Little by Little

Here are a few photos from this past weekend.  The first few are from a trip up the mountain to the village of Nenoja where we had a service on Saturday morning.  Some members of our Bible study group in Nearar have been going there almost every Saturday to do a service and this week we joined them.  For the locals it is a one hour hike up the mountain from the village of Nearar.  There is a rustic little road that will take you there but it is only passable during the dry season.  David decided to try it to keep us from having to hike.  It was a little scary because of the sharp turns and definitely not a road I would want to travel on regularly. 

We first traveled from our house up the mountain to Nearar where we picked up a carload of people that went with us.  We then drove towards Muyurco but before we reached it we turned off onto another smaller road.  A short distance down that road we turned off again.  The main mountain roads can be difficult enough to travel on so you can just imagine what all of these side roads were like.  This picture is of the last trail we took that eventually led us to the village. 

It just got more and more narrow as we drove up and the drop off got steeper and steeper.

We arrived mid-morning and the boys spent some time roaming and exploring before the Bible study began.

there were several goats there that the boys enjoyed seeing

The family said this one was mean and to be careful around it.  Thankfully he was tied up and couldn't chase us. Ben kept a stick in his hand just in case.

They loved playing in this dirt area.

We had a good home Bible study there.  David taught and Rafa's wife Luz led the music.  This next picture makes me laugh because if you know Cruz then you know he is not much of a sleeper.  There have only been a few times in his life that I can remember him being tired and just laying down to go to sleep.  He just will not stop and rest.  Well, as we were sitting around waiting for Bible study to begin he decided to lay his head down on David's leg and before we knew it he was sound asleep.  I thought he was pretending at first because I just could not believe it was real.  He slept for most of the service.  When it was time for David to teach he just grabbed his notes and taught with Cruz in his lap the whole time.  It was actually kind of funny for us and definitely one of those "can you believe this is happening" moments.

Cruz sleeping in the village.  When he woke up and we began to joke with him about it his response was " I didn't go to sleep!  I wasn't napping!".  I had to show him this picture as proof that he did.  He just smirked.  Maybe it will help him realize that a little rest every now and then won't hurt you. 

When the service was over we had a meal and a birthday celebration for Delmy (the lady in the black shirt).  They served everyone tamales and a homemade fruit drink.

Delmy and her husband Cloromiro (in the red and white shirt) hike down the mountain from time to time to attend the Sunday Bible study in Nearar.  There is no church in their village for them to attend.  Our Nearar group is trying hard to get something started there.  Would you pray for this village and this one family of believers there?  Pray for the Saturday visits that the group is making there to be fruitful.

It felt like we were on top of the world from where we were.  The pictures don't show the drop-off on the side.  It was a looooong way down! 

Here is a video I took on the way down.  It is a little long but about half way through you'll see one of the steep hills we traveled.  The video doesn't look near as steep as it was in real life.  The sharp curve we had to make was just one of three just like that.  I was really glad when we finally made it down and I let out a huge sigh of relief.

I am thankful for good brakes!

I am also thankful for this good driver.  I knew we were in good hands.

We stopped by the construction site as we passed through Nearar on the way back home.  This little boy was there helping his daddy work that day.  He was passing dirt through a sifter to separate the sand from the rocks.  The boys enjoyed watching him work.

On Sunday morning David and Miguel attended a service at Bro. Fito's church.  It was a regular gathering of area pastors and Bro. Fito was hosting this time.  Most of them came from neighboring departments in Guatemala.  David enjoyed getting to meet with them and share with them about our work.  The day started with a worship service.  They then had a time of business before finishing up with a lunch meal. 

Sunday lunch at Bro. Fito's church

Pray for our work in the mountains.  Pray for the villages that we are targeting and for those we have yet to reach.  Pray for the small group of believers that we have scattered throughout that they would be faithful to share their faith in order to help advance the gospel in their areas.  Pray for our partnering with Bro. Fito.  Pray that we would not only be an encouragement to him and his congregation but that we could find ways to work with him to reach other areas.  Pray also for us as we week by week continue to teach, encourage, and share the gospel with those around us.  Pray that we would be faithful in doing our part to reach the lost for Christ.