Base Update

We hope you had a great Christmas celebration. Guatemala celebrates Christmas by igniting firecrackers and fireworks at midnight on Christmas Eve. We watched the display from our roof top and it was amazing. A haze of smoke lay all over the city after the fireworks ended. Traditionally families eat tamales and drink ponche which is a fruit drink on Christmas. We are currently hosting the DTS from Montana and it is their first time celebrating Christmas in Guatemala and for many the first time being away from home for Christmas. They arrived on December 8 and have been doing a lot of ministry to children as well as evangelism. They will be at the base until January 5 and will then travel to San Pablo La Laguna to help build a home for a poor family and work with a local church conducting ministry among all age groups. We will also be hosting a team from Spirit Lake, Iowa who will be coming on January 5 to build a home for a family of ten near the base. On their heels will be a team from Colorado Springs, Colorado who will also be going to San Pablo to conduct ministry among children, youth and adults in the church as well as in the public schools. It will be a busy month for us but we appreciate the teams who come and the ministry they offer to the people of Guatemala.

We are praying for more staff to join us as soon as possible. One of our staff members moved back to the USA this past week to pursue other ministry options so we are in need of more staff to continue conducting the ministries that we are currently doing. We trust God to help us and provide for us and ask that you join us in prayer for this need to be met.

Haiti Outreach

We returned from the outreach to Haiti on December 6.  It was an awesome time of ministry for our team and we saw hundreds of people come to Christ.  One of the highlights for our group was helping to start a church near the missionary house we were staying.  It began with meeting a family when we went house to house sharing the gospel.  The family had been rejected by a church because they did not have the right clothes and some had tatoos.  The pastor we worked with wanted to start a church that would be open to all.  We did a lot of evangelism in open air places and used the children's version of the Jesus film to attract people.  We had crowds of over 300 people coming out to watch the film.  Every time we showed the film we had people giving their lives to Christ.  We also spent time at an orphanage run by ReachHaiti ministries.  Many of the children have been rescued from very harsh condition and abuse.  They are now receiving food, education and most importantly a Christian environment where they are loved and cared for by many.  We thank God for our time in Haiti and for keeping us safe amidst intense heat, cholera outbreaks and a hurricane.  Haiti is a very needy country and the real solution is bring Christ to the culture to transform it through people living out their faith in every area of life.  We will continue to pray for the people who are suffering as they wait for help to begin to rebuild a fallen nation.

Haiti Outreach

Our DTS has just completed our 5th week of outreach to Haiti. We are partnering with ReachHaiti Ministries located in Croix de Bouquet and have been focusing mainly on evangelism through door to door visitations and open air evangelism using the "Jesus" film. We have seen over a 100 people come to Christ and have helped start a new church from the converts that have been made. We are doing a Bible study in the afternoon and have about 15-20 people attending. They are hungry for God's Word and the students are able to share from their DTS experiences to help them grow in Christ.

Last Thursday we showed the film to a crowd of 300 people. We have shown the film twice before in this area but both times had to quit before the film ended due to rain. Thursday we got through the entire film but did not give an invitation at the end because the generator that powered the audio system ran out of fuel. The people immediately scattered as it was very dark. We trust the Lord to have spoken to many hearts through the film and leave the result up to Him.

We have 2 more weeks of outreach in Haiti before returning to Guatemala to finish the outreach and end the 5 month DTS. It has been a great outreach thus far and we look forward to the final 2 weeks of great ministry with many more people coming to Christ and seeing believers encouraged and strengthened in their faith.

Haiti Outreach

Our current DTS is conducting ministry in Haiti. We spent our first 2 weeks working with a church in Port a Prince and in Barbancourt. We conducted ministry in schools and churches using dramas, testimonies and teachings. It has been challenging to be here mainly because of the hot weather, lack of electricity and shortage of water.
We are now at our second ministry site in Fonds Parisiens which is located close to the border. We have visited and ministered in a special project area that is very poor. Many of the children have little clothing and food is scarce for them. Today we gave out some food but not nearly enough to meet the needs of the people here.
Haiti is battling an outbreak of Cholera. We had a couple of people living near our last ministry site die from it. Tropical Storm Tomas is predicted to hit Haiti this weekend and the government is trying to evacuate some of the tent cities in Port a Prince as they anticipate strong winds and heavy rain in the city which will destroy some of the tents and cause further damage.
Please keep our team and Haiti in your prayers.

October Update

We are currently studying "Spiritual Warfare" with Don and Barb Johnson who have been serving with YWAM for over 30 years. They established the base in Nicaragua over 20 years ago and have been engaged in many battles to see the work established and flourish. We are blessed to have them with us to share from their experience and knowledge gained over the years. Our final week of the lecture phase will focus on missions and cross-cultural communication and will help our students prepare for the outreach to Haiti October 16-December 6, 2010.
This past Monday we joined forces with "The World Race" teams who are in Antigua on the first leg of their 11 month mission trip. It was an awesome time of worship and fellowship with believers from many countries.
We are looking forward to our time in Haiti working with churches and missionaries who are doing a great work. Please continue to pray for our students and staff as we prepare for our mission. We are believing God for great things to happen in us and through us.
We will be posting a blog on our website: www.ywamantigua.org about our outreach to Haiti.

Outreach Update

We have finalized our outreach plans to Haiti and are looking forward to our time of ministry. We will spend our first 2 weeks working with Brother Jean Lyonel near Port au Prince who works with Heaven's Family. Their ministry has built a camp about an hour from PAP for people who have lost their homes. Our next week will be spent with Haitian Christian Missions in Fonds Parisians about 1.5 hours from PAP. Our final 4 weeks will be spend with Reach Haiti Ministries. We will be doing a variety of ministries with all ages. The students are prepared to present 2 major YWAM Dramas "Redeemer" and "King of Hearts" which we will present in many locations. We will also have a couple more shorter dramas along with lots of Children's ministry programs. The students are doing research on Haiti and will present their information during our last week of the DTS.
Our final 3 weeks of the classroom phase will go quickly but will also be very important topics: Identity; Spiritual Warfare and Cross-cultural communication and missions.
Please continue to pray for our team as we pray in the finances for our trip. Several students need help and if you would like to be one of their supporters please send a gift to the following address:
YWAM Chico
15850 Richardsons Springs Road
Chico, CA 95973
Make your check payable to YWAM Antigua and attach a note indicating it is for the "Outreach to Haiti."
Thank you!

DTS Update

We are in our 7th week of classes. This week we are doing the "Plumbline" class which is one of the most intense weeks of the school as it is a time of soul searching and identification of areas of our lives that we are not walking in the truth. It is a time of restoration and healing of past hurts that have been carried into our lives today and have an effect on our relationship with God and others. We anticipate that God will bring great healing to our students in the areas of their greatest needs.
We have prayed about our outreach destination and will be leaving for the Dominican Republic and Haiti on October 16. Our plans while there are still being formulated and we ask for your prayer as we contact ministries that are able to receive our team. Communication has been difficult to say the least but we are trusting God to guide us as we continue to pray and seek Him.
We invite you to join us in prayer and in helping us financially as we travel and minister on the outreach. We would like to raise $5000 to help with expenses and be able to give money to ministries we will be working with to help them in their relief efforts. Haiti is still suffering from the earthquake with over a one million people living in tents. God is moving in the hearts of the people and we look forward to extenting hands of compassion to the people as we meet spiritual and physical needs.
If you would like to support us financially you can make a check payable to YWAM Antigua and send it to the following address:
YWAM Chico
15850 Richardson Springs Road
Chico, CA 95973
Attach a note stating that it is designated for the Haiti outreach.
Thank you for your prayers and support, it is deeply appreciated.

DTS Update

We are now starting our 5th week of the DTS and will be focusing on Supernatural Ministry. Our visting teach is Pastor Rod Marquette from Rochester, Minnesota. Rod and a member of his church, Cecil, came last year and had a tremendous impact on the students. We are looking forward to their teachings and all that God will do through them in the lives of the students this week.
We said goodbye to the Backpackers DTS from San Jose, Costa Rica today. They stayed with us for a week after being delayed when Mexicana Airline declared bankruptcy and their flight to Guatemala was cancelled. We enjoyed hosting them and it was a great experience for our students to get to know them and share what God is doing in their lives.
We continue to pray about the location of our outreach beginning October 16. We are considering India and Haiti but remain open to wherever the Lord leads us to go. We want to be His hands of compassion reaching out to a fallen world to bring hope and liberty to those who suffer.

DTS 2010

Our DTS class of 2010 began July 25 with 7 students; 4 from San Pablo La Laguna,Guatemala and 3 from the USA. We have 4 languages represented in the group: English, Spanish, Tzutujil and Mam! Everyone is learing new words from each language to help with our communication. We are looking forward to all that God is going to do in the lives of each student as they spend time seeking Him and learning from the ministers God sends our way to teach them. Please join us in prayer for each of the students, staff and teachers who are involved in the 5 month DTS. Our students from San Pablo have never been away from home for any length of time which is an adjustment for both them and their families. Several of them have never used appliances that the students from the USA have been accustomed to for many years; ie. microwave, gas stove and oven, hot water showers,washer and dryer just to name a few. We have raised support for the 4 Guatemalan students but need to raise more for the 8 week outreach phase which will begin October 15, 2010. If you would like to help sponsor them please send a donation to:
YWAM Chico
15850 Richardson Springs Rd
Chico, CA 95973

Make your check payable to YWAM Antigua and attach a note that it is for the DTS Scholarship fund.

A Community in Need

We recently hosted two men who represent 2 different organizations that are working to meet the needs of the poor of Guatemala. One organization, Proyecto de Fe, provides work for women in the Lake Atitlan area along with several other projects they have going. The other organization, Faith Harvest Helpers, sends containers of food,medicine, medical supplies, books etc. to countries in need. They are planning to ship a container to Guatemala and distribute it in February 2011. We visited several communities while the men were with us to identify the areas of greatest need as well as the areas that they can access with the team of doctors, dentists and fellow laborers who will be coming in February. One of the communities we visted has been almost wiped off the land. The first blow came from Volcano Paycaya erupting and spewing ash and rocks on their community. The rocks burned holes through their tin roofs and destroyed much of their crops. Two days later, Tropical Storm Agatha hit Guatemala and caused massive mudslides which destroyed many homes. It was an incredible sight to see the destruction that has happened. These families need to be evacuated permanently from this area as it is dangerous to live there but they have nowhere else to go. The needs are great and the resources are few. While we were there Pacaya sent a huge pillar of ash in the air as is pictured in the photo.

Covenant Church Outreach

Last Friday, June 11 a group of 16 adults and children from Covenant Church in Pittsburgh, PA arrived for a week of ministry with us. We went from the airport directly to San Pedro La Laguna. The roads where in several places restricted to one lane due to the Tropical Storm Agatha damage which has caused major mudslides and destroyed many homes, roads and over a hundred people have died. Relief work is ongoing and it will be awhile until the families that have lost everything will be able to move into a home. The Covenant group conducted a "Women of Valor" seminar in Santigao, Atitlan and also helped purchase 4,500 pounds of food that will be distributed to help victims of the tropical storm. We havebeen working in a refugee camp near Panabaj since January distributing food once a month. The people of the refugee camp were evacuated when Agatha hit and moved to their new home in Chuk Muk even though the homes were not completed. While we passed out numbers for the families to present to receive their bags of food, the group played with the children of the community until the rain came down hard. The people traveled in the rain to Santiago to receive their food immediately after they received their numbers. The rain did not hinder them, they were in need and we were blessed to be able to help meet in a small but significant way the needs they continue to have.

YWAM Belize DTS Outreach

We are currently hosting the DTS group from YWAM Belize. They are in the middle of the 8 weeks of outreach and are busy doing ministry with us. In the mornings they are working with handicapped children at Hermano Pedro Hospital in Antigua. Most of these children are confined to wheelchairs and are not able to talk but they respond to the human touch and can sense when people are giving the love and attention. The afternoons are busy with Kids Club at the base with about 70 kids coming each day for songs, Bible stories, skits, crafts and games. They are a great group to work with and we have enjoyed their ministry.

April News

We just finished Holy Week (Semana Santa) in Antigua which is the biggest celebration of the year. Thousands of people come to watch the processionals and view the alfombras (rugs) made of colored sawdust and flowers and fruit. It is quite a scene to take in but also a great time to do evangelism as people are thinking about the crucifixion of Christ.
We will be hosting 2 YWAM DTS groups in April,one from Belize and another from Minneapolis. We always enjoy working with fellow ywamers!
We have continued to host our weekly Kids Club at the base and have between 40-100 kids coming. Many of the teams that come are prepared with special programs for the children which they thoroughly enjoy.
The Feeding Program in Panabaj will take place April 10 which an evangelistic outreach planned with a youth group from San Pablo La Laguna. It will be the youth groups first ever outreach to another community!
We continue to pray for more staff for our base so if you are a Ywamer and are looking for an opportunity to serve the wonderful people of Guatemala we invite you to check us out.

March News

Currently we are hosting a group of young people from Connexus Church near Toronto Canada. They will be here for a week doing several types of ministry.
A new project we have been doing since January is a food distribution in Panabaj. This area was buried in a mudslide caused by Hurricane Stan in October, 2005. There are about 80 families still living in the refugee camp waiting for their new homes to be constructed. Through the generous donation of a church in Washington state we have been able to do a food distribution once each month. Each family receives about 35 pounds of food.
We have several more teams coming during the next 3 months from Belize, Costa Rica, and the USA. It is always a pleasure to work with these groups and provide meaningful ministry experiences.
We will be hosting a special Bootcamp Evangelism program June 20-26. This is open to anyone and you can either stay at our base or just come for the program during the day. Please look at our website for more information.
If you are a YWAMer and are interested in working with our base please contact us. We need more staff to help with our ongoing ministries. We are looking especially for help with our DTS which will begin July 25.
Check out our website for more information about our programs at

DTS Graduation

Friday, January 22, 2010 was the last day of our 5 month DTS. I has been a wonderful time with the students and we miss them already. Our DTS Outreach was spent in Belize, El Salvador and Guatemala conducting ministry in a variety of setting to a diverse group of people. The students had many opportunities to share the gospel and teach what they have been taught in the DTS.
Our base will now be preparing to receive teams who will be joining us for short-term outreach until we begin our next DTS on July 25, 2010.