What We Do

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We are a non-profit organization that works with pastors, churches, schools, and the local hospital in Chiquimula, Guatemala. We host training seminars for pastors, leaders, and youth from rural areas and we help supply the congregations with Biblical materials to minister to their communities. We visit several public schools to share a Biblical story and play with the kids. We also pray in the local hospital and give out toys, toiletries, and Biblical materials. Ways to Be a Part of this Ministry: Come - We need pastors and leaders to come and teach these pastors and leaders here in Guatemala. Or you could bring a group to work in the churches or schools with construction or evangelism. Financially Support - If you would like to support this ministry, please visit our website at www.eyeswideopenministries.com to donate online or send your donation to: P.O.Box 245 Florence, Alabama 35631 Make your checks payable to Eyes Wide Open Ministries. All donations are tax-deductible. Pray - Please pray we will follow God's leading in all we do.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Swimming Party!!


We were able to host a pool party for the same class I went to the week before. The teacher, who attends the same church, called and asked if they could come and swim at our house. Well, we have a pool in the back that is above ground and has no filtering system on it...so you just fill it and after a week or so you have to drain it b/c it gets dirty. So we never use it...so it was really dirty!! I spent all day cleaning and scrubbing it with Ajax and chlorine to get the algae and nasty off the walls and floor so it wouldn't turn green in one day. Well that afternoon when I had finished cleaning it and had put silicone down on some spots that leaked a huge storm came making the mud water in our drains back up and come up the pool drain and into the pool making it dirty again!! I almost called her back and said that it wasn't going to be clean and filled again in time. But I cleaned the floor again really fast and started filling it up with water from our well. This takes all day because you can't just turn it on until it is full or the pump would burn up so you have to fill it a little then turn it off so the pump can cool down. But praise the Lord it filled up in one day and the kids were able to swim and have a great time! I really think that it was a miracle b/c I have never been able to fill it up in one day. But there was like 19 kids that came and swam. We also took two breaks to talk to them about Jesus' death and resurrection and then later about obedience. They played games in the pool and had a great time! Zuly, the teacher, told me that this was the only time many of them would be able to get out and do something fun during their vacation this week. They never are able to get out and do this. So praise God for the opportunities to open up your house and make a difference in someones life and love on them. And thank everyone of you for your prayers and support to make this possible. You were just as much a part of that moment with the kids as we were. God bless!!

Praying for the Lost

I went visiting and praying with our friend/pastor at the church on the rock this past Thursday. His wife went with us too. We spent this day praying with the sick and for the lost. We are called to pray for the sick and see God's healing power revealed through prayer. The 90 year old man that was so sick that he couldn't get out of bed was dressed and sitting up eating when we went back to visit him. He was not coughing and had no problem with his sinuses. Wow! He was a totally different man. And another woman we visited had been struggling with depression and fatigue and through prayer and revelation was able to find out the problem and begin treatments to recover, Lord willing. And there were others that were sick that we went and prayed for, and we fully trust God to do His work there and love on them as well. But one thing that still confuses me is how easily we are deceived and blinded by the enemy. Everyone seems to understand that when there is sickness and suffering that you go to the Lord and ask for healing and restoration...but when it comes to surrendering and dying to yourself and LIVING in Christ...no one seems to understand that sickness and healing that is available to all. And the Necessity of it!! WOW! So much more than any earthly sickness or pain! And all I heard from the people that day was..."Maybe at another opportunity" or "I'm waiting for the Lord to convict me because it is from God and not from man so I won't let any man persuade me." I just want to pick them up and slap them around and make them understand and see!! But I don't reckon that would help any, huh? But to see how tender but yet strong Carlos and Mari are with these people really was encouraging and amazing. We simply spoke truth out of love and prayed for them before we left. We are called to go and obey in making disciples and teaching them to obey...the decision to do it is between them and God. We are called, really, to do the simple things and God is in charge of doing the hard and difficult things. I have to remind myself to pray and allow God to speak because He is a much better speaker and lover than I am. And also to trust God and keep praying for these people not just in Salfate but all over the world! So join me in interceding for the lost in the world so they can come to fully understand God's mercy and love that can bring them to repentance and salvation! Let us love them in this action and see God's power revealed in their lives! God is good and so faithful!!!

Monday, March 18, 2013

Back in School!!!


I really missed going to the schools and visiting the kids and having fun with them. I feel I am in my comfort zone with them and can act normal...you know. Don't judge...b/c they don't! Haha One of our good friends is a teacher in this school in the city of Chiquimula and always opens the doors for us to be able to go and speak to the kids. She has been a huge influence on the kids for more than three years now b/c the school keeps moving her up to teach the higher grades the following year, making it possible for her to stay with the same group of kids! These kids seem to be normal...in both good and bad ways...but when she started sharing with me about their history and family situations I was surprised and sad. Many work to get food after their classes...others have no parents or have been abandoned by one of them...and the things these kids have already seen and experienced would blow your mind. But we sure do have a great time with them! We usually play with them at first and then do a short Biblical story to teach them something along the lines of moral issues. This helps us be able to keep teaching and not sound like preachers and eventually get kicked out. If they can justify that we are teaching the kids good morals than it's ok...what better moral lessons than from our Lord! So this past time I spoke to them about Jesus' first miracle and how an empty situation is only an opportunity for our Lord...not a problem. And how our obedience can bring about miracles in our lives! And the faith it takes to obey some of the crazy things we are told to do...from teachers, parents, authorities,...but mostly from God! He knows best and wants to give us the best!! I will be going back to them the first week in April! So keep the kids from the school Abraham in your prayers!!! And their awesome teacher, Zuly, in your prayers as she minsters to them everyday! God is good!! There you go....

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Visiting with Pastor Carlos

Well I had the privilege to go visiting today with one of our close friends and pastor here in his community where he is serving as pastor at the Church on the Rock. The name they call the church is "Sun of Righteousness" but everyone else knows it as the church on the rock. We went walking around from house to house praying, evangelizing, and even singing with the people. It was so awesome to see the relationship that the pastor has with the people in his church and in the village. Everyone knows him and seems to really appreciate him. I loved watching and listening to how he interacted with and loved on the people there. He is very tender and patient with them. We saw everything from real medical necessities to simply needing to talk and someone to listen. He even sat and sang hymns to a 90 year old man who can't leave the house any more because he can't walk. I was very moved and hope that I can continue learning how to love on the people God puts in my life and for me to minister to like the pastor is doing at the church on the rock. And I hope this challenges y'all to think about those people God has put in your path to minister to and love on as well. We are recognized as His disciples by our love! Go make disciples and love on some folks!! We are going to start this at least one day a week and see if it goes to other villages or just there for now. Y'all please pray for us as we enter each house for God's love to fill each person and for the Spirit to touch the hearts to see and understand. I had a great time! There you go....

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

DayThreeCoffee!!!


 
How many of you want a sweet cup of coffee that offers all the deep smooth flavors but still has the kick you need for the day?  Welp...WE GOT IT!! We have a great friend, Rick Walker, who has teamed up with two other guys to start a coffee ministry. Yep...it is a ministry and not a business. They buy coffee from Guatemala to sell in the States for fundraisers and to send money back to Guatemala to help with ministering to the people and provide for some of their needs. So they can help with raising money for whatever necessity there might be with you and help the people of Guatemala, and the only thing you have to do is...ready...Drink some of the best coffee you'll ever taste. I mean...it's the best of both worlds! I know...that didn't really make sense but it's a funny line off the movie, Rookie of the year. So you can have better tasting 100% pure Guatemalan coffee everyday and know that each cup you drink is helping to minister to people all over the world! WOW! I could really end this update right now and be totally fine with it!! But there is more to share about the trip the guys took this past week coming here and visiting the farm and meeting the owner of the farm. Rick and Nate Stewart came and spent two days talking to Amado Palencia learning about the process it takes starting from planting the coffee to the moment it overwhelms your taste buds as it enters our mouth. Haha This is fun. But they came to get this ministry up and going full force and provide everyone with more information and visual education on their coffee and the ministry. They made videos of the people working in the farm planting, cutting, and sorting out your coffee. They also recorded the process of cleaning, drying, selecting the qualities, toasting the coffee, and packaging the coffee to ship to your coffee pot! We learned so much about Amado and how cool this dude really is! How he takes care of his employees, providing education for the children of his workers and the people in the surrounding areas that the government had abandoned, how he fights to reserve the natural state of the Earth like trees, springs, flowers, and animals, and how he started all this from nothing and now has a HUGE business that is making a huge impact on Guatemala. He even has bacterial reactors that clean the water used to rinse the coffee before he releases that water back into the local area's water supply! Good stuff! And his farm!!....WOW!!...1,200 acres of natural beauty! Mountains upon mountains that would take your breath away. And he has cabins throughout the land where he offered them to us to be able to bring people to stay and enjoy the air for free! We are going to go spend some family time there very soon, Lord willing! So it was a very successful two days with Amado and the guys, praise the Lord. They also went around the other day taking pictures of some families that needed help with new roofs and others a retaining wall so their house wouldn't fall into the river. They also went to the hospital to pray for the babies and kids. They are hoping to send back a couple of fans a month to keep the patients a little cooler and not soaking wet in sweat. We are very excited to see what God is going to do through this ministry! You can order your coffee on their web page, www.daythreecoffee.com and see all the pictures and videos as well. They also have the option to order and pay for it right there and if you are wanting the proceeds from your purchase to go directly to our ministry then we have a promotion code you can put in...CRXHED and the money will be deposited into our ministry account for Guatemala. And if not... that's ok and you can decide where that money goes.
Please keep these guys in your prayers and the vision and ministry God has given them. And you can always help by buying the coffee and enjoying it yourself and bless the ministry at the same time. Well....there you go! God bless!!!

Group From St. Louis

 
Well we had our first team this year from St. Louis, Missouri with Summit Church. The leader was Alex Rodriguez. He is from Guatemala and was a missionary with his wife and son here very close to Chiquimula, but now he is serving as the pastor to the Hispanic church at Summit and his wife, Stacy, is a teacher. There were 5 in all in this group. Had a little difficult time understanding their accents because they are yanks you now. Haha But we had a great time together!! There were two paramedics/firefighters in this group that came and taught our local volunteer fire department on how to treat trauma victims and how to use the jaws of life tool to cut trapped victims out of wrecked vehicles. The group presented a evangelical drama and message the first day. Some youth from our local church came and helped in the drama. Then they taught how to treat the trauma victims starting from arriving on the scene and how and when to take them to receive medical attention in another place. The second part of that day was used to explain everything about the cutting tool. Our second day with the firefighters was spent outside with a car doing hands on practice with the tools. It was at night adding more affects to the training. I was used as the unconscious victim in the vehicle. The firefighters had to assess my injuries, and then get me out the safest way possible. I didn't realize that I was going to be covered in glass and have them cutting the car a part right over my head until it was too late! A little scary I must say. The local TV station was on scene during the two days recording everything and later put it all on the news. I was called the "gringo that had too much fun that night and had a wreck in my car." I became famous all over Chiquimula...I signed a few autographs and charged a couple of dollars for pictures but it's starting to die down again and things are getting back to normal for my life. Haha Crackin myself up... But the guys did a wonderful job training and the firefighters were eating up every word they were saying! They said at the end it was very helpful for them and they learned a lot of new things and were refreshed on the other things. They also had brought down 10 fire suits for the department and 4 pair of boots and many other things to help with treating trauma victims like a carrying board, head gear, and medical supplies. The group also went to three different villages and hosted medical clinics for the people of the community. The three villages we visited were with three of the pastors that attend our seminars. The group had medicine to give out to the people and were prepared for any other trauma or accidents they might have encountered. We were blessed by some of our friends and missionaries here, Josh and Jessica Byrd, who gave us most of the medicine to make this possible because the box with the group's medicine didn't arrive from shipping until the last day the group was in Chiquimula. So thanks to our friends for helping us out! The group saw over a hundred people in each place they visited each day. This was the first time a medical clinic had been given to two of the three villages we visited. But all three pastors said that the clinics opened the doors for them to minister outside their churches and to people that would not have otherwise came to the church. They felt that the communities were united more and were excited for the new opportunities to minister to more people. Praise the Lord!! And the last day in Chiquimula was spent giving a seminar to the pastors. We had 15 pastors come and spend the whole day learning about the great commission and oral communication. Alex presented the pastors with the material and did a wonderful job! Some of the pastors told me that they had not fully understood the great commission and now could see where they were not fulfilling it to the fullest. Another big praise the Lord for opening minds and planting wisdom in the pastors that will be taken to their churches and communities and impact more lives and hearts!
So we give thanks and praise to God for blessing this group and using them to minister to God's people in Guatemala! We had a great time ourselves with them. Our kids loved being with them and would not leave one of them alone! But he was great and played with them all the time! They also took us with them to Antigua the last day to stay with them and chill a little bit there. God is so good and faithful!

A little side note...we also learned that week that our dog is really a robot that can not be destroyed! Brandi and some of the group were outside by the road waiting for the truck to arrive with their boxes that were being shipped there when our dog ran out of the house to get another dog across the road. I heard one of the guys yell for her to stop and turned to look just in time to see her get plowed by a van that was passing in front of the house. She went air born and then landed in front of the van on the road. I thought that it was over and we had lost a good dog. So I get out of the car I was moving to go see what I needed to do when she came running around the house from the front and ran straight inside the door to the house, then straight to the front yard to jump up onto the wall to look outside in the front. Brandi came running around behind her at that time telling me that Shusha had been hit and was bad hurt. I said, "Well look at her now jumping up on the wall to look outside." I think she was more concerned about getting in trouble for leaving the house than the fact that she was just plowed by a car! What really happened was Shusha hit the van! There had to have been more damage to the van than to her because she is good to go. Very strange! But thank the Lord she is alright. I'm sure all of you feel so much better now knowing that story and knowing that Shusha is ok! Right? Well you should...we love that dog!






But thanks for your prayers for this group! They already have plans to come back and do more with the Fire Department and more medical clinics in different places! Praise the Lord!!