Lindsay Lane Baptist with Us!!

We worked with Lindsay Lane Baptist Church for the first time this July! It was awesome!! A couple pastors came to teach at a church in a village about 1 hour from our town. Eric and Susan Pugh taught along with Glen Harrison about the family and home life, prayer, and the spiritual gifts. There were about 40 people there at the church. The pastor there has been coming to our seminars for more than two years now, but this was our first time to teach in his church. I didn't know what to expect, but the Lord took care of everything and we had a great time!! These were much needed topics in this area where there are a lot of broken and abandoned families and little education. They are very smart people and were very attentive and some were even taking notes. Much of the material was taught for the first time to many of the people. I saw some fanny faces while talking about the husband and wife and kids. The culture there is not very expressive so it was different talking about being affectionate to your spouse and kids. But they were very open, and based on some of their comments, were understanding the Biblical importance of each person in the family and how it all worked together. And it was helpful having Eric and Susan there to teach from both the man and the woman's perspective. Then Glen taught on prayer! The church had just finished a all-night prayer service the night before! So it was great being able to teach on prayer and see the growth in their prayer life as they saw new ideas and teachings from the scripture. But the teaching on Spiritual gifts and how they can edify the church was really great! They had never been taught on this and didn't know how the body functioned together as one with these gifts. It was nice hearing them talk about what they thought their gift was and how it could be used to edify the church. And some were asking questions and arriving at a new understanding on the Spiritual Gifts and how to use them. A couple of weeks later, the pastor there told me that the church was so excited and already waiting for the next teaching seminar for the church! How awesome is that! We are also trying to translate the lessons that go into more detail but that are in English for the church to have and be able to study more!
The next day, Pastor Eric and Susan did a short but wonderful marriage retreat for us in Josh Byrd's living room! Josh and Jessica Byrd are our missionary friends also working in Chiquimula and with Lindsay Lane Baptist. This was both fun and refreshing for Brandi and me! We had a lot of laughs and learned a lot too. It was nice to be taught and to receive from this godly couple and from their experiences. Brandi and I are already doing things differently and feeling the difference! God is good!!
And that night Pastor Glen came to our Bible study that we have in our house each week. He shared his testimony and how God is still revealing Himself to him and changing his life! What an encouragement for us all! One of the couples at the Bible study was dealing with some of the same issues that he had dealt with, and they were very excited to hear how God had helped him and got him through the similar circumstances. I think Glen was feeling uneasy about teaching with a translator and if it would relate to the people, but when God takes His servants and uses them...awesome things happen...more than you thought could come of it and everyone leaves praising God! That is our God and The God we serve...amen!
The next day, some teachers from the Athens, Limestone County area in Alabama came to Chiquimula and taught at the school in San Juan where we teach and visit the kids. There were three teachers in this group, and they came to give a workshop or conference to the teachers here in Guatemala. The school's principle was very excited to have them come and teach. There were other people in the group that came to help take care of the kids in the school while the teachers received their classes. This was way harder than I thought it was going to be! The first two and a half hours went great! But after that it got a little difficult to keep them together and teach them. But the group did a really good job! They played games and soccer with the kids! They also brought some arts and crafts and used them to teach the kids about salvation and how we receive it in our hearts. There was also a guy who sat for an hour drawing things for the kids like boats, planes, flowers, princesses...He saved me from having to hog-tie all the kids and stuff socks in their mouths! You say, "Oh how bad, Daniel!!" But you weren't there! Don't judge! The teachers just laughed at me and told me to come back the next day to be the 5th grade teacher! HA! I regretfully had to decline!
So we had more doors opened through the group and their ministering in Chiquimula with us! What a blessing to work with these wonderful people and serve the Lord together! We look forward to having them come back!! Praise God! There you go....