Connecting

We spent the past several days in the town of Jocotan with some other IMB missionary families attending a training conference.  Our colleagues Marty and Melissa Childers traveled down to lead the training.  They have just moved into the role of Affinity Connection Strategists for the American Peoples.  That means they will be in charge of working with and training the U.S. churches that come down to volunteer.  They will also be responsible for connecting U.S. churches to work with those of us on the field in this part of the world. 

Most of our time together was spent going over the material they will be teaching to the churches and learning how we too can incorporate this training into those we are already working with.  It was a lot of great information and was very informative. 

We want our Southern Baptist churches to know our IMB missionaries and get involved with the works that we are doing around the world.  If you would like to know more about how you or your church could be partnering with our IMB personnel to reach the lost around the world let us know and we can put you in touch with the right people to help you. 

In addition to our session times we also took some time to go out and show them our work area.  On Saturday afternoon we traveled to some of the villages where we are currently working.  We stopped in a few of them to pray on site for the people living in those areas. 

Some of our group hearing about the work in the village of Chanco and getting ready to pray there.

On Sunday morning we all got to be a part of the regular Bible study that David does in the village of Nearar.  Thankfully though we did not have to hike down the mountain to the house where we normally meet.  Instead the locals came up to us and we met in an open field near the road.  We invited the ones who attend our Thursday afternoon Bible study in the neighboring village of Muyurco to attend as well.  We had a good turnout and the service went great.  We were all happy to see the locals be involved in the service and they were all happy to have us there to encourage them.  It was a win-win for everyone.

A group photo on Sunday morning before leaving the hotel in Jocotan to travel to the village of Nearar.  In addition to our family we had (left to right) Jeff and Karen Thomas, Jerry and Gini Cadenhead, Gary and Lily Stone, Marty and Melissa Childers, and David and Glynis Miller.  All but the Childers serve here in Guatemala.

Here are some photos I took while in the village that morning.

Melissa, Gini, and Lily before the service

Marty playing with our boys before the service

 Jeff and Ben

 Gary, Jeff, and Karen

 Jerry and Gini greeting some of the young girls who were there

David getting the order of service worked out with our national leaders there

We invited Miguel (from the village of Chanco) to go with us.  Here he is with the boys.  They love him!  We are excited to have Miguel as a ministry partner and look forward to having him be on mission with us in the future.  

Our worship leader Cloromiro

 Cruz and Jeff

This picture makes me smile.

Glynis, David, Marty, and Melissa

David with the leaders in Nearar- Cloromiro, Rafael, and Reyes.  Pray for these men as they not only grow in their faith but with boldness share their faith with others in their village and surrounding areas.

Reyes, Rafael, and Gary 

some of us during the service

sweet smiles

Each IMB missionary family had a time to introduce themselves and tell about the work they are doing among their people groups.  It was a good encouragement for the locals there to hear about how God is working in other parts of this country.  Jeff Thomas, for example, spoke some in Pokomchi and taught us all how to say a greeting in that language.  The locals thought that was fun.  Here are Gary and Lily singing a song during the service.  They work with the Mam people group.

Here is Marty leading the devotion.

It was a great morning and I loved how the people there were able to hear that they are not alone in their journey.  There are others all over this country and around the world just like them.  Sometimes especially in a village setting when someone decides to leave tradition and follow Christ it can be lonely and isolating.  At times just knowing you are not alone is all you need to keep growing and serving.  We pray that the hearts of the people there were encouraged that day and that good things will come of it in the future.

We are excited about what the future holds for our IMB personnel and the churches in the States that support us.  We too need to know that we are not alone and we have the backing of our stateside brothers and sisters in Christ.  Is God calling you to get more involved in missions?  Would you like to walk alongside us and see how God is working here among our people group or other groups around the world?  Let us know and we'll do our best to help get that started.  Or, you can always visit www.imb.org to learn more.