Cesar Gonzalez and I share a mountain view near a village called Buena Vista (Good View) with our LifeQuest mission team. From left to right are Cesar, me, Tim Goulet, Mari Edmonds, Jimmy Mitchell, and Jolene Mitchell.
Good morning everyone!
I just got back from a mission trip with a team from LifeQuest Church in Belton, Missouri. And what a trip! For me, it almost didn’t happen because of a “trip” I took down the stairs a few days before flying to Guatemala that left my knee wrenched and me trying to figure out which end was up!
But by God’s grace I was able to go and hobble along. And during our time together, we ministered to five schools in seven days, and saw 349 children and adults pray to receive Christ!
While we had prepared to do more discipleship talks and follow-up on the relationships with kids and teachers in the schools we were in a year ago, due to some logistical issues, Cesar decided to schedule us to go to several smaller schools near Amberes, Guatemala, that we had not been to with a group. So, we adapted our plans and shared the gospel with the kids, parents, and teachers of each school. And their response blew us away!
Are These Numbers for Real?
If you are like me, it’s hard to believe that so many would respond with a “yes” to the gospel in such a short time. Maybe you are asking, “How can this be so easy? Are we just making converts and not helping them become disciples?” These are good questions.
While I don’t want to pretend that we are experts or that we have all the answers to how to do this, I will say that I have been involved in projects like this for over 25 years now, and I can say that Jesus’ words recorded in John 4:35 ring truer now than ever. When the disciples asked Jesus about food after he had had an amazing spiritual conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus said,
“Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest!”
God is Doing a New Thing…
Guatemalans have been very receptive through the years, but to me it seems like their receptivity has gone to an even higher level in recent days. And as so many are responding, we know that the only thing holding the harvest back is the laborers to bring it in and to help new believers grow in their new faith. Jesus also said,
“the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Pray that the Lord of the harvest will send forth laborers into His harvest fields” Luke 10:2.
Trusting God as We Play.Story.Eat.
Our strategy was very simple. In every school we visited, we played, we told stories, and we ate with the kids, parents, and teachers. Typically we would start in the classrooms at about 8am each weekday. Cesar would take two of our team members, and I’d take the other two, and we’d each spend at least an hour and a half with a particular class.
Testimony Times Really Connected…
While we usually did something fun to break the ice, when we got to the testimony times, because of the kids’ attentiveness, we spent most of the classroom time sharing our stories and talking about how we can each receive God’s gift of salvation through faith and trust in Jesus. We talked about sin. We talked about how we all deserve hell because of our sins. And we talked about how Jesus forgives and offers eternal life to all, not forcing anyone to receive His gift, but giving us a choice to receive it or not.
Child-like Responsiveness…
And in simple, child-like faith, they prayed to receive Jesus’ gift of salvation. Typically after the prayer time, we’d switch classes and repeat the process. Then around noon, when the kids would be leaving to go home, Cesar had arranged for us to eat together. In most cases, the teachers and a couple of parents would cook for everybody, and they’d invite us to help pat out some tortillas! Usually, by the time we got to eating, we’d connected so well that many were inclined to tell us their stories or want to keep talking about what we just experienced together.
The Blessings of a Rainy Season Pace…
Because it typically rains almost every afternoon at this time of year in Guatemala, Cesar didn’t schedule for us to go to any schools in the afternoons like we did last year with a Lenexa Baptist team in August 2024. This extra breathing room in the schedule allowed us to not have to leave a school in a hurry and to be able to have lingering conversations with the teachers and directors of the schools. I will highlight a few of those stories below.
Before I unload the pictures on you, let me mention a couple of upcoming events.
Upcoming Events…
This week, Bill Burrows and I will be traveling to Burwell, Nebraska, for the annual Rural Church Leaders Conference October 11th at Burwell Baptist Church. We will lead breakout sessions on The Habits of Replicating Disciple Makers.
Closer to home, Bill Burrows is practicing those disciple making habits in Avondale, MO, a town he moved to last year. It’s surrounded by Kansas City and has about 350 people. God has given him a team of people that prayer walk several times a week asking God to draw people to himself and to send more laborers to Avondale. If you would like to get better at making disciples, let us know or join us in Burwell.
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!)
Please pray for Cesar Gonzalez and the teachers and believers who will be continuing to impact and lead the children and adults in their new-found faith in Jesus.
Pray for our plans to return to follow up with another team from LifeQuest Church, Lenexa Baptist, and maybe even your church! If you are interested in participating in some aspect of this kind of a missions trip, or helping us schedule a new trip, now is the time to let me know!
Ask God to send workers to Avondale, MO, and to glorify himself there.
Love y'all!
Steve
PS…As always, thanks for your faithful support! We couldn’t do this without you.
You can give through the link below, or checks can be sent to:
Daybreak International, 11628 Oakmont St., Overland Park, KS 66210
Our Mission Trip in Pictures…We Played!
Our first day in the school in Buena Vista, Jimmy took on a whole class on the teeter totter!
Songs were always a hit.
The team was adept at shaping balloons for the kids.
Often, before shaping the balloons, Tim would have a competition to see who could actually blow up a balloon!
This game had a boy and a girl put their “face” on while blindfolded. Their partner had to coach them along the way!
This girl carefully pulls out a wooden piece in the game “Jenga” in this school near Santa Cruz Narranjo.
Tim makes a balloon dog for a little boy.
In the larger schools like this one in Santa Cruz Narranjo, making balloons at the end of the day was quite a production.
These four boys keep an eye on the three chairs in the last couple of rounds of a game of musical chairs.
We “Storied”… Sharing Testimonies…
Cesar talks to the kids about one of Jimmy’s stories while he was in the Navy before coming to know Jesus.
Cesar introduces Jimmy and Jolene before sharing their testimonies to this class in a school near Amberes.
Jimmy and Jolene’s faith story was a very rocky one. Just three years ago they were at the point of divorce. Because of a friend’s recommendation, they went to LifeQuest Church and not only found help to save their marriage, Jimmy found Jesus and friends to help him grow in his newfound faith. They now lead a small group in their home and are happily serving others in ministries through LifeQuest.
Here, Mari is patting out a tortilla. Mari’s story includes the pain of abuse and trauma that fueled a drug and alcohol addiction. Six years ago, she and her husband Matt came to LifeQuest for a Christmas program and within a month found Jesus. She has been sober since and grateful that she and Matt are both seeking to follow Jesus together and finding places to serve in the church.
Eddie Gonzalez, pastor of Samaria Church near Rinconcito, Guatemala, introduces Tim before he sings a song in both English and Spanish with their Sunday worship team. Tim is the youth and worship pastor at LifeQuest, and on this trip he had several opportunities to speak and lead in music.
Here I’m talking about how a gift is not automatically ours just by believing all the correct things about the gift. It only becomes ours when we receive it and open it and enjoy it.
Here I’m leading the children in a prayer of salvation.
Cesar liked having me reenact my fall and share my verse of scripture that I memorized from Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, that “two are better than one…because if one falls, the other can pick him up.” Here the kids are helping pick me up off the floor after “falling.”
After my example, Cesar called for volunteers to fall and then have others pick them up!
I winced thinking about how these boys were “helping” pick up one of their friends by the legs and arms!
We Ate! … A lot!
At the school in Buena Vista, the team gets their first taste of “Chuchitos” (meaning “little dogs”) a Guatemalan version of a tamale that was made especially for us.
At Cesar and Elba’s place in Amberes, Elba fed us like kings.
Linda, one of the school teachers at La Linea, a school near Amberes, was adept at grilling one of the most delicious meals we had all week.
Jolene makes her first tortilla!
Tim got the prize for the best gringo-made tortilla!
Here, the entire school ate together with the parents.
Jimmy and Jolene scoop out the beans and the noodle salad for our last school of the week.
We Made Some Great Friends!
At the end of each day, the kids were quick to share a hug with the team.
Kendi (bottom left), the teacher of this classroom, and the acting director of this small school, was one of our favorites. Her love and dedication for the children went above and beyond her job.
Tim and Mari pose for a group picture with one of their classes in Buena Vista.
Marisela (center), the principal of the school in Buena Vista, wanted us to see the view from this spot near the cabin that she and her husband built. A couple of days later we met her husband and daughter there to see the sunrise.
Awaiting the sunrise on the porch of Marisela’s cabin. In the middle is her husband Danilo and Briana, their daughter. They offered us the use of the cabin anytime we wanted for meetings or retreats. Danilo said that they want their cabin to be used as a place for people to find God.
The clouds did give way for Danilo to snap this brief glimpse of the sunrise.
Thanks for reading this to the end! And thanks again for your prayers and support!
Love y’all!
Steve
While in Guatemala, we enjoyed the opportunity to see the Chiefs get a win!