Christmas Caroling

Saturday night YWAM Antigua held its 3rd annual Christmas caroling party in Antigua. It was a great night to sing the familiar Christmas songs to the many people who were walking the streets and in the Central Park of Antigua. We met up with a band comprised of young people who were also playing Christmas songs so we joined in with them and had a wonderful time. It was totally unplanned but nonetheless a blessed time for everyone and an opportunity to truly give praise to the Lord.

Feliz Navidad!

December news

Sue Lawrence from England has recently joined our staff. We are blessed to have her serving with us. Sue has a passion for prayer and will be developing this ministry as the Lord leads her.
We celebrated Thanksgiving at Higher Grounds Coffee House and had 42 people attend. It was a fabulous meal prepared by our staff. The coffee house has hosted a special Thanksgiving meal for the past 5 years. There are many Americans in Antigua who appreciate the opportunity to participate in this meal and invite their Guatemalan friends to be a part of it.
We will be hosting DTS teams from Chico, CA and Sacramento, CA durng December. Both teams will be here to celebrate Christmas. We look forward to their arrival and the ministry they will bring to reach out to people here.
On December 19th we will be showing movie at the base and inviting our neighbors to view it. We will have special Christmas message for them and an invitation to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior.
On December 20 we will have the annual Christmas caroling party in Antigua. We will be walking the streets to sing Christmas songs to bless the people and remind them of the real meaning of the celebration.
On December 24 we will host a special Christmas Eve service at a local homeless shelter. There are 80-90 people who come each night for a meal and spend the night in the shelter. We look forward to ministering to them.
Have a Merry Christmas!

Movie Night at the Base

Saturday night we showed the movie, "The Cross and the Switchblade" at the base. We had almost 100 people from the neighborhood attend. This story is timeless as it demonstrates the power of God to reach what some may consider the most difficult and hardened people. Gangs are very powerful in Guatemala and the audience could relate to the story of Nicky Cruz, the gang leader. He has come to Guatemala on several ocassions to host crusades. At the end of the movie a local missionary presented the gospel message and gave opportunity to receive Christ as Lord and Savior. To God be the glory!

Kid's Club

Last Saturday we hosted Kid's Club at the base for the children living in our neighborhood. About 50 children participated in the program which we will host on Saturdays. It is a great opportunity to extend the love of Christ to these precious children. They appreciate having a place to go to where they know they will be safe and have fun. Many of the children come from families without much money and have problems that stem from alcohol use and abuse. A local newspaper reported that 66% of Guatemalans drink alcoholic beverages which makes them #1 in the world. It is not a statistic to be proud of and the devasting results are witnessed everyday in the live of neglected and abuse children. Please pray that our outreach to children will have a life-changing impact on them and their families.

Prayer Room

We are in the processes of making a portable prayer room at Higher Grounds Coffee House. The Lord has put this in our heart to do and we want to get it done as soon as possible so people can begin to use it. We feel that this is a critical time in Guatemala for people to intercede for this nation as well as for the USA and other countries that are facing important decisions. We will be posting pictures as the prayer room develops as well as prayer concerns that we invite you to pray along with us.

Soul Patrol

Every Friday night we meet at the Higher Grounds Coffee House to pray before heading out for "Soul Patrol". Soul Patrol is our evangelistic outreach to the community and more specifically Central Park in Antigua. The park is the gathering place for youth and adults who often are just sitting on a bench waiting for someone or just enjoying the evening. We ask the Lord to direct to people whom he wants us to talk to and we try to follow his leading. It is always an adventure as we never know what we will encounter. I have had a variety of experiences as have other members of our staff as well as people who join us for the outreach. Last night I talked with a young man, Juan Carlos, who is 22 years old. His father died when he was only 10 years old. Juan's father was only 36 at the time of his death which was caused by drinking too much alcohol which is a common problem in Guatemala among men. His father's death was tragic and Juan was in a state of depression for 3 years. I asked Juan if he had accepted Christ as his personal Savior and he said that he had and that without his faith in God he never would have been able to survive the hardships he has faced in his life. We had the opportunity to pray with Juan that the Lord would help him find a different job. He works the night shift at a nice hotel, 6 days per week and does not have the opportunity to attend church on Sundays because of his work schedule. He would like to go to the university to continue his studies. He has been trained as an accountant but has not been able to find a job in this field. It was a privilege for us to be able to talk with him and encourage him in his faith walk. God has people waiting for us to minister to if we will only take the time and trust him to guide us to those he cares for and desires to bless.

New staff arrival

YWAM Antigua has a new temporary staff person, Dayna, who comes to us from YWAM Chico, California. She and her daughter Sierra joined us last Thursday and will be with us for 3 months. Dayna will be helping at Higher Grounds Coffee House in Antigua. We are grateful to the Lord for sending her our way at this time as we will be expanding the hours of operation at HGCH as well as instituting some new ministry ideas. Please keep Dayna and Sierra in prayer as they make the adjustments to the new work in Guatemala.

The night the lights went out...

Each Sunday night at 6 p.m. YWAM Antigua hosts a Bible study at Higher Grounds Coffee House. We are currently studying the book of 1 Timothy. The electricity went off in Antigua some time in the afternoon and when it almost time to start the study and no one was at the coffee house, I was ready to close the doors and go home as I did not know if the lights would come on or if anyone would come. Five minutes before 6 p.m. people started arriving and we lit candles so we could read the Scriptures. It was one of those experiences that I will always remember. I thought of the song, "The Lord is my light and my Salvation whom shall I fear?" His presence was with us and we had a wonderful time looking into His Word to receive instruction in our walk with Him. We studied chapter 5 which deals a lot with relationships within the church. Dean Sherman is a popular teacher in the YWAM circles and in his series on Relationships he made the following statement, "Every problem in the world is a problem with relationships." I have to agree with his assessment as I have seen many people leave the church or the mission field not because they do not like the work they are doing but because of problems with interpersonal relationships. Paul gave Timothy several pieces of advice on how to maintain peace and harmony within the church. I encourage you to read this chapter and reflect on how you are doing and how your church is doing regarding relationships among the members and the leaders.

video tour

During the past month 5 members of the World Race have been working in Antigua doing a variey of ministries. They have put together a video of some of their experiences which include activities with YWAM Antigua. Here is the link to the site where the video as well as some pictures are posted. http://jennifercrane.theworldrace.org/?filename=4B9A83A284C446F39B7EBE0BA0A1A7

Welcome to YWAM Antigua!

Thank you for checking out our blog for YWAM Antigua. We will be posting blogs at this site on a regular basis along with photos, videos, etc. of the ministry that is happening in Guatemala. Our base will be taking in teams for ministry during the next year and we want to encourage you to contact us to set up outreach dates as soon as possible. We have a variety of ministry options available for groups.
We are also looking for more YWAMers to join us on staff and specifically we are praying for 5 people who have a passion and calling to coffee house ministry. If this is you please contact us at brutcho@hotmail.com or ywamantigua@gmail.com