Monday, January 14, 2019

A Year of Seeing The Lord




Before anything, I want to give the glory to God for everything and for every day this past year.  I see and I have experienced the faithfulness in abundance of my God toward me. I see God seeking me out, I see God going through me whole day, I see God when I hold my son in my arms, I see God when I see my baby girl dancing, I see God in my wife’s faithfulness and love, but when I see myself I see how much more I need to seek God. In my sinful nature and my imperfection I see how much God loves me. On the sixth day of creation I picture God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in their workshop putting their heads together and thinking and planning and creating the perfect being in His own image; that is you and that is me. What shocks me is in the first five days He said it was good in everything that he did, but when he created man he said it was not good for man to be alone. But why? Because God created us to be in unity not to work alone, not to live alone, not to pray alone, not to love alone, not to walk alone, and for sure not to do ministry alone. So today I want to tell you one more time that you are not a number you are family, and the ministry we do in Guatemala God didn’t just give it to me, but he gave it to all of you as well. Because of you the one that prays, the one that gives, and you the one that goes, have been and still are investing in us, therefore, my ministry is your ministry, and my people are your people, and my God is your God. So, if you think you just give, or you just pray or you just do missions sometimes, let me tell you that you are wrong, because as I said God did not make us to do ministry alone and therefore, you have been joined in this with us as ONE. 
Romans 12:4-5 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

 In this New Year I want to tell you how much I appreciate you and how much you mean to me. I wish I could tell you what I know or write about you because all of you have struggles of all kinds and even through with your pains, restrictions, and setbacks you have been faithful and you have loved us constantly. I have seen you cry, I have seen you doubt, I have seen you confused, I have seen you broken, and there is so much I want to tell you, but mostly that in all of this I have seen God in you. I have seen you loving me and trusting me with your resources, stay with me, bare with me, keep working with me for this ministry needs all of us.


Here is a bit of what has gone on here is year:

I am still working( I haven’t been fired J) as a pastor in a great organization, manna worldwide, they have entrusted me with their church and their people that they have invested in and prayed for. Please pray that I keep gaining favor in their eyes and in the eyes of the Lord with this big responsibility. In the San Lucas church we have seen growth throughout this last year.  I was ordained as a pastor, we had three babies dedicated to the Lord and seven baptisms, and many have received Christ.  We have started a women’s and men’s group and have seen the people start to open up and relax, and our hope is to see these groups start to make community within the church and that we can live more as one body. Also, we have been able to start English classes to help with the people’s desire to learn.  Many new things and faces this past year and we are praying for this New Year to bring people that love and serve the Lord.

A year and a half ago we gained a daughter, she is now 11 year olds. She has lived with us and it has been hard, so hard, we have lost battles, dropped many tears, gotten angry, and lost peace. And today I can tell you there is still a long way to go, but we choose hope. My American mom showed me God and gave me a blessing and I intend to pass that on, so one day Johana, my new daughter, can pass that on as well.  Join us in prayer for strength, endurance, guidance, and love.

In San Mateo we took a few steps back because we lost the place that we were in, but we are still fighting the good fight. We need so much for that place. We are feeding 75 kids Mondays and Wednesdays, so for now we feed twice a week and I look forward to the day when we can feed all week. On the upside this year San Mateo kids had a huge blessing of being able to enjoy a Christmas lunch out in Antigua where they all ate chicken and played and got to experience something not many of them have ever done before thanks to this special donation.

We had a wonderful team of youth join us this year for a week and we were able to build an addition on to a house, and for another family a kitchen area and a bathroom, as well as many food baskets and stoves for those in need. We are so thankful for their hard work.
We had two girls that ONE for Guate sponsored to go to school this year and they successfully passed and we are so thankful to see their future impacted in this great way. Pray for the new school year and new challenges that they will be completed with this His power.

This year finally I can take my family to the market, to the store, to school, and to dates knowing that my car will not break on me. Thanks to Grace church I can tell you now that I am so happy for our reliable car (that all my kids fit in and it even has a/c) and confident that I can move around without worrying that I may lose my brakes, as I did twice with my old car. Praise the Lord for functional gift.
This year we had the amazing opportunity to go to Texas and visit a church and we felt completely loved and taken care of. We are so blessed to have gone, to have met, and reconnected, but most of all blessed to know the feeling of being loved and accepted by the church body as a family. We don’t have words for how thankful and how deeply touched we are. We thank the Lord for always seeing us and caring for us beyond measure.

We were able to touch many people through many random contributions that are not seen by many, but are so helpful. Just a few examples: medicine for a baby with pneumonia, tests for cancer, food, car repairs for a pastor, San Mateo kitchen helpers Christmas donation, and many more. Please realize every dollar makes a difference in even the smallest ways because giving is a blessing, giving is multiplied, and giving changes lives. For that we want to thank you for every single dollar you have given, every prayer you have given, every encouraging word you have given, and every second you have given. ONE for Guate is thankful for you, for this body, for the way God has woven us together.