonder if maybe we were here just for those moments, where we could keep somebody going so that they can do abundantly more than we can. One thing is for sure, God had us in the place He wanted us to be and through no effort of our own met José's need when he was looking at the impossible.