February 2010 Newsletter

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the LORD, is the Rock eternal." Isaiah 26:3,4

Words of Encouragement from Some of the Teachers in Lela Obraje

“Several years ago, a torch came into the village of Lela Obraje bringing a light for everyone here that was in the shadows. This light started to bring a lot of smiles to faces that had lost their reason to smile, and God looked and found faithful followers that would have the responsibility of carrying that light for many years to come, and you are one of those faithful followers. Thank you! “ -Miss Milgian

“Thank you for your prayers because they help to fortify this ministry and allow us to keep working with new strengths every day in this great place of God. Thank you for your spiritual and material help as well. God will give back to you what you have given and prosper you marvelously.” -Professor Rudy

“I hope that at this time you are all doing very well and that God is filling your life with blessings. We give thanks to God daily for the blessings you give to this ministry.” -Professor Kenneth

“Brothers and sisters in Christ, with all of my heart, I pray that the Lord is blessing you with all the desires of yours. I give thanks to God each day for allowing me to work in this place that is filled with the Lord’s presence. I also give thanks for each and every one of you that helps each month economically and spiritually.” –Mrs. Zulma

Medical Mission 2010

A group of Jesus’ servants come every year to help the people of Lela Obraje and the surrounding areas medically and spiritually, and a group of 26 precious ministers visited us once more on February 11th through the 18th. They ministered to the people by using their talents and gifts like the good steward in Matthew 25, and the Lord blessed their work abundantly. Doctors, dentists, construction workers, pharmacists, eye specialists, translators, preachers, and leaders all used their talents this week for the glory of the Lord, and all of their work produced a harvest for His Kingdom. Working with this group touches the hearts of everyone here in Guatemala, and we thank you all for coming and serving Christ faithfully to bless the lives of so many.
A story was shared the last night this group was here about a little boy that was at the beach one day. This specific day, thousands of starfish had washed up on a beach and were lying there helplessly. This little boy decided to use his time that day to throw the starfish, one by one, back into the ocean. As he was doing this, a man walked up and said, “Boy, don’t you know there are thousands of starfish on this beach? What kind of difference do you expect to make?” And the little boy picked up a starfish, threw it into the ocean, turned to the man and said, “I just made a big difference in that one.” When medical teams come to Guatemala to help the people here, just them showing up makes a difference. It tells the people that they are worth their time, money, and efforts. When medical teams like this one take the time to make a difference in one person’s life here, they are opening their eyes to love of Christ and to the love of His people. And this is a GREAT work for the Kingdom of God. Thank you!

To view pictures and a video of this team, please visit:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jofipo3/ChiquimulaGuatemala2010 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I900JyvAKi0&feature=fvsr

If you would like information about making a difference in one person’s life here in Guatemala, visit our website at http://www.globalmissionsofmercy.com/.

Activities for February

February was a blessed month, for one, because we had the medical team that blessed so many poor people from Lela Obraje and the surrounding villages. This is a huge social work for the students here and for the adults as well. And I know that these people are thankful for this work from the bottom of their hearts.
February 17th in the school was very pretty and unforgettable day for the students because all of them received stuffed animals. Seeing their happy faces when they received them blessed my heart when tremendously, and afterwards, we all exchanged Valentine’s cards because we were not able to celebrate this holiday on February 14th. In our school, we take this day to celebrate friendship and God’s love, and we always have a wonderful time.
On February 19th, we had a day to attend to the personal hygiene needs of the students. We washed their hair and cleaned their nails and also cut the girls hair. This is a very important day because we take this day to also teach them about the importance of good personal hygiene.

Information about the School and the New Medical Clinic

The students are learning new things everyday about God and in their scholastics. We were able to buy books for the students in February because of a donation given by Town Creek UMC, and we were also able to buy the much needed 40 desks we were lacking because of a donation given by Riddles Chapel UMC. Thank you so much for your giving hearts and for caring about the education of these precious students in Lela Obraje.
Also, Steve Jackson, owner of Jackson Pace Pharmacy, donated the money for all of the wood to build the walls for the new medical clinic in the village back in January, and Mrs. George Clowes donated the money to buy the beautiful windows for the new clinic. The Medical Missions team also brought several construction workers that paid for and completed the work for the windows, paint, fans, and light fixtures for the medical clinic. This group of construction workers also made benches for the children to use in the feeding center. Thank you for your giving hearts and love for the people here. The medical clinic is open to the public and is being used to give free medical service to the people of Lela Obraje. Thank you!

Men’s Ministry

Everything is going really well with the men’s ministry, and we are blessed to be a part of it. The ministry’s main focus this year is to prepare the men to go out and tell others about what they have learned. We have started focusing on making them leaders for Christ. We have changed up the Bible Study a little bit as well. The Bible study is now at 5:00pm on Monday afternoons, and we have started celebrating birthdays each month with a cake and started having different activities each month, like a day to watch a movie or to hand out gifts like clothes and hats for families. Please pray for these men’s protection, that they will become more spiritually mature every day, and please pray for us to do as God pleases as we lead this ministry.

New Women’s Bible Study

Sarita has also started teaching a new women’s Bible study on Wednesdays at 10:00am, and we are all excited to see how God will work through this study. Although Sarita has been ministering to the women in the village for many y hbgbgyears, it is neat to see that the men, women, and children all have a specific time to study the Word of God together in the ministry. The Bible study was just started on February 24th, so there will be more information to come in the upcoming newsletters, but please start to pray now that the women will be open to hear what the Lord has to say to them and pray for Sarita as she leads these women each week.

English Letter Writing

The English classes are going nicely thus far. We have started a new project this year that we are very excited about, and so are the students. We have started writing letters to children in the United States. This is to help the students learn how to write correctly in English and so that can have fun making new friends in the U.S. We received our first set of BEAUTIFUL letters this year from the Riddles Chapel Children’s ministry in Athens, Alabama, and we will send a response to them on March 18th. We are thrilled! If you would like to be a part of this project by writing letters to our students in Guatemala, please send your questions to Brandi at danielandbrandi1@yahoo.com. Anyone is welcome to write, and I know the students will love to receive as many letters as they can get! (There are over 170 students.) You can send the letters through the mail or with a mission group that is coming to Guatemala or you can even send them through my email. They love receiving pictures as well, so be sure to take a picture of your own pretty face or of your class before getting them to us. Thanks for all you do and God bless you!

Prayer Requests:

• Pray about the violence in the village because there have been several murders in the past few months, and some of these murders or people that have been murdered are relatives of our students. Pray for peace and forgiveness between the people.

*Please pray for the men and women that are participating in the Bible studies.

• Pray for the older boys and girls in the school to be wise about the decisions they are making that will affect the rest of their lives. (For example: One girl made the decision to leave the school and begin living with a man to start a family. She is only 14 years old.)
• Please pray for a student named Cesar because he has been complaining about pain in his chest for the past few weeks.
• Pray for the students in the school because some of them live in fear because of the delinquency in the village.
• Please pray for a little girl in the second grade that is very sick, and the parents do not know what to do because she has had these problems for a while.
• Please pray about the lack of rain in Guatemala. Because of the drought, the prices of food and gas have gone up drastically. (For example, the price of sugar more than doubled over night.) Please pray for the ministry to have the food it needs to feed the children, but also pray for the thousands of families in Guatemala that are not a part of this ministry.