The annual Indigenous Conference took place this week and wrapped up today. Thank you for praying for this event.
This year's theme was "More Than Winners". The national pastors led the
teaching times as we studied the life of David. We heard songs in
different languages and several shared their testimonies. This event is
always a great time of encouragement to those that attend.
Thanksgiving
We
had a wonderful time celebrating Thanksgiving with our IMB mission
family as well as several former IMB missionaries and a volunteer team
from South Carolina that the Stones were hosting.
This year we met in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala at the ministry center of
Roger and Vicki Grossman, who are former IMB missionaries still serving
here.
We enjoyed a delicious meal and a sweet time of fellowship around the tables.
Lottie Moon Christmas Offering
What is the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering?
Lottie
Moon was sent as a Southern Baptist missionary to China from 1873 to
1912. She saw firsthand the world’s greatest problem — LOSTNESS. Meeting
so many people who had never heard the gospel compelled her to write
letters to American churches describing the need for a greater
missionary presence.
She
pleaded for increased prayer and financial support to send and sustain
more missionaries. This challenge became known as the Lottie Moon
Christmas Offering®.
Over a hundred years later, Southern Baptists are still giving and still
sending out missionaries to impact lostness around the world. We are
one of those families that benefit from the Lottie Moon Christmas
Offering. Thank you for your generous gifts and faithful support of
this offering! 100% of gifts given to the Lottie Moon Christmas
Offering supports missionary presence. Because you give, lives are being
transformed with the Gospel.
We have a few more weeks of school left before we break for Christmas. Pray that we finish strong.
December is a heavy administration load for us. It is the annual end of
the year review time for everyone. We will be meeting virtually with
each of our team leaders in Mexico and our local Guatemala team members
to go over their end of the year reports as well as sharing feedback
that was recently gathered on each person from their colleagues. It is a
time of reflection over the past year and a time for us to encourage
each of them for the ways they have seen God work through them this past
year. Pray for us as we lead each of these teams and help guide them
in the missionary task.
We will be celebrating Christmas at home in Guatemala this year. Soon
afterwards we will be traveling to South America to attend an Indigenous
Cluster Leadership Meeting. This will be a planning meeting for 2025.
Pray for us as we plan and set goals for the upcoming year. Pray for
wisdom as we discuss and make decisions for future Indigenous work
throughout the Americas. We will also be planning our upcoming summer
cluster wide meeting. A lot of work goes into pulling off a large
meeting. Pray that every detail falls into place.
More than anything, pray that we would be a light for Christ this Christmas season.
Did You Know?
If
you were in Guatemala on Christmas Eve you would most likely be served a
meal of tamales and a hot fruit punch called ponche de frutas. Tamales
are made from corn dough, filled with meat or vegetables, and wrapped in
banana leaves. They can be sweet or savory. The fruit punch is made by
boiling seasonal fruits with sugar and raisins.
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