November 2024 Newsletter

 

Lottie Moon Season

Lottie Moon season is quickly approaching!   The Great Pursuit is our unwavering effort to reach the nations with the gospel. From the Great Commission to the Great Multitude, God invites all of us to join Him in the Great Pursuit. Consider the power of uniting in this Great Pursuit as you give towards the Lottie Moon Offering to support your IMB missionaries. Stories featured in this year’s resources show how missionaries are part of the Great Pursuit. Resources for the 2024 offering are available at: LOTTIE MOON RESOURCES.   Southern Baptists observe a Week of Prayer for International Missions each year before the annual Lottie Moon Christmas Offering emphasis. Will you join your heart with others to pray for missionaries around the world who are faithfully sharing the gospel? Mark you calendars. This year’s Week of Prayer will be December 1-8.   Resources are available at: WEEK OF PRAYER 2024 As always, you can give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering through your local Baptist church or anytime online at :GIVE TO LOTTIE MOON

Team Leader Training In early October David spent a week in Lima, Peru attending a Team Leader training for leaders all throughout the Americas.  It was a fantastic week of learning and growing!    I was not able to attend in person but took part in the event virtually.  You might notice my photo on the top screen in the background.  It was showing each of us who were participating online.  Here is David giving a report for our Team Guatemala's plan for the new year.  By the end of the week each person had to write out a plan and present it to the group.  Overall, it was a great training and left each one feeling better equipped to lead their local teams. Thank you for your support of the IMB.  Because you give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, trainings like this can take place.  Sadly, he returned home and within hours became ill and spent much of the following week sick in bed. It took a while to fully bounce back, but he is doing much better now.  For those of you who knew he was sick, thank you for praying! Church Connections We were invited to a special celebration service at the Baptist church in San Rafael.  Here is David preaching the sermon. A part of our role is encouraging not only the local pastors but the congregations as a whole.  Many of our churches are small and struggling.  This church is a prime example of that.  We love to worship with them and encourage them to stay in the fight for their communities, their families, and their neighbors. Would you pray for the Baptist churches all throughout Guatemala? Our desire if for each of them to be healthy, strong, and growing. Pray especially for the pastors who lead them.  Pray that they would daily seek the Lord, continually stay in His word, be strengthened and encouraged, and lead their churches well. Indigenous Conference 2024 The annual Indigenous Conference will take place the first week in December.  Just this past Saturday there was a meeting to finalize plans for this year's conference.    The conference is a yearly event for indigenous pastors and leaders who serve all throughout Guatemala as well as a few from Honduras. It is always uplifting and encouraging to each one who attends. Begin praying now that this year’s conference will be just as impactful as in years past. Team Guatemala Update We said "see you later" to the Robinson family as they finished their first term and headed to the States. Pray for them during these next several months while they are in the U.S.  Pray that their time there would be restful and that God would give them a clear vision for what ministry will look like in their next term of service.  We look forward to their return to Guatemala in 2025. Family Update In mid-October Cruz took part in the Guatemala Academy of Performing Arts production of Little Women.  He played the role of young Theodore "Laurie" Laurence.  Here is our family with him after the final performance.  Both boys recently auditioned for the Spring performance of Romeo and Juliet and will both be part of the cast.  We are thankful for the community and friendships that this has provided for them. If you would like to see more photos of Cruz in the play, you can read a blog post about it at: LITTLE WOMEN. Sending Celebration IMB hosts Sending Celebrations throughout the year to worship together, pray and send out Southern Baptists’ newest missionaries. The next IMB Sending Celebration will be this coming Sunday, November 10, at 7pm ET. Want to watch the live event and see your newest IMB missionaries being commissioned to the field?  You can watch on the IMB Facebook page, the app, or on the website at SEND.  Service Anniversary On October 24 we celebrated eighteen years of missionary service with the IMB.  Many of you have faithfully prayed for us from the beginning and others have come alongside us throughout the years.  We could never put into words what your prayers have meant to us!  Because you pray, you have not only impacted our lives and ministry, but have most likely kept us safe, healthy, and encouraged to stay on the field. You have had and will continue to have a part in everything we do because you pray.  THANK YOU!  Our family is so blessed by each and every one of you! Did You Know? One of the more appealing facts about Guatemala to water lovers will be that you can swim in both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. And, unlike much of Mexico and all of the U.S., the drive between these two bodies of water can be conquered in less than a day. This fact plays in to the Guatemalan flag.  You will notice two blue sides with a white stripe in the middle.  The blue represents the two bodies of water and the white stands for peace.

Little Women October 2024

In mid-October Cruz performed in the Guatemala Academy of Performing Arts production of Little Women.  He was cast as the young version of Theodore "Laurie" Laurence.  They did three performances. Although their rehearsals took place in San Cristobal, the actual play was performed at Lumina Cultural Center in Antigua.  Here are some photos from the shows.

 

 

the stage

 

The cast had young and older versions of Laurie, Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy.  Cruz was young Laurie.  Here he is performing his scene with young Jo.

 

here they are "sword" fighting

 

young Jo, young Laurie, Mr. Laurence, and John Brooke (played by Cruz's friend Canon)

 

 

 

the whole cast

 

 

 

young Laurie (Cruz) and older Laurie (Caleb N.)

 

 

 

Cruz's friend Caleb H. was the understudy for older Laurie.  The understudies performed on Saturday morning.

 

 

 

Cruz and Caleb N.

 

Cruz and Canon

 

Cruz and Caleb H.

 

 

The guys after the Friday night performance.

 

 

the whole cast

 

 

The English family drove in from Quetzaltenango to watch the Saturday morning performance.  It was very sweet of them to want to come and support Cruz.

 

Cruz with the English family

 

Our family after the closing show.  

We were very proud and excited for Cruz, but at the same time all feeling a little sad that it was over.  It had been a wonderful experience for him.  The GAPA community is strong, and the friendships among the participants are special.  We are thankful to be a part of such a great group of families.

 

 

Because you know we celebrate everything around here, I made a chocolate chip cookie cake for us to enjoy over the weekend.  It was a small way of celebrating such a fun event in Cruz's life.

October 2024 Newsletter

 

Sunday morning worship with our mission team. Medical Team Update Thank you for praying for our recent medical team.  We had a fantastic week serving together!  They were able to see over 300 patients in three days.  The gospel was shared with many and contact information from several in the community was gathered for the pastor to follow up with. It was a very productive week of being on mission together combining not only our family, but a U.S. partner church and a Guatemala national church.  It was a wonderful picture of the body of Christ working together. If you would like to see more photos from the team, visit LifePark Medical Team. Independence Day On the 15th of September, we celebrated Guatemala's Independence Day by attending a parade, a civic program, and a fireworks show around our Central Park. Not only does Guatemala celebrate on the 15th, but it is also the Independence Day for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.  Mexico celebrates their Independence Day on September 16.  Needless to say, there was a lot of celebration taking place throughout Central America this past month. To see more photos and videos from the day visit Guatemala's Independence Day 2024.

Transition On September 19, we officially welcomed the English family to our IMB Guatemala mission family.  They finished language school and made the move here to begin full time ministry.  Each of our teammates are overjoyed to have them here to serve alongside us.  Thank you for praying for their transition.  They are settling in well and have done a fabulous job of getting their house set up.  Continue to pray for them in the weeks ahead as they begin to get out and learn their new area and start making contacts for future ministry. As excited as we are to have this new family, we are also a little sad that the Robertson family will be finishing their term later this month and returning to the U.S. to complete the turn around process.  They have been serving under the Macedonia program which means they are still completing steps to be appointed as full time missionaries.  They are on track to complete the requirements, and if all goes as planned, they will be appointed and return to Guatemala next June.  Pray for the Robertsons as they prepare to transition.  Pray for a much needed time of rest for them in the U.S.  During their first term on the field they have lived in three different countries (Mexico, Colombia, and Guatemala).  They have experienced a lot of transition in the last few years! Pray that the appointment process will be smooth for them, and they can return to the field as planned.

Team Guatemala We ended the month with a weekend trip to Quetzaltenango to visit all of our teammates.  While there we had our quarterly team meeting and each family gave an update. A highlight was hearing an update on the church plant that the Stones have been working on for many years.  They are seeing growth among the group and are looking to maybe have their first baptism soon. They are also mentoring a national to be the possible future leader. The group is called Second Chance, and they are reaching out to those who really need a "second chance" in life. Pray God's blessings over that work, and that they will see much fruit in the weeks and months ahead. It was our first in person meeting to include the English family and our last for a while with the Robertsons.  It was also our first and last as a whole team- Whites, Robertsons, Stones, and Englishes.  The Stones will retire next May before the Robertsons return.  The Robertsons plan to return next June, and we will begin our STAS next June.  Team Guatemala is facing much tranisition over the next year.  Please keep all of our families in your prayers. Your IMB Team Guatemala Lostness Lostness is growing every day. At the IMB we will not ignore it. We won’t be silent. We won’t stand still. We will reach the nations, no matter the cost. Over the next five years, the IMB is committed to find and know every people group on earth in pursuit of the Revelation 7:9 vision. Learn more about The Great Pursuit and see what part you can play in reaching the nations together. AMP Prayer Call On Tuesday, October 29, David will be hosting the monthly IMB AMP Prayer Call. One of the teams that will be highlighted this month is our Team Guatemala. This is a great opportunity to hear updates from several of your IMB field missionaries serving throughout the Americas and learn new ways that you can be praying for them. It is a live call and everyone is welcome to join.  Just scan the QR code above or click on this LINK to join.  The call will start at 8pm EST.  Mark your calendars! Did You Know? The breathtakingly beautiful Lake Atitlán is the deepest lake in Central America. It is located in southwest Guatemala, in the department of Sololá, which is about 2.5 hours from where we currently live. The lake is surrounded by three volcanoes:  Atitlán, Tolimán, and San Pedro. It is one of the top tourist destinations in all of Guatemala.   Our family September 2024 www.imb.org