Pastor Seminar in June!

We had the privilege of having Stan and Bart come back to Guatemala to give a seminar to the pastors on Effective Christian Leadership. Stan's son, Tristen, also came with him for the first time to Guatemala. Tristen has been waiting for a long time to turn 14 and visit Guatemala! They came and worked very hard putting on a roof in El Morral for one of the pastors that was in the accident two years ago. Because of the accident, he had to spend all his money he had saved to finish the house he was building. Stan and Tristen provided the money to purchase the tin roof and wood to finish that part of the house. While working together on the house with the two pastors, they shared at the end of the day that as they were watching Tristen and listening to him as he worked and helped they could see the workings of a missionary heart inside of him. They even went as far as to have a special time of prayer at the end of the day for Tristen and Stan. That was the first time that had happened with a group so it was a first for me too. Who knows Stan....Amanda might hurt you but we'll see what God has in store for Tristen. Good stuff!
Then we started the seminar with the pastors the next day. The ladies, once again, worked very hard cooking and preparing the food for everybody for the three days. The food was awesome!! There is one pastor called Enrique. One time during a seminar, he actually got up and left and went to a street vendor and bought more tortillas and brought them back for everybody. He can eat like 15 tortillas with his meal!! They are use to filling their stomachs with tortillas b/c there isn't much food. Well this time we played around with him and made sure his plate was extremely full of tortillas! It was hilarious! His expression was so funny when he first saw the tortillas and didn't know what to say...but once he figured out it was a joke he said, "Now you are getting close to the right amount." Haha But then at the end he was so full he didn't what more even when it was offered to him! Good stuff! A huge ministry from the ladies to these pastors! There is nothing wrong with getting a full stomach every once and a while.
We had a lot of comments and testimonies during this seminar. Many had never been taught the steps and details of setting goals and steps to meat the goals, or how to set up a leadership team and delegate things out to accomplish more in the ministry. Many were sharing that the material was really helpful, and they were going to take it back to the church to teach it to their congregations and leaders. One of the guys is a leader and not the pastor of the church...he set some goals and steps on how to start a discipleship program at the church in his village. He said that he was going to ask permission from the pastor to start it when he got back. Others for the first time were writing out their vision and mission statements, and understanding the difference between the two. It was great seeing their faces when they realized that they really hadn't put something in writing or thought specific about their vision and mission. But that was taking care of that day when they all took time to pray and write out their statements and then have them reviewed by the other pastors to maybe help revise them or reword them. We also did more dramas or skits on the story of Nehemiah and how he received his vision and what his mission and goals were to see it through. The guys did very well and some might have a future in the acting world. HA We also shared Communion or The Last Supper together at the end of the seminar. The pastors really enjoyed this the last time Bart was here and asked to do it again. Bart wanted the pastors to serve each other the elements making it a great fellowship time and an opportunity to serve each other and grow closer together. I can see these pastors growing closer together and starting friendships and accountability groups and prayer groups with each other. What an important thing for some who are so alone and so far away from others to have that help and encouragement from other pastors.
We were able to hand out diplomas again to each pastor for finishing the study on Effectiv
e Christian Leadership. They shared their thanks and appreciation to the guys for coming and teaching them and also to y'all for your prayers and support making this possible! They sent their blessings and thanks to "the people and churches in the USA." Thank you! And praise God for a great time with the pastors and for Bart and Stan coming to teach them!! God bless!!

 

Gordo UMC Trip!

I am not calling this group fat! That is the name of their church close to Tuscaloosa, AL. This is Bart's church he is serving right now. After Bart finished the seminar with the pastors and with Stan and Tristen, we dropped Stan and Tristen off at the hotel and picked up the group for another week of ministering in Guatemala! We had to stay the night in a hotel in the capital b/c the group arrived very late on top of their flight being delayed. But all arrived in Guatemala...some very pale and sick looking, others tired and asleep...and others ( Liz) very talkative. lol But everybody was good to go and ready to get to Chiquimula. The next day we get to Chiquimula and get settled down and in the rooms. They put on a roof the following down and walked around the village praying and ministering to the families at their houses. We had to carry the wood through creeks and up mountains to get it to the house! Everybody surprised me and managed to make it to the house without passing out or falling in the creek. It was a lot of wood and some pieces were 3x4 16 foot long pieces! Not that light! Then we split up in teams, some to work on the roof and others to go visiting. The house was horribly squared making it very difficult to cut pieces and line everything up just right. And b/c of that it took extra long to get things going and finish the roof! Plus the language barrier b/t the Guatemalans working and the group all trying to communicate and tell the other what they were wanting or doing...but everyone worked together so well and got it done! The ladies were escorted around by the guy's daughter who owned the house we were putting the roof on. They walked all over the side of that mountain...up and down...visiting houses and praying for people. They stayed gone the entire morning visiting and praying and came back around 1:30 to eat lunch. The owner's of the house fixed a lunch for all of us!! That is huge for these people to share that much food with us!! It was very touching and humbling to receive the food that was really a sacrifice for them. But they gave it to us with a smile and were very happy to see everyone enjoying the food and eating it all!! Then we got back to work on the roof and didn't finish until around 7 pm!! Not normal but b/c it was so out of wack, it took a little longer than usual. But it was a great first day!
The next day, we went with the pastor from the same village as the first day, up the mountain a good ways and met with another pastor under his care to minister in his church and in his community. We played with the kids, did a Bible lesson with them and handed out candy to them. We did the skit about the good Samaritan again and the group acted out the parts. The kids loved it and listened very well! Then we went to three different families to hand out food and pray for them! The pastor had picked out the families who needed the most help. I think everyone could see how content these families were living so simple and humble and how excited they were to receive food from the group! Our baby, Uriah, woke up that day vomiting and with the runs so Brandi had to stay home when we got back to go to the hospital that afternoon. The group went and prayed for the babies in the ICU and the other kids in the recovery rooms. They brought toys and candy to hand out as they prayed for each family that was there. We had a mom receive Jesus into her heart that day!! Good stuff! Then we took the rest of that afternoon and noght off to get ready for the next day of construction.
The third day we went to the Church on the Rock to put another tin roof on a house for a very poor family and at the same time Liz taught the ladies in the church a two day seminar. Before we got started with the roof, we had another opportunity to play with the kids in that area and do the same Bible study with them. After the Bible study, some stayed to play with the kids while the others went to work on the roof. This house was a little more squared off than the other and we had help from some of the guys in Carlos' church so it went a lot smoother! And once again...this family fixed a chicken soup for all of us who were working on the house. Some of the guys said they didn't know that all of it was chicken in the soup and after we found the shell of an armadillo we were sure that it wasn't all chicken. Haha! Joking! But we did find a shell of an armadillo but Louis said that they had eaten that a long time ago. So what was it??? It was good and gone whatever it was! And what a blessing and sacrifice for them to share with us the little that they had! Good lesson on sharing! The seminar with Liz went very well that day. Some ladies and kids from the group helped take care of the ladies' babies that were participating in the seminar. Huge help! She taught on Effective Prayer. I wasn't there but I heard some of the ladies sharing afterwards about how they had been encouraged and refreshed on the importance and power of prayer and the steps they were taking to get back into their prayer life. Good stuff!!
Then on Saturday we went back to Salfate for Liz to finish teaching the ladies and the rest of the group that wasn't helping take care of the babies at the church walked around the village visiting and praying with different families. They also bought two more baskets of food to hand out to the families that the pastor had chosen that needed help. We had a great time in that village and are very thankful for the group sharing and ministering there with us!
Then we went back to Chiquimula to visit down town and see the central market where the meat was hanging to buy and the vegetables laid out to choose. Some of them bought some hammocks to take home and relax under the tree and others just looked around and were thankful for Wal-Mart (for Peggy haha) or for the grocery stores in the States! But we had a good time seeing all of that and also visiting with the local volunteer fir department.
Sunday morning and afternoon they went to the Copan Ruins in Honduras. Then they went back to the church on the rock and participated in the church service. Then they left for the airport on Monday morning! We were so blessed and happy to have this group with us! They were wonderful to carry around...they quickly came to understand how wonderful and pleasant the McIntyre charm is! Hahaha! I was their tour guide all day Sunday!! Good stuff!! The things I can come up with scare even me! But we want to thank y'all for coming and hope to see y'all again soon!!

God bless!!!

God's Faithfulness

I found a journal entry today from 2008, when we were praying about coming to Guatemala. I was pregnant with Mary Kathleen and Levi had just turned 1:

March 13th, 2008:
God reminded me today of His faithfulness. He told me to look at the bare trees in the yard, and then He said that He would be faithful to bring the leaves back to those trees, and the trees would no longer be bare. He does it every year. He told me I was more valuable than those trees, so He would be sure to be faithful to me. He has never forgotten about me, and He never will. I can trust Him with my life, and I can trust Him with the lives of those I love.

Here it is July 12th, 2013 and we have been in Guatemala for four and a half years, and He has never left us. Levi is 6 years old, Mary Kathleen is almost 5, and Uriah, who was born in Guatemala, is 1 and a half. He has proved His faithfulness to us over and over again, even though He isn't required to because He is God. He will continue to be faithful, although the humans around me and the circumstances I face with more than likely fail me. For that, I love Him more today than I ever have.

Trip to the States!

Welp...we did a little something different for this summer! For the first time in three years we visited AL in the summer!! We didn't tell anybody accept a few people that we were coming so it was a great surprise for the family! Luke, Kimberly, and Lily Grace picked us up from the airport. They didn't tell Lily Grace so it would be a surprise for her to see Levi, and so she wouldn't tell anybody else! It was great to see their response when they saw each other. Levi chased her for a while until Luke finally grabbed Levi and put them together so Levi wouldn't clobber her and take her to the floor! We had to tell my mother-in-law because for the first time in her LIFE she was going to leave Alabama and stay for a few days in Florida with her brother...the day we were going to arrive!! Can you believe that?! So she knew but managed to keep it a secret...another miracle!...so the kids were able to surprise their Paw Paw, Keith McBay. He was asleep and they ran in and jumped on him in bed. After he yelled, "Hey! Mercy!" He figured out it was us! I didn't know if he was going to hit them from being jumped on while dead asleep but it was perfect! The next day we went to the early service at my folks' church and surprised them! Leigh Cron did a Brave Heart charge across the parking lot screaming and mounts me and Uriah! Uriah is looking at this crazy woman like what is her problem and starts crying when the teeth got so close! LOL!! That was for my sister! But he did cry. And mom and dad's reaction was classic too! So we had a good surprise and a great time relaxing with the family and seeing everybody again! And of course...The FOOD!!! was AWESOME!! Gained about 10 lbs in 2 weeks...that's right! But lost it all in a few days back in Guatemala! We were able to hang out with the family, and the kids got to see the cousins and go out on the boat at the McBay's and the four wheeler at the McIntyre's...GOOD STUFF!! Thank you God for our visit and great time with the family!
But we got back Sunday, and Monday I had to go back to the capital to pick up three guys to do construction and a pastor seminar, and then a week later when they left we picked up a new group from a church in AL to do construction, school and hospital ministry, and seminars for the next week. WOW! Didn't really stop until this past Tues., but the groups were great and a lot was accomplished in the ministry and villages, Praise God!! 
There you go...