Well hello there! How's it going? I have a funny story about my wonderful wife, Brandi. Well everyone knows how much Brandi loves to sing! No secret and not only sing....but sing???? LOUD!! She does have a wonderful voice that is very pretty and she uses it to worship and glorify God. But I think God had to sneeze when she past by on the way to earth and He forgot to put the volume knob on her b/c all she knows how to sing or talk is loud! But I love her! Well she used some money we got from a friend to buy her a keyboard here in Guatemala so she could play and sing at her cell group and practice at home. All the houses here are with-in spitting distance from each other and are concrete walls with open windows. So when she sings....the WHOLE neighborhood can hear her! HAhaha One day Jorge...who lives behind us...was sick and trying to sleep in his room while he had the house empty and to himself. He told me that he was just getting to sleep when Brandi started practicing and singing, and then he could not sleep. He said he was like...Brandi, shhhhh. I love her and love listening to her sing and play her piano. Well, there you go. God bless!!
Daniel
What We Do
- Eyes Wide Open Ministries
- 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.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Bad Spanish Interpretation
Something so weird happened last night. The leader of my cell group wanted me to go and "help" another woman with her cell group, so I thought "I can do that, as long as I don't have to teach it". I had talked to her over the phone about it...very dangerous when your original language is not Spanish...and I understood her to say that I was going to go to this woman's cell group and she would teach and I would help, so I just read over the devotion for the night and took off for her house...Well, when the devotion was starting, my leader was praying and I understood her to say "Lord, please give Brandi the words to say tonight as she speaks." My stomach dropped to be knees!!! I had no idea what to do. I couldn't tell them that I did not have ANYTHING to teach because this woman that had opened her house for the devotion was very poor and she had refreshments for us and my leader had already told everyone that I would be speaking...TALK ABOUT PASSING OUT! So, I took a deep breath and prayed, and no one ever knew I was not prepared!! The Spanish was rough at first, but my leader just told me that she just thought I was a little nervous! Wow! This living by faith in a Spanish-speaking country is a little nerve wrecking!! :) BUT GOD IS VERY FAITHFUL TO PROVIDE US EVERYTHING WE NEED AND THE WORDS TO SAY!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Our Church - Casa del Alfarero
I love our church here in Guatemala. Don't get me wrong, I love my churches in Alabama too, but God has truly blessed us with such a great church while we are serving Him here. The worship is awesome, the preaching is awesome, and it is very evident that they love God and love others. Our church here meets on Sundays and then has cell groups and prayer meetings throughout the week. Daniel and I are a part of the cell groups, and we love the prayer meetings. There is a prayer meeting at 5am on Saturday mornings with worship and prayer, and then the first 10 days of the month they have prayer every morning and evening. There are so many opportunities to be in the church and to fellowship with the body of Jesus in Guatemala, and we are very thankful to have that!
There are about 850 members in the church, but the Lord has truly started pushing them to keep growing and reaching the lost in this area. I thought it would be awesome to get our church FAMILIES in Alabama praying for our church FAMILY here in Guatemala. Please join with us as we pray for wisdom, strength, and guidance for the pastors, leaders, and members in Casa del Alfarero.
We love you! Thank you for your prayers!
There are about 850 members in the church, but the Lord has truly started pushing them to keep growing and reaching the lost in this area. I thought it would be awesome to get our church FAMILIES in Alabama praying for our church FAMILY here in Guatemala. Please join with us as we pray for wisdom, strength, and guidance for the pastors, leaders, and members in Casa del Alfarero.
We love you! Thank you for your prayers!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Back in Guatemala and Getting things Started...
Hey Everyone!
We were very blessed to be in Alabama for almost three months with you all visiting family and friends and churches and sharing what we feel like God is telling us to do this year in Guatemala. As soon as we got back, we started to work.
We were blessed to be able to work with a medical team sent from Global Missions of Mercy that worked with people in the village and also in the city of Camoton. This week, we are working with a construction team also sent from GMM, and we are in the process of contacting pastors and setting up our first Pastoral Training Seminar for the year. We sent out an email asking for your prayers for this seminar...so please pray and lift up the two pastors that are coming from the States to lead the classes and for the pastors here that will be receiving the teachings. The two pastors from the States will be here from March 7th to March 14th.
Also, we have hired Nancy Perez to help us administrate the teams that will be coming in the next five months, and we are not used to being "in charge" of stuff :) so please pray that everything will run smoothly and be glorifying to God.
Thank you for everything!! Please keep us in your prayers!
We were very blessed to be in Alabama for almost three months with you all visiting family and friends and churches and sharing what we feel like God is telling us to do this year in Guatemala. As soon as we got back, we started to work.
We were blessed to be able to work with a medical team sent from Global Missions of Mercy that worked with people in the village and also in the city of Camoton. This week, we are working with a construction team also sent from GMM, and we are in the process of contacting pastors and setting up our first Pastoral Training Seminar for the year. We sent out an email asking for your prayers for this seminar...so please pray and lift up the two pastors that are coming from the States to lead the classes and for the pastors here that will be receiving the teachings. The two pastors from the States will be here from March 7th to March 14th.
Also, we have hired Nancy Perez to help us administrate the teams that will be coming in the next five months, and we are not used to being "in charge" of stuff :) so please pray that everything will run smoothly and be glorifying to God.
Thank you for everything!! Please keep us in your prayers!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
The Tongue!
I have been reading James, and I think that most know that the beginning of chapter 3 talks about our dangerous MOUTHS. It starts out talking about how small the tongue is but how powerful it can be. Its like a rutter on a huge boat and a bit in the horse's mouth...although a boat and a horse are big, a small rutter and a small bit can direct them to go where they want them to. When I read verse 6, I started getting so sad. It says "The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." The part of this verse that really caught my eye was how our whole path of life can be set on fire and destroyed by our mouths.
I was listening to the radio the other night, and the host asked people to call in and share stories of how their mouths got them in trouble. One mother called in and shared a story of how she has not seen her daughter in years and has never seen her grandchildren because of a comment she made to her daughter's husband. That mother's words set their relationship on fire.
Also, the power of our words can destroy the path that God has set out for us. When we let our words of doubt, fear, or insecurity direct our path instead of God, that path that God intended us to take will be burned along with all of the blessings God had in store of us.
Although there are terrible consequences to letting our mouths run wild, I can't help but think of that part on Lion King 2 (a favorite right now with my kids) where Simba takes Kovu for a walk to talk to him and they come to a place where everything has been burned. He tells Kovu that sometimes after something has been destroyed by a fire, the things that grow back our stronger and better than what was first destroyed if they are taken care of. God tells us the same thing. If we would give Him our burnt relationships and plans, He will restore them and make something good out of the ruins. Praise You Lord that You don't give up on us! But, please help us to go to You before we burn it all up.
I was listening to the radio the other night, and the host asked people to call in and share stories of how their mouths got them in trouble. One mother called in and shared a story of how she has not seen her daughter in years and has never seen her grandchildren because of a comment she made to her daughter's husband. That mother's words set their relationship on fire.
Also, the power of our words can destroy the path that God has set out for us. When we let our words of doubt, fear, or insecurity direct our path instead of God, that path that God intended us to take will be burned along with all of the blessings God had in store of us.
Although there are terrible consequences to letting our mouths run wild, I can't help but think of that part on Lion King 2 (a favorite right now with my kids) where Simba takes Kovu for a walk to talk to him and they come to a place where everything has been burned. He tells Kovu that sometimes after something has been destroyed by a fire, the things that grow back our stronger and better than what was first destroyed if they are taken care of. God tells us the same thing. If we would give Him our burnt relationships and plans, He will restore them and make something good out of the ruins. Praise You Lord that You don't give up on us! But, please help us to go to You before we burn it all up.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
The Leading of the Holy Spirit
I've been reading in Acts these last few weeks, and a couple days ago I read in Chapter 13 how the church and leaders prayed and fasted for the leading of the Holy Spirit.
It says in verses 2, 3, and 4 "While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia..."
Then Paul and Barnabas went from place to place ministering and preaching the Gospel of Christ to the Jews and Gentiles and speaking with the power of the Holy Spirit...and even in verse 44 it says that in one city after hearing about the power in which Paul spoke, "...almost the whole city gathered to hear the Word of the Lord." Can you imagine the whole city of Florence or the whole city of Athens coming to hear the Word of God? They weren't coming to see some famous ball player or some famous singer or actor; they came to hear the Word of God. And the thing is...when this CITY came to hear what Paul had to say, they weren't coming for Paul. It all had to do with the leading of the Holy Spirit because they were in God's perfect timing and speaking God's perfect words. The pressure was off of Paul and Barnabas and it was put on God's shoulders where it is suppose to be. (Matthew 11:29-30 "Accept my teachings and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your lives. The burden that I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light." New Century Version of the Bible) God tells us here to give Him our lives and decisions and worries and accept, in exchange, His ways and His leading and His comfort. This is when we can truly be led by the Holy Spirit. I'm mean really...what were the people in the church and leaders and Paul and Barnabas doing before they even went to this specific city to preach the Gospel?...worshiping, fasting, and praying. And then what happened? An entire city came to hear the Word of God. Worshiping, fasting, and praying is all about God and all for God, so why wouldn't we then be able to understand the leading of the Holy Spirit? Now, if we are worried, distracted, and not praying, the opposite will happen because then we are focused on how WE feel. We will then worry too much to sense the Holy Spirit, be too distracted to fast or pray, and therefore make immature, human decisions that have little to no effect for the Kingdom of God. What a waste of energy and time. How much time and energy do I spend without the leading of the Holy Spirit? How much do you?
Today, worship the Lord (sing or listen to worship music, write about how awesome God is in a notebook or journal, tell God how thankful you are for what you have), fast for the Lord (sacrifice something you really like to do today and go do something that puts your focus on the Lord, give up chocolate or movies, or just plain fast for today and spend it in God's presence), and pray (write to God, talk to God, sing to God...but then be sure to listen).
God, I pray that you will teach us to walk daily in Your Spirit and be led by Your voice.
"So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives...the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!" Galatians 5:16, 22, 23 New Living Traslation
It says in verses 2, 3, and 4 "While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia..."
Then Paul and Barnabas went from place to place ministering and preaching the Gospel of Christ to the Jews and Gentiles and speaking with the power of the Holy Spirit...and even in verse 44 it says that in one city after hearing about the power in which Paul spoke, "...almost the whole city gathered to hear the Word of the Lord." Can you imagine the whole city of Florence or the whole city of Athens coming to hear the Word of God? They weren't coming to see some famous ball player or some famous singer or actor; they came to hear the Word of God. And the thing is...when this CITY came to hear what Paul had to say, they weren't coming for Paul. It all had to do with the leading of the Holy Spirit because they were in God's perfect timing and speaking God's perfect words. The pressure was off of Paul and Barnabas and it was put on God's shoulders where it is suppose to be. (Matthew 11:29-30 "Accept my teachings and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your lives. The burden that I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light." New Century Version of the Bible) God tells us here to give Him our lives and decisions and worries and accept, in exchange, His ways and His leading and His comfort. This is when we can truly be led by the Holy Spirit. I'm mean really...what were the people in the church and leaders and Paul and Barnabas doing before they even went to this specific city to preach the Gospel?...worshiping, fasting, and praying. And then what happened? An entire city came to hear the Word of God. Worshiping, fasting, and praying is all about God and all for God, so why wouldn't we then be able to understand the leading of the Holy Spirit? Now, if we are worried, distracted, and not praying, the opposite will happen because then we are focused on how WE feel. We will then worry too much to sense the Holy Spirit, be too distracted to fast or pray, and therefore make immature, human decisions that have little to no effect for the Kingdom of God. What a waste of energy and time. How much time and energy do I spend without the leading of the Holy Spirit? How much do you?
Today, worship the Lord (sing or listen to worship music, write about how awesome God is in a notebook or journal, tell God how thankful you are for what you have), fast for the Lord (sacrifice something you really like to do today and go do something that puts your focus on the Lord, give up chocolate or movies, or just plain fast for today and spend it in God's presence), and pray (write to God, talk to God, sing to God...but then be sure to listen).
God, I pray that you will teach us to walk daily in Your Spirit and be led by Your voice.
"So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives...the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!" Galatians 5:16, 22, 23 New Living Traslation
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Sweet Home Alabama :) - CULTURE SHOCK!
Well, we made it to Alabama, and we have gotten settled in to where we are staying. I have to admit, the culture-shock is hitting me hard...everything is a little overwhelming...and Daniel says he tries to feel overwhelmed, but it's just not working. :p Anyway, I wanted to right a little bit about the way I have been feeling just because Daniel is not home to make fun of me...
So, we get into the Atlanta airport on Tuesday around 12am Atlanta time, and first of all..everything is so stinking big! and loud! and there is a train inside! and everyone is speaking English! and Levi and Mary Kathleen are trying to put their fingers in the electric medal belt thing that spits out our luggage and spins it around to us! Then we get out in the freezing weather, into the van, onto the freeway in Atlanta, and all the cars are fast and Brother Bryan is driving and after stopping at a gas station to get my wonderful husband some State-side milk because he's been a year without it, we go to the huge hotel. Well, the kids wanted to sleep in their "Mae Mae's" and "Daddy Bone's" room, so I spent the first part of the night trying to convince myself that everything is ok...the kids are just in the next room...they are not still in Guatemala, and the last part of the night tossing and turning because the hotel bed felt like I was sleeping on a huge pillow...and yes, that may sound dreamy to some of you, but to me, after sleeping on a very stiff bed all year, I woke up hurting from head to toe. Then, we get up and get ready to head to good ole Alabama, and we stop for breakfast...and there are so many stinkin' choices, I start getting overwhelmed again and just want to hug my children...I don't know why. Anyway, we decide on a chicken place, and the biscuits were sent from heaven and the sweet tea was too...and it didn't even matter that the restaurant had a 71 health rating. :) (The truth...the score was hanging up next to the amazing sweet tea) Then we get back on the terrifying freeway and Brother Bryan is still driving :) and Mary Kathleen is just fussing about her car seat and Levi is hitting her for fussing so then we have to spank him and her...then they are both crying..but then an amazing thing happened. We stopped at a McDonald's and the woman working the drive through spoke Spanish, there were no cups for our coffee, and there were no lemons for Brother Bryan's sweet tea, so I just felt right at home for a split second. But then we got back on the road and I'm back to terrified again. We make it home 5 hours later, and we step into a wonderfully warm house and start unloading the bags. Then, we immediately go to my mom's house for dinner, then we get on the scary highway again and go to Killen for church and to see everyone on that side of the river, and then we go to Wal-Mart (at 10pm) to get more milk and some cereal...and let me tell you...I don't know what it is about Wal-Mart, but it scares me too right now. I'm sure I will get over this very soon because everything was so pretty in there, but I was very much happy to leave last night. Then I had to drive for the first time because Daniel drove another truck home, and his truck did not have a speedometer, so he wanted me to go first, but after following me going 45mph on the highway, he decided he would take his chances and go first. Ok, finally make it home, and Mary Kathleen decides she is now afraid of the dark and wouldn't go to sleep, but we did finally make it to sleep. Today started very very busy with unpacking and my bother coming over and telling me all the things he wanted to do and we had to do all of these things before 2pm because he then would have to go back home. Then we go to Rogersville because Mary Kathleen is now sick with congestion because of the weather change...and I have a break down and start scaring my mother....I hear that this is culture shock and that it will soon ware off, but I am now wide awake and it is almost midnight and I have no idea why I can't go to sleep...but maybe it will ware off soon and we will get back into a routine again. :)
So, we get into the Atlanta airport on Tuesday around 12am Atlanta time, and first of all..everything is so stinking big! and loud! and there is a train inside! and everyone is speaking English! and Levi and Mary Kathleen are trying to put their fingers in the electric medal belt thing that spits out our luggage and spins it around to us! Then we get out in the freezing weather, into the van, onto the freeway in Atlanta, and all the cars are fast and Brother Bryan is driving and after stopping at a gas station to get my wonderful husband some State-side milk because he's been a year without it, we go to the huge hotel. Well, the kids wanted to sleep in their "Mae Mae's" and "Daddy Bone's" room, so I spent the first part of the night trying to convince myself that everything is ok...the kids are just in the next room...they are not still in Guatemala, and the last part of the night tossing and turning because the hotel bed felt like I was sleeping on a huge pillow...and yes, that may sound dreamy to some of you, but to me, after sleeping on a very stiff bed all year, I woke up hurting from head to toe. Then, we get up and get ready to head to good ole Alabama, and we stop for breakfast...and there are so many stinkin' choices, I start getting overwhelmed again and just want to hug my children...I don't know why. Anyway, we decide on a chicken place, and the biscuits were sent from heaven and the sweet tea was too...and it didn't even matter that the restaurant had a 71 health rating. :) (The truth...the score was hanging up next to the amazing sweet tea) Then we get back on the terrifying freeway and Brother Bryan is still driving :) and Mary Kathleen is just fussing about her car seat and Levi is hitting her for fussing so then we have to spank him and her...then they are both crying..but then an amazing thing happened. We stopped at a McDonald's and the woman working the drive through spoke Spanish, there were no cups for our coffee, and there were no lemons for Brother Bryan's sweet tea, so I just felt right at home for a split second. But then we got back on the road and I'm back to terrified again. We make it home 5 hours later, and we step into a wonderfully warm house and start unloading the bags. Then, we immediately go to my mom's house for dinner, then we get on the scary highway again and go to Killen for church and to see everyone on that side of the river, and then we go to Wal-Mart (at 10pm) to get more milk and some cereal...and let me tell you...I don't know what it is about Wal-Mart, but it scares me too right now. I'm sure I will get over this very soon because everything was so pretty in there, but I was very much happy to leave last night. Then I had to drive for the first time because Daniel drove another truck home, and his truck did not have a speedometer, so he wanted me to go first, but after following me going 45mph on the highway, he decided he would take his chances and go first. Ok, finally make it home, and Mary Kathleen decides she is now afraid of the dark and wouldn't go to sleep, but we did finally make it to sleep. Today started very very busy with unpacking and my bother coming over and telling me all the things he wanted to do and we had to do all of these things before 2pm because he then would have to go back home. Then we go to Rogersville because Mary Kathleen is now sick with congestion because of the weather change...and I have a break down and start scaring my mother....I hear that this is culture shock and that it will soon ware off, but I am now wide awake and it is almost midnight and I have no idea why I can't go to sleep...but maybe it will ware off soon and we will get back into a routine again. :)
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