Our friend/pastor's house

We know and believe that God brought our friend/pastor and his church family into our lives for a reason. We met him through a divine leading to help a woman that lived in his village and was a member of his church. And through this lady we met her pastor, our friend. We then became good friends and was lead by God to build a church for them. Since then, God as continued to use us together and build a lasting friendship with the pastor, his wife, and the church. He has always been right there ready to help us in any situation and with any need that we have in our personal lives and in the ministry. He is also one of our friends we can go to for spiritual guidance or advise. We have been very blessed knowing him and working with him. There are pictures and blogs about many of these things from the past three years. You can look back if you'd like and see and read about these things. BUT he has also been there to help with the groups that come to do construction projects. We'll call and ask him to look for a family that has a specific need, and he'll pray and go talk to the families for us. He also gets the material list for us and helps us do the construction work. He has been doing this with us for three years now. He does not have a house. He and his wife have been staying with their daughter until one day God would provide a house for them. And not once has he asked us for a house or that one of these groups build him a house. I know that God sees this humility and faith because a church came to help another family and noticed that he did not have a house. One of the guys in the group went home and raised money to build his house!! God is Faithful!! God provided a piece of land for him and later the money to build the house. He and his wife have been working almost everyday to build their house. Others from the village that have seen how hard he is working and also how he has helped so many in that village have come and worked here and there to help him on their days off. So little by little the house is getting built and is looking really good! I hope that by the middle of March they will be in their house and enjoy a time of rest and praise to God! I have only been able to help him two days because of everything else we are having to do in the ministry. And let me tell you...I felt like I was going to die those two days! It is very hard work! Out in the hot sun...mixing concrete by hand...moving and laying block...cutting and forming the re-bar. The water for the concrete is not at the house...they have to walk a ways and dip it out of a hole by hand to fill the buckets with water! It's all very hard work! But he has a smile on his face all the time and is so thankful that God has provided a house for his family! God deserves so much of our praise and deserves all the glory we can express with our feeble words and actions! God has always provided a place for them and is simply continuing to show His faithfulness and goodness to His children. I enjoy working with the pastor...he is always telling jokes and sharing about what God is doing in the church or in his life! He has so much vision and passion and it all comes out of his actions and words. He is a great friend! Please continue praying for them as they finish the construction and continue in God's ministry at the church on the rock! Good stuff!!

Updated Photo 2 weeks later from the above photos

Jose and I spent all morning digging the septic tank

The Beast!

How awesome and wonderful is our God! Not a question...He is pure awesomeness! He never ceases to amaze us and overwhelm us with His goodness and love for us. We have a testimony for our God...not that He needs one...but we want to give glory and honor to His name for the great things He has done. We have been praying for over a year for a truck to use in the ministry. We have to travel in the mountains a lot and when we God provides, we can work with the communities and pastors in building/improving houses and churches. This requires transporting the materials and goods to the villages. We have been blessed by so many here in Chiquimula in helping us with the transportation...paying for it and some simply wanting to help us. But there was always so many phone calls looking for that transportation, and many times we didn't find the means to get the things there until days before construction...nerve racking sometimes. So we just kept praying faithfully and waiting for God's timing. Welp...His timing has arrived!! We were blessed by a family in the States with a donation to the ministry that provided the money to buy the truck. So we looked for over two months in the States for a Ford F250/350 diesel, 4x4, six seed...well we never found one that had the 7.3 (better) motor in it in the States. We came back to Guatemala and kept praying and looking here for the same truck. There are hardly any of these trucks here, but they are here. But we heard the same story here as in the States..."Those six speed, 7.3's are pretty much impossible to find." Well is anything impossible for our God!?? Even though at times it seems that way and feels impossible...nothing is impossible for God! I actually found the exact truck that we had been praying for right here in Chiquimula, Guatemala!! About 2 miles from my house! That took away the shipping from the States, taxes here in Guatemala, and paper work getting it registered here. One of our friends here said, "It's like God had that truck set aside the whole time for the ministry." The owner wasn't even selling it and came off the asking price more than $2,000 to help out the ministry. So God had it taking care of years ago when we started praying about the truck. I love Ephesians 2:10 where God says that He has everything prepared IN ADVANCE for His workmanship. When He calls us to do these good works for His glory, He has already prepared everything in advance for us to do it. He knows what we need and provides it. He even provided the transportation before we even had a truck so we were never left without! And I know He would keep making a way even if we hadn't bought this truck or another one. So we are allowed to do these things for God who has it all lined up to be accomplished. God is good and so faithful! Glory to God! It is a 2001 Ford F350 crew cab long bed 4x4 6 speed work style truck. Please keep the truck in your prayers as we start using it and traveling around the country with the pastors and groups! God bless!!

Number one for Uriah

Well Uriah got his first stitches yesterday. We were eating at a restaurant that had a playground set. There was a sand box at the bottom of a slide, and the kids were sitting and playing in the sand after we finished eating. Well the set was built a little too high so the slide was close to being straight up and down so that the kids would go really fast on the way down. Levi went down really fast and hit Uriah in the chest causing him to fall hard backwards and hit his head on the railroad wood beams that were lining the sand box. We heard him cry really hard and knew it was a big one even though we didn't see it happen. We go over there and pick him up and dust him off and bring him back to the table to give him a drink and hold him for a while. He was laying the right side of his head against Brandi's shoulder and when he sat up to get a drink of water there was blood all over the side of his head down to his neck and all over Brandi. He had already stopped crying at this point so that was a pretty big shock to us! Mom starts panicking a little, and I start trying to find the cut. His hair is so fine that it was all clotted up in the blood so I couldn't see the cut. I put some water on it and cleaned it a little and saw the 1 inch line on his scalp. But it didn't look that deep and it had already stopped bleeding. So we called a friend and asked where to take him if he needed stitches and went home to clean him up good and get a good look at it. Even after we got home and cleaned him up some more to get a better look, it still didn't look deep but it was a long cut. I couldn't get butterflies to stay on his head because of all the hair and all I could hear was my mother-in-law yelling at me for not taking her baby to the doctor to get it checked out. So we went to a local 24 hour clinic and had them look at it. Without even cleaning it they said he definitely needed stitches. But after he started cleaning it and got Uriah's hair out of the way and opened it up to clean inside......it was very deep! A half inch deep or probably a little more than that. Bless his heart, he was so strong...after the numbing shot and he started humming the theme song to the superman cartoon with Brandi and laughing really loud between the cries when he could tell they were doing something to his head. So my little bubba got several stitches and is taking meds to prevent infection and help with the pain. He actually slept through the entire night...that I know of. So please keep him in your prayers as his head heals! I guess the old way of taking care of wounds...just rubbing some dirt on it and going on with whatever you were doing...isn't really the best way to fix things. But it seemed to work with our grandparents. There you go...

Getting back to it

Welp...we are officially back and got our feet on the ground. We got everything unpacked and have started the kids on their homeschooling. Brandi and I decided this year we want to try homeschooling after seeing how confused the kids were getting switching between English and Spanish. Mary Kathleen speaks English with all the rules from Spanish! She'll say things like, "I want some water cold," "I want you to play for (with) me "or "That's a car blue." We hope that staying focused at the first part while they are learning the rules of English they can advance and learn without the confusion. So far they like having their mom as the teacher, and Brandi is doing great! We have started construction on the pastor's house from the church on the rock. A family from Gordo, AL donated the money to get the pastor and his wife into their own house! The pastor there has helped us build many houses and improve others while never actually owning his own. And he has never asked me for a house for him and his wife. But God sees the faithful and the humble at heart and has provided for the pastor. He is the only one building it right now so I am going and helping him as much as I can! It is such hard work! And he does it everyday! Keep him in your prayers and the construction of his house! We are also helping one of the pastors from another village that is studying in our seminars with the construction of his church building. They have built a pavilion type building out of mud and wood and are now wanting to build one out of block now that the church is growing. We are helping as much as we can to buy material and encourage them along the way! And I hope to be able to go and help with the labor as well when they get more material.
Our local pastor here in Chiquimula, Pastor Jendrick, and I will be going to a village that is about a 7 hour drive from here, to do a pastor seminar with one of the pastors that comes to our seminars. This pastor is over about 15 churches and asked us to come and teach all the pastors there in his area. We will also be teaching the church he is pastoring about small groups and how to disciple them. This will be the first time that the ministry will go there to teach other pastors. Please pray that all will line up according to God's plan and we'll be able to go in the Spirit and teach what He leads! It's a big opportunity also because this denomination is very shut in and doesn't allow others to come and teach. At the beginning when we went to teach the youth, they told the pastor that we were there disguised as another church trying to steal his members! We pray for God to show up and open eyes and ears to see Him and receive His word!
Pray for Brandi also...she got three wisdom teeth cut out 4 days ago and is struggling a lot with pain and nausea. I am trying my best to take care of her and the kids while she recovers. We are also praying and looking for two vehicles to buy...a truck for the ministry and a vehicle for the family. We will sell the two SUV's we have now to buy the others. We have had horrible experiences with other vehicles here in the past and really want God to lead us to the best vehicles for the ministry and the family! It ain't fun being "gringos" (North Americans) broke down on the side of the road very far from your town and home! With the family!! Scary!
Thank y'all for your prayers and ministering with us in Guatemala! God bless!!!

Youth Seminar

We had our second youth seminar this year on September 28, 29. We had 19 youth come and participate in the seminar. We taught the youth using the Experiencing God book but the youth edition. We received 17 of these books from another ministry here in Guatemala that collects material and ships it to Guatemala to give out to churches and ministries. So we were able to give each youth their own book to use and have. We are going to get two more to give to the two who did not get their book. We asked the pastors to send us the youth from their churches that were between 15 to 23 years old and who were leaders and teachers in the churches. We were really praying and hoping that this would be a seminar to equip and teach these youth to be able to go and do the same in their communities and churches. We had a awesome group of leaders and youth who were in love with God and hungry and passionate for His Word! It always makes things easier and more enjoyable to teach those who are hungry and listening to everything being spoken! Amen Pastors and Teachers?? We invited Bryan...Ashley's "special friend" HAHA...to help teach with Brandi, Nancy, and myself. We taught on God speaking...The test of Faith that comes afterwards...The adjustments we must make in our lives because of this...and The importance of obedience to what God says. All this is tied together in the book on how it leads us to a personal love relationship with God. GOOD STUFF!! We had a great time during the two days with the youth. Nancy and I actually cleaned and filled the pool with water so they could swim during the breaks. And of course they Loved that! We also played games and took them to the local mall to eat lunch the last day. It was the first time ever again for many of the new comers to eat pizza. I found out that almost all of them have never eaten at McDonald's...something different to take in.

But at the end of the weekend with the youth, I really enjoyed being with them and of course aggravating all of them!! I tried to set a few of them up with the lovely godly girls and godly men that were there from other villages. They just turned really red and looked at me like I was crazy! And I had my few that I always picked on and used as examples. But I find out that even though they act like they are going to be scared for life...that is what they enjoy and like...I am Crazy!! Weird concept but it works with the youth...not so much with the older folks...they just sit their and look like they are going to knock my head off. But there you go...keep these youth in your prayers! I have already communicated with many of them, and I am going to go listen to them as they teach the Experiencing God book to their churches. Awesome! Praise God!! There you go...

Sick!!!

Well I had my first experience with the Dengue Virus! WOW! It was horrible! Dengue is very similar to Malaria. It comes from a mosquito bite that is infected with the virus and lasts usually from 7 to 10 days. It causes very high fevers, severe body pain, sore throat, nausea, a rash, and much more. I told Brandi to go ahead and call our pastors and tell them to come and pray for me b/c it was the end! HA! It was really that bad though. And about three weeks before that, I had a really bad infection in my body that took a big hit on me. And then two weeks before the Dengue I got Shingles on my right hand and a little on my arm. Those things really hurt and effect too much of the normal activity. I was prescribed a strong anti-biotic for these shingles because the doctor thought it was a fungus under the skin. Well because I took the anti-biotic when it wasn't necessary I ended up getting a fungus in my stomach and intestines the week of my Dengue suffering and couldn't leave the bathroom...if you know what I mean! And while I was sitting in bed getting over the fever, I got an upper respiratory infection and cough. This was all within a 4 to 5 week period! Too much for this old man! It was like I turned 31 in August and everything went down the drain!! BUT...I am finally getting over everything and getting some strength back. My hand still hurts where the shingles were. I don't know how long that'll take to stop, but I am praying and believing it won't be much longer. But it's all good to go! I'll get over it and get it done...Lord willing! Please keep me in your prayers! That was really tough!

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....