Through the pain.

In these difficult times not just for us but for you as well I want to tell you all how much God loves you.  The difficulty that the country is passing through now not just with the elections, but the fires in TN and many other things have no limits. There is so many people in need not just here in Guatemala, but close to you, so if you can do something for someone that needs it PLEASE do something. Don’t wait until it is to late don’t wait for a thought of doubt to invade your feelings, if you have the chance to pray for someone in the middle of the street do it.  Don’t deny Christ to others because your lack of confidence it is time to be BOLD it is time not just to act like Christians, but to be like Christ.  This month has been a month of sorrow, loss, and tears, but in every situation Gods brings glory to His name.

Three weeks ago we lost a 13 year old boy as always for respect to the family he will not be named.  He was killed on a Monday night a drunk bus driver didn’t see him and killed him and he had actually came to our church that Sunday. He was in the kids Sunday school class laughing, singing, and playing and we are thankful to have this memory of him. The heartbreak is unimaginable, the loss incomprehensible, and the pain unspeakable. However, as the body of Christ we take part in this heartbreak, loss, and pain. As if the head hurt the hand would hold it, and this is what we the church must do as well.  As we drive by the place he was killed every day it is a time of remembering not only how he passed away, but also who he was, his smile, his laughter, and his face.  It reminds me to think of the cross this way, always remember how He passed away, but also remembering everyday who He was. Thankfully with Christ who He was does not end there but HE is, and HE will continue to be!

We miss him, we still cry for him, but we must rejoice for his death was gain!!!

Some days are harder than others to have heavenly perspective in those days we MUST draw near to HIM, we must seek HIS eyes and heart, for ours will certainly fail us. I ask that today in your pains, in your disappointments, in all the places you secretly think the Lord has failed you…stop and seek His face and ask Him to show you His perspective, that He may give you the eyes to see His glory.

                This month has also had times of excitement as we have had the first baptisms and baby dedications of the church.  We had four people baptized and got to have celebratory lunch after the service. We have been encouraged in the church by seeing that those who come, however small the number, truly want more. We have been asking for this, and are so glad to see people that want more of our Lord and to see people following in obedience like baptism. We are hopeful and prayerful for more and ask that you come alongside us in the prayer for our church and for yours.

We had the privilege of having a team from South Carolina come visit and love on our kids at our feeding center in San Mateo this month. We had a special meal of homemade pizzas and punche(which is literally the best drink in the world). We were also blessed to install a stove for a family with this team and are so thankful for each of their hearts to leave there families and homes and come give and love on others that they do not know.

Through Manna worldwide teams we were also able to bless so many.  7 families were blessed with bunk beds some of which were sleeping on the floor. The family of the boy that was killed was blessed with a food basket. Also, a Manna team donated 100 chairs to our church. 

As for Thanksgiving well that doesn’t really exist here, however, we had the privilege of celebrating it twice! We were invited by a manna team to have a thanksgiving meal with them and the kids of their children’s home. It was such a special night for us to take part of thanksgiving, conversation, skits, reconnecting, and so much more. We also got to spend Thanksgiving day with a couple and their family that have come to be very special to us. We had great food, conversation, and games and felt so at home. We are so thankful to have people that feel like family here and to be able to celebrate together. We are blessed!

We are thankful to also let you know that in God’s perfect plan He has given us another child that will be coming in April. As well as He takes away, He also gives.

This month has been full to say the least! Full of giving, full of eating, full of firsts,  full of heartbreak, full of life!

I have been preaching the book of act and in chapter 12 talks about the execution of James by Herod and he was the first apostle to be killed and the next one was to be peter but in his circumstances he prayed and the church as well.  He didn’t cry, he didn’t say why, why God, no he was sleeping actually an Angel had to wake him up.  In our trials we have the option to blame God and ask him why me, and be angry, be sad, and in denial or we have the option to trust and wait for the Lord. We as humans have to understand that sometimes God answers in three different ways YES, NO, and WAIT and accept his answer because He is absolute.

How blessed we are!!!!

Hello guys may my God bless you all in this almost end of the year.  By now almost every kid in Guatemala is out of school because the vacations (summer break) has already started.  Talking about vacations we close the feeding center in San Mateo and we will reopen the beginning of the next year.  The people that help us in San Mateo need a break and so do we.  However, during this Holy season we will open once or twice to make something special for the kids.  Please keep us in your prayers as we need more supporters to jump in, and if you want to know more about how to help us please contact me so I can let you know the best way to do so.  On the other hand, the feeding center in San Lucas and the church are still running all year long, and we are so thankful to God with the opportunity of this new ministry.  In this area as well we need so much help the communities are really poor, but thanks to God and brothers and sisters like you all we keep going.  

The feeding center is San Lucas (manna ministry) feeds between 100 and 150 kids every day and we are thankful to be a part of them.  I have had the chance to meet some of the parents and life is really interesting.  I have met moms that have 15 kids, others that had 8, and some that just keep going.  There are not many dads that we get to meet most of them are women but they keep going against the odds.  I wish I could tell you stories about these strong women, but I have respect for their privacy. However, I will tell you how blessed you and I are to be able to not think what we are going to eat the next morning or if we have enough space for our kids to sleep or enough blankets to keep them warm during the winter.   I want you to take a few minutes and think again how blessed you are and if you are complaining about your slow internet or your favorite TV show please stop and rethink again. Count those daily blessings!

Our church is still small, but as I said to the flock of the Lord I don’t need 1000 people if none will follow the Lord or do as He said. I will be much happier if I have one or two willing to die for his name.  We as believers need to find perfection, but while we work on it we need consistency meaning be Christians Sunday through Sunday not just Sunday. I have been preaching the book of Acts and we are in chapter 9 about Paul’s conversion and what really gets me is in verses 15 and 16 were God said “I will show him how much he needs to suffer for my name” my fellow brothers and sisters be thankful that others already suffered for the thing you should have in your hands every single day (your bible). 

I want to leave you with a small thought that the Lord put on my heart this month and hope it touches your's as it has mine. 

In the feeding center in San Lucas there is a special needs boy, his communication and walking skills are impaired, but the Lord said to me Morgan look at him again…so I did. As I saw him more clearly this time I started tearing up and had to walk away because of how over whelming it was. I had seen him before and thought poor thing how difficult his life is… how far he has to walk and how hard it must be for him…it really broke my heart. But this time I saw something different I saw the biggest smile that literally never leaves his face, the brightest eyes, a laugh so contagious, so much HOPE, so much JOY, so much BEAUTY, so much LOVE for others. So what did I see this time…what do I see now….I see JESUS!!! NO not poor him….. poor me, poor us, poor everyone else that we don’t live so fully in the characteristics of Jesus. I looked around and thought no other person here do I see Jesus so clearly in. How special he truly is that others may look and see our Father. So it has left me thinking am I exuding Him today. Can others just look, stare, watch and see my Father? Am I truly so much His daughter that I am taking on His identity? May you look around you and see more of HIM stare on HIS beauty and may it bring you to tears. Also, may you be seen clearly as HIS son and daughter.

The Waiting is Worth it!

September was a month of waiting and patience as you guys know we have accepted a job as a pastor in san Lucas el Manzanillos like 15 to 20 minutes from where we live.  There have been  two phases of our waiting: one, the building its not done yet, but all the first floor is done there is where we have the feeding center that belongs to Manna ministry, also in the same level is where we are going to live that part is not done yet.  The second phase of waiting is the church many people are catholic, others had a church and others just don’t want to know about Christ or don’t care about it.  I understand that this is a long long long process also I know this will take time people have to trust you first and then change will occur. It is funny because I know all of this in theory, however when it comes to practice it becomes hard.  I am learning every day and now I am happy because I have see consistency in the people that I served.  Last Saturday a family received Christ they were brought up as Catholics, but know we are so excited that they have receive Christ in their hearts.  We have struggled with the lie that numbers matter in the church so we have really been praying for the church to have quality and not quantity.  When this husband and wife said they wanted to accept Christ we were over joyed to have another brother and sister and to know this brother and sister are in the church and want more and want to grow, learn, change….Thank you Lord for a little glimpse of your quality.

I would love to preach to you and tell you what I have been telling to my congregation, but as I tell them it will be pointless if you do not act on the Word. I started our church with the book of Acts. It is important to know the beginning of the church and how different the church has become from that example.  I have learned that the Word of God has changed not by Him but by man. It is simple love your God with everything that you have and everything that you are and love your neighbor. Give to those in need and be humble. Always accept the word of God as truth and never take or add to the word of God. So, every time I preach I try to make it simple so they can understand me and clear as the Word of God is. If you the reader are a believer you need to understand that Christianity is a matter of consistence and perseverance so that you may reach the goal that is Christ. As an athlete if you want to be the best of the best you will need to work hard and harder every single day because you know what you want and you know what you need to do to reach that goal, you will sweat, you will cry, and many times be disappointed with yourself, but you will never forget your goal if you truly want to be a champion.  My fellow brother and sister in Christ you know what you need to do, don’t stop, keep going, my God is at your side.

Please keep praying for consistency in our church, in us, and in the body.

Look at ONE for guate facebook page for pictures from this month. 

blessing!

          There is so much to say, but not enough words to express my gratitude towards God and towards you. The month of July was so crazy so many things and so much work to come. In July  we traveled to USA to visited friends and family, and it was amazing to see you guys and to be loved by all of you.  Also, it was a month of transitions; I have accepted a position as a pastor here in Guatemala.  You may wonder what about your ministry? Is this going to affect ONE for Guate? Are you going to stop working with kids?  Well the answer is NO.  Almost nothing will change ONE for Guate feeding center still running and we are happy with what God is doing in San Mateo. We have partnered with MANNA worldwide ministry and they have been amazing people to work with.  Basically our work has expanded, and I know you may have questions so please feel free to ask anything you want. If you reading this you know our hearts and our mission and by now hopefully you can trust in us that we will answer you truthfully.  I guess now I am a pastor and now I need your support more than ever. The devil will try to destroy me and to destroy God’s ministry so please pray for my family pray for the people in Guatemala and pray for the ministry.

         In addition, in the month of July we got so much support from all of you and not just emotionally we received a ton of materials to work with our kids in San Mateo. I would like to say thank you and name you all but the list would be endless.  Also, we received many shoes and many kids were blessed by you all!  We had all kinds of offerings from you all so I want to say thank you agian.  When we left the US airport they made us leave two suitcases, and sadly we left shoes and books for the kids. On top of that they made us pay $100.00 per 20 extra lbs. and we took 40 lbs extra just to be able to bring a few more shoes and books. We didn’t have any other options unfortunately and we seem to always run into issues in the airport,t but it was just a speed bump that we luckily got to move past.  Despite all the issues many kids were bless by you all. 

      

    

The month of August was a month of waiting and learning as we are making the new transitions into our new work.  Again we are still working in ONE for Guate, but this new ministry requires my full attention now. We are meeting with families and we are visiting them and trying to know them better every day. Also,  we are preparing for the new church which will be AMAZING!  Funny fact I have no idea what to do this is my first work as a full time pastor; however, I trust in the Lord and not on my own understanding.  He will prepare me.  By the way for those that does not know my degree is in preaching and church leadership just putting that out there.

    

I know I ask so much from you, but I need you I cannot do this alone you have no idea what your prayers, your moral support, your offerings, your e-mails, your calls, your designs etc. do for us and for our people. So keep them coming!

We love you all!

p.s you can like our ONE for Guate fb page ....we post a lot more pictures there!

The BAD, the UGLY, and the GOOD!

WARNING: Sorry this blog is looooooong we haven’t written in almost two months.

Many of you guys know the story of how we arrived to Guatemala and how God provided every single step to come here.  Also, how we got in contact with the guy that wanted to give us a free place to start the feeding center. However, this guy and his family are not Christian, Catholic or any other religion and at the time when we started the feeding center  “I” thought  that this was not a problem.  We believe that God changes hearts and we wanted to try to plant a seed in his heart. 

THE BAD: After a month of running the feeding center friction started and he started to question us by going against everything we said and also starting to try to change the rules and ways that we were running the feeding program.  Therefore, miscommunication happened and assumptions started. For example, he believed we were getting a monthly salary for running the feeding center (which is not true we live by individual donations), and he assumed other ministries have this so we must as well.  He also believed that we needed to run our ministry the same way other ministries did.  By saying this by no means are we saying that we did everything right my lack of communication made him believe other things, my lack of leadership gave him a chance to step over me, and my lack of wisdom made we believe I could run a ministry with someone that had a different belief system than me. We had told him from the beginning that he could make the rules for his home but when it came to ministry these decisions we would make. However, more and more this seemed to no longer be something he was willing to do and eventually he told us, “ We will do things here in my way, that is the only option you have.’’  At this point he took the position of authority and not of a servant for the kids, and when he told me all of this believe it or not I kept my mouth shut which is something God has been teaching me lately. Afterwards I went and asked for advice because when it comes to doing the work of God we cannot do this alone and we need as much wisdom as we can get and a lot of humbleness too.  So, I asked for wisdom from two pastors here is Guatemala, a pastor from Canada, and another pastor from America.  All of them told me the same thing keep working because the vision has not changed maybe the battle has and maybe the circumstances have but the vision has not nor the mission. One of them told me do not burn bridges, and he is right we did not come to burn bridges but to build them.  So I kept working with him. However, all this time I had an itch in my heart and I really wanted to confront him not in a mean way or to make him less than me, but to make things clear with him. As I said before I had my fault in all of this.  I want you to know that he is not and was not part of our ministry he just was lending us his house. So the first week of May he told me he needed a door, a window, and a roof for his house where we had the feeding center, and I told him that before we spent more money that I needed to talk to him. I started by saying thank you for all the help that he had given us because without his house we could not have had the feeding center at that time.  I then apologized for every misunderstanding that I caused and every offence that I made. Then I told him that in his house he can be the boss and the ruler because that is his domain, but when it comes to the ministry of God my wife and I are going to be the ones that decide the best that we can and if he did not agree I would find another place, but I did not want to go to that extreme because I like him even though we have our differences. I said all of this as kindly as I possibly could. I chose my tone and my words carefully. None of this works when a man has his mind set on something nothing can change it. His reaction was, “give me fifteen days and you will take some kids and I will take some”. However, nothing of that is what I had said to him. His answer shocked, but did not surprise me.  So, I told him you did not listen to a word of what I said I am not going to go pick kids I’m not here for that to me that is just mean and this is not a competition.  Now, the drop that filled the cup was when I responded by saying “let’s please go pray and ask for wisdom, understanding, and knowledge” and he told me, “I do not need any wisdom, understanding, or knowledge I have all of this and I do not need to pray, I will think and see what I come up with, God left all of that to us on the earth. “ At this moment I stopped talking because my heart was hurt, I am a prideful man and I thought: Is that how I look? Is that how I sound? Is that how my wife sees me? Is this what I am portraying to the world and the people that I am around?(wow pride is an ugly thing)  So I just said thank you again and I left because I realized I cannot do ministry with a man that does not fear the Lord.

A few months ago I met a pastor in San Mateo, the same town we are working in, and he told me whenever you need our church it is open to you anytime, and if you want to start something here you are welcome to for free; however, at the time we had already started using Byron’s home so we humble declined the need to use the church.  After I had the conversation with Byron I returned to the pastor and told him of the difficulties we were having and he said the offer was still available to use the church for the feeding center or whatever we may need.

To make this story short (LOL), the next feeding day Byron (the man’s house we were using)  basically kicked us out and gave the kids an option to stay with him or go with us. Sadly, all of the kids picked him and at this time we already had 40 kids.

Now THE UGLY: When the kids chose to stay with him I felt that what I had done for two months was worthless, a waste of time, and a waste of resources. I love them, I was teaching them the bible, respectful prayers, and thankfulness, and this made it seem meaningless.  I had a question for so long, why did they not choose me, “but I am the good guy’’?  Well no one is good, just one is good, and that is our Father in heaven.  Then we moved to the church, Asamblea de Dios, (Assembly of God) and the thought of why they did not come with us was still chasing me, I asked myself what I did wrong, maybe my intentions were wrong, or my approach was wrong, or I am too hard to work with. That first day at the church just nine kids showed up and that was because the wife of the pastor went to homes and basically begged for people to send their kids.  I had an awful attitude feeling sorry for myself, I was not happy, but I wasn’t mad either. I was continually whining in my head. You may wonder why I am telling you all of this and it is because as I always say, you as a reader and/or supporter need to know what we are doing and how we are doing the ministry of God, every ministry has problems and battles and you deserve to know it. Not just to fulfill your curiosity but to show you accountability and hopefully to teach you the imperfection of the human being and how much more we have left to learn.  Now I have stopped my whinning and I have come to find out the rumors/lies about us and reason the moms chose to send their kids to him and not to us; however we know there is nothing we can do about these lies but to keep keeping on and to do all we do to glorify Him.

Finally THE GOOD: Now we have a bigger place, the pastor and his family has welcomed us with open arms, the pastor has built us a storage and kitchen area in the church, we started with 9 kids two weeks ago and now have 30 kids, the pastor’s wife helps us to cook each time and is always waiting at the doors to get started preparing the meal, this women is a warrior and faithful servant of the Lord, we are now working with Christians and that makes the work easier, and there is so much more peace at this feeding center. Now, the kids from the other feeding center come to give us hugs and say hi every time they see us. This just demonstrates to me that maybe I really did do something good, that at the time I did not see. Even a few moms from the old feeding center have told me that they will send their children to us.  Every day at the new feeding center the kids smile a little more, laugh a little freer, and let down some walls.

In the midst of our trials I had the opportunity to go and preach for 600 youth and young adults. My theme was, THE VISION.  I am not going to preach to you or write my whole sermon here, but I think that many believers have misunderstood or do not know the vision of the Christian.  So I want to leave you with these four thoughts:      1. You have to love your God with all you being and you neighbor  as well(Matthew 22:37-39). 2. If you love God you will fear God, and that is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). 3. Therefore, you will seek His kingdom and all the rest will be added (Matthew 6: 23).  4.  If you know all of this you will go and understand the purpose of God and the reason of you being in this world, and you will understand your VISION (Matthew 10:16).  In conclusion, love your God so you can fear your God, and you will seek Him; therefore,  you will understand His will. If you are wondering what is the VISION of the Christian it is not your family, it is not your church, it is not even your ministry, IT IS CHRIST/GOD/HOLY SPIRIT, your eyes fixed on HIM.  

I have also had the great pleasure of speaking at Casa Aleluya, children’s home, for over 300 kids. With them I spoke about not sitting still, that just because you are young it does not mean you can’t stand up and be a leader (1 Timothy 4:11-16). I used Timothy because he was a young man sent by the apostle Paul and it is such a great example of leadership and how a young man or women can be an example to those even in the church: 1. In Word, 2. Conduct, 3. Love, 4. Faith, 5. Purity. If you are younger (not just in age but in Christianity as well) and you are reading this remember God can use you as well as any man in the Bible and you can be an example to others. Do not be afraid because the same God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is your God as well.  That same God that used all of these great men is the same God now that can use you as well. God I not asking for you to be rich or powerful or old, nor is he asking for gold, silver, or jewels. He is asking for you fellow brother.  You that is willing to give your life for Him. The Lord is asking for your best, your everything, not for your preparation.

I have been able lead a bible study in the church here in Santa Lucia where the theme was about worshiping.  I love to worship God, I love to lift my hand, to shout, cry, dance, to bend my knees in front of God because God asks for our best. I do it in front of people because when I am in the presence of the Lord I do not care if they see my or not. I taught this group about the freedom that we should feel in the presence of the Lord. My example was King David and how he was after the heart of God. One more time I encourage you to find the freedom that you are missing. I encourage you to give your whole self when you are in the presence of the Lord. When you are broken, cry before Him. When you are filled with His joy, shout, clap, dance of His goodness. When you are humbled, fall before him.  Let your heart be seen in worship. This is not about you being a Baptist, Presbyterian, or Charismatic this is about you and the Lord. Not about your religion, belief system, and for sure not your church, it is about you and God and your offering towards Him.  My brother be courageous and brave in the presence of the Lord.

Last one… that I remember. I was invited to preach for 40 women. I talked to them about women and leadership(not the head but a leader) not just in their house, but also in the church.  I used the apostle Paul and all the many women that he mentioned in his letters. You may defer from me about a women and the role that she may take, but I believe if a man is not leading, why not a women?  A man is unable to complain if he is not doing what he is called to do. As I have learned, do not complain for something that you allow in your life. Also, I used Genesis 2:18 when God in His immense wisdom gave us women not to be the cleaning lady, not to be the dishwasher, but to be our helper, to be our supporter, to be our equal as God created us in same image and the man as the head.  However, a woman can be a helper or can be a curse based on what she may choose to be (Proverbs 12:4). The decision depends on each one of you.  

My fellow brothers in Christ, may my God bless you all and give you a thousand times what you have given to us. Remember you are not a number you are a friend.

P.S. We have so much to tell you, bad and good, but I don’t want to bore you. However, please feel free to email us at oneforguate@gamil.com 

Your brother and sister in Christ,

P.J and Morgan….and Kala! 

He is still good!

March was a full month for sure. March 1^st was our first day of our feeding center and we were expecting 14 kids to come, so we let the moms eat with their kids so they could see what we were doing and feel more comfortable leaving their kids with us. Well we ended up feeding more than 50 people our first day and we could not have made it through that day without all the help from good friends. It was a crazy first day, but a good crazy and exciting to see kids just keep showing up. We are now blessed to have 40 kids that come to the feeding center.

                The mom of the family we live with, Sister Neli, one night as we were discussing our feeding center she had a great idea that they could bring their  misioneritas(missionary group of young girls) from their church, Asamblea de Dios Galilea, to our feeding center for a day. They came and had great day full of prayer, singing, dancing, dramas, and snacks for the kids. The kids loved it and by the end were up dancing with them and asking for the group to sing more songs and to teach them. It was such a blessing to have them with us and wanting to invest in our kids. I am used to seeing foreigners come and help Guatemalans and have seen the love and care that they have toward our people. However, I have not seen many Guatemalans helping other Guatemalans, I have known my culture as the strongest one will survive and not the weak, and the rich are going to stay rich and the poor are going to stay poor. By seeing this church helping their own people it filled my heart with joy and my eyes with tears because I am wrong, there are good people here that want to serve their people. 

                We have also had the opportunity of having our first team from America come and spend two days with our kids at the feeding center.  This team consisted of college students and one teacher from Grace University.  During their time with us this team was able to visit 20 families in their homes and present them with a gift of rice, beans, oil, and coffee.  This whole group had been trained in bible storytelling and majority of the team played soccer. So the team was able to use their training in telling/acting out bible stories and playing a lot of soccer with the kids. We were blessed by this team that left us jerseys, soccer balls, and toothpaste/toothbrushes.  Yes toothpaste and brushes! Our kids always brush their teeth after their meal because pastor Hilmar had donated some toothpaste and brushes our first day. However, we had run out of toothbrushes and were running low on toothpaste.  I had been thinking the week before the team came how are we going to be able to replenish the toothpaste and keep buying more toothbrushes as we have more kids because we did not have that is the budget to do. Well, the leader of the Grace University team after seeing the kids brush their teeth was laughing and said, you will not believe it but people as I was preparing for this trip kept coming to me and giving me toothpaste, and I have been on many trips and never had people give me toothpaste, but I said yes if they  fit in our luggage I will bring them because I know God has a reason for this.  OH I was almost in tears and laughing too about how good a God we serve that He would send us toothpaste and that he cared about the little things! WE love seeing more of the Lord and we definitely got to see that in this team and their gifts!

For Holy week(week before easter) in Guatemala everything gets busy so we went to visit my big brother and his family.  We were able to spend time with him, his three kids, and wife and get to just relax with them even though I was sick the whole week. Also, we met a wonderful couple from Texas, Jim and Leslie, that hosted us as we were there.  The loved on us and made amazing food for us and treated us as family. We were truly able to relax because of them and their kindness.  We also met a strong willed women, Bonnie, that came on her first mission trip to Guatemala at the age of 80 years old, but age doesn’t matter when you are doing the work of God. In addition to all this we met a retired pastor and evangelist, Clifford Neal, a wise man and strong Christian that was a pleasure getting to know. 

God blessed us a month ago with an offering from a team of $200 and in our needs God  told me to wait... HE had a better plan. When we were going to see my brother God told me this was the time to use what He had blessed us with and so we bought 100lbs of beans, 100lbs of rice, and 100lbs of corn. My brother took us to the mountains to bless 50 families more than 100 people with this food. We have seen the multiplication of the Lord in finances, in food, in blessings, and in people that surround us.

As we returned the devil attacked our minds and hearts as we came back to frustrations. I had a bad discussion with a missionary here that at the time seemed important.  Our house that we will eventually rent and should have been ready a month ago was far behind schedule and had nothing done while we were gone. Adding to this Yanci, a girl that through our ministry is being helped (she is in kidney failure) was very sick because of her compromised immune system, and she thought she was going to die.  By now I was frustrated and mad so I had an idea that sounded good at the time. The idea was to leave the feeding center for a month and take a break, so I would not affect the ministry and family with my bad attitude, so basically time to release stress.  But guess what I was wrong. After two months I was ready to run without noticing it, and running away sounded so good, but a good family friend gave me some wisdom and told me what I needed to hear not what I wanted to hear. Basically what she said was suck it up, and God will bless you when you have and when you do not because that is what I said before I came here, and she was right. The devil will attach you any second he can, but thanks to the people of God we are able to persevere.

P.S. Please continue to pray for health over our bodies as it seems to be a huge area of attack the devil is still using. 

Thanks to you!

Thank you!

                Many things have happened since we arrived in Guatemala: sickness, doubts, frustrations, but also we have made friends and God has not left us. Our God is a God that does not fail and today I would like to say thank you Jesus.  When I went to America I forgot what it means to be worried so I stopped asking God for the little things that we take for granted like food, clothes, roof etc. Now, I am here in Guatemala and I find myself asking for these same things that I forgot about.  In the mist of my ignorance God still was providing for all of these and more.  God is given me everything that I need and not what I want and that is ok. 

                He gave us a group of friends that are strictly supporting us in the management of the ministry, and that it is not easy .  They have other things to do, but they are taking the time for the ministry and I am thankful for that, and I believe they are doing this for one simple reason "LOVE".  When I talked to them about our ministry I told them that we were looking for friends and family that would believe in the same God and in our vision of the ministry.  Also, I told them that we did not have anything to start our ministry with no MONEY, no LAND, no SUPPORT, no CONTACTS, no PARTNERSHIPS basically nothing. However, I told them what I had; a POWERFUL GOD a God that brought me to America, the same God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that God that sent fire from heaven and the same God that split the red sea. "That is my God" so they said yes :) Now, thanks to them and God we are managing our non-profit.  This group of friends sticks with us not because they have to, but because they love us and that is what we are looking for, not numbers, not quantity, but friends and family that love us because of Him, thank you Jesus.

                Thank you, yes YOU the supporter I want to tell you that you are not a number ($) or a face you are my friends because that is what we are looking for in Gods ministry and some of you all I don't know because you are giving privately and for that thank you.  I know some of you are younger and don't have much yet, and yet you are incredible faithful with your money already,  so thank you and we know that God will bless you.  To those of you that have your own family to support, but have choose to support ours as well we cannot thank you enough.  Thank you to those that are giving extra to help other people here in Guatemala.  However, as I said you are not a number ($) so thank you to those that guide us and those that teach us and encourage us, and to those that remind us that we count with your friendship and those spiritual leaders, and last thank you to those that I forgot to mention we truly believe your reward is yet to come.

                When we started our ministry (God's ministry) someone asked me what do you want? This is what I want! Friends that can love us, friends that can trust, and can see our vision, friends that can encourage us. However, when I was asked that question I just said three groups of people: prayer warriors, financial supporters, and volunteers. So, today I want to say thank you as well to those that pray for us.  If you are one of those I want to let you know that God has listened.  Prayer is one of the most difficult disciplines in the church and in life.  We pray when we need something, we pray when something happens to us, we pray when we want something, we pray when it is Sunday, we pray because it is expected in our family, friends etc. I was(and sometime still am) one of those that prays just when "I need" , but I have caught myself praying more often and it is because I need Him more and depend more on Him.  I am learning to pray not because I am "Christian" or because I need something, but because I need HIM.  I need you prayer warriors you have given me more than you think because of your faithfulness God has listened and you are not a number you are a friend, thank you Jesus.

We haven't had a volunteer come yet, but I am waiting for you my brothers and sisters in Christ. I encourage you to pack your bags and come and get to know the sweet faces that we are working with.  You may get sick, REALLY SICK, you may be afraid, you may not be used to being out of your comfort zone, you may be bossy, you may like to control your surroundings, and you may like to your own ways.  Come anyways, and learn and be humble and be a blessing for those less fortunate that you.  Because you will come to learn not to teach, to receive not to give, to listen not to speak, to love not be comfortable, and the most important thing to cry, to bleed, and to sweat with those that are your brother and sisters in Christ.

Thank you to all my Guatemalans that have taken us in your houses, given us shelter and food without any cost. Thank you for automatically making us feel like we have family here. Thank you for your open arms, your friendship, and your love.  You literally live "mi casa es su casa"! Even though you barely have enough for yourself you give so quickly, so thank you!

At last thank you for the e- mails, calls, texts, likes, shares  and comments your encouragement in all its forms has meant more than you will ever know and kept us going on the most difficult days!

     

 P.J Hernandez, your brother in Christ.

P.S. Come on people comment! I want to know you and your thoughts!       

Prayer that sticks with you

We had the pleasure of working with a Canadian mission team a week ago and our family has been so blessed by each of them. The Lord truly shined through this team. We had a night of worship with them that has stuck with me so much that I think about it daily and it has encouraged me, pushed me, and grown me. Sounds crazy! How can ONE night of worship do this for me? Well because the Lord was there and the Lord spoke, that is how!

First, we made a fire pit on the top of the soon to be AMAZING mission house of pastor Hilmar's. The view  wow! Look around and you can see the volcanoes and the mountains and also the lights of the city. To be able to see this beautiful country, to be able to live in this breath taking place, that is a blessing in itself.  It is a constant reminder of how much more beautiful our God is and how GOOD of a God we get to serve that he would let us be in a place that literally takes our breath away.

So we had a fire and great conversation with the team as everything was coming together. We roasted marshmallows. We laughed...A LOT. Then the singing started at first the Guatemalans singing praises in Spanish and then the guitar, a bucket for a drum, and an egg like maraca joined in and we sang some English worship songs. All the songs really shouted out the greatness of our Lord. Something that I really loved was that this team had learned parts of some songs in Spanish, and as they sang these parts all the voices were joined as ONE. What a picture of Him! Apart from the language barriers and the cultural differences there was ONE voice, ONE heart singing of the Lords holiness and becoming ONE to solely glorify our Lord.

Then someone asked for a person to pray for this time. Every word of this prayer brought so much truth and so much of Him! As she prayed she spoke of how they did not want their time here to be an experience, but how they wanted more of Him. How they wanted their gifts to be used. How for those that did not speak Spanish may be used for His glory and how in the short time they were already here they had seen this. She thanked the Lord for the great blessing it was that He was already using them and how good of a God he is.  She asked for healing on those they had already met and prayed for.  She spoke their belief in His healing and His desire for healing in His children and how much they loved Him for that. She continued in praying how our cup is filled by Him alone. How if our cup is not full and if we are feeling empty it is only because we are not going to Him to be filled, and we are taking our cup away from Him. Because when we are letting Him fill our cup it will not only be filled but overflowing! So that the excess, that constant overflow from our cup will bless others. (Praise Him for He is sooooo good, so good. He has designed such a beautiful life, such a magnificent plan, and we get to take part in it! HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, SANTO, SANTO, SANTO is His name.) She ended her prayer by thanking him for this place, for these people, for this time, for His love, for His goodness.   Wow the power of prayer! I have been left in awe of Him, in awe of His faithful followers, and in awe of His plan because of this prayer.

                I have been tired because of cultural changes, language learning, sickness, and waking up three times a night with my baby for the past month. However, because of this prayer I am learning, I am being challenged to go to the Lord in my tiredness and draw from Him. To put my cup under His stream. For it is not of my own strength that I will be reenergized.  I fail often, I get frustrated a lot, but I am learning to go to His good fountain. I am finding that my cup being empty is only from my own choosing. He is teaching me, and that is all that I can I ask for.  

                As I was praying yesterday at the soon to be feeding center I heard the Lord say, " I said your yoke would be light, but not because your circumstances would be light, not because you life is light, but because of me. Because of me your yoke will feel light, because of my strength holding your yoke, it will be light. Because you come to me, because you know me, because you love me, your yoke will be light. BECAUSE I FILL YOUR CUP YOUR YOKE WILL BE LIGHT!!!"

Amen y amen




By Morgan



P.S.
P.J said he would really like to hear your thoughts positive or negative. We feel encouraged by knowing what you all are thinking

GOD IS HERE!

I have learned that to do ministry you have to prepare yourself otherwise you will fail. Like quitting your job in advance, selling everything, putting your affairs in order, etc. In addition, there are some stepping stones: education, support raising, broadening your contacts. These things will save you headaches in the long run. All of this is good and reasonable, but let me ask you something was Moses ready? What about David? Or Steven the first martyr?  We as believers have to believe in and follow the ways of the Lord. We have to let God prepare us to do His work.  That means to shut up and start listening and believing what the bible says. All the great men of the bible did not prepare themselves, but God did it for them.

This past week I have been struggling with health issues and anger because of these two reasons I  said and thought stupid things to my wife and I could have hurt my first ministry that is my family and second the ONE for Guate. ministry. This is not from a lack of preparation but a lack of listening. I am telling you this so that you know that in every ministry the devil will try to get in and cause chaos and division. We as christians are accountable to tell you what is going on in our ministry. Telling the good things, how good we are doing  and "how many people we are helping" is the easy part, but telling you our pains, our frustrations, our mistakes that we are making in the organization can be hard and can cause doubts to you as a reader and/or supporter.  This is the reality of a ministry. Things will be bad sometimes and we may have doubts, but our Father is working on us every single day and preparing us every single day as He did with the saints. Now, we are healing and we ask for prayers for continued health. (P.J)

This weekend we were able to be a part of a wedding and as I watched the people cooking, cleaning,  and decorating I saw how much JOY there is in the process. I realized that I LOVE watching the process of something coming together. I love it way more even than the finished product. Although the finished product is beautiful I would not have had as much joy if I had not seen the laughter, the apprehension, the smiles, the togetherness of the process.

As I reflected later on this I thought about the Lord and His work in each one of us. As he is teaching us, preparing us, correcting us, he is joyous! He loves to see the process of his children coming closer to Him. Yes the end product will be wonderful, great, and beautiful, but he is taking JOY in the process of our souls! (Morgan)

So here is what our process has looked like so far:

The provision of the Lord never fails.

 We came here January 21st with no jobs to acquire income, no food in our bellies, no roof over our heads, no transportation, and no bed to sleep in. People told me before I came, you are too young, you are a dreamer, you don't have money, you need a lot (ALOT) of money, you need a place to stay, ect. However, we continue to hear Him say, "you have a choice faith or fear and that is it". Let me tell you where we are now. We came and God provided a house for us.  Hilmar gave us one of his rooms the first week we were here. Remember the saying "my house is your house"   here they really mean it. Hilmar took the room of his kids and gave it to us. Now five people were sleeping in his bedroom. God was there. The next week we moved with his brother, Dennis, and he gave us a room in his house. Now, we are going to rent the upstairs of a house that Dennis is building when it  is finished, and he is giving us a good deal.  God was there. Every single day since we came we have had a roof over our heads, food in our bellies(three times a day), and a bed to sleep in. God is here.

Then came the sickness. The family we are staying with as well as us have been sick with flu like symptoms. Morgan only being sick for one day thankfully, but Kala and I being sick for more than a week now and at times with a fever of 102.7 . We prayed and prayed to God to take her fever away because we did not know what else to do and we saw His provision as he took her fever away that night and now she is eating and drinking again! Praise the Lord!   I am getting better but still have a lingering cough and Kala is getting better more and more every day. If you ask where is God? Well, God is here. 

In addition, we are going to meet with some families this Saturday as we prepare to start the feeding center on March 1st. By the way we did not even have a feeding center, but by the provision of God we met a family with the desire to serve their community and they gave us the place for free. God was still there. Please be praying for open hearts as we get to know this community and that the Lord will speak.

 We are learning to take joy in the process no matter how difficult the circumstances are. One more thing choose faith not fear today. 

P.s,. no picture this time everyone is looking pretty rough after the sickness!

Oh the Journey!

Our journey to Guatemala was definitely not an easy one, but in the midst of the struggle the Lord's goodness was evident to us.  We awoke at 4:00 am and we got ready,  packed the car, (when I say packed the car I mean to the top with everyone's laps full of luggage too)and we all squeezed in the car and off we went to the airport. Since we packed for two year as we arrived at the airport everyone was looking at us as if we were crazy, and they were right! That CRAZY looked like five large suitcases,  one pack and play, one car seat, two large carry on suitcases, two HEAVY backpacks, and a diaper bag! Oh yeah, a baby and a dog TOO!!!!  We just kept repeating back to each other "go big or go home" ! However, the longer the day went on for some reason this saying didn't seem as funny.  As we finally made it to the front of the line to get the tickets the airline agent said," you have a dog, so where are the papers?". I had a shot records to show her but that was not the papers that she needed. Evidently we needed a international certification within the last 30 days. Well we did not have this paper  since I had called the airlines customer service the day before and they had said that for Guatemala I did not need anything and I had them double and she still said there was not any papers that I needed to bring. Long story short trying multiple ways of figuring out what we could do and being told we were going to miss our flight we were finally(an hour later) offered the option of changing our flight to a later time in the day. Our friend that had dropped us off at the airport and had just made it out of Atlanta traffic had to turn back around and pick up our dog, Luna, and take her to a vet five minutes away from the airport and bring her back to the airport for us. Finally all was done and we had the papers in hand!

                Ok get ready cause here is where we start to see the goodness of the Lord and we were so amazed by how good he is to us even in the a mundane airport trip.  At this time there is a very long line just to get to the ticket counter , so PJ goes up to the same lady who was working with us before and asked if we are ready to go now that we had the papers. She said yes! We did not even have to wait in the line! Thank you Jesus! She proceeds to tell P.J. that it was a good thing we did not take the earlier flight because it broke down and never even left the tarmac. Thank you Jesus!  Miraculously all of our luggage was within weight requirement except one which was a pound over, but she did not even look at it and just let it pass through. Thank you Jesus! Now, we have everything checked in and have tickets in hand and off to security we go! We are down to two large carryon bags, two HEAVY backpack, a diaper bag, a baby, and a dog. Since all of us have been up since 4AM and it is now 10 AM kala has fallen asleep in the carrier. As we got to the security station they told me I did not have to take Kala out of the carrier, but I did need to take my jacket off. Well my jacket was under the carrier, so the man told me to wait a minute he came back and said I could leave everything on and could to a pat down. Thank you Jesus! Now, through security and P.J. is working like a mule trying to get all the bags off the line, put my shoes on for me, and get everything ready to go to our gate. As we are now  ready to go to our gate we look on our tickets to figure out where it is; since we are at the Atlanta airport and it is HUGE we are readying ourselves to walk a long way with backs breaking. We look up at the signs to see where our gate is and it just happens to be the one right in front of us. Thank you Jesus! At this point I am laughing at how good He is to us!  We get to sit down and take a break for a few minutes while Kala is still sleeping.  When Kala woke up I went to get some food for us, a banana for kala and burger for us to share( little did we know this would be the only food we would have for a long time).  When I came back from getting the food P.J. tells me they were asking for people to check some carry-on items  for free so both our huge bags (we didn't even know if they would fit in the over head space in the plane) got to go under the plane. Thank you Jesus! Now they are asking again if anyone has more carry- on items that they would like to check and they will do that for free too. So we checked one of our HEAVY back packs too. Thank you Jesus! We are now down to only a diaper bag, one backpack , a baby , and a dog. This seems a lot more due able now.

                We made it Miami for our layover with little to no issues and Kala only cried a little bit on the plane; however, wiggle worm does not even start to describe her for the whole flight.  Our layover was  4 hours, so Kala was able to get down and play for a little bit and the dog got to get out of the carrier. During our layover Kala got pretty sleepy, so I walked her to sleep and  went back where all our stuff was. Believe it or not there was a pink rocking chair right beside all our stuff! I hadn't paid much attention to it before now, but what a perfect place to rock my baby as she slept. Thank you Jesus!

                We made it on our flight to Guatemala with no problems. We are so excited we are almost to Guatemala and the pilot comes on to tell us we are 30 minutes out from Guatemala, BUT there is ash from one of the volcanoes near the airport, and it is not safe to land so we will be re-routing to El Salvador. We made it to el Salvador and we had to go through a check point and customs. They saw that we had a baby and let us skip to the front of the line. Thank you Jesus! We stopped to ask if we needed to pick up luggage or if they had decided to keep it on the plane over night. They told us that the luggage would stay on the plane. Thank you Jesus! Now we get through customs no problem, but no one knows where we need to go to get our vouchers for the hotel, so we all are following each other like chickens with our heads cut off! We find the place to get vouchers and we make a LONG line, but little did we know there was no reason to make a line because they were just calling out names as they came to them. We get on a bus with vouchers in hand and a man gave me his seat up front because I have baby. Thank you Jesus! At this point I have a migraine like no other and am nauseated as a result of it and I am  just watching the clock in the bus thinking, "you can make it! We are almost there! It won't be much longer!". Well  45 minutes later we arrive at the hotel and by God's grace I did not vomit! The hotel is beautiful, but to be honest we could not even enjoy it because now it is 11 pm and we haven't eaten in 12 hours and have been up for  almost 20 hours with a baby who has only has two 30 minute naps. We get to the room, I put the baby to bed, and PJ goes to get food from the hotel. They told P.J that you can't take food to the rooms, but P.J. explained or situation and they let him. Thank you Jesus! We scarf down our food and go to bed as quickly as possible since we have to be back up at 4:30 AM the next morning.  We made it back the airport and through all the check points in El Salvador no problems and as we waited to board the plane we got to talked a guy, Mathew,  that was coming to Guatemala for 6 months to backpack. We had a great time getting to know him and he even helped us carry our diaper bag through the airport!

                We made it Guatemala after a quick 30 minute flight. They let me go through the handicap customs line since I had a baby. Thank you Jesus! We had a guy put all our luggage on a cart and we went  through the last security check and had our dog's papers checked( thank goodness we had them!).  We went out of the airport and Hilmar was waiting for us(I had face book messaged him the night before about all that happened but wasn't sure if he received it since we did not have international phones). Thank you Jesus he was there!

Thank you Jesus for provision! Thank you Jesus for the gifts we do not deserve! Thank you Jesus for being our LORD!