Manuela needed a home. Years ago she married, but soon she faced the rejection of a husband who didn’t understand why she wasn’t pregnant yet. He left her for another woman not knowing that Manuela was in the early stages of their first pregancy. Returning to her family, Manuela was reluctantly given a place to …
A Widow’s Story: Tomasa’s Tears
On a recent home visit I trekked with a team through a beautiful valley path in the village of Chicua Primero to a small collection of houses where Tomasa Saquic stood waiting to meet us with two of her four boys. We greeted Tomasa and started talking with her. She told us how she is trying …
José Mario’s House
José Mario was 12 years old when we met him. He shows up at our house every Saturday to shine Michael’s shoes, turning the worn leather into a glossy sheen. We often gave him a snack and something to drink and Michael would sit and talk with him. Sometimes, José Mario works with Michael on …
Seeds in the Soil
A team of high school students from Resurrection Life Church in Grandville, Michigan, visited us in June and helped us with several outreaches and projects along with a team from a local church in the village of Chicua Primero. This church, led by a young pastor is growing rapidly as Pastor Carlos and his team …
Surgery Ward Salvations
Five salvations during a hospital visit! We recently visited the national hospital located about 45 minutes away from where we live. We were with a team from Columbia, Missouri. In the men’s surgery ward alone, four people accepted Christ and one rededicated his life to the Lord! One of the guys who accepted Christ was …
‘El Gran Evento’ Evangelism Concert
The culmination of three weeks of training over 60 youth leaders here in Chichicastenango came in the form of an evangelism concert with eight churches, three bands, two former gang members, a dance crew and prizes but most of all, the life-changing Gospel presented to over 400 who attended! Here’s an update I posted on …
ORU Summer Interns: CORDS
Sad to say, it’s rare to see churches from different backgrounds working together, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen! This summer, eight different churches in Chichicastenango, Guatemala are stepping outside their own buildings and working together to develop their youth leaders and hold an evangelistic concert that will have an impact on the entire …
Building a School for Special Needs
A team of 21 hard workers from Be The Change Volunteers joined ASELSI to help open the Jesus’ Little Lambs School for special needs students on the outskirts of Chichicastenango, Guatemala. I had the privilege of coordinating the team from the Guatemalan side of things and getting to see so many projects completed while the …
Good Report!
Over the last month of ministry we’ve ministered with teams from the United States in many ways: clinics, construction, evangelism outreaches, school programs, and more! During a home visit a family of nine accepted Christ, at a hospital visit, five people gave their lives to the Lord, and at a feeding program one man …
Shiny Shoes and Clean Hearts
There are dozens of shoe shiners in Chichicastenango. Starting as young as five years old, these youngsters prowl the streets looking for leather shoes to turn into shiny proof of their work. “Shoe shine?” they ask in earnest. “Son muy sucio.” (They are very dirty.) These poorly dressed youngsters can be seen carrying their little …
