8 days and counting!

Wow, only two more days and we will be home. I have to admit I am ready! It has been a great trip but also long and tiring. God is awesome and we have been blessed. Pastors Charlie and Marissa leave tomorrow. As we speak they are climbing one of Guatemala’s active Volcanoes, Volcan Pacaya. That should be a wonderful adventure! It has been hard to keep the blog updated due to limited internet access. Now so much has gone on I am not sure where to start and what to say… Pastors Charlie and Marissa have been a blessing to everyone they have come across. There have been many one on one ministry sessions and God has healed, blessed and encouraged. Last night we went through breaking Generational Curses with a group of 4 couples who are leaders at the church we were working with. It went very well and also empowered them to do the same with others. A lot of what we have been doing is training at the church. They taught two Tuesday nights at the Leadership Institute at church, there were around 50 people each night. Thursday and Friday morning this past week they taught a group of 6 pastors in training. Marissa shared on God’s Love at the women’s meeting Saturday and all 60 women came forward for prayer! It took awhile but God ministered to each of them and many left freed! I have translated a lot and it is tiring but fun! On Friday morning while we were with the group teaching the Director of the school at the church brought a boy in that has Factor 8 disease, where his blood doesn’t clot and when he starts bleeding it just pours out and is very hard to stop. We prayed for him for about 30 minutes and it stopped bleeding completely! We believe he is healed, praise God! As I said before a lot has happened! Thank you all for your prayers, we have truly felt them! I will add some more pictures a little later. Blessings!

More Carolingia Pictures

More Mayan Ruin and Lake Pictures

Hola

Wow, I am sorry it has taken so long to update but we have been busy! God is wonderful and everything is going great! Pastor Charlie and Marissa have been such a blessing to us and the people here. They got here Monday night and we put them right to work teaching at the church institute on Tuesday. The teaching was incredible! I wish we had recorded it because it was something that really got us deep in our hearts. We spent several hours ministering to the people that were there, it was awesome! We had our women’s Bible study Wednesday and Marissa was a blessing. She came just in time since our subject that week was healing the wounds. We had a great time of refreshing! Thursday and Friday we went to Panajachel and Lake Atitlan. It is a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains and three volcanoes. We stopped at some Mayan ruins on our way. As we walked back a long the path we came unto a ceremony at one of the alters. It was creepy. We could “smell” it and feel it before we even got there. As we turned the corner we saw that they were burning sacrifices (chickens) and praying. There were about five older people kneeling praying and one woman who was the “priest” She was anointing a young man who was kneeling in front of the fire. We stood there and prayed for a minute and all of the sudden one of the men turned around and looked and his eyes were burning with anger. We leftJ I knew that there was an active alter there but in all the years we have gone we have never encountered a ceremony. I am glad God is alive and with us! Josiah asked what they were doing and we said they were praying to their gods and he said that was bad because there is only one true God! Amen. The drive to Panajachel is a stressful one. The roads are narrow and the sides drop off the mountains. It is scary but as you approach the lake and see how beautiful it is, the trip is worth it! We stayed at a very nice hotel which is a switch for us. It was relaxing! We went on a boat ride across the lake and visited the hot springs. Everyone got to swim except me. But it was fun to watch. We shopped til we dropped and ate well. It was great! We went to Carolingia Saturday to minister to the kids. It was neat. We had time to minister to those that work with the kids every week. Pastor Charlie preached a little and then we prayed. It was great. Yesterday we took part of the day off and slept in, it was wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!! We went to minister to a missionary lady who had broke her back and a few ribs about 4 months ago. It was a sweet time with God. Today everyone but me went to the coffee farm and museum. I stayed and rested a little, I needed it desperately! All in all we are well, having a great time serving our loving Father! Thank you so much for your prayers and support. We are blessed to have so many wonderful friends. Blessings! Enjoy the pictures!

Sunday Service

Mayan Ruins and Lake 2

Mayan Ruins and the Lake

I know it has been a while and I am sorry. We have been so busy! God is awesome and so much is going on. Last week my sister's brother-in-law and my 6 year old nephew accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. It was awesome! We had such a great time celebrating. Moises has lived with them for a few years and goes to church with them sometimes but whenever he was asked about asking Jesus into his heart he said he felt weird and wasn't sure. I got to talk to him a few days before he made the desicion and I walked him through the scriptures and answered his questions. Then on Friday night he asked me if we could pray during dinner when everyone was there. After he prayed my nephew Ezekiel said he wanted Jesus in his heart too. It was great!!!! Praise God! Pastors Charlie and Marissa came in yesterday from Jacksonville. Today we start two very busy weeks of ministry. Please keep us in your prayers! We are very excited about what God has told us and what He is doing. We love and miss you all! I will send picutures soon. Blessings!

Goats,pigs and kids. What a day!

This morning as we were going into town we saw a man walking with three goats. He was selling very fresh goat milk! People would stop him and he would milk one of the goats right into a cup, it was cool! We didn’t have the camera or we would have taken a picture. `Then we were driving along and in front of us was a pickup and all of a sudden a piglet came flying over the edge and was hanging from a rope. They stopped to put him back in but he was squealing so much. It was quiet a sight. Becca wanted to rescue him but we decided not to. Then we went to the market to teach at the Kids Club for Christ. There were about 20 kids in the 10am class. Becca told the story of Noah and the Ark and then the kids drew their own arks and then we gave them animal stickers to put on them. There were 25 kids in the 11am class. It was fun. We then loaded up the car and drove 45minutes to Guatemala city where Becca, the boys and I were meeting Luis to go to Carolingia to work with the kids there. There were 98 kids! It was fun, loud and lots of work but worth it! Many of the kids asked about Ux and Novella who came with us two years ago. It is fun to see how much they have grown both physically and spiritually. We are excited to be a part of that ministry and look forward to helping them start the feeding program. Now we are at my mother-in-laws house. We will return to Antigua tomorrow. Thank you all for your prayers and support! God is moving awesomely and He has revealed himself to us in wonderful ways! Enjoy the pictures!

seatbelts, wet roads and mud slides

I find it very interesting that we are so comfortable here not wearing seatbelts. It is not a law, most cars don't have them and therefore we don't use them. The streets are full of huge pot holes, high speed bumps, crazy drivers and now with rainy season, fast flowing "rivers" and mud slides. Danger is around every corner and some two lane roads are only wide enough for one car (yes, it is fun). Added to the mix are all of the bike riders, walkers, motorcycles and tuk-tuks (little vehicles that are used for taxies, they look like a motorcycle with a cover). The streets are very busy, very alive with people and vehicles. It is fun to watch what goes on. It amazes me (and reminds me to be grateful for my car), when I see so many people walking miles, and miles in the rain to work or church. Cars fly by splashing them without any remorse. Fathers with three children and their wife on old motorcycles, what a sight! We saw one family on their way to church Sunday, it was a husband and wife with four kids, the youngest a tiny baby wrapped around the mother all on a tiny motorcycle. Not only did this look completely unsafe but I know they didn't get to church dry. These are all things I have noticed this trip. Why, I have no idea. But I do know that I am blessed. I am grateful for what God has given me and I repent for ever taking anything for granted. I thank Him for all that He has blessed us with, especially friends like you and your prayers!!!!

Faith

I am learning a lot about faith. I was given a bookmark that says "Faith is knowing God can even when He doesn't". Wow, that is so true. So many times we get discouraged because our prayers aren't answered the way we want them to be, or because we pray for people and don't see what we want to see happen. This tugs on our faith. Do we still believe He can even when He doesn't? I know at times it is harder than others but He is faithful and only He knows why He does things the way He does.

Things here are good. It is cold and rainy, we are a little homesick, but we are having fun and everyone is healthy! Thank you for your continued prayers! We appreciated you all! Blessings!

Bibles

Two years ago we came and had a tea for Missionary women. It was a wonderful time of refreshing and I still hear about how blessed the women were. Yesterday I ran into one of the women (Mary) who had been there. She told me that after we were done with the tea and we gave out the Bibles which had been collected for the women, there were a few left and she asked if she could take an extra one, not sure why but she just thought she should, of course we said yes. She kept asking God why she had it and what to do with it but she hadn't gotten an answer. Well, a few months ago (two years since she got it) she was attending a Bible study with a few women and one of the ladies had lost her Bible the week before. Mary told her that she had one she would bring her and the other lady said that it was ok, she would buy one. Well, Mary brought it to the next study and gave it to her. She hadn't been able to buy a new one and was so excited because it was an NIV study Bible. Mary said that all through the study she watched her looking through the Bible and she was just smiling. Mary said that she was ready to just give it away a few months before because it was taking up room in her tiny apartment but God told her to wait. Isn't it cool how God has perfect timing for everything and we just need to trust Him?!

HOLA

Hello from very rainy Guatemala. It has been raining and chilly for two days. I am ready for some sun! We are all doing well. The boys are feeling better and Becca is back to her bouncy, cheerful self! We are watching my sister’s two boys since her and her husband went away for the weekend to celebrate their Anniversary. Becca has been going to the Spanish youth group and will be teaching next week, please keep her in your prayers! This morning at church the pastor was talking about how we are called to be courageous and not afraid. He said that he has looked up verses that say do not be afraid or have courage and there were 60 something (I didn’t take notes but wish I had) and he compared that to verses that say we should be holy, kind, etc and there were far less. His point was that to be courageous is a calling and it is repeated because it isn’t easy and we need to lean completely on God to have courage. What struck me the most was he said that as Christians it isn’t only about having courage to confront bad or hard times but to confront the good things that God has for us. That many times we are paralyzed more by the fear of the unknown than from fear of danger or something bad. That many times he opens doors for us for promotion and opportunity but we walk away because we are afraid. I had never thought about that. But it explains why this trip has been so hardJ The Lord is really showing me my identity and who He has called me to be. Yes, I am Josiah and Jonathan’s mom and I am Roberto’s wife but He created me for so much more! It is fun learning that He loves me because He created me and not for whom I am or what I do. Of course these are all things I know in my head but being able to understand them in my heart is awesome and so freeing! I know that the Captivating Bible study is helping me to search my heart and realize what’s there. Anyway, I must go for now but I want to thank you all for your prayers and support. It has been amazing! We are running into people and sharing God’s love daily in ways that we sometimes don’t even realize that is what we are doing. Blessings!

Tired but Joyful

This has been a hard week. We are fighting sickness, frustration, tiredness and the blues. Praise God that He has a plan and we know it is all for good! Becca picked up three friends, two kinds of rare amebas and Giradia (spelling?) so she hasn't been feeling well, she finished her meds yesterday so we are praying it is all gone although she said this morning her stomach still hurts. Jonathan started two days ago with a very high fever (103.8) we took him to the doctor and he has a throat infection and lots of stuff in his chest. He is on meds but still has a fever today. Nehemiah (my nephew) has the croup cough and is on meds and also has a high fever. We all miss home and our loved ones. Please pray for us. We know that God is working in each of us and we just want to be willing to allow Him to have his way.

We started the women's Bible study on Wednesday, it was great! There are only 8 women in this group but two more are coming next week. I think, after experiencing the first session, that it is better to keep it small. There were a lot of tears and I know it will be awesome! Thank you all for your support on making it happen.

We are having a little problem with the Spanish books. The translation is very weird and not completly understandable here so I am praying to see what to do. I don't want to give women something they can't understand.

This Saturday we will be with the children in the Antigua market again. Last week was fun so we are excited about this week. Next Saturday we will be in Carolingia, which is where we work every December. There are around 100 kids so we will be getting ready for that. Yesterday in the paper there was a report of a mother and her two daughters, 7 and 11, who were killed right outside of their homes. This is only blocks away from where we will be. We found out that their father was in a gang and had done something that didn't make the gang happy. It is very sad and I am sure there will be an opeing for us to minister to people who knew them while we are there so please pray we will have the right words to say.

I will have more pictures soon. I am trying to get one of the beautiful volcanoe at night but it isn't cooperating. It waits until after 2am to really erupt and I have been too tired to get up. I hear it and it is so cool.

Thank you all for your prayers, we need them! We are planning on returning around the 5th of August. A few days sooner than we originally thought. Things are very expensive here, it is amazing to see how much stuff has gone up since December. (that isn't the reason we are returning) but it does make a difference.

More soon. Blessings!

Boys learn a lesson

Ok, so we hear laughing from outside and as we walk out to look we see the boys around the chicken coop. They had just poured in 40 pounds of chicken feed for two chickens and a Rooster. As we get closer Jonathan looks up and says "Wow, that is a lot of food, now they will lay lots of eggs!" We had already told them not to feed the chickens so Grumps (granddad) let the chickens out of the cage and put the boys in to pick up all the feed with their hands. After a few mintues they asked if they were going to be allowed out of the cage. Then the rooster attacked Josiah as they were putting them back in the cage. Anyway, thought it was funny and wanted to share. Blessings!

God's Beauty

For the last two night we have been able to see the laval flowing out of the Volcano here in town. It is awesome! It shoots up beautiful red "rivers" of lava and then they slowly flow down the sides of the volcano. It is so easy for me to see God's beauty here in Guatemala. My goal is to start noticing it wherever I am but it just seems easier when we are surrounded by huge green mountains, active volcanoes and birds of every color. It is easy to stop and look up and thank Him for His art work. There is a tree in the yard where we are staying and its bark is orange, green and red, beautiful! The sky is always proclaiming the greatness of God and His Glory! The last few days I have been trying to understand this trip. It is so different from all the others. Roberto not being here is hard. It is also hard to not be planning for large outreaches and running around getting stuff done. I feel like I am just waiting. Before we left the Lord told me to learn to wait on Him but I had no idea He really meant to wait. We have had many afternoons where we aren’t doing much at all and I feel like I am wasting time but while I pray I feel God is saying rest in Me. I never understood what it meant to rest in Him, I still don’t really understand it but I am trying. I want to be ready when He says go, when He reveals what He wants us to do and how. I want to hear His voice, know His plan. We are here to serve. Living a daily example is SO much harder then coming and doing huge outreaches and leaving. I pray that while we are here we will be able to learn to live for Him and be salt to the World. I want to return to the States fully alive, awake and ready to serve Him however He says. I am tired of being half awake, wondering what I could be doing different, feeling like I am not doing what God has called us to do. I don’t know if I am alone in feeling this way but I know that as Christians who are supposed to be salt, things seem so mild. Thank you all for your prayers! Please keep Becca in your prayers, she doesn’t feel well today. I think it is just the change in food and stuff. We start our Bible study with the missionary women on Wednesday. Please pray that God will draw us close, reveal Himself, and renew our mind, heart and spirit! Thanks! Blessings!

Pictures

Hi Everyone,
Today was our first day of working with the kids in the market. It was fun, they are so cute! We made suncatchers and got paint everywhere:) We have a lot of pictures so I had to put them on photobucket instead of on the blog. Please visit: http://photobucket.com/guate to see the pictures. Blessings!

Busy week, one less, sad but happy!

Roberto left yesterday to return to the States for the Logos Graduation. He will be back in Jacksonville on Monday, I believe. We miss him but we know that God has awesome plans for all of us no matter where we are, so we are looking forward to what is to come. This week was fun! Becca’s Birthday was Wednesday so we woke her up with Balloons and fireworks (a must in Guatemala). Then we sent her off to get a massage. Sarah (my baby sister) and I were running around getting everything ready for a surprise party we had planned for that evening. We met up with Roberto, the boys and Becca for lunch and then had a cake to throw off any suspicions. That night Becca came to where we are staying to have a “family dinner” and was greeted by over 30 people who were there to wish her a Happy Birthday. She seemed very surprised! We had her favorite, spaghetti for dinner and then played lots of games and ate cake. It was fun! Most of the young people there are from the youth group that she will be going to starting tonight. Many of them speak English so we are praying she will make some new friends, learn some Spanish and of course be blown away by God’s plan. Thank you all for your notes and prayers!
Now that Roberto is gone we will be focusing on the ministry to women and children. We will start our Bible study on Tuesday at 9:30am. This Saturday we are going to help out in the market with the children in the Kids Club for Christ that my family does weekly. We will do a craft with them, sing some songs and have lots of fun. Becca is going to be teaching English three hours a week for some friends of ours and taking Spanish as well. We know we will be busy but we are so excited! Thank you for your continued prayers! We will add some pictures this afternoon. It is pouring now and the connection is not that great. Blessings!

Lost and Found

Hi Everyone,

Today was a day of driving and sweating. It was HOT! We went to visit Roberto's Grandparents in Santa Lucia. It was a nice visit. His Grandfather is 86 and grandmother 76. They have been together for 64 nyears, they have 14 children, 60 grandchildren and 40 great grandchildren, WOW! It is always fun to listen to their stories.

I wanted to tell you about a miracle that happened on Saturday. It might sound small to you but if you only knew how things are here you would understand the greatness of this happening. We had gone to a super market to get some stuff we needed and when we were done shopping we decided to get some ice cream. Well, when I went to pay for the ice cream I realized my wallet wasn't there. I kid you not my heart was racing. I knew that there was no way (Other than God) that we would find that wallet. People here just don't usually feel led to do the right thing:) To make matters worse I had EVERYTHING in that wallet, which I usually don't carry around everything but we hadn't really been "home" enough for me to go through it and only take out what we needed. So there was over $1000 cash plus all of our cards in it. Becca ran to the bathroom to look, I went to check the grocery bags and ask eveyrone who was with us if anyone had seen it. As I ran over to the cashier we had checked out at an elderly couple came up to me and asked if I was looking for my wallet. I asked them if they had found it and they said yes, they had turned it in to Customer Service. So we ran there and it was there with everything in it!!!! This is not a small miracle in Guatemala. I know that God was watching out for us. The couple started talking to us and told us that they are pastors and that God has told them that the wallet belonged to a sister in Christ and to take it to Customer Service. They started talking to Becca (I translated). The man said to her that she was here for training and that God was preparing her to take the Gosple all over the world. And he quoted Matthew 28:19 (our ministry name!). We talked for a little while and thanked them again (and gave them a reward) and then left. I can not explain the feeling of peace I felt, I think it hit me that God is watching out for us in more ways that we can even imagine. It was such a blessing. Of course I will be more careful and I take full responsability for not taking care of stuff but I am greatful to my Father for His grace and mercy! It means a lot of us to know we are covered in prayer, thank you all for your prayers! We have more pictures but have to find a computer to use to download them. Soon! Thanks again and God Bless!

HI

Ok, I don't have time to write a lot but I wanted to tell you all that one of our young friends (17) accepted Jesus into his heart! He is a really good kid but has had a very hard life. We have spend a lot of time with him every trip and he lives with Roberto's family. This time he asked Roberto more about Jesus and now he is a brother in Christ! Praise God!

Please pray for Roberto's sister Ericka, she has a very high fever and is in a lot of pain. She won't go to the doctor. We prayed for her earlier tonight and we know God has healed her.

Blessings to all!

Adventures

We are having fun! Last night we went to pick up a van we had decided to rent for a few days. When we got there it was pouring and dark. Roberto went in to get the van (Becca laughed so hard at him getting wet, it was funny) and after about 25 minutes I decided to go in and check on him. The van wouldn't start and they were trying to figure out why. Of course by now we are soaked and cold, tired and hungry and just trying to decide what to do. After about 45 minutes we decided there was nothing we could do and we left. My wonderful mother drove us all the way to Roberto's mom's house, she hates to drive in the dark and the rain so it was a sacrifice for her and we really appreciate it! By the time she got home she had been driving for over 2 hours! We love you mom!!! We ended up not taking his mom out for dinner because we didn't get here until almost 10pm. We are fine and know that God is sovereign and He has a plan and that there was a reason that things went the way they did. We praise Him for His faithfulness! Since we don't have a vehicle, today we have been hanging out at the house.We walked to the market, Becca got to experience all the sights and smells of the open air market. It was fun. We had a very tipica breakfast,yum and will be eating a wonderfull beef stew for dinner, also very Guatemalan. A friend of Roberto's mom came over this morning and we prayed for her.She has been sick for awhile and having problems at home. The Lord really ministered to her and we told her we will continue to pray. Thank you for all of your prayers, you have no idea how much it means to us to know you are praying. Blessings!

Pictures

We are here!

Wow, what a nice trip! We felt the Lord's favor all the way. No problems, no waiting and all our bags arrived with us, praise God!!! It was nice when we got here and then poured last night. Today was hot and muggy and now is cloudy and cool. We are on our way to Roberto's families house. His mom's Birthday is today so we are going out to eat and we will spend a few nights there. Becca is enojying it. She is so quiet it is heard to tell what she thinks but we had a good talk this afternoon and a wonderful time of prayer. We will send some pictures tomorrow. Please feel free to forward this blog to anyone you think would be interested. Blessings! Thanks for your prayers.

We leave at 6am tomorrow to drive to Orlando. Our flight leaves at 12pm and arrives in Guatemala around 3:30pm. Please keep us in your prayers. We are praying for favor at the airport with baggage, time and everything else. We are very excited but have already started experiencing the warfare. Becca McGill is really not feeling well. She has a sinus infection but we believe she is healed in Jesus Name! I can't wait to get there and get going. We will spend the first few days with Roberto's family since he is only there for 7 days. His mom's Birthday is the 12th so we are praying it will be a good time for the family to get together and an opportunity for ministry. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers! Blessings!

“Missions are accomplished by the feet of those who go, the knees of those who pray and the hands of those who give.”

Counting Hours

We are almost off for what we know will be an awesome adventure in Christ Jesus! He has given us so many hints as to what He has in store we can barely contain ourselves. Thank you for your prayers and support! We go knowing that you are a huge part of what God has planned. He has prepared hearts to receive His Word, His Love and His Power, we can't wait!!! Check back for new blogs with details of what is going on. Blessings!