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 31, 2014

Training the Fire Fighters!


We had Mr. Nick Harper, from St. Louis, Missouri, come again and train the fire fighters. We are very thankful that God used Nick last year and has since then provided equipment to the departments here in Chiquimula. This time Nick came with more equipment! He was able to round up and donate five 12 lead heart monitors and bring them with him to teach the fire fighters how to use them and read the results. This monitor looks at the heart from many different angles and views and prints out the EKG chart showing where the problems are, and then they can determine how to fix the problems. The machines also read oxygen and CO2 levels. You can also shock the patients with the defibrillator on it. It takes the patients blood pressure and prints all this out on the paper for the patient. So when they get to the hospital they can hand the paper over to the doctors to see what is happening with the patient before they even look at them! And seeing how I am such the expert on the monitors...I'm sure they do even more than what I mentioned. These monitors do not exist here in Chiquimula! And now four different fire/EMS departments have them and know how to use them!
How cool is that! There were fire fighter/ems from Chiquimula, Zacapa, Cabanas, and Puerto Barrios. All these locations are on the Eastern side on Guatemala. There were around 20 or more guys and girls attending the classes and learning how to use the monitors. Some of them were in the process of becoming paramedics and it was easy to tell who they were based on their knowledge they already had on how the heart functions and how to read the charts. And there were others, like myself, who were starting from the beginning and figuring it all out in four days! But they did it! Me?? Not so much!
Nick first taught them how the heart functions. I learned so much in those two days. He taught in one day what he said they learned in four!! My head was hurting and I really didn't need to know all that information like they did. But praise the Lord, some light bulbs were going off and they started to answer the questions and even think ahead and ask some great questions! And praise the Lord for Marlos! He is also a Chiquimula fire fighter/paramedic that knows a good bit of English. He translated during the classes for Nick. I didn't have a clue how to translate some of...well any of the medical terms into Spanish. But b/c of Marlos' education and paramedic back ground, he was able to translate so that everyone could understand and learn. He had to step out a few time b/c of his other job and left me to translate...bless their hearts! We made it, but twice as slow and with the help of the other paramedics saying the names in Spanish. So thank you Marlos for your help! Nick then taught them how to read the EKG chart printout. And what good hearts looked like and how to know what is going on with abnormal printouts. He gave them homework the second night, and then the third night one of the girls asked for more homework so they could tell if they really understood it or not. Weirdo!! Nick gave them a lot more homework and everyone was yelling and talking smack to her! It was pretty funny! Even her face changed when Nick gave them the homework.
The third day Nick actually got a volunteer and showed the class where to put the patches and wires and how to use the machine. The fourth day, they practiced on each other the whole mid-morning. Nick actually started crying and said that he had been praying for a long time about that moment and it was really nice to see them doing it right and understanding what they were seeing. Praise the Lord!! So we gave each location a monitor to take home with them and use with their patients on calls! They have to pass their paramedic classes in order to be able to use the monitors with the government approval and especially the defibrillators! So don't freak out or worry! It's under observation...somewhat. Ha!
The fire department treated Nick like a king!! They had him a really fancy hotel here in Chiquimula that only the government employees can use. I had never seen it before...beautiful!! A huge pool and nice bungalows(?). Everything was green and manicured! Then they took him out to eat every meal or fed him at the fire station. Nick said he felt stuffed the whole time he was here! They took him to the volcano in Ipala to fish and to the Mayan ruins in Honduras...he had it made!!! Haha They wanted to treat him as good as the fire fighters that went to the State this past year were treated there. It was really nice and meant a lot to us and Nick! They even took my family and me out with Nick to eat one time! So I am just amazed by their giving and gratitude for what God is doing for them...through Nick and all the other folks back in St. Louis. Praise the Lord for his faithfulness and goodness! Keep these guys in your prayers! We are actually praying for a fire pump truck that we could get donated to the station! If you know anything please write us! There you go...

Another pastor's story

I got to go visit a pastor I just met this year from Camotan. He is from Honduras but has moved to Guatemala to pastor a church. When he got there, the church only had 19 members. He has been there 2 1/2 years and now the church has 100 members! That's awesome!! He has 8 kids and his wife works along side of him ministering to the village.
He has started working on closing in the church with adobe walls so the rain won't enter the church. He has started building depending totally on God. He had no money to start and has no money to finish but they are now over half way finished! They lack a little more wall and rafters and a little more tin for the roof. They are praying and trying to finish before the end of April with the rain comes hard! The walls need to be finished and covered in concrete stucco so the rain won't wash them away. You can see all of this in the pictures below. The members of the church are all pitching in and doing everything they can to finish the construction. There is a picture of the guys that are working hard. They have one guy who is the "contractor," who knows what he is doing, and he tells the other guys what to do and makes sure it is level and plumbed straight.
So I see how God speaks and fulfills His Words and promises to His people. They have asked us for help and we are praying for God's provision to flow to them, however He wants to do that.
 Right now we do not have the funds to give to the construction but are praying for God's leading. He is not limited by money or man! Amen! So please keep these guys in your prayers, as well as the pastor's family. They are very inspiring and loving people. When we showed up to visit and pray with them, he fed us chicken and rice...their food! And it was wonderful!! I pray for the same grace and generosity to fall on them as they serve God and the people in this village.



Back in School!

We visited two of the schools for the first time this year. We had so much fun seeing the kids again. They are getting so big! It's weird seeing how fast they are growing and moving on in life. This will be the last year for a lot of the kids that we have been talking to now for three years! We went and spoke to them about 1 Kings 13 where God spoke to Jeroboam and the Man of God, and how important it is to obey the Word of the Lord b/c He only has god things for us! We did a little drama with the story. That tends to keep their attention a little longer when they are acting and laughing. The second school we went to in San Juan Ermita the teachers acted out the parts in the story. The students loved it and of course I tried to get them to act as crazy as I could. My whole family went with me to the second school and our kids helped with the lesson and played in the games! They really had a great time!
It was really neat to see them again. More than three months had gone by without seeing some of them. They ran up to us and hugged us and said hello...felt weird b/c some of those guys I thought didn't care a thing about us being there and I usually end the day frustrated. But that goes to show you that you never know what impact you are making, and when you let God lead you..it can be eternal impacts! So pray for those kids and for us to have the creativity and energy to keep up with them! Good stuff!






Monday, March 10, 2014

Visiting another pastor/friend

This pastor has really impressed me since I met him at one of our seminars. Not that I'm saying that it's an accomplishment if you impress me or that the others haven't impressed me...just to put that straight. He came to his first seminar months after his wife had died of cancer and his son died from seizures. My heart went out to him, and we all came together to encourage him and be there for him during that difficult time in his life. I was able to go visit him last week for the first time.
We are actually going to go do a medical clinic at his church for his village next week and take another team there in June to evangelize and minister to him and his family. So we went to talk with him and get to know him better. His family all lives close together and really seemed close and very talkative. That is not something you see very often in the villages with outsiders. He still has 2 sons and 3 daughters. He has been in that area for 5 years now. His church started off with 7 members...his family...but has grown now to about 45 members. They have church services 5 days a week. The other 2 days he works in the fields to provide food and necessities. Another ministry had built a pavilion style church for him 5 years ago and slow but surely they are closing it in with block. They lack a little more to finish. But he is a man of God, knowledgeable in the Word and dedicated to the life that God has called him. Sitting with him and listening was an encouragement to me...even though we went to encourage him and pray for him. I really look forward to knowing him more and ministering beside him and his church. How was I encouraged you might ask?? Well hang on and I'll tell you just how that happened...As we all feel at one time or another, I was feeling a little down and wondering if what is going on here is really all that needed or worth it. These are foolish thoughts and of the flesh...like Paul said one time when talking about all his accomplishments and titles...but he finished saying that they were all nothing and like trash compared to knowing God and being known by Him. But I was there just here recently...do the seminars matter or make a difference?...does God really want us here and will He keep providing for the needs?...things like this. So I made up my mind that I would ask him what he thought about the seminars and what he got out of them. While we were sitting and talking, I didn't even have time to ask him. He started talking about the seminars and what they mean to him. I kind of felt God saying, "Listen up Daniel! I'm talking to you!" He was greatly encouraged and strengthened by all the fellowship and other brothers in Christ he had made and was growing in the Word! He said that the seminars were wonderful and he really looked forward to coming again and participating in the seminars this year. But you know what...even if he would have said that the seminars were a joke or that it was a waste of time (I might have cried), God spoke to me and encouraged me to be faithful to the work He is doing in our lives and to stay focused on loving Him and trusting Him. Those moments come when we are pushed to completely rely on Him and find the strength in Him alone...what beautiful moments! What a loving and gracious God! He is worthy! That all seems little and sounds like nothing now that I read it...but it was huge for me...God's voice and love touching us! As Brandi says.."So tender." 




A pastor broke his foot!

I have known this pastor for about 2 years now. He comes to the seminars at the house. He lives in a village about 1 hour and 15 minutes away from Chiquimula. He had an accident on his bicycle back in February and had to have surgery on his foot. Getting surgery in Guatemala is not easy at all! He had to raise the money for the material...screws and so forth...to be used on his foot and find two blood donors in order to receive the surgery. His job bought the material because he was injured while working, but he couldn't find blood donors. Everybody here thinks that you will die if you give blood or that you'll get really sick or you'll never be the same because now you don't have the right amount of blood in your body. Pretty funny but makes sense! Nancy and I went to visit him in the hospital and found out that he still lacked one donor. So we went to see if one of us could give blood even though we had already eaten that morning. The guy wouldn't let me give blood b/c I had already drank milk?? I will be sure to drink milk every morning for now on! Haha! But Nancy was able to give blood. Turns out her veins are really small! He couldn't get the needle in at first but later it started flowing. But about 1/4 of the way to reach 1/2 liter of blood it stopped flowing again. But the guy was merciful and gave us a blood donor form any way for the effort to give to the pastor. When he found out that Nancy had given blood he was really worried about her! He thought she looked really sick and felt really cold. I told him that we lost her during the process, but they did CPR and got her back! The look on his face was priceless!! His eyes were huge and he just sat there speechless looking at Nancy. LOL! Love it! We all laughed, but he still worried about her. Praise the Lord the following Monday he received the surgery and is recovering in one of his friend's house so they can look after him. He is not in much pain and seems to be getting better fast. Please keep our friend in your prayers. He still lacks about a month and a half before he goes back to get his check-up and clearance to remove the cast and start back to walking and working. Levi went with me to visit him and take him the medicine the hospital prescribed him. Levi took some pictures and prayed with us for the pastor. Good stuff!