Good morning everyone!
I hope you all had a merry and meaningful Christmas and are looking forward to 2024 with a sense of hope and gratitude for all God wants to do through you in the coming year. While much in our world is in chaos, we serve a God who is not surprised by anything. And He can direct us and lead us to just the right place at just the right time.
As I mentioned in our last update, I was en route to Guatemala with Nate Smith to team up with a couple of Nicaraguan guys and make the rounds with our long-time partner, Cesar Gonzalez. We wanted to visit some of our friends and do some video work for our soccer project and for our ministries with both cowboys and Kekchi Indians.
This pic was taken at the Las Conchas waterfalls on the last of our three days in the jungle. Before that we had spent more than a week crisscrossing the country. From left to right are Rider Tenorio, a new friend from Nicaragua, Cesar Gonzalez, me, Eduardo Mejia, and Nate Smith.
Traveling with me was Nate Smith, another long time friend and videographer who had done a documentary project with us about 14 years ago. Meeting us in Guatemala was our good friend from Nicaragua, Eduardo Mejia (who you might recognize that I was with in October doing some soccer interviews and ministry with Project Hope in Nicaragua), and a good friend from his church, Rider Tenorio, of Managua, Nicaragua. Years ago, Rider had studied at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, so he is fluent in English. In fact, it was something of a luxury for me to not have to translate as much because both Eduardo and Rider speak English very well — making it easier for Nate to get someone to translate for him as we conversed with many different people.
As you might also recall from our previous update, we were concerned about being able to travel freely in light of the protests in September and October. Thankfully, we had no problems on the road and were able to go where we needed to go.
As has been a pattern for the past few updates, I want to give you a summary of this trip, then highlight some prayer needs, and then offer more pics for those who want more. At the end, I want to share my favorite story from the trip, and to do that I will have to flashback 15 years to a boy in the jungle who had been bitten by a poisonous snake!
Trip Summary: On This trip We…
Over a ten day period, we witnessed God’s amazing faithfulness that in some cases goes back years and in other cases goes back to recent months. Here is our quick take on it. On this trip we…
…Interviewed the First Cowboy Church Pastor
We got a video interview with Enio Orantes, a Christian Rancher group leader who was instrumental in starting the very first cowboy group in Guatemala 20 years ago. Enio was a guy who came to Christ who we sent to a church that didn’t welcome him. Cesar and I got a chance to sit down with him and remember how mad he was with us and how his group got started when Enio got rejected from attending a church because of his cowboy attire.
By way of video, Cesar and I are introducing our friend, Enio Orantes, to tell why he wanted to start a group for cowboys in that very location some 20 years ago.
…Did some Soccer Tournament Prep
While this may be one of our most pressing projects for 2024, we had the privilege of reconnecting with Luis Gabriel Rosales, current mayor of Jutiapa and long time friend who we have worked with in cowboy ministry going back over 14 years. Though he lost his current election, he and many of his colleagues have committed to help us with a soccer tournament in Jutiapa this coming year.
This pic was taken in the mayor’s office in Jutiapa. From left to right are Nate, me, Mayor Luis Gabriel Rosales, Cesar, Eduardo, and Francisco, an assistant to the mayor.
…We did a little bit of Follow Up Work in Monjas
One of our days in country, we spent a few hours with some key leaders in Monjas who are instrumental in the followup of many who came to Christ in our soccer tournament last April. While most of the soccer connections in Monjas are a couple of years old, we have friendships there that go back 23 years!
In a meeting with three teachers in Monjas, Cesar talks with the committee that puts on major events for the schools in Monjas. Talks centered around having the next soccer tournament in Monjas coordinated with the schools in the region.
…We Encouraged a Kekchi Pastor in the Jungle
Some of the hardest but most fulfilling days for me came in our time spent in the jungle with Marcos Chol, a new Kekchi pastor who is circuit riding to pastor three churches in the jungle. One of the churches is in Por Venir (where our base camp has been for the past 20 years), another is in Sojolobob (a new church that Marcos started that is a 2 hour drive up a mountain road from Chahal), and the other is in Volcan Semux (a church in the same region as Sojolobob that we visited several years ago that was started by the Kekchi Baptist Association). We spent three days with Marcos and 2 of his congregations. During that time we got to see 12 people pray to receive Christ! And, spoiler alert, four of those people have something to do with the boy with the snake bite! Keep reading!
Here we are with one of the newest churches started in a home near Sejolobob. In our introductions, Cesar is asking some of the men of the church to answer the question, “What are you most grateful for today?” On the far right is Marcos Chol, the pastor.
…WE Got to do a Spontaneous Baptism!
While this trip was slated as an encouragement and prep trip, we received a bonus of having two people desiring baptism! Because they mentioned this at Cesar and Elba’s home in Amberes, we were able to use Cesar’s emergency water pool as a place to do it on the spot. See more pics below!
Eduardo prays a prayer of blessing for the two who were baptized at Cesar and Elba’s house in Amberes, Guatemala.
10:02 PRAYER
(Pray Luke 10:2 each day at 10:02 am or pm that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into His harvest fields.)
Continue to pray for Guatemala as they are still in political turmoil after their last election. Pray that as a result of this time, people will continue to be open to the gospel message and that believers and churches will be winning many to Christ in these days.
Pray for our next cowboy team going to Guatemala February 12 to 19. Pray that passports come in for those planning on going.
Continue to pray for the health of Elba and Cesar Gonzalez. Elba told me how blessed she feels after her mini stroke and how God is helping her.
Pray for the plans to get solidified for our next soccer tournaments in Guatemala. Because of the turmoil, we had to postpone our January plans. Now we are working towards being ready for two locations this spring or summer.
Pray for Marcos Chol and his ministry in the jungle. Pray that the churches he pastors will be effective at making disciples of the Kekchi people and that they would continue to multiply.
ENGAGE
If you are interested in being a part of the cowboy trip February 12 - 19, let me know. And if you are interested in participating in the soccer project, please let me know of your interest. We will be doing training events in preparation for that mission trip at least a month or two in advance.
INVEST
Thank you so much for another year of generosity to this ministry. Your continued giving makes a huge difference for us and those who count on us in various parts of the world. If you would like to get a gift in for the end of 2023, you can do that here by clicking the easy button below to invest now.
If checks are mailed to us that are postmarked by December 31st, we can count them in your 2023 contributions.
Checks can be sent to:
Daybreak International, 11628 Oakmont St., Overland Park, KS 66210.
Thanks again for your support. Please let us know about any of your prayer needs.
Love y’all!
Steve
PS…keep reading!
Now, The Snake Bite Story!
On the very last day of ministry in the jungle, Marcos wanted us to make some visits with some folks near our base camp in Por Venir. On the very last visit, we came to a house right across from the soccer field and met with a woman named Romelia. She invited us in, where we met her husband Juan, her daughter Sindy, and a daughter-in-law and granddaughter.
Eduardo took this picture of me with the Calxol family right after they all prayed to receive Christ. From left to right is Sindy, Juan, Romelia, Laura, and Catalina.
When I was shaking Romelia’s hand, she said, “I remember when you prayed for our son many years ago after he had been bitten by a snake.” Immediately I remembered.
This is Juan and Romelia’s son, Luis right after he got bit by the highly poisonous and greatly feared yellow beard snake some 15 years ago.
Here, a Kekchi pastor named Julio is praying for Luis. Dan Columbo and Jeff Benton were praying as were several others not pictured from a team from North Heartland Community Church of Kansas City, Missouri. Also standing in the background are younger versions of Romelia and Juan. Romelia is holding Sindy in her arms.
“How is he doing?” I asked.
“Muy bien,” she answered. “He’s in the United States and is in need of a job.”
Before I could ask anything more, Sindy came over to me with her phone and said, “Here he is!” And looking on the screen, there was Luis, her brother, on a Face Time call!
“Hola Luis!” I said as I waved at the phone. Now 27 years old, he is living in Atlanta with some other relatives. Quickly it dawned on me that the daughter-in-law was his wife and the little girl was his daughter. How Luis got to the United States I don’t know. Undoubtedly he wants to make money and send it back home to Guatemala. After chatting with Luis for a bit, we got down to the purpose for our visit.
Marcos asked me to share some questions that help us figure out where we stand with God. The questions range from “Do you believe in God?” all the way to “Would you like to pray for Jesus to save you of your sins?” As we progressed through the questions, Marcos translated to Kekchi so that they could understand more clearly. I could see that they all believed in the right stuff to be saved. They just needed an opportunity to receive the gift of salvation.
In helping folks understand this concept, I often use a birthday analogy that helps highlight the fact that we can believe all the right things about a gift, but that it doesn’t become ours until we receive it. I did that illustration with Juan by asking him what day his birthday was, and we pretended like it was his birthday. Shortly after that, Eduardo helped them all pray a prayer to receive the gift of salvation. When we got done, Romelia spoke up.
“I didn’t say it before we prayed, but I want you to know that today is my birthday! And I feel that your visit and you helping us pray is the best present I could ever receive!”
Wow! From a snake bite 15 years ago to now receiving Christ, this family can attest to the fact that God really does care about the details of their lives. And I can attest that God will bring completion to ministry that may be forgotten in this world but that is never forgotten by Him.
And Now Some More Pics!
More Jungle Pics
Our first full day in the jungle we hiked from a dirt road up a path to Sejolobob. Because of the recent rains and the drizzle, the path was a little more slippery and sloppy.
One of Marcos’ daughters took her shoes off to get better traction in the mud.
Once we got to the meeting place of the new church in Sejolobob, the women took their position on one side and the men on the other. On the left is Marcos’ wife, Candelaria, who is a vital part of the ministry and who connects well with the other women.
Here, Marcos introduces everyone to one another and talks about the plan for making some evangelistic visits in homes later that morning.
Before going on our visits, the ladies fed us their spicy but tasty chili soup.
On this visit, the woman of the home is sick and asking for prayer.
On our last day we took a group pic with Marcos and his family.
One of the days driving into the jungle, we happened on a yearly Mayan “Dance of the Deer” celebration. It harkens back to when they would dance before hunting. Now, the dance is more of a fund raiser for keeping the tradition alive. Dancers with plastic guns “invite” people to make donations. Here Cesar is about to get encouraged to give!
When Cesar discovered that one of Marcos’ daughters had a birthday, he arranged to get a cake and have a celebration for her to invite her friends — several of which were not yet believers, so that they could hear the gospel in an inviting atmosphere.
One night at our base camp in Por Venir, Nate tried his hand at playing the guitar with several of the men.
Soccer Project Pics
While in Jutiapa, we decided to video Eduardo sharing his soccer tournament presentation with two of the local officials who work in the promotion of sports in the region.
In Jutiapa, one of the sports promotors asked Eduardo to speak to the soccer team that the mayor’s son plays on.
Baptism day
Before doing the baptism, Cesar wanted to explain what it meant to Cristian, who helps with the yard work around their property in Amberes. Because Cristian is a soccer player, Cesar used the ball of colors to explain the gospel. Cristian readily received the message and prayed to receive Christ. Then Cesar asked him if he would like to be baptized too, and he eagerly said, “Yes!”
What a thrill it was for me to get to baptize Cristian. I pray that he grows stronger and stronger in his relationship with the Lord and that Cesar helps him get started living in his new faith in Jesus.
Here I had the privilege of baptizing Noemi. Noemi is the wife of Cristian Gonzalez (grandson to Cesar and Elba but not related to the Cristian baptized here!). I have known her for several years, and it was so good to hear her testimony of how this past year she gave her life to Jesus.
After the baptism, we captured this shot of all of us together. From left to right are Cristian, Elba, Elbita (Elba’s granddaughter named after her), Noemi, Cesar, Nate, me, Miguel (Elba’s brother), Eduardo, and Rider.
Thanks Again for Your Continued Prayers and Support!
Talk to you soon!
Steve