With another Guatemala mission trip in the books, I’m home and ready to share a few stories and pictures from our trip! My original plan had me heading down a week before a team from LifeQuest Church in Belton, Missouri, was to arrive so that Cesar and I could go to the jungle for a soccer evangelism thrust with some friends in some of the newest villages. However, due to storms and a few cancelled flights in Dallas, I was delayed four days in getting to Guatemala!
That knocked the jungle plans out. So instead, Cesar and I worked on the beginnings of a book idea together and met with some of our cowboy and rancher friends the last couple of days before the LifeQuest team arrived. Once they came, we retraced the steps of two previous LifeQuest groups this past year to encourage some of the newer groups.
Where the Dog Bites…
On the first day, the LifeQuest team retraced our steps to the “dogbite” church. This is a place near Cesar Gonzalez’s home where a new church has begun and where a couple of years ago I had got bit by a dog! In front is Erica Whittington, following her is Sue Teegarden, then Corinne Daut, and Tim Goulet.
Tim Goulet, the worship and youth pastor of LifeQuest, tells a story with the use of some balloons. Note that this new congregation meets in a coffee field. Behind Tim is the back wall of their little building that they have begun constructing.
New Christian Rancher Groups…
In a beautiful setting at Pastor Valentin Solares’ home, we got to be a part of a new group at his ranch. Valentin is a bi-vocational pastor of a church in Nueva Santa Rosa that has more than 200 members.
Valentin Solares shows us a pacaya that was growing wild on his ranch as Tim looks on. He explains that if you were in the jungle and needed something to eat, you could survive on this plant.
For the past several years, Valentin has felt a burden for the cowboys and ranchers that he knows who would never darken the doors of his church building in town. With Cesar’s encouragement, Valentin has decided to start a new group at his ranch, and he has invited mostly non-believers to the group. On a Saturday night we joined him and his wife, Mari, for a Guatemalan style barbecue that drew a good group for only its second time to meet.
A new Christian Rancher group gathers at the home of Valentin and Mari Solares near Chiapas, Guatemala.
At the end of the evening, Cesar and Valentin invite those who would like to, to pray a prayer to receive Christ. Several did so.
Equine Therapy News…
In the past several trips, we have been checking in with Humberto Solares about his ongoing desire to get an equine therapy ministry going. In the meantime, he and his family continue to lead two groups for adults and one for youth. His latest group is a music-oriented group that plays ranchero music (Guatemala’s version of country music). An avid musician himself, Humberto decided to invite some friends to come over and jam together on some of their favorite songs. Already the group has met a couple of times and is spurring numerous spiritual conversations.
Here Humberto talks about the progress being made with the horse that we bought this year for the equine therapy program.
Corinne gets licked by Bambino, the equine therapy horse.
Humberto does a practice run with Bambino and some volunteers.
Before the equine therapy talk, someone got the group playing with a balloon.
Oliver, a new friend attending Humberto’s group that jams together, plays a social action song for us.
Senior Citizen Groups…
During the week, we went back to two different Senior Citizen groups. One was near Quesada and the other in Santa Cruz Narranjo.
Cesar translates Tim’s story to the seniors near Quesada, Guatemala.
Sue (left) and Corinne (right) help the staff deliver the meals to the seniors in Quesada.
Erica prepares to hand out balloon bouquets to several of the ladies.
Tim helps the director of the center to move the pinata as one lady prepares to take a swing with her cane.
At the senior center in Santa Cruz Narranjo, the team takes turns dancing to some of their favorite songs.
At the seniors center, this lady shares how she is grateful to God for helping her battle cancer, and she wanted to sing a song that praises God in the good times and the hard times.
Fun Times…
Throughout the week, our team enjoyed having fun with our new friends.
Corinne shows how to make a balloon dog to a church group in Chiapas. This group is branching out to use the PSE method to start new groups.
In a balloon inflating competition, the girl on the right whoops her older and bigger competition!
Here a couple of boys play a game called Score Four that Delbert Wagner, a Nebraska friend, invented and constructed to send on this trip. Delbert, they loved it!
Sue enjoys a moment with a mother and her girls.
10:02 PRAYER
Thanks for your prayers for us the past few weeks. Please pray for Cesar and our friends who will be following up with those who are coming to Christ. Pray too for Ray Gurney of Grain Valley, Missouri, this week as he travels with Cesar. And then pray for Cesar as he heads to the jungle the week after next. Pray that every new group continues to grow and that they reach more and more of their friends with the good news of Jesus.
ENGAGE
As we head towards the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, stop and consider how you could enjoy this time with friends using our Play. Story. Eat. method. As always, we’d love to hear of your creative ideas to reach out to others this holiday season. If you have something that is working, give us a call! We’d love to hear about it.
INVEST
Your end of the year investment in this ministry is extraordinarily vital as we head into 2020. Thanks for your continued partnership!
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May our Thanksgiving week be a catalyst to us having hearts full of gratitude to God for His incredible blessings.
I’m grateful for you and your prayers and support.
Love y’all!
Steve