Hey y’all! We have been reflecting on all that God did here in the ministry in September and we want to go ahead and share with y’all a short recap of some of our highlights over last month. It seems that every facet of this ministry is seeing growth in amazing ways and we are doing our best to keep up with all that He is doing. New things are happening every day, so here are a few of our favorite moments this past month!
In the local schools we were able to share a lesson about how we should use our words to build each other up instead of using them for destruction. To illustrate this, we had the children share with us a few compliments that they could use to build up their peers and we wrote them down on foam cups and had the children use the cups to build a pyramid. This was to represent how words can build people up. We asked the kids to describe how they felt when someone complimented them and they told us how they felt loved and encouraged. Next, we took a piece of paper that had the words “You are good for nothing” written in Spanish. We then had one of them crumple the piece of paper into a ball as we shared with them that there is power in the words that we use. We had one of them throw the paper at the pyramid illustrating how one insult can tear someone down so quickly. Finally, we told the students the truth that whatever is in your heart will come out of your mouth and emphasized that to truly recognize the power in our words we must guard our hearts first. We closed out each visit with a prayer and candy for the kids!
As we discuss our new opportunities of outreach here in El Morral, we would love to share with you some of the awesome things that we have been seeing among our youth group that we host here on saturday nights. Several youth that had stopped coming to our youth nights have returned because of volleyball and we are now seeing a few of them embracing the opportunity to lead among the group. Specifically three of our young ladies have begun leading the worship before each service and some of our young men are now leading in our opening prayer before the service. We hope to continue seeing growth like this in our group and pray that God continues to bless their lives each and every week as they dive deeper into their relationship with Him! God has so many awesome plans for their lives, and we want to be there to encourage them and love them every step of the way!
We are so excited about a new sand volleyball court we’ve added to the ministry center in El Morral. It’s not only fun, but it has opened up great opportunities to minister to kids, youth, and even adults! Several youth that had stopped coming to our youth nights have returned because of volleyball, and it’s our hope to be able to schedule games and community outreach events centered around this new addition. Of course, we are having to teach everyone the rules on how to play, but after just a few weeks, everyone is catching on to the game and getting better every week. We praise God for this new fun part of the ministry, and we are so thankful for your donations to make all of this possible.
As many of you know, we visit the National Hospital in Chiquimula every week and pray for the patients and their families. Last year, we met a lady named Rossy Guerra who runs an association at the hospital called Casa Abel. This association provides a bed and food for people that have family members in intensive care. Now, one Wednesday night a month, we visit Casa Abel to pray and encourage those who stay there. In September, we shared with them about how God can grow something beautiful in the driest deserts, even when we do not feel or see Him at work. We helped them write letters to God and copy down verses that will help them remember that God is with them and hears their prayers. We are very grateful to have the privilege to minister with these precious people every month.
While praying in the men’s ward of the hospital, we were able to meet a man who had lost his vision last year and was also struggling with diabetes and high blood pressure. These illnesses had taken a serious toll on his body and he is now battling debilitating pain on various parts of his body. We met him at the beginning of the month and he was there with his wife. He was a believer in Christ and said that despite his physical state, he knew that the Lord was in control of his life and that He loved him. We saw him again three weeks later on our visit but this time he was alone. When we asked where his wife was he said that she had left him. His children had left him. His parents had already passed away. As we prayed and grieved with him, he told us that he felt like Job. He had lost everything but he still trusted the Lord. He still had joy. As we were praying with another patient that day, we saw a man come in and walk up to him to give him some food and water. When we asked him who it was, he said it was a friend from the church. This was so encouraging to us because it reminded us of our job as the body of christ. Despite the sadness and grief that could be gripping this man’s life, he chooses to root himself in the joy of the Lord. Please join us in praying for protection over this man as he travels between here and Guatemala City for treatments and care.
We had a seminar in September with 36 pastors and some leaders, with Robert Guiller, who taught about leadership and administration. We all had such an amazing experience learning together and being transformed and reminded of how Jesus lead by example in serving and teaching through love and truth. At one point in the seminar, one of the pastors said, "Well, I think we all need to take this moment to ask for forgiveness and reconciliation." haha Many of them said that being reminded of these things and being strengthened and encouraged by one another marked a new chapter in their lives, marriages, families and ministries. Our vision and desire is to bring these pastors together to encourage them, love on them and treat them like kings so they can return home refreshed, strengthened and refilled to continue serving and loving the Lord. Thank you to all who were praying with us and who have helped make these seminars possible.
We are currently working on our visual identity and social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, as well as our website and would love your support! If you are already following us on Facebook and Instagram, please share our posts and pages to your feed or story. We would love to be able to share our ministry even more past the abilities of word of mouth and would love your support in this! On Facebook you can find us @Eyes Wide Open Ministries and on Instagram @ewo_ministries. We are on Youtube @Eyes Wide Open Ministries as well and our website is www.eyeswideopenministries.com. We can’t wait to see how the Lord will use these to help us grow further and ultimately to glorify Him. Thanks y’all!
This year has been the start of a new beginning and expansion for Eyes Wide Open Ministries. God continues to add to our ministering opportunities by opening doors to new experiences and stretching our faith to see and envision so much more than we could ever imagine or do ourselves. We have met many new pastors/leaders this year and are now seeing this turn into new relationships and opportunities to share God's love and His grace and power in their lives. We have seen God move and touch so many kids in the schools and hospitals through allowing us to spread joy, laughter and Truth through our words and interactions. The ministry now has two more full-time missionaries that God has called and brought to Guatemala to serve and be a big part of this growth and expansion.
We are looking forward to the days and years to come with more opportunities, new strength and a stronger, Spirit-lead team and partners to minster and spread the love and message of Christ in Guatemala and are so thankful for the things that He has already done here through the ministry. We pray that He continues to use us for His glory and continues to grow the ministry according to His will. Thank y’all for taking some time to read about what He accomplished last month here! We look forward to the months and years to come! God bless y’all!
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