December Update

YWAM Antigua Base news

September through November has been a time of transition for the base.  After a busy summer hosting teams we were able to enjoy a little bit of a break and several of our missionaries were able to take time off to visit supporters.  We continued to host our weekly ministries and in September we had a DTS team from Mazatlan, Mexico stay with us for 2 weeks.  They were a great team on the first leg of their 2 month outreach to Guatemala.  They helped us with the ministries we conduct with the children, moms and bible distribution as well as ministering at our community worship service.  We were also blessed with a couple who came to serve as Mission Builders during the month of October..  They spoke Spanish and were able to minister with us without any difficulties.  They blessed many people with practical goods while they were here as well as shared the gospel message.

During November Susy and I traveled to India to help conduct evangelism seminars in 3 locations.  Over 300 pastors and leaders attended the seminars.  We also helped to dedicate 6 fresh water wells in communities that lacked clean water or did not have any wells close to them.  We also enjoyed visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra, India.  It was a once in a life time opportunity for us to see this beautiful building that is one of the 7 Wonders of the World.  We ended our time away by going to Nepal to touch base with some of the people I had met 4 years ago when our DTS team ministered in

Kathmandu.  It was a blessing to connect with a Pastor we helped with some funds to build his church and to see it completed with plans underway to add another building. God is at work and it is a joy to be able to see what is happening in other parts of the world.

We finally have been approved to begin the construction of our 3 story addition!!!  It has been a long process but finally we can begin the 6 month project.  If you would like to come to help with the construction, we have a place for you to stay at the base.  Please contact me if you are interested in helping or need more information.

We wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and a faith filled New Year!  May 2019 be your best year ever as you serve our awesome God.

Bruce Ahlberg

In October, we had the blessing of partnering with a Mission Team that came down from California.  They bought 10 baskets with food and cleaning supplies to give to moms who regularly attend the Women Bible Study.  It was a blessing for them to receive food and they were very thankful for it.

They also came with us to the dump. The workers at the dump gathered to listen to what the team had to share with them. They told them David’s story that went along with a skit.  They were invited to accept Jesus Christ in their hearts.  At the end, we prayed for people who requested prayer.  We prayed for a lady whose husband died in May.  According to her story, he was spending time with bad company and he was poisoned by an enemy.  Her daughter who is 26 years old is really struggling with the dead of her dad.

One of the team members has expressed interest in supporting the Ministry at the Dump.  This will be a big financial blessing for them.

It’s always good to see how God brings Christians together to share His love with others.  

Susy de Ahlberg

Bless the LORD together!

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Psalm 103:1  

This past month, we thought we were doing our friends and fellow staff members, Emma and Renzo, a favor by leading the women’s meetings for them. But it was more a blessing than anything else, because we took time with these women to look at how great our God is and how He has blessed us. More than anything, we want to encourage each other to know and love our God who has been so loving towards us.

So we talked about the blessings of marriage and how God is a God of loving relationships. We heard one week how God raised our friend, Pastor Juan Carlos, from the dead and healed him and gave him new life! He had died after an operation and came back to life after 2 hours! And Miriam, his wife, shared on how hard it was to watch her husband get sicker and weaker, yet in her heart, God was telling her to trust Him. And she saw God’s healing power and love and received her husband back from the dead. But more important than being healed or raised from the dead, or being carried through a valley of death is to know that God is with us and has raised us from death in sin to life in Jesus Christ our Lord!

It is wonderful to see the women in our group praising the Lord Jesus together and trusting Him for His mercy and grace. We see that many of them struggle with family problems and just putting food on the table, yet they trust in Him and are joyful, because they know Him!

Just last week, we took the time to memorize part of Psalm 103, which has been a powerful reminder for us to praise our Lord together:

The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  ⁹ He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.  ¹⁰ He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.  ¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;  ¹² as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

Joe and Karin Bedford

Ministerio de mamás

Gracias a Dios el ministerio de mamas sigue impactando a las madres de la comunidad de Ciudad Vieja, actualmente asisten con regularidad 90 mamas la mayoría vive en ciudad vieja y las demás de otras comunidades, este grupo de mamas ha aprendido a amar al prójimo, lo demostraron cuando sucedió la erupción del volcán de fuego se unieron para apoyar preparando alimentos en varias ocasiones y mostraron su apoyo incondicional a las personas afectadas.  

Emma de Lopez

Ministerio de Papás

Pedimos sus oraciones por el ministerio de Papas, especialmente por 2 papas que están luchando con el alcohol, ellos han mostrado que quieren cambiar, asisten cada vez que nos reunimos, es un proceso el que se esta llevando con ellos, confiamos en Dios que ellos dejaran el alcohol definitivamente. 

Renzo Lopez

We are happy to announce the birth of the newest member of our family. She arrived on December 5. Due to health problems Carolina was having the baby had to be taken by C-Section earlier than the expected due date.  Both are doing well as this time.

We would really appreciate your prayers and your help! 

We also need financial help. The hospital fees are about $1000 and we are struggling financially already.

Our family is doing well, otherwise. Samantha and Valery are doing well. Valery is talking more and more! We are developing new ideas for our children’s ministry for next year, focusing as always on children, teenagers and their families.

Eder and Carolina Quiacain

September 2018 Update

YWAM Antigua Ministry Updates: September 2018

Many good things have been happening at YWAM Antigua the past months.  During the months of  June, July and August we hosted 6 teams and conducted a week long medical and dental clinic and constructed a home.  On June 3 the Volcano Fuego which is located about 8 miles from the YWAM base erupted and sent ash, sand  over a large area including our base.  But the worst part of the eruption was the massive amount of ash and lava that destroyed several communities at the base of the volcano.  Over 3,000 people were affected and many lost their homes and business because of the destruction.  The areas at the base of the volcano have now been declared uninhabitable so the families will not be able to return to their homes.  Many are living in refugee camps until new homes can be built for them.  It is a very tragic situation as many have lost family members who were buried in the ash and lava.  It will take several months and probably years for people to recover from the losses they have experienced.  Our base has been helping in several ways to bring food and supplies to the people along with praying for them.

We finally have been able to purchase the piece of property adjacent to the base and have submitted our building plans to the city government for approval.  As soon as they are approved we will be able to begin construction of the 3 story addition.  We are excited to finally begin to build after waiting for 2 years to get all the paperwork completed.

Recently we applied for a grant from a Christian foundation and were awarded monies that we will be using to purchase another van and build a home for a family in need in our community.  God has been so good to us by providing for our needs and having funds to help families in need.

If you would like to come to help with the construction please let us know.  We will need a lot of help and the more volunteers we have the faster the construction can be completed. 

Bruce Ahlberg

During the last couple of weeks, we have hosted missionaries from the States. We have visited families. It's been good to hear testimonies about how families who were seriously affected by the volcano eruption in June are overcoming that situation.

I had the blessing of meeting a local Guatemalan woman who has been working with some of the families who lost everything including family members as a result of the volcano.  She is supporting them with housing programs, sewing classes, clothes distribution, and more.

God is good! God is sovereign!

Susy de Ahlberg

Hello from warm and sometimes rainy Antigua!

We are so excited for this season that just ended in the Kid's Ministry. We had the pleasure to have different teams come through the summer and share to the kids in unique ways the love of Jesus. We are so grateful for their work and the amazing connections some of the team members had or even have had with the kids for years.

Now, we are starting a new series focusing in Super Heroes. We are talking about 2 women superheroes from the bible (Esther and Ruth), and 2 male superheroes (Jesus and Paul). We want to teach the children that they can also be superheroes by doing different actions each week. We started with gentleness, and they need to tell us a story of how they practiced that this week. We are also introducing rules and more structure to teach them different important aspects in life, like being on time, taking care of what's given to us, etc. Also we are providing them with a healthy meal every week, to help their development, because we have seen many of our children are malnourished. We invite you to pray with us for these children and also their moms, that we can be an impact not only for them in an integral way, and for the generations to come.

Julia de Voncannon

Since we joined in April we have been getting to know the base, the staff, the ministries, and the area, beyond the initial experiences we had back when we did our DTS in 2014. Although much is the same, a lot has changed since then as well, and we have been enjoying getting to know everyone as staff and becoming familiar with how things run here.

The base ministry that everyone is involved in, Bible Distribution, has been the ministry that we have both been directly involved with, even bringing along our two little ones as we go door to door and talk with and pray with people. Just today we led the Bible Distribution time with two volunteers we have on the base, as the rest of our staff are either away or on rest as per doctors’ orders. For me (Francis) it has been very encouraging to be able to lead things in Spanish, something I would not have imagined I would be able to do already when we first got here. I have been able to help with translation in some other settings whilst we had teams here during the last few months as well. I’m not fluent yet, but am encouraged by how far I have come.

Teams’ season was a busy few months as we saw dozens of volunteers come through the base. We were able to help connect them with our ongoing ministries (kids, mums, etc.) but also, in light of the volcanic eruption (which had our families and friends fearing for our safety, though we were thankfully unaffected here) we were able to take them to help in the shelters in the nearby town of Alotenango – some teams bringing practical help, others coming to pray for healing, peace and to be bring good news, and everyone looking to do whatever they could to help those whose lives were so devastated by what happened. As well as the aforementioned translating, I have been driving teams around, including a number of airport runs, helping with meal prep, and generally aiding them during ministry times.

Since getting here I have also been serving in the role of worship leader, since at present no one else on base plays an instrument. This is something that the Lord has been developing me in over the last few years and it has been a real privilege to be able to oversee times of worship at the base. It has been a change for me, displaying lyrics in two languages, and re-learning translations of songs I know in English. I have experimented with switching between languages from one song to another, and also with switching between languages within songs, as I seek to honour both the English- and Spanish-speakers who come to our worship times. It’s been a learning curve, but it’s so exciting being able to praise God in multiple languages.

One main area we have been looking to develop since getting here is to strengthen the Member Care of the base – that is, how, as YWAMers, we are making sure to take care of each other. This has involved a few things, getting the opinions of the staff, having discussions as a base, and speaking with base leaders, to consider how we might develop some of the things we are doing, as well as introduce some new things to help us grow closer as a community. It has been encouraging to see some of the changes that have been implemented over the last few months, and to know of those planned upcoming developments, to see the base growing closer to each other.

Many of my giftings are administrative, and so I have also been spending time helping with the review of our base manual, particularly as we have reviewed the policies and procedures we operate with as a base. We are also developing the processes by which we have teams come through the base, and have been having to look at our financial procedures now that the base has become a legal entity within the Guatemalan system.

The kids’ ministries have been another area that we have been involved with, offering help during ministry times to those who are in charge of running them, and now starting to be involved in some of the planning for the development of those times.

Finally, we have started meeting up with the others who are going to be staffing the next Discipleship Training School, due to start in early February, as we think through what it means to run a DTS, what it means to staff a DTS, some of the practical aspects of doing so, reviewing student applications, and so on.

All in all, it’s been a busy but productive & enjoyable first few months, and we remain excited for what God has ahead. 

Francis and Andrea Frizelle

We are very thankful to God for helping us to make progress in the ministries we serve together with YWAM Antigua.

Ministry to Moms and Dads
The ministry has continued to grow each week through word of mouth, it’s growing because women are seeing changes in themselves, each other, their marriages, and their families. What’s even more exciting is the tremendous personal growth that is seen in so many of the Moms.  Their faith and their relationship with God is maturing, and it is bearing fruit.  Women help one another, pray for one another, and give, even out of their poverty.  

Renzo has always been passionate about ministering to the husbands and fathers of Ciudad Vieja.  Sadly, the economy is very poor, with little work or opportunity to earn a decent living.  As a result, many of the fathers have turned to alcohol or drugs and have avoided being with their families.  It was a huge joy and blessing to all when, in February of 2018, 16 fathers agreed to meet together on a regular basis.  Men’s Ministry is a space where men can connect with one another, lift one another up and support each other in friendship and love.  Renzo guides the men in following Biblical principles and developing a personal relationship with God.  

Thank you for your prayers and for your partnership with us in this ministry.  

Renzo and Emma

The Joy and the Sorrow of Sending

Karin and I have entered into a new phase of life: our children have left home and we are again a couple. This was a very emotional experience for us, both joyful and sorrowful. We are thrilled to see each of our children following Jesus as their Lord and Savior, striving to know God and please Him with their lives, and excited about what is coming next. We are sad, because we miss them dearly and would love to continue to be right there with them as we have been for so many years. Not only that, but as they go, I’m hesitant, apprehensive. Will they be able to make it out there on their own? Did I do a good enough job as their father in preparing them?

In my prayer time, God spoke to me, assuring me that, yes, I had made some mistakes that were not good, was negligent at times. But I had led them to the Father, who is perfect, who will care for them. I had taught them to walk in the Spirit and gave them on many occasions God’s Word. They grew strong and learned to walk with God. I thanked God for the good things He allowed me to share with my children and for His forgiveness of my failures. And I prayed that He would lead them on.

I know that God has allowed Karin and me to be parents of a kind to many others that have been in our base. We saw many of our students in the Discipleship Training Schools grow, and we are thankful that we could love them, guide them and share life with them for a while. It was sad to see them go. Yet we are so proud of many of them who went on to do other schools with YWAM or to grow in serving God in their callings, becoming mature and strong believers. We are looking forward to the next DTS and to other opportunities to rejoice, even when we are a sad to see them go. Honestly, we are praying that God will call some to stay and serve with us!

Joe and Karin Bedford

June Update

The month of June has been unlike any month we have ever experienced.  Many of you have read or seen pictures and videos of the explosion of Volcano Fuego which is about 7 miles from our base.  It was a massive explosion that caught many people off guard and unprepared for the devastation that resulted from the ash, sand, lava and toxic gases that were emitted.  Some homes are buried in 8 feet of ash and the lava flow has destroyed homes and crops.  Our YWAM base only receive a light coating of ash and sand and we were able to clean it quickly.  The day of the explosion a team from New Orleans arrived to spend a week with us.  We had to make some changes to the planned activities but it was still a great experience to have them with us to be able to minister to many people.  Because of the eruption the following team cancelled their trip with us because of the warning against travel to Antigua.  We were disappointed but understanding of their concerns for the safety of the people in the group.  They are planning to schedule a trip next summer.
Our last team was a church from Houston, TX and they participated in many of our base ministries and helped with the work that is being done with the families and individuals who have been displaced by the losses suffered from the eruption.
We have several more groups coming in the months of July and August so it will continue to be a very busy summer for us.  We are grateful for the teams God is sending us and opportunities they will have to minister to the victims of the volcanic eruption.  The work among them will continue for several weeks. Please remember to pray for them as they need to find a place to live, jobs and also bring closure to the loss of family members who are still missing and most likely buried among the ashes.
After many months of processing our legal documents to be recognized as an association in Guatemala we have finally receive approval!  We are now able to open a bank account in Guatemala and help YWAM missionaries with visas to work with us.
We are still waiting for approval of the purchase of the property adjacent to us so we can submit building plans to the city offices and hopefully begin construction of the addition to the base. We are eager to get started and ask for your prayers for the final paperwork and the construction of the building.  If you are interested in coming down to help with the construction please let us know.

March Update

During the month of February we continued focusing our time on the ministries we conduct each week at the base and in the surrounding area.  We are now going to the dump in El Tejar the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month to conduct a program for the children and provide a light meal for them.  It has been a blessing for us to work not only with the children but also the moms who are with them.  We have been working with Pastor Lazaro and his wife who have contact with the people at the dump.  He brings a bus out on Sunday to take them to his church in Chimultenango.  He has a feeding program during the week with 45 children coming for lunch each day.  We went to his feeding center to do a dental education program with the children and give each of them a flouride treatment to help make their teeth less vulnerable to cavities.  We will conduct this program with the children who come to our ministry at the dump as well.  Each child receives a tooth brush and tooth past to take home.

A new ministry at the base is a men's group that will be meeting once a  month for a meal and a time of teaching and fellowship.  The men who come are mostly the husbands of the ladies who come for the moms ministry each week.  The men are challenged to be pursuing the Lord in all areas of their lives and become the spiritual head of their families.  Some are struggling with alcohol problems and we as for your prayers on their behalf.

David and Juli Voncannon and their three children came back to the base in February after spending 3 months caring for David's dad after he had a stroke.  His dad is doing much better and we pray he will continue to progress and be able to resume his normal activities.

Francis and Andrea Frizzell wil be joining our base as voluntary missionaries in the month of March.  Francis is from England and Andrea is from Guatemala.  We look forward to their arrival and the help they will bring to the ministries of the base.

We are still waiting for the final approval to purchase the lot next to the base and hope it will be finalized in the next 2 weeks.  It has been a long and trying process but we are getting closer each day to make the purchase and then move on with the other building plans and permits we will need to get from the city to start construction of the 3 story addition.  We are excited to be able to add more rooms that will better serve our needs.

SSSO   

We are taking application for our Summer Spanish School and Outreach which will begin the last week of June and run for 4 weeks.  If you want to learn Spanish or improve your Spanish this is a great opportunity at an affordable price.  The class consists of 3 week language instruction for 4 hours each day Monday through Friday along with discipleship training classes and ministry development.  The final week will be an outreach to a community in Guatemala where the students will practice their Spanish and conduct ministry.

YWAM-DTS

We are also taking application for the YWAM-DTS that will begin the first week of August.  This is a great program that is open to everyone 18 years and older.  The 5 months school is divided into a 3 mouth lecture phase and a 2 month outreach phase. It is a time of intense training and spiritual development with a group of fellow students who have the same focus on "Knowing God and Making Him Known".  We encourage you to apply early!

January Update

During the month of January we hosted a DTS from Costa Rica.  They joined us on our ministries and were a blessing to our base. We always enjoy their spirit and enthusiasm to reach people with the gospel and be a blessing to others.


We had a Voluntary Missionary Retreat at our base after the Costa Rica
team departed. Jaime and Lori Euseche, base directors at YWAM Leticia, Colombia were our invited speakers.  They gave our missionaries very practical information from their experiences working with YWAM for more than  42 years. They addressed the topics of: Working as team; Vision and Provision; Connecting with your community.  We highly recommend them to any YWAM base looking for a DTS teacher or retreat speaker.

We also conducted a dental and health clinic with a group from Minnesota and Iowa.  This group has come to our base for the past 4 years and have impacted the community as well as bless our base.  The dentist and hygienist treated over 85 people during the week. Several of the patients had teeth that were beyond repair and needed to be removed.  It is great to
be able to help them buy also sad that they had to wait so long to get the care they needed.  In addition to the dental clinic our Medical Missions team conducted healthier living classes to educate the attendees on good nutrition and hygiene.  We also had a prayer room that was visited by many people and 9 people gave their lives to Christ!  Part of the team that was not involved in the clinics came to help with work around the base: painting, building shelves, sanding windows and applying varnish, concrete work, installing stove and water filters. They also helped with Bible Distribution and with ministry to families working at a local dump.  It was a busy but very productive week for the team.

We are anticipating completion of the paperwork to enable us to purchase the adjacent lot and will be presenting all the building plans to construct a 3 level addition to the base.  We are excited to be able to add more rooms for students as well as other uses.

YWAM Antigua December 2017 Update

 Merry Christmas! 

The voluntary missionaries (VMs) with YWAM Antigua wish each of you the best from God during this special time of year.  It has been a remarkable year for our base and we are grateful to the Lord for the provision for the vision he has given our base.  I asked the VMs to write about some of their experience doing their ministries and what God has been doing in them as well.  Enjoy reading their comments and please continue to pray for us as we pursue God's call on our lives and ministries.

Angela Carey

Every week we go to a neighboring community and distribute bibles.  Some days it feels routine and I catch myself wondering how much good comes of this.  A couple weeks ago we went to a house with 2 sisters living there with their kids and their mom.  One of the sisters’ husband is in prison serving a 28+ year sentence.  They struggle to find work, have no money to feed their kids and the water in the neighborhood has been off for 2 months due to problems with the wells.  We were not only able to sit and listen and pray with this family but we were able to bring them food the next week and connect them with a local pastor who will follow up with them and assist however he can.  This last week we were able to sit with another lady who was overwhelmed with life.  We listened and we prayed with her and her kids.  Sometimes just taking that time with people means the world to them.  If it’s helping provide food or simply sitting with a family who is hurting and offering them comfort and support, it’s worth it.  If those are the only families whose lives are touched by this ministry, it’s worth it.  It’s worth every door knocked on, every bible given, every prayer offered to help one person in need.  

 

Emma and Renzo Garcia

We have implemented a new activity with the moms during our time of ministry with them. Each week after the Bible study, the women split into groups to prepare a presentation or skit that summarize what they have learned. And this has been quite fruitful because the women get very involved in planning what to present. We have even seen some women come to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior after these lessons and activities and it’s evident that what they are hearing about is taking root in their heart.

Susy Ahlberg

God has been showing me how sovereign He is regarding Bible Distribution.  I have been distributing Spanish Bibles in Ciudad Vieja and in the towns around it for about 3 years.  This has always been a great opportunity to spread the Good News in every household.  According to my perspective, our Bible Distribution Ministry was limited to delivering Spanish Bibles to these communities in Guatemala.  However, today, I will have the privilege to deliver an Arabic Bible in El Salvador!  God has AMAZING plans beyond Guatemala for Bible Distribution!  

 About two weeks ago, I unexpectedly received an email from a dear friend who lives in the United States.  She told me that a friend of hers was trying to find a contact in El Salvador to be able to mail an Arabic Bible to a person in El Salvador who had requested it.  My friend, knowing that I am from El Salvador requested my help.  Knowing that the mailing system is not very reliable, I suggested to my friend that it will be better to find someone who would be willing to bring the Bible down from the United States or either El Salvador or Guatemala.  Using Facebook, I was able to find a precious YWAM couple who was traveling down to El Salvador from California the following week.  My friend´s friend bought the bible online and had it shipped to their home.  The bible needed to get there within 7 days before 5 p.m.  When the bible was bought, there was not an option to expedite the shipment and there was no way to know the estimated day/time of arrival in California.  Well, the day came when the couple was leaving their home to travel to a hotel closer to the airport because they had an early flight the following day.  We continued to pray.  I got a message from them at around 4:15 p.m. (California time) telling me that the Bible hadn´t arrived yet.  They mentioned that they had received their mail for that day, and no Bible.  They would probably have to travel to El Salvador without the Bible.  We started to message back and forth about other alternatives to get the Bible down to El Salvador.  Thirty minutes later they sent me a message telling me that the Bible had arrived!  They had a strong feeling that they needed to wait a little bit longer, so they were able to bring the Bible down to El Salvador.  

 

Since I had already planned a time for vacation in El Salvador, I am now here with the Bible.  I do not have an email address or a phone number of the person who requested it.  I only have a name and an address. I do not know the end  of this story, but I do know that God is spreading His Love, Truth, and Word to the world.  So, it is amazing to see His supernatural ways to orchestrate the spread of His Word! God has been showing me how sovereign He is regarding Bible Distribution! 

 

Bruce Ahlberg

Whenever we go on Bible distribution we never know who we will meet or what will happen.  We go making ourselves available to God to use us to bring his Word to people, pray for them, share the gospel and encourage them in their relationship with the Lord.    One family we met recently was in a financial crises as they had a lot of debt and were forced to sell their home and move into a home made of metal and a dirt floor.  The mom of the family poured out her heart to us and we prayed for her.  Afterward she expressed gratitude to our group for taking the time to visit her and encourage her. 

Another family we visited had two children who were so excited when her mom told her that "Gringos" were at the door!  They had never met a "Gringo" in person and they were happy to finally meet one.  The mom worked at a Retreat center and has met many missionaries from the USA whom she spoke very highly of.  I think we left a good impression with her children.

Another new thing God is doing at the YWAM Antigua base is the development of a Mobile Medical Mission.  We have Voluntary Missionaries with medical training and have connected with a Mobile Medical Mission in Costa Rica that is going to help us get started.  Donations are coming in and we are soliciting help with many of the medical instruments we will need to launch this ministry.

Another ministry that has blessed me is our visits to the dump in El Tejar.  We connected with a pastor who does some ministry there and he has helped us get into the dump for ministry.  We recently did a program for the children who come with their parents while they look for recyclable goods they can sell and get some income for the family.  The children according to the pastor don't get ministry like we gave them and they really enjoyed themselves.  We also gave out some food to each person and for many it was a true blessing.

When you make yourself available and go to the people, God opens the door for his love to flow through and impact people's lives!

 

Brenda Roldán

Han pasado 4 meses desde que comencé en JUCUM y hasta ahora, Dios me ha mostrado tanto de lo que él me ha dado. Como he estado a cargo del departamento de limpieza de la base, cuando hice un recorrido por las áreas y de qué tan limpias estaban, noté que muchas cosas solo se hacían por encima, no se limpiaba a profundidad y las instrucciones no eran muy claras, así que desarrollé un sistema de limpieza para cada área de 4 pasos fáciles de seguir totalmente bilingüe con imágenes como guía, los materiales a utilizar e hice un inventario de lo que ya teníamos para no volverlo a comprar. Se etiquetó todo lo que se utiliza el área en dónde se guardan y se capacitó a todo el personal para que pudieran saber cuál era el sistema que se aplicaría, los materiales y así tener un mejor control.

 

Además, con ayuda de algunos miembros del personal fuimos de bodega en bodega revisando todo lo que había y organizamos todo. Se limpiaron completamente las áreas y al sacar todo, se encontraron materiales para ministerios dispersos por todos lados, las herramientas del mismo modo y todo se colocó en cajas con etiquetas de qué contiene cada una.

 

 Y el área de la despensa de la cocina quedó como nueva. Al ver todo lo que se tenía guardado, se encontraron cosas que no pertenecían allí, así que se etiquetó cada espacio para colocar todos los víveres y poder tener un mejor control y evitarse problemas con animalitos no deseados.

 

Siento que el estar en un ambiente ordenado en donde todos sepan qué hay y a dónde pertenece, es una herramienta indispensable cuando se trabajan con un número grande y multicultural de personas.

 

Me siento muy satisfecha de todo en lo que Dios me está utilizando y yo se que aún falta mucho más y todo lo que está por venir, lo espero con ansias. 

 Joe and Karin Bedford

We always try to do a variety of kinds of ministries when we go on outreach with the students of our Discipleship Training School. But I love to see the students themselves are creative and plan their own ministry ideas. We were planning to go to the Plaza Mayor to evangelize. One of the students suggested that the girls could paint fingernails and talk and pray with women. So the girls had some good conversions there. And a couple of the guys would talk with their husbands and boy friends. It was a great idea.

Another day, we went to do a program with 100 children. We were all ready with songs, stories, games and crafts. When we got there, the leader of ministry told us the plan. We thought we already knew the plan, but apparently not. Our new role in the program was to do a couple of skits. But we only had half our team with us, since the other half had been invited to do another program. What now? Time for flexibility and creativity. We modified one of our skits and made up another one in a matter of minutes. It went great and had a super message for the children. It is so cool when the Holy Spirit helps us to touch peoples lives and lets us be His blessings to others. At the same time, we all learn more of God's love and power and wisdom.

Our desire is to bring God's love and salvation everywhere we go and see hearts change, and nations, too.

David & Juli Voncannon 

Since the last base newsletter, our life & ministry has experienced quite the rollercoaster with plenty of ups and downs. This year, we have been in charge of the DTS where we have had the privilege of working with 13 students (6 nations represented!) between our 2 schools. Over this last quarter, our fall DTS completed the lecture phase portion of the DTS before launching out to Huehuetengango, Guatemala and Bluefields, Nicaragua for the outreach portion. Unfortunately for us, we were not able to go along with our students on the outreach as David’s dad suffered a stroke and was in need of temporary in home care. So, with only a few days remaining in the lecture phase, David had to leave for the States, while Juli temporarily stayed back with our 3 children. Juli was later able to join David in Houston right before Thanksgiving, their favorite US Holiday. Though we are still in Houston with David’s dad, the DTS has had a very successful outreach and will soon graduate on the 22^nd of December. We are very proud of our students and look forward to seeing how God will continue to use them to shine His light all over the world!

Throughout this time, God has been teaching us a lot about trust, letting go, and letting Him use us in ways that we had never expected before. During our time in the States with David’s dad, David has had the honor of ministering to his dad by daily serving him practically around the house and getting him to all of his appointments. As a result, his dad has expressed interest in God for the first time in many years and has even gone with David to church a few times. His dad also continues to show marked improvement in his recovery process and as a result, we are expecting to be able to return to Guatemala in February 2018. We have learned in this time that though things do not always work out as we planned, they certainly do all work out for his glory.

Something really fun about our time that we have had in the States is that for the first time in the lives of our children, we got to see snow. Being that we are in Houston, Texas right now, having it snow like it did was a complete miracle! What makes it even more incredible for us was that both of our boys had prayed all year to see snow THIS YEAR. We originally had no plans to come to the States this year, but God saw things differently and responded to our boy’s prayers with an incredible display of snow! We just love how does things to captivate our hearts, even when the circumstance did not begin in a way that we would prefer.

Eder & Carolina Quiacain

Mateo 18:13

Entonces dijo: —Les digo la verdad, a menos que se aparten de sus pecados y se vuelvan como niños, nunca entrarán en el reino del cielo. 

Este versiculo me recordo estos niños en el basurero donde realizamos un ministerio esta semana.

No importando el entorno de la suciedad o los malos olores ellos en su mundo de niño eran felices.Y me puso a pensar de la basura que el enemigo quiere traer en nuestra vida, o quiere que seamos parte de la basura pero no es nuestro destino,. Porque nosotros debemos de estar enfocados en nuestra vida conectada a nuestro Dios, y nuestra identidad como hijos del Rey.