From a Dirt Floor to the Suburbs

Before we came back to the States for Jonah and Silas' birth, Bernabe asked us if we would try and find her daughter.

Bernabe is a wonderful lady and a dear friend of ours who lives in Santa Rita. Her daughter Berta was working with a human rights group during the Guatemalan civil war. Due to threats on her life along with other violent events she was given an immediate visa to the States to protect her. Bernabe and the rest of her family fled to Honduras during that time. Over a decade has passed since they have been able to contact each other. All we had was an old address in Louisville, KY. This trip we made it a priority to go through Louisville on our way back to FL.

This afternoon we made it to the address Bernabe gave us. No one was home. As Jimmy was walking back to the van, a car pulled up. It was the couple who lived there and they were very kind to the stranger they found in their yard!

It turns out that they befriended Berta when she first came to the States. She lived with them a while and they took good care of her and got her on her feet in this new country. Thankfully they have stayed in touch with her over the years and gave us a more current address.

We drove about 30 minutes to this new address but sadly no one was home.

As we were driving away a Spanish family a couple doors down was just getting home. We thought they might be friends with Berta's kids, so we stopped and asked them if she still lived there. It turns out that they were relatives of her boyfriend. They said that they had just ran into Berta at Walmart and that she would be home any minute.

We were really excited by this point. We wanted this to work out for Bernabe's sake. About 10 minutes later Berta and her entire family pull into her driveway.

We explained who we were and that we had pictures and paperwork (documents that she had left behind) from her family in Petén. I know that her leaving Guatemala and all the events that surrounded that must have been very traumatic. So here we were... surprise... you now have to process this all in a matter of seconds. She was very kind to us and invited us in.

I cannot imagine her life and what all she has been through. I think it was difficult for her to look at photos of her family. She misses them. All of this took her back, to moments good and bad. She was very happy to hear about all of them. I took photos of her beautiful family to take back with us.

We videoed a message from her to her mom, dad, and siblings. Bernabe and Eulalio have 3 grandkids they have never met. Berta is applying for citizenship this Friday and then she will be able to get a US passport.

God just brought all of this about. We are so thankful and cannot wait to get back to Guatemala to see Bernabe!

An Exciting Day in Our Ministry

We have been thinking about Santa Rita a lot since we have been gone. Jimmy casually claims we will start up again in there when we get back. Honestly, I am nervous to go back in. We just did a quick drive through right before we left, but I did not get out of the micro. We both want the Bible study to continue.

I was behind on the blog before we left, so I never posted about one of the most important events that has happened in our ministry. It was back at the end of January. Jesús, who has been attending Jimmy's discipleship class each week (he put his faith in Christ soon after we arrived in Santa Rita), taught one of the Bible studies. He sounded nervous to talk to him beforehand, but during the Bible study he seemed at home sharing the Bible with his peers.

{Jesús (21 years old)}

He planned a devo sheet for everyone during the week, came up with questions to ask during the Bible study which Jimmy put on the projector, and even asked Jimmy, "You think it would be ok if I challenged them to go ahead and accept Christ for themselves at the end of it?" So exciting! I loved seeing his passion as he spoke. He spoke on II Corinthians 5, that is the book they had been studying recently in the adult Bible study. It has been very relevant for what is going on in there right now.

Please pray for Jesús, he has been working a job in the capital while we have been gone. Please pray that God does not move him out of Santa Rita just yet. He is the only one in his family who has accepted Christ yet. He may even be the one that God has to take over the Bible study in there if we are not able to get back in. We love these people. They are our friends. Some are Christians now, some not yet.

If Everyone Had a Family That Loved Them...

We have mentioned Claudia before. She has been friends with us from the beginning. She is 15 and has been living with her grandparents in Santa Rita. She doesn't know her mom, but her dad lives in Santa Elena. She accepted Christ a couple months ago and has been attending Jimmy's weekly discipleship class. She also started helping me with the kids Bible study time. She has the sweetest spirit and we have already seen fruit from her walk with Christ.

Well... you'd think we work with nomads or something. As soon as someone start's growing they are moved away from us, the Bible study, and any other Christian influences in their lives. This is what happened with Claudia. She was really upset about it. Santa Rita was her home, where her friends were, where her school was, and where her "home church" was. Her dad decided that he wanted her to come live with him and his wife. She works full time now and other than a room she rents, her money goes to her dad. She's not a daughter, she's additional income.

I'm heartbroken for her. Visiting her today, she looked all alone. I want to rescue her, but I can't. I want her to have a family, complete with a mom that loves her, but she doesn't. Please pray for Claudia and that she will sense the love of her Heavenly Father; He's the only one from which she can never be separated.

We did put her in contact with Norberto, a Mexican missionary who started a church in San Benito (right next to Santa Elena). Their church van will be picking her up on Sundays. Please pray that God will send her a good Christian friend through that. We plan to stay in close contact with her and stop by and see her regulalry when we are in Santa Elena.

CUTE ITEM OF THE DAY:

Jonah is not a morning person. This is what he does after his brother wakes everyone up.

Present Solutions to Future Problems

Friday we invited Eulalio, Bernabé, Jesús and Rosalino over to the house for lunch.

(They are really happy people, just very serious in photos!)

This actually involves more than just an invitation because when we invite somebody over we also have to go pick them up. It is 45 minutes one way, so it involves a 3 hour driving commitment as well. However, we have found this to be much more effective than for us to go visit their house.

We have lost several people recently due to our showing up at their house. We didn't realize the extent of the peer pressure and opposition to our Bible Studies. Apparently many people sneak to the Bible Studies, but when we show up at their house to visit them, we "out" them to their neighbors or spouses who then refuse to let them attend further.

By bringing people to our house they are much more open and we get a lot more information than people are willing to give under the cloud of opposition in Santa Rita. Friday we found out about a lot of things we didn't realize.

The Catholic church leaders have changed the times of their services to coincide with ours to pressure people not to attend. They have also been trying to get us kicked out before the town council. This is the same exact way the problems started in New Horizon. We have been down this road before.

(Carlos, the mayor's son)

One of those two leaders is the mother-in-law of Mayor Reyes. When I mentioned that her grandson, Reyes' son, attends our Bible Studies, Jesús piped up that Reyes makes him go. Carlos, 9, really enjoys the Bible Studies, but like all kids sometimes would rather play with his friends. He told Jesús that if he doesn't go his dad chews him out and tells him he has to go to learn about the things of God. Reyes has never attended a Bible Study but has always been friendly and supportive of us. It is nice to know that he is not only like that to our faces.

When talking about what happened in New Horizon, Jesús mentioned that nobody spoke up for us because they weren't really our friends. He said that's not the way it is in Santa Rita and that there are many who would speak up and defend us. One of these people is Aaron's son. He is another that is very friendly yet does not attend yet. He has a very strong voice in the community and is apparently frustrated that people won't be real. People who say their Catholic don't attend that church either and while they say they fought for freedom they want to limit people's beliefs about God.

(Fabio aka Lucky)

Fabio has no wife or children and so when he is sick, Bernabé takes him food and takes care of him. He mentioned to her that he is frustrated with the community for many reasons, one being their treatment of us. He is worried that we will be kicked out of the house we are now using and in that way be forced to leave. Fabio said that when that happens he is going to give us his land next to his house for us to build a "Prayer House" that can be there permanently. Fabio is saved but last month spoke to me about reconciling with God. He said that he is mad at the town council right now and doesn't want to get right with God until he finishes the sins he has planned. I think he is referring to just being angry and using a few choice words during the meetings, but who really knows? He attends very faithfully however and is always the last one to leave.

Also of interest is that some people in Santa Rita are now selling off their partnerships in the Co-op. For $6,000 you can buy a share of the land (about 60 acres/shareholder) and become a full-fledged partner with voting rights. This may be plan C or D if we get kicked out because they can't kick out a partner. We hope to never have to go this far, preferring the town council to eventually change the laws of the village and allow there to be a church.

Before they left Eulalio asked for prayer. He has been sick for several months now with several problems including a hernia. I am looking to get him a consultation and hopefully surgery for this.

I just adore Bernabe, she is the most loving person. She is always honest with us and worries and fusses over me and the boys like she does her own children.

Please pray for Eulalio, this family and our work in Santa Rita. Click the "Prayed For" button below when you do!

CRAZY ITEM OF THE DAY: Since rainy season started it has been impossible to get down the dirt roads in Santa Rita. We have gotten stuck several times just trying to make it to our Bible study building. During the dry season Jimmy drives around announcing it is time for our services to start, which in this easy going culture makes a big difference.

When we walk around the village it is a mess. The mud is super sticky and you get taller with each step.

We were really excited last month when they finally laid down gravel. It changed the look of the entire community and we knew it would make our time there much easier. Well...

it only lasted one week. They soon dug impassable trenches on each street to lay down drains! It's been like this for a month now!

Santa Rita Kekchi Service

Last night we had a special service just for our Kekchi people in Santa Rita. The village is about 60% Kekchi, but a greater percentage of them speak Spanish than the rest of the Kekchi in Petén. Because of this we usually have around 20 Kekchi kids at Shelley's Bible Study, 10-15 teenagers and 10 Kekchi adults at Jimmy's Bible Study. Most of the adults though are Kekchi men because it is usually the women who don't speak Spanish. There are plenty of men too who struggle with Spanish enough to not come to the Bible Studies and there are several kids who don't understand a word of what we're saying, but they still like to see the pictures of the stories and do the crafts.

Even for those who do understand Spanish, we wanted to have a clear presentation of the Gospel in their heart language where it will mean more to them. So Domingo and José came last night to help us. All faces lit up when I introduced them and said, "Now the rest of the service will only be in Kekchi." Then when they heard José start to speak in Kekchi you could here them giggling with delight and looking at each other and smiling.

José sang a hymn in Kekchi, and the people were tickled with it too. He has a wonderful bellowing voice. We will have to record it one time. Then Domingo got up and gave a short, clear presentation of the Gospel, that Jesus is the Way, Truth and Light and the only way to heaven. There were several of our spanish-only crowd there, so he translated enough so they would know what he was talking about. I thought it was interesting that our Spanish people identify themselves so strongly with the Bible study that they were willing to sit through an hour long movie in Kekchi in order not to miss anything! For almost all of the Kekchi there it was the first time to hear about Salvation in their language.

We then watched a 76 minute video called "Hope" which we've talked about before in that it shows God's plan from Creation to the Resurrection. We only have 40 chairs, but with kids sitting on the floor we had 50 people under the roof sitting down. About 10 minutes into the video I looked outside and there were just as many outside watching as there were inside sitting down. When the movie finished, everybody scattered except those old men that always help me pick up chairs.

We were thrilled to see so many people come out. Please pray that God will give us more opportunities to follow up and continue to work with these people despite the language barrier. Hopefully soon we'll be able to share personally God's plan in Kekchi.

Since the Day We Met

I remember meeting Macaria on ladies day during our first outreach in Santa Rita back in November of 2008. She was easy to talk to and always smiling. I felt a connection with her right away. It was the same with Claudia. I didn't know what the future held for either of them, but I knew God had put us in that village to share the Gospel with them and I was thankful for that.

Here is a photo from ladies day. Macaria is in the purple. Her daughter Maria is to her right and Claudia is the girl on the end... and that's Jimmy's mom giving her a pedicure!

We would see Macaria off and on over the next 2 years. Just recently ever since the ladies outreach we had while the interns were here, Macaria has started coming to Jimmy's Bible study regularly with her daughter. Macaria is in the green in this photo below from our ladies outreach this past month.

Her son Jaime has just recently started to get reconnected since we've been back too.

This is him receiving a Bible over a year ago,

and this is him (in the blue) during our church activity to Tikal last month.

Her daughter Maria (girl in white) got involved right away!

Here she is in the pink on the bottom row at our purity talk girls outreach at our house.

For the past four weeks Jimmy has taught on Galatians. This week in chapter four everybody was discussing the difference between slaves and sons. Each week there has been a clear gospel message and he was afraid some people might even be getting bored with it. At the end of each Bible study he asks if anybody has any questions. This night was like most where nobody raises their hand. He said he was glad now that nobody there has an excuse. Everybody knows how to become God's child and how sad would it be if they all know how to go to heaven but don't ever ask for that free gift. We don't have invitations, but he always says that if somebody would like us to pray with them, then to just let us know.

Claudia came up while everybody was leaving and pointed towards the back. "That lady wants to accept Christ," she said. Jimmy asked if she wanted to do it there or at her house. She came back with the response, "In her house."

When Jimmy got there he was greeted by Macaria. They sat down in the living room and Jimmy asked, "Would Maria like to accept Christ too?" She left and a minute later Jaime and Maria both walked in with their mom. They all sat around listening to Jimmy explaining again and each one individually expressed their desire to accept Christ. They all prayed together at the same time in Kekchi (each with different words but it's not like we would be able to understand them anyway). After Jimmy asked them again what they had done. Macaria had tears in her eyes and wanted to know if we would always be here doing the Bible Studies on Sundays. She then lectured her kids in Kekchi (which they translated for Jimmy) that now God isn't just watching them from heaven, but is with them everywhere they go.

We have always had the philosophy that ministry is about relationships. This is one of those times we can look back over 21 months and see God working through each outreach. We are excited to look at the many faces in the pictures we have taken and know that not only is God still writing their stories, but we get to be a part of them.

Ladies Outreach

Last Wednesday we had a ladies outreach in Santa Rita. Some of these ladies we already had a relationship with, some we only knew through a family member, and others we met for the very first time.

Becca brought down beads and I had some leftover from other outreaches, so the night before we sorted through hundreds of beads and organized pairs by color. If you have a personality like mine, it's a great stress reliever, you should try it!

The ladies were very creative. I think they really enjoyed making them.

The woman in the white is José's wife, Maria. They are the couple who just lost their son Lucas. José comes faithfully, but this is the first activity she has ever been to.

I am talking to Maria in the back. I have been trying to get to know her for a while now. I love her daughter Vilma. Her entire family comes to our Bible studies, but she has just started to get involved!

We passed out invitations in the adult and kid's Bibles studies and told them it was for ladies 20+ or ladies with their own families (some start very young here). Many of the teens and kids proudly brought their moms!

I met Mercedes mom for the first time. She has been in Mexico for several years and had just returned that day!

Auda with her mom Sophia!

Ana with her mom, Cantalaria! She comes to the adult Bible study with her husband sometimes. She doesn't speak much Spanish.

Jonah and Silas were there with their Santa Rita "nannies"! They love Mercedes and Blanca, I am so thankful for them. They are always a big help and the boys are very comfortable with them. (You can tell Jonah propels himself pretty good in his bouncer, he is a blur.)

Bernabe showing off her finished earrings.

Albina and Cantalaria... Albina is very shy!

Here is Marta, Marcos' wife. She just gave birth to their 9th child! It was a girl, but they haven't named her yet.

CRAZY ITEM OF THE DAY:

Our 3 interns left this weekend. During the month that they were here, the power was off a lot. The most frustrating thing I think though was the fact that the water pump broke at their hotel. They went without running water for 3 days.

The hotel was very concerned... they let them dip gallon jugs and buckets out of their pool to flush the toilet and to wash with. Here is what their pool looked like at the time:

Bringing Their Son's Body Home

On only their second day in Petén our interns went with Jimmy to take the Macz family to go exhume their son's body in Sayaxche, an hour away. 34 people fit in our microbus!

The Macz son's name was Lucas and he was only 19 when he died. The story is that he was involved in a bar fight late one night and was found the next day drowned in the river. We have never met him since he did not live in Santa Rita but his father, brothers, sister, and niece (Claudia who just accepted Christ) come faithfully to Jimmy's Bible study. His mother has never been.

Jimmy had already driven the family (30 people) there almost a month ago but the judge wasn't there to release the body. This poor family had to wait for weeks after they had already prepared themselves emotionally (as much as you can) to identify the body of their son and bring him home.

This was Lucas' grave in Sayaxche. The man in the blue shirt is José, his dad.

They had to dig up his body.

This is his mother. The boys and I did not go that day. It was at this point going through the photos that I started crying too. I cannot imagine having to live through something like this. It is even worse for them. Where is their hope? I don't want anyone to have to go through something like this without hope. How could your heart not be broken for these people now?

Lucas' body was in a bag. The stench was so bad that people started running out of the cemetery. Jimmy tore off grapefruit tree leaves to put under his nose to smell... this was an idea that became very popular.

They took his body out of the bag and sealed it in the metal box. Then they placed that box inside the casket.

Then everyone made the trip back to Santa Rita and there was a brief service for him in the Macz' home. The service was a mix of Catholic and Mayan traditions. A Mayan witch doctor that lives in Santa Rita spread incense around the grave.

This is where they put his casket, it was a cemetery way back in the jungle behind Santa Rita. In Guatemala they bury people above ground.

We were very thankful that God gave us a small way to minister to this family during such a painful time. This was an opportunity to connect with so many people in the village beyond just his family since everyone was there and Jimmy got to talk to so many people. It is through meeting outward needs that builds the relationships needed to minister to their inward needs. This is accomplished much more effectively in these personal acts of service than in giving handouts.

(This is Jimmy talking to a man that has just moved into Santa Rita while waiting for the family to do some legal paperwork. That is our micro that the family members road in and friends of the family road in the back of that big truck that belongs to Santa Rita.)

We do not know what Lucas did with Christ while he was alive, but we do know that some of his family members now have Hope; their lives will be different. Please pray for Lucas' family as they are mourning their son and pray that soon more of his family will come to know the Lord.

CRAZY ITEM OF THE DAY: Footlong caterpillars!