Fifty chairs should be enough...

Although our summer ministry teams may have wrapped up again for the year, our Lord’s work in the remote villages of Guatemala certainly has not! Our discipleship follow-up programs
are in full swing now and growing in leaps and bounds! On Thursdays, Hermano Jesus and I still
journey out to La Reina, a village located at the foot of Volcano Fuego in which we are currently building houses for the 105 families that call this beautiful, semi-coastal area their home. In the mornings, we spend time visiting with four or five families individually before eating lunch and holding a community-wide service in the afternoon. We have been blessed with the privilege to
utilize the Bodega for the services, a warehouse in the village that provides a large gathering space and protection from the daily rains. Roughly 15-20 people attend on a regular basis, and although this may not be an astronomical number, it is encouraging to see those new believers who are hungry and searching for the Word among those in attendance! Due to the spiritual need, we have also started a Sunday afternoon service that meets every two weeks and allows the working men of the village to attend. The inaugural service was held on August 21, 2011. Fifty chairs were purchased for the villagers to sit in, thinking that would be more than enough, but the chairs were filled up so quickly that we had to scrounge up 10 more...and that still
left myself and a couple of the kids to sit on the floor. It was wonderful to see many familiar faces and many new ones as well. Praise God! The actual service went extremely well, and we are hopeful that as the weeks and months go on, we will continue to see consistent or even increasing attendance, forcing us to add a time of children’s worship for the kids…or even to hold the services every week! Saturdays still find us in La Bendición, a government refugee project located 14 miles from the Pacific Ocean. On September 10, 2011, we held a special service to jump start the discipleship program again after not being able to hold services for a few months. The musical guest and guest pastor assisted in leading a beautiful service for over 50 adults. As they engaged in themessage, asking wonderful questions of the pastor, I had the privilege to lead
over 65 children in a time of singing, prayer, Bible stories, crafts and games. However, the Evil One can see what is taking place in this village, and He is not happy, therefore causing many battles in the lives of God’s chosen people. Please join us in praying for the Victory that is already ours through our Lord Jesus Christ!