2008 In Summary

Good evening!

In this entry I would like to give a quick overview of what went on here in Zacapa during the year 2008.

I started out super busy in January, getting ready for a team of 18 that came in the middle of the month to build a school and do medical/dental outreach up in a mountain village called Agua Fria. That was an awesome success!

Throughout the year we had many different small groups of pastors come down from all around the States. The average trip was for about a week and a half, and with the pastors we would visit small village churches, schools, houses, and hold open-air services to bring the good news of Christ to as many people as we could.

This year we had over 15 small teams come to Guatemala. Some were short term, some were a couple months. Thank you to each one of you that may have come throughout this year. I/we really appreciate your help and concern! Please don't let it be your last!

Some of the construction projects recently completed this year are:

1. School building in Agua Fria. (Team from US)
2. Bathrooms in small church in Piedras Azules. (Locals)
3. Total cleaning and re-painting of church in Piedras Azules. (ALC Team from MN)
4. Construction of exterior benches, and rain pad for church in Piedras Azules. (Locals)
5. Construction of temporary church hut in Juan Ponce. (Locals)
6. Start of the construction of church in Juan Ponce. (Locals)
7. Start of the site work for future orphanage in Jalapa. (Little Lambs International)
8. Along with many other smaller projects.

The following are some of the outreach methods that I was able to be a part of, to reach the locals with the Gospel and the Love of Christ.

1. Distribution of Bibles in various churches and villages (Thank you, Foreign Mission of the ALC, for your large donation of Bibles)
2. Distribution of AUDIO Bibles.. solar powered Bibles for those that can't read, and the blind. (thanks to the private donors)
3. Distribution of tons of clothes and shoes to many of the poorest, thanks to the many donors!
4. Distribution of medicines to the ones that can't afford it. (Special thanks to ALC of Ashburnham, MA)
5. Regular open-air Bible stories/lessons/music for children in various villages
6. Open-air church services with visiting pastors in local villages, to reach non-church goers
7. Dental/medical missions to provide free dental care for the poorest people AND to gather the people for a Gospel message.
8. Youth activities including Bible studies, and organized outreaches to get them involved
9. TONS of hospital runs with injured, sick and/or dying children/adults.
10. Regular children's services/sunday school in 3 small local churches.
11. Regular church serves in 3 small local churches.
12. House visits to people who are suffering physically, mentally or spiritually.
13. Purchase of school materials in order for children to be able to study.
14. Much more.. these are just a few. Praise God.

In short, it's been a busy, but blessed year!! A LOT has happened, and I can't even begin to list everything. But I just wanted to give you all a quick overlook of some of the things that happened here in this last year. This next year, I hope to keep you all updated through this blog, so keep coming back for more!

The culture here is a lot different than in the United States, and sometimes it gets frustrating that they can't just do things the way we do. But I have had to learn the hard way, that it just doesn't happen like that! So, every day is a learning experiance, and I pray, and I hope you pray for me as well, that God would give me patience to deal with the people, and that my love for them would not dismay! Please see my prayer requests in the blog post above.

I want to end by saying THANK YOU to all of you, churches, organizations and individuals, who have supported me financially and spiritually throughout the year. An extra special thanks to the ALC Foreign Mission, for all of your support. Thank you, ALC of Ashburnham, my home church, for your awesome support as well! Your prayers and support are VERY much needed! Pray for me in this new year that the Lord would guide me and send me where he would, and help me to be more Christ-like in every aspect of my life! Muchas Gracias y que Dios los bendiga!