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....

Killen UMC Youth Group

Well we had a wonderful time with the Killen youth group! They have come here every year since we came to be missionaries in Guatemala! We always look forward to having them come and act crazy with us! Eddie Grissom is now the youth pastor at Killen UMC, and he got the trip together and brought a great group down to serve the Lord and the people in Chiquimula! I love hanging out with this group. Just about all of them grew up in Luke's and my youth group! Bless their hearts....right? But they are some of the most awesomest people! They came to work hard and minister as well. They put on a roof in a place called Maraxco. We have never worked in this area but learned of it through some of our friends in our church. It is another poor area with a lot of violence and need for the love of the Lord. We found a family, through the same friends in our church, that needed a roof on their house. The man that live there can only see out of one eye and is losing his site in that one good eye. His wife is completely blind and his son is also losing his eye site. The group bought all the material and spent two days putting up the wood and tin for the new roof. While working on the roof, we met some new guys and were able to talk and minister to some of them. The family was very thankful and at the end of the project, they were praising God and exalting the church or the body of Christ that had worked together to help and strengthen itself! Wow! Good stuff! I pray that this opportunity that God provided to work in this community opened more doors for our friends that live there and the Word to impact and change more lives! We also saw a momma pig with her new babies when we arrived the second day. She had her babies right where we were working! Momma pigs can get mean!!
The group also went to two schools and taught the kids and played with them. I am discovering that these kids love it when people from the States come and play with them. One of the kids asked me just the other day when we came to teach and play with them, "Where are the other people that came to play with us?" We told him, "It is just us this time." Then we said, "Oh man!" and made a sad face. I quickly grabbed him and took care of that sad face, but they love playing with the groups! At one of the schools, the group played soccer with the kids. Let me tell you we showed off our soccer skills! HAHA! We had all the kids and teachers laughing and asking us if we were doing karate moves or trying to kick the ball...it was that bad! But again, the kids loved it and so did we! Jackson, aka Marv, actually mad a goal from the other end of the field!
The group also went to the hospital and prayed for the kids and other patients. Most of the people in the group had been there before and prayed for the people but some of them experienced this for the first time. Very impacting and changes the way you think about a lot of things. But we are very thankful that the groups go and lift up the people in prayer and love on the people! This changes lives and impacts many there in the hospital!
They also put a concrete floor down for a family in El Morral with Pastor Esau. We had to cross a small creek and carry the concrete bags and water from the creek to the house about a 100 yards away. It was very hard work, but they worked together taking turns carrying water and making assembly lines to get the buckets of concrete inside the house to pour out. They finished the floor inside the house and the porch area outside in one day. The family that lives in this house is very poor and couldn't afford to get the concrete for the floor, but they bought food to feed the group lunch. Sonia, Esau's wife, cooked the food for the family. We ate the food in Esau's house. This was huge for the family to buy everybody food, and the food was delicious!!
The group went to Rio Dulce about three hours from Chiquimula towards the east coast. There is a touristic spot on the river where we saw the old fort built in 1595 by San Felipe. I was their tour guide and filled their heads full of knowledge about each room and rooftop we saw. There are a lot of interesting facts and inventions in that fort. I convinced some of them that the first electric plug was invented there in 1595...and the rave parties and gym spa was very popular there as well. Good stuff. We also ate on the river and took a boat ride around the area. The guy in the boat told us there was a bird island...well what a flop! We start out and see a few floating trees and wood that got hung up on some actual live trees with a bunch of the same type of birds....and thaaat was "Bird Island"!! Good stuff! But that trip was fun and I think that was when it became official...Levi likes on of the girls from Killen, Whitney. Marv...Whitney's actual boyfriend...didn't seem to feel threatened by Levi, but Levi was putting out the vibe! He asked her to play some cards outside and when she showed up to take her seat there was a flower in her spot...placed by the all romantic Levi! Better get yourself in gear there Marv! Haha The last day some of them played a couple of worship songs at the Church on the Rock. Ashley sang while Eddie, Marv, and Brandi played the music. They sang one song in Spanish and the other in English. The Spirit really moved and touched the place through the worship.
We really had a great time with them and praise the Lord for their hearts and attitudes that we saw while they served the Lord and others here in Chiquimula!

Seminar with Mark and Preston

The day we dropped off the group from Killen UMC, we picked up Mark Adams and Preston Headrick from Alabama. We always have the best time with Mark. He was my...well all of our leader at the youth camp we grew up in. He even was there for the youth that were in my youth group! OLD!! haha But my kids love him...we love him...and the girls here with us love him. It is always an experience with Mark. My mom actually accused him of being a bad influence on MY dad! Wow! Pretty rough! And I was actually accused of being a bad influence on Mark here in Chiquimula by some of our friends. Really bad!! But that was quickly brought to light the longer those folks were around us and got to know Mark! Love it! And this was Preston's first time to visit us in Guatemala! He was the minister at one of the camps where we were the worship band. That was one year that we still talk about. The presence and anointing was tangible that year during the night services. Preston is truly a servant God has poured out His anointing on and uses him to minster to His people. So we were honored and blessed to have Preston come and teach the pastors with Mark this year.
We weren't able to go see a lot with the guys b/c we were still getting everything clean and ready for the seminar for that Thursday through Saturday afternoon. But they did go pray at the hospital with the girls and Brandi. There was actually some rain the first couple of days they were here so they didn't get to go out much.
We had an amazing seminar! The pastors really love and appreciate Mark. They feel very close to him and have really accepted him here into their "group." That is one of Mark's talents, to be real and befriend people very easily. And Mark actually remembers their names and who they are and the past experiences with each one of them! That alone is ministering and encouraging to the pastors. They taught the pastors on the Presence and the Anointing in the church and prayer. And glory to God the Presence and Anointing were heavy during the teaching sessions! Mark taught on getting the focus back on having God's presence in the church and what that really means. He also taught on how easy it is for us to get focused on the numbers and events we set up in our churches. We must learn as Mary did to see our time sitting and listening at the feet of Jesus as more important and better than programs and events to grow and look better. Bro. Preston taught on the anointing in the churches and how to minster and stay in that anointing. It gets too easy to start doing things relying on our strength and knowledge, but true ministering and making disciples can only flow from God's anointing and power! He also encouraged and refreshed the pastors on prayer. We went through a time of putting it all into practice by spending time in prayer that covered all areas of ourselves, families, and ministries. What a wonderful time!!
Bro. Preston also was able to go and teach at one of our pastor/friend's church about 20 minutes from our house Sunday morning. The glory and presence of the Lord were there and ministered to many people in the church. Mark was sick on Sunday morning and was not able to teach or preach that day. He normally preaches at one of the churches in the villages when he comes but was not able to do so this time...He was sad. But we all went to the church on the rock and Bro. Preston taught on the anointing in the church and prayed for that anointing to fill that church and the lives of each member! At the end of the service we celebrated the pastor's granddaughter's birthday with the church and friends. That was a new experience but was great to be a part of that church family and the pastor's family.
Praise the Lord for using His servants to fill His pastors with more power, presence, and anointing! We pray that each one of them take the lessons and what they learned and teach their communities and be the example of all they learned! Good stuff!

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...