Planning makes perfect

If you have ever tried to pull off any event such as a birthday party, baby shower, etc without planning it, you know how crazy that can be!  We often find ourselves spending almost as much time planning the classes and activities we host as we spend actually teaching them! 

The September 30th National Child's Day event is no different.  We have already started planning, writing up an exciting new class, and started shopping for supplies.  Chrissy brought some jungle scenery with her from Texas which we plan to use to decorate the room.  In keeping with this jungle theme we decided to teach about Daniel and the Lions... but with a twist.  This time we will tell the story from the Lions' point of view!  A couple of weeks ago Chrissy, Yolanda, and I set off down the street in search of a "Lion costume" in the used clothing stores that are on every corner of San José Pinula.

a look down a typical SJP street

These stores are actually the front room of local homes where used clothes are sold for anywhere from 10 cents to a dollar.  As we walked into the first store we felt almost as if we were suffocating among the racks from ceiling to floor jammed full of dirty, musty used clothes hung in no particular order.  After making a quick search we abandoned the area.  At a little more than a dollar per item we felt the store was waaaay over priced!!!  The next few stores were similar (although cheaper).  The clothes were stacked in boxes on floor, hung on strings along the wall, and small children played with dirty toys or emptly glass bottles on the dirt floor.  Finally, among all of this, we found an orangish Liz Claiborne sweater type thing with ruffles around the collar!  Perfect for our Lion look!  We bought it for less than 50 cents and went back to the base very happy with our purchase.

Chrissy and Yolanda went to the center of the city (zone 1) to shop for other scenery ideas.  They found a few really great animal figures made out of styrofoam.  They also found bear shaped water bottles that we will give to each child. Lastly, Chrissy went shopping on her own with her own funds to find several used stuffed aniamls that fit in perfect with the jungle theme.  

Piñata at last year's National Child's Day event

girls enjoying last year's snack

We are looking forward to instilling in over 100 children the desire to make a stand for Jesus, just as Daniel did.  He stood up for God and for what was right in spite of some very difficult circumstances.  This is going to be a great opportunity to bless our regular attenders as well as reach some new families.  God is good!

We are very thankful for the Faith Landmarks Youth group who allowed us to take up an offering totalling $500 to pay for this event. 

In November we will host our annual Vacation Bible School.  If you or your church would like to help us by sponsoring the entire event or just a portion, please contact us at info@crossculturejesus.org  We need approximately $200 to cover the week.

Making headway in the Mountains

As you may recall from an earlier blog, one of my heart's desires is to be able to reach the remote, mountain communities of San José Pinula.  This is not an impossible task, just a tad difficult.  One of the difficulties is the long standing friction between the catholics and the evangelicals.  Quite often just knowing that a person or group is not catholic closes the door of opportunity.  These communities are particularily close minded, distrustful, and difficult to gain entrance into.

Fortunuately, ABA (Asociación Brazos Abiertos- as we are known in Guatemala) has a good reputation and working relationship with the public school system of San José Pinula.  Using this relationship we were able to gain entrance into 4 public schools in the mountain area.

Our first outreach was actually hosting the Solid Rock Youth Group of Faith Landmarks Ministries.  It was an amazing time!  2 teams of about 30 people visited 2 schools each.  Each team boarded their perspective buses and we began the hour and a half journey into the highlands.  Travelling on dirt roads we passed oxen teams hauling lumber, cowboys on horseback sporting machetes, broccoli plantations, and a huge dairy farm.  The temperature dropped as we climbed higher, but as the day wore on, the sun warmed up even the highest regions we visited.

After going to seperate schools, both teams began by playing games with the school children to establish a relationship with them.  The kids had a blast!  These rural schools rarely have any type of special events and when they do have and event it does not compare to what the SRY teenagers brought.

After a time of games and fun, 2 dramas were presented, and then an altar call.  There were tremendous respnses in all 4 schools.  Nearly every student and parent went forward to say the prayer of salvation!!!!  Amazing.  From what I can calculate, this was the first time many of these people ever truly heard the gospel.  It just shows that we are all in need of a savior and we are all longing to have forgiveness of our sins.

Altar call

After the dramas and altar calls bags of food were given to each family.  Most of these children suffer from malnutrition, it was great to see them eating on peices of fruit as they walked the dirt roads home.  Over 100 families were reached on this day alone.  Glory to God! 

What a way to bless the communities.  Every school invited us back as often as we can come.  The next challenge????  Making room in our schedule to go back!  Oh, there is so much work to be done for the Kingdom of God.  We really need more laborers.  Pray with us for the Lord to send more missionaries to join our team and help us carry the gospel all over San José Pinula.  Pray with us for sponsors to pay for salaries, allowing us to hire Guatemalans to help us disciple the hundreds of children that have been placed in our paths. 

Prayers for our People

I can hardly believe it has been a month since I have written.  Every time I thought I would sit down and write it seems like something came up. 
At this time, as I sit in the silence of my house (little guy is napping) I have only one thing on my mind.  PRAYER.  We need your prayers.

I have been living in Guatemala for 12 years.  Amazing to look back over the years and realize all the changes that have taken place in my life emotionally, spiritually, and every other way over the past decade plus.  It is also interesting to note the changes that have taken place in Guatemala.  Violence seems more prevalent now.  Or was I just oblivious to it before?  It used to be that the stories I heard of violent crimes were in the news or friends of friends of friends... But now it is my friends and neighbors that are the victims.  Thankfully, it hasn't been me or my family.

My next door neighbor was the victim of a hijacking attempt last month.  2 cars surrounded her on the highway and after trying to intimidate her by forcing her off of the road stopped in front of her to force her to stop.  Fortunately she had the forethought to jump the median strip and do a u-turn despite the oncoming traffic. 

Just a couple of weeks ago Yolanda was on a bus that was hijacked.  The attackers pulled guns on the driver and passengers, shooting and killing a man who was sitting behind Yolanda.  She told me afterwards that although she lives in the infamous neighborhood called La Limonada, she has never witnessed a killing before.  While the attackers were distracted she managed to throw herself from the moving bus, saving her own life. 

I have heard of friends being mugged at stoplights, in the mall, and worse.  Recently 2 candidates running for mayor of San Jose Pinula were killed.  I suppose that is one way to insure that you win the election!!!!!  Alfonso had been actively supporting one candidate.  He has wisely desisted from any furthur support at this point.

So, pray for us.  Pray for this nation.  Pray for peace and safety.  Pray for the government officials to have wisdom and INTEGRITY. 

Pray for the world.  So many nations are in turmoil even as I write this.  Droughts and famine in Africa are causing tragic human deaths. 

Apart from the violence we are living with, our team members are facing personal obstacles as well.  Alfonso recently suffered the loss of his father.  This was a difficult experience for him.  The ABA team is his family now and we did our best to support him during this difficult time.

Yolanda has her personal struggles as well.  Although I greatly admire her faith and determination, I know that there are moments when she needs encouragement and answers to prayer.

The list could go on... I will just leave you with this thought... pray for our people.  The ABA team needs your prayers.  The nation of Guatemala needs your prayers.  The world needs your prayers.

God bless.

Doña Ana and her tortillas

Right in front of the Asociación Brazos Abiertos Ministry base is a tortilla stand. 

The ladies who work there make just a few dollars a day and work from sunup until after sundown.  All day long you can hear the familiar smack as they slap their hands together to form the biggest and best tortillas around.  It takes just the right touch: just the right amount of cornmeal and just the right amoutn of water on the hands to keep the tortilla from sticking.  The "comal" is always full of fresh, hot tortillas ready for the customers to purchase.  4 tortillas for a little more than 10 cents. 

They and their families live in a small community just behind the tortilla stand.  You can see inside of it from the top story of our ministry base.  Often we wave to the children from our windows and they shout back greetings. 

Doña Ana making slapping a tortilla out in her hand.  In front of her is a comal.  Hers is gas based, most times you find them heated with firewood.  

Doña Ana is a sweet lady whose children are regular attenders in our Little Giants program.  She is always dressed in "corte" or typical mayan clothes.  She and her children speak a mayan dialect.  When we have missionary guests or family visiting we always take them to see Doña Ana make tortillas.  She is tickled that something so ordinary to her would be such a treat for our guests.  They often take pictures and ask questions.  she often gives them free samples...and sometimes even warms up her own lunch of beans so that the guest can have warm beans on a fresh tortilla.  YUM!  when she doesn't have beans to offer she is quick to pull out salt.  Tortillas with salt are a common meal for the poor folk.  Even my dear husband has memories of dining on just tortillas with salt.

 I have watched her youngest daughter, now 2 years old, grow up.  As an infant she was always in a sling on Doña Ana's back.  If she got fussy during peak times such as lunch then Doña Ana would begin to sway and bounce and shhh shhh shhh her, without ever letting her out of the sling.  There just wasn't time to feed or tend to a fussy baby during the lunch rush!  As little Marleny got older and heavier, she was confined to a tiny, square playpen placed in one corner of the small tortilla stand, conveniently out of reach of the hot comal.  There Marleny occupied herself playing with apron strings, chewing on tortillas, or whatver else she could find to do in that tiny space with no toys. 

The tortilla stand is dingy and dirty.  I always felt sorry for Marleny tucked away in one corner with no toys, no stimulation, no way to explore, crawl, and learn as a baby should.  But this is the way for most of the babies born to the lower class.  And this is just one of the reasons why they are slower than other children.  They were never given a chance to wake-up that mind of theirs.  They were always asked to be quiet, stay out of the way, and were always confined.

When Marleny would fuss Doña Ana would sternly rebuke her, then maybe give her a tortilla to naw on. 

At last marleny was walking and climbing out of her small jail.  So now she toddles around her mother's legs or toddles after her older siblings. 

here you can see Doña Ana tending to the tortillas on the comal while her coworker wraps an order of fresh tortillas in a tortilla napkin

Recently Doña Ana came to our Mother's Day celebration.  She had a grand time there as did all of the mothers.  She arrived a bit late because she had to finish the lunch rush first.  Still, for someone who spends all day every day in a tiny, dark, and dingy shed making hundreds of tortillas, it was a nice break and bit of spoiled treatment for her.  We were glad to bless her and her life as so often blessed ours.

here you can see a good view of the inside of the tortilla stand.  As you can see they sell chips, fruit, and other odd items as well.  The roof is tin and it can really be hot inside during the hotter months, but it is nice and toasty inside during the cooler months. 

Little Giants

Corban sat in the back seat of the car in his carseat.  "The car is jumping." he exclaimed as we turned off the main road and onto a dirt road full of rocks.  We were headed to the Wednesday morning "Little Giants" Class in Santa Inés. 

We arrived and parked our car in the retreat center parking lot.  Las Alturas has generously lent us space in one of their chapels to hold our twice weekly Bible class for children.  As we walked towards the chapel we could hear children laughing as Alfonso lead them in a fun game. 

The Little Giants is a Bible class we designed to take into the predominately catholic villages of San José Pinula.  The class consists of games, stories, object lessons, and a Bible verse all centered around a central theme.  Chrissy and Alfonso bring tons of life to the class with creative ideas and dynamic interaction.  I agreed to join them on Wednesday.  As I walked in with Corban by my side I fondly remembered old times when I was the one in front of the children constantly.

I situated Corban up front near another boy about his age (Justin).  Then the class began. 

We alway ask the kids to sit up straight and pay attention.  Here is one example of a young girl doing just that!!!  We give prizes out to the kids who are best behaved and encourage the others to follow suit.

We have asked our kids to come dressed as cowboys for the next class.  We are having a cowboy birthday party for the kids who had birthdays in May.  This little guy got confused and came dressed for the party a week early!

Look at how this little princess is dressed.  Fashion in the village is determined by what clothes you have available.

As you can see from the shoes below, shoes and socks are much needed items around here.

We always have game time.  These two girls didn't win, but they had a good time trying!

Take a look at the banana tree through the window.  The retreat center is on a beautiful piece of property with fruit trees all around.  Just outside this particular chapel are banana trees and fig trees. 

my teaching style has changed over the past couple of years.  I never know when my faithful "helper" is going to come forward to lend a helping hand!  Here I am talking about how the seeds we find in food produces more food... just another way that God provides for us.




Chrissy always comes up with fantastic craft ideas.  This lesson about how Jesus multiplied the bread and loaves was all about God's provision.

We followed up the teaching by making fish out of lunch bags (brought from the States) to remind us always that God will provide for us.

Here is Alfonso helping some of the smaller guys with their fish. 

 Another little cowboy (also confused about the date) and a little girl are showing off their fish.  They were both very proud of their efforts.  Please note the condition of this girl's clothes.

Another happy face.  The older girls especially enjoy craft time and often help the younger kids.

It was a productive, happy morning for all of us.  The Little Giants are truly giants indeed.  They are making leaps and bounds in their faith.


To those of you who give into this ministry - THANK YOU!

Dreams coming true...

If you remember an earlier blog where I spoke of my dream of reaching the mountain area of San José Pinula, then this blog will make more sense.  

We have a team coming to visit us in July that has accepted the challenge of taking the gospel to this unreached area.  So now the job is ours to plan it all and see that it flows smoothly.  Let me take the opportunity here to ask that you take a moment to pray for us, that the Spirit of God would begin to move on hearts and prepare the way for us.  The first step in getting ready for this trip was getting the proper permission from the school supervisor.  On Thursday our mission was to take a copy of that written permission to each of the schools we plan to work with.

The day started out chilly, but that is what to expect before 7am.  Alfonso, Chrissy, and I were each prepared with a fleecy sweater, water, and a snack since we didn't know what time we would be back.  The schools are an hour and a half away (if all goes well, meaning there are no overturned trucks or buses, no washed out sections, no car trouble, etc).

As we turned off of the paved road and onto the bumpy dirt road the reality of what we were doing sunk in.  We were leaving civilization.  No more gas stations, no more cell phone coverage, no more of the usual culture we were accustomed to.  Even Alfonso, who is Guatemalan, felt as though he were entering another world.  We were behind a truck loaded with cinderblocks.  The truck was plugging along despite the uphill climb.  The road was full of ruts, rocks, and sharp curves.  As I peered through the window at the cliff on one side of us I breathed a quick prayer of thanks for my 4-wheel drive.  The furthur we went, the fresher the air.

We passed men on horseback.  Horses and mules are a main source of transportation as even the public bus rarely passes through.  It is not unusual to see horses and mules tied alongside the road.  We passed farms of all types.  Prosperous farms that give work to the community and are owned by rich elite.  Also poor farms owned by the local families which provide for their families.

The poor communities were thrilled to welcome us.  take a look at the pics below to get an idea of how our day went.

The outhouse at Río Frío school.  notice the door is just leaned onto it.  and YES, we used it!  when nature calls, you gotta do what you gotta do.

The first school we visited... Río Frío.  As you can see, not all of the students have desks.

The outside of Río Frío school.  Less than 40 students attend this school.  It is very prmitive, although not the most primitive I have visited.

The soccer goals at the Río Frío school

After Río Frío we went on to a larger school.  El Carmen is a school of a little over 100 students.  We were forced to park on the road, parking as far in the ditch as possible.  Although it is not a high traffic area, large trucks come by carrying broccoli crops into town. 

The young daughter of one of the mother's who came to cook along with an older student (presumably her brother).  Notice the rubber boots the boy is wearing.  Typical in this area.

As in many schools, the children are given a snack (which is more like a meal) every morning.  The snacks are prepared by the mothers.  As in all of this area, the children suffer from poor nutrition.  Many do not have breakfast before heading off to school because there is simply no breakfast available!  A doctor comes to the health clinic once every 3 months.  EVERY 3 MONTHS!  Even so, there is little medicine available even when the doctor is there.  In each of these areas a Health Vigilante goes around to the homes to take weight and measurments of the children and hand out vitamins when possible.  These children do not recieve check-ups.  They only see a doctor if very ill... and since one only comes around every 3 months quite often by the time the doctor arrives they are very ill indeed!

A mom preparing the school snack over a fire.  The smoke stung our eyes as we said hello.  The poor ladies were wiping tears from there eyes... and not tears of joy! Tears from the smoke.

tomatoe sauce bubbling over the fire

El Carmen school principal and Health Vigilante for the area.  

 There are few churches in the area.  In all of our driving we only saw two small Catholic churches. 

Over all it was a productive day, full of God's favor.  We spoke to four schools and made arrangements to bring the team in July.  We even got permission from 2 of the schools to begin visiting once a month with a program of morals and values (the same program we take into public schools in the town). 

We also want to take doctors and nurses into this area.  If you want to help us with that please let me know.  We would love to supply the schools with vitamins for the children and shoes for their feet.  There is so much to be done in this area, we are only starting.  Keep this in your prayers.  The harvest is white, the workers are few.  Pray with us for more missionary and volunteer help.  Pray with us for the resources we need.  If you wish to donate towards helping these communities or bring a team of people to help us for a week or two, please see our website. 

www.crossculturejesus.org

always, always orphans

Yesterday I joined Chrissy and Alfonso to teach Bible to the children at Fundaniños Orphanage.  Even before I had a team of people helping me I was visiting that orphanage weekly and teaching Bible to the kids.  The children at Fundaniños have a way of getting inside your heart and staying there permanently!  Any of the volunteers or ex-volunteers there will tell you so.

I was thrilled to finally be headed back to teach the Bible class at this place so dear to my heart.  I left home before 7am, much to Corban's dismay, in order to be at the mission base (ABA) before 7:30am.  After a quick prayer Chrissy, Alfonso, and I headed off on foot for the orphanage.  It is about a 30 minute walk, and very invigorating with all that fresh air.

As we reached the edge of town the diesel fumes, barking dogs, and general noise of the town slowly faded away to be replaced by the clucking of hens and the gurgling of water in a nearby stream.

The road to Fundaniños is a dirt road with little traffic other than pedestrians such as ourselves.  We walked along, thankful for the cloudy day.  Banana trees along the road were bare, a sign of the changing seasons.  Cows in roadside pastures turned to stare at us while chewing their cuds.

While on the other side of the road a poor farmer worked his land by hand.  His crop will most likely be corn which he will use to provide for his family.  With the corn they can make tortillas, tamales, atol de elote, among other things. 
We waved a greeting to him as we passed by.  On our way back home 2 hours later he was still working and a fellow worker had a small boy (maybe 4 years old) on the side of the road squatting down to deficate.  How disgusting... why they didn't at least go away from the road and into a grove of trees is beyond me (or better yet, a short walk to the family's outhouse) and only shows the effect ignorance can have on a society (its cleanliness, diseases, social graces, etc).

After about 30 minutes we arrived at the orphange.  The children ran out to greet Alfonso and Chrissy.  These children are always so ready to give and recieve love.  Almost every one of these children is here because of severe child abuse in the home.  It is like they want to make up for all the love they missed out on for so many years. 

Friendly greetings, warm hugs, plenty of laughter, and then it was time to start class. 











Games helped us to teach an important Bible truth: God promises to take care of us.  We learned a Bible verse (Matt 6:32) and had a time of worship.  Since this orphanage is Christian they are very open to allowing us to teach the whole Word of God and allowing us to pray with and for the children. 

During the worship time there was a sweet presence of God as some of the children lifted their hands to the Lord.  Of course, when you have that many children of all ages... you can imagine that while some were absorbed in worship others were whispering, smaller children were fidgeting, and a few looking around to see what everyone else was doing.  Even so, the presence of the Lord was there and we all felt it. 

Once class was over we took a few minutes to speak to the children one on one.  Thanking them for coming to class, reminding them of the promises of God for their lives... Below I will share with you a little about a couple of the kids.

Maribel is 16 years old.  She looks younger than her age, but she has lived far more than most 16 year olds.  She is already a mother.  The father of the baby was Maribel's own father.  After suffering years of abuse she discovered she was expecting a child and finally was removed from the home.  When class was over she came over and gave me a huge, strong hug.  Almost as if she was clinging on for dear life.  "I love you.  Please come back again." she whispered in my ear.  What do you say to a child in this situation????  I told her that she was not an accident.  She was born with a God-given purpose.  God has a divine purpose and destiny for her.  Her life blesses many people.  God loves her and has many wonderful promises for her life.  A smile shone on her face as she wiped tears from her eyes.  Turning to leave reminding me to please come back.

I don't remember this little guy's name.  He is 4 years old, although malnutrition make him appear younger.  He has been at the orphanage for about a month now.  Although outwardly he appears mostly content, there is a shadow in his look that tells of a horrific tale.  When police found this child a little over a month ago  he was beaten black and blue- literally.  Swollen eyes and burned fingers and toes were only a part of the problem.  There was barely an inch of his body that wasn't damaged in some way.  He is missing several toes now- a constant reminder of the torture he has endured. 

These are just a couple of stories.  Each child has his/her own story to tell.  While we are not their constant caregivers, we do visit weekly to remind them that regardless of their past- GOD IS HERE FOR THEM.    Like Jonah who found refuge in the belly of the fish God has brought them to Fundaniños to find refuge.  Like Jonah who needed that place of refuge to hear God's voice clearly, now they, too, can grow in their relationsip with the Lord and learn of all the GOOD things that He has for them.  I love Jer. 29:11 which promises us that God's plans for us (all of us) are for GOOD and NOT for evil......  May God help us to always have to right word of healing for these precious lives.  Pray for us as we continue to reach them with God's word and God's love.