Good morning everyone! Hope you are doing well. It’s been a few weeks since I last updated you. We are getting settled into our new reality of social distancing and staying in touch with friends thanks to the technologies that can keep us together.
We continue to make videos and send messages to friends as we write new material and prepare to load up content for our websites in both English and Spanish. We haven’t released any of our “Be The Church” training videos yet but hope to in the next month. Our plan is to get the whole package done before we release it, since we anticipate that after they are completed we will need to be more available for leader-to-leader coaching. Slowly we are getting the hang of the skills required of us in this new way of doing ministry.
Before shooting a training video, Justin Jacobson, Bill Burrows, and I put our swords together before we pray and do our three musketeer “all for one!” thing. The two swords that you see are thanks to our friend Bill Buchanan, of Reeds, Missouri, who gave them to Bill and me last year. We were at a loss of what to do with them! But now they help us do something equivalent to a high five when we are supposed to be 6 feet apart! Thanks Bill! We have now put your swords to good use!
Here Bill is recording the audio portion that goes with the slides shown on one of the first “Be the Church” training videos. Justin is making sure that the slides keep up on the video. We are working to produce each session in both English and Spanish.
Here I am a couple of days before Easter recording a video in a cemetery for my cowboy friends in Guatemala.
Guatemala Happenings Since the Shutdown
Many of you have asked me how Cesar and Elba are doing. They are well. Cesar is able to contact most of the leaders by phone and is staying abreast of the realities of many of our leaders, even though he is not traveling himself. As of last week, Guatemala had about 350 cases of Covid-19 and only 8 deaths. Many attribute that to the swift action their president took to shut down all air travel into or out of the country.
In these days of quarantine, Elba Gonzalez, Cesar’s wife, shows off her first fruits of the mango season. She knows how much I love mangoes and sent this picture to rub it in that I am not down there enjoying them!
Cesar believes that they will be allowing more movement and opening up the country for more travel next week. The biggest effect on Guatemala has been with the economy and for the most vulnerable. The food shortages are getting more serious in some areas. Our friends in the jungle have been hit hard, because all the transportation of goods in or out of their area has been shut down. So the jobs in the palm oil plantations and ranches have been temporarily halted for most of the day laborers.
Here is a palm oil plantation. Many of the men in the jungle are working in these operations. Due to the transportation shutdown from the Covid-19 crisis, all of these businesses, as well as the bigger ranch operations, have stopped hiring day laborers until they are able to go back to normal operations. Many of our church leaders in the jungle are without employment.
As soon as Cesar can travel, he plans to head to the jungle with food and supplies. Due to the generosity of Cross Creek Baptist Mission in Oak Grove, Missouri, Cesar will be able to use their donation from last week to help provide rice and beans and offer about 10 men some work to finish the last touches on our refurbished base camp there.
The four men on the right are leaders helping a pastor on the far right start a new church near a palm oil plantation. This picture was taken just weeks before the shutdown.
Cesar enjoyed cooling off in the river near the village of one of the newest church plants. This picture was taken just a month before the shutdown.
This lady boiled some snails to add some protein to their soup. It is quite tasty! And nutritious!
10:02 PRAYER
Please continue to pray for our government leaders, medical personnel, and your neighbors who are struggling financially during these days. I have had neighbors approach me in recent days looking for help. Let’s keep our eyes and ears open to the needs around us and be the church like never before. We are praying for you who read this update that you would be incredibly fruitful in these days, that you would be connected to Jesus (John 15), and that because of you, many will come to faith in Jesus. Pray with us that this is a time for a spiritual awakening in our country and around the world.
Continue to pray for wisdom for your pastor and church leaders. And pray for Cesar as he helps pastors and leaders in Guatemala. Thanks for your continued prayers for us and for the funds to continue.
ENGAGE
If you would like to be a guinea pig for some of our training when we get it ready for testing and evaluations, please contact us. We plan to test our “Be the Church” training and a couple of discipleship tools for having a daily, life-giving conversation with God. If you are interested, let us know!
INVEST
Keep those cards and letters coming! Thanks to many of you who have responded to our need to fund Justin Jacobson’s position. We appreciate every gift.
CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY WAY TO INVEST.
Until next time, here is one of my favorite sunset pictures I took in the jungle last year out the back of our base camp.
Love y’all!
Steve
The beauty of God’s creation never ceases to amaze me!