In a word: Time is winding down here in Antigua and soon I will be arriving in Peru! This past month I had the opportunity to share the creation story with a big group of kids up in Alotenango Guatemala. I was the Narrator and my friend David played the part of God. Christine helped get the kids in order with pictures of the different parts of the creation story! It was fun stuff! I went to Tikal (one of the most famous Mayan sites) and got to see some amazing ruins! Plus God opened the door to share with several of my new European friends! God has provided some amazing relationships in Guatemala: strong men and women of faith and also many others that are hearing the gospel for the first time. Please read below if you are interested in the details and please continue to pray as I move on to Peru!
Tikal and Sharing with the European Peeps:
I had the opportunity to take a trip to Tikal Guatemala, one of the most famous Mayan sites in the world. It was cool because I went with 10 other people that are living here in Antigua. Many of the peeps I went with were Europeans and we became good friends while we were on the trip. We started in Antigua and went up to Rio Dulce and took a boat out across the river before heading out to the see Tikal. At Tikal I was blown away by the history of the Mayan people. Huge temples and plazas covered by jungle for hundreds of years until recently it was rediscovered. While on the trip God opened the door for me to share with my friend Rasmas and several other of my new friends. Please pray for Rasmas, Suzanna and Nancy as they search the scriptures for answers in the following month!
Good friendships:
One of the friendships that I cannot go without talking about is my friend Edgar. He is a Director for Permits (building construction permits) in the capital of Guatemala. He is someone I have had the joy of getting to know every weekend because he is studying English here in Antigua. He and I have had the opportunity to share life together as we try to learn each other’s heart languages. Usually he will speak English and I will speak Spanish so we can both improve! Edgar has been a huge encouragement and someone that I won't forget!
Bible Storying:
I had the opportunity for the first time in Spanish to tell the story of creation! I went with my friends Christine Jackson and David Hinds to a mission church in Alotenango and we shared the creation story with them. It was a great experience as I played the Narrator, David played the part of God and Christine got the kids in order to show pictures of what God was creating! The church is a huge church of nearly 200! The different thing about this church is that it is almost entirely children! After talking with the Pastor of the church who planted this mission he told me that the strategy is to get the peoples kids to start coming first and then the women will start coming because of the kids and then eventually the fathers of the kids will get interested. It just takes time he said. After my experience sharing in Alotenango I went to spend some time with a missionary who lives here in Antigua. His name is Keith Stamps and he has written several books about Bible storying. We talked for nearly 5 hours about mission strategy and story telling and I walked away with a different mindset. I decided that I would share stories about Jesus instead of just presenting the cookie cutter gospel presentation. One of the most striking things he said was, “Some people can’t understand the gospel as well if they don’t understand the full story of God.” It opened up my eyes to the possibilities of story telling and how God could use that where I will be living in Peru!
Close it out and move on:
Welp this coming Monday I will finally board a plane for Peru! I know many of you were thinking I was already in Peru and what is the hold up!? But now I will finally start the work I signed up for! Please pray for many of my teammates and I as we still work on our visas and especially as I go through customs with my video equipment. On a side note: I really need your prayers as I transition to Peru because now I am going to live by myself in the mountains and this is where the battle really begins! Please pray hard as I fight temptation and seek to share the good news with the indigenous people in the Andes Mountains! Love you guys!
