August 2016 Newsletter

Greetings from Guatemala!  It has been a whirlwind of a summer since we last updated you all.  In our last newsletter we were just finishing up the school year and getting ready for our June volunteer team from LifePark Church in Mt. Pleasant, SC to arrive.   We had a great week with that team doing a one day leadership training conference in Chiquimula and then sharing the Gospel in the villages of Lagunetas, Tarshaja, La Libertad, and Muyurco.  We were able to share numerous Bible stories with a few hundred children over the course of three days.  What a blessing that was!  The highlight of the week was showing up in the village of Tarshaja for an afternoon Bible study only expecting a small group of children to be there.  Much to our surprise by the time we got started around 300 men, women, and children had arrived to hear the Bible stories that our group had come to teach.  We were able to return the next afternoon and do it again.  What a great reminder to us and our team that God is working, and He is answering prayers.   

Shortly after the team left we had a visit from my homeschool consultant.  It was great to have her here to answer questions and guide me in this new phase of life.  I am feeling pretty good about the upcoming school year and I'm excited to get started again.  If all goes as planned we will kick off the new school year this Thursday, August 4.  Cruz will be in first grade and Ben will be in K4.  I am finding that hard to believe!  Would you cover our new school year in prayer?  Pray for me as I teach and guide my boys each day. 

My consultant stayed a few days and then the same day she flew out we headed out ourselves on a month long vacation to the States.  It was our first trip home in two years.  We were way overdue for some family time and Southern culture.  It was an amazing month filled full with activities and fellowship time with loved ones.  We returned to Guatemala refreshed (although very tired) and ready to get back to work. 

Upon our return we had a week to get settled back in before our July team arrived.  We just finished hosting a group from FBC Mt. Pleasant, SC this past week.  We spent a lot of our time working with school children and making home visits in several villages.  In addition to working in Chanco, La Libertad, Nearar, and Muyurco we also spent some time sharing in the village of Chispan.  This is a new village we have not yet had an open door to but would like to target.  It is a large area with over 130 kids in the school alone.  We were able to share Bible stories with the students and teachers and were very warmly welcomed in.   We hope to return soon to do some follow-up.  Please pray for this new area and for opportunities for us to return and share the Gospel there. 

Continue to pray also for all the villages that we are targeting- Chanco, Lagunetas, Churischan, Muyurco, Porto Suelo, Nearar, Tarshaja, Tunuco Arriba, and La Libertad.  Pray for souls to be saved in each of these areas and for growth and encouragement for the believers that are living there. The work here is hard and slow. It is often discouraging but God keeps showing us in small simple ways that He is in control.  We can see Him at work and it challenges us to continue to do our part in sharing the Gospel with those around us.