March and April 2010 Newsletter

Colossians 3:15 "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."

March
Hola friends,
I love you very much, and I have missed you tremendously. We are sorry that we could not make the March newsletter last month because it was a very busy but blessed month. We had a wonderful medical team for two weeks, from March 13th to March 26th, and because they were able to do so much for the people here in Chiquimula and the surrounding areas, we were with them for much of the month.
We had a lot of difficulties at the village in the month of March. Another man was killed in a feud between families, but, praise the Lord, the blessings are continuing in our village because both the men’s and women's ministry are growing each week. The women’s group I am leading only had about eight people in the beginning, and now we have more than 15 women each week. In the school, the children are very blessed, but they have had been experiencing some problems as well because of the lack of water in the community. This causes problems in their homes, and it also causes problems with the feeding center in the ministry sometimes, because it is almost impossible to prepare the children's food without water. And we had problems with the electricity this month too, so our refrigeration was down for a little while, but, this is Guatemala. In a third world country, we deal with these kinds of problems every day, and this is why it is a very difficult place to do good things in a timely manner and with excellence. But God is good, and He always takes care of us. We pray every day and we ask of Him, and He always extends His merciful hand of love, and every day, we will keep going, with joy, and in His direction.


Now my friends, we want to share with you, with more detail, of what God is doing in Lela Obraje.

Women’s Bible Study:

On March 3rd, I started a Bible study with the women in the village. We invited only women that were already in the church because in past years, we have had a Bible study for women, and in the beginning, would have 35 or more women. A Bible study I was leading a couple of years ago grew to 80 women! And for more than two years we had this study, and we were preaching and teaching, and we would share in the material blessings that God gave us, like milk, clothes, shampoo and soap, and other things, but then I realized that the women were not coming for the Word of God. They were coming for the things they would receive. For a short while, it hurt my heart. I prayed to God, and we suspended the Bible study all of last year. Sometimes, I had a Bible study with some of the women in the village, but not every week because when I wasn’t giving anything, just a few women came. Other women that work in the ministry were also telling me that the women were only coming for material gain. They only wanted to be blessed materially not spiritually. But, I kept preaching and teaching, and preaching some more until one day, we said no more. This year in January, I prayed for a long period of time about my desire to preach with the women in the village, and I started asking for advice from several Pastors, and with God’s leading, on March 3rd, we stared a new Bible study with the women. The idea is, with this small group of women that are already Christians, doing what the Word of the Lord says. Between three different teachers that come to the Bible study, we are discipling these women, and when this group of 15 women are ready, little by little, they are going to start sharing the Word of the Lord with other women in the village and also teaching these women and discipling other women like I’m doing with them. With this group, the priority is not with the material things. In all of the more than 85 women in the past group, I’m sure that many of them are saved, but a huge majority of these women do not go to the church and do not live in accordance to the Word. And God has put in my heart that they cannot just look for salvation and material gain. They have to be disciples of Jesus, because that is what the Word of God says. I ask for your prayers, specifically from all the women that are reading this newsletter right now. Women, please pray for this group of women in Lela Obraje, Guatemala. Pray that the real message of Christ changes their lives, in their thoughts and in their actions. Every week, on Wednesday, we have this Bible study and a small refreshment.
I would also like to tell you that in my house, on Wednesday night at 8pm, we have another Bible study with all of the women in my neighborhood. This group is very different than the one in the village. It is formed of single and married women, some professional ladies, some housewives, and it is a blessed group. My two daughters attend this Bible study and Brandi also attends every Wednesday each week, and it is a marvelous blessing. We study the Word of God, and a precious of friend of mine, Dinora, shares the Word with us, and we have a great time. We pray, we learn from God, sometimes we cry, and sometimes we share in each others joys, but it is always a true blessing to be able to hold this Bible study in my house. God is working in our lives so we can share His love and mercy with others.

We are also a part of a meeting of women Missionaries in Chiquimula that meet one time each month to share in the Word, our personal and professional experiences, and in prayer. I look forward to this meeting as well each month.

Medical group:
For three years now, Global Missions of Mercy has had the tremendous blessing of having a group of amazing eye doctors and surgeons visit Guatemala to operate with cataract, pterygium, and cornea transplants. This group came again this year on March 13th and stayed until March 26th. There were two separate groups, and the groups were led by Dr. George Rooney and Dr. Mark Henry with His Servants ministry, and they have been a blessing to Lela Obraje and Chiquimula for years now. The first week, students from the University of Indiana, led by Dr. Rooney, completed eye examinations and gave away many pairs of reading glass, prescription glasses, sunglasses, and prescription and regular eye drops. You may be asking why they give out sunglasses. They give sunglasses because the sun is very strong here, and the people are working out in the sun for long hours each day, and this is why many of the people have so many problems with their eyes. The sunglasses help prevent their eyes from this sun damage, so it is necessary to wear sunglasses at all time. The next week, the doctors came to complete the surgery on those that had already been examined. It was a very busy time, but a blessing for the whole community. I’m sure as you know, all types of surgeries are very expensive, so without this team of surgeons, these patients would never have received treatment otherwise. During their stay, 103 surgeries were completed and more than 2,000 patients were served. Seventy-three people received Jesus as their Lord, and boxes and boxes of Bibles were given away, over 335 Bibles, to people that did not have a Bible. Dr. Rooney led the men’s Bible study on Monday, and he did a wonderful job, and each day that this group was working, they were sharing the Gospel of Christ with someone. An amazing story to tell is about two children that had cataract surgeries. These children were born with cataracts, and they have to receive this type of surgery often because the cataracts keep coming back. Since this group comes and serves every year to this community, children like these can receive their much needed surgeries. Thank you so much His Servants Ministries for allowing God to use your talents for His kingdom. May He bless you in every way, and we can’t wait to see you next year.

Ephesians 6:7,8 "Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free."

April
On April 13th, we set aside a day to go and clean all of the village, and we picked up bags and bags of trash. We do this each year to help keep our village clean, but also to teach the children and adults not to throw their trash on the ground, and if they see trash, to pick it up and put it in trash cans.

On April 21st, we had a parents meeting with the student’s parents.

And on April 24th, our church in Chiquimula put on a Retreat for the women in the community, and three of our teachers from the ministry were able to attend. They told me they had an amazing time with the Lord and learned a lot.

The school continues to run perfectly, and the children are learning more from their teachers and from the Lord each day. We have many people tell us that the school is one of the best they have seen. The medical clinic is also in tip-top shape and is in working order. Mme Jo Beaver came and worked as the nurse in the ministry for 3 months, and she left on April 26th. Thank you Mme Jo for your time, love, and hard work.

Here is Mme Jo's experience during her stay.

Last year, in April, when I went to Guatemala with some friends, I knew God wanted me to work there. I went back to Guatemala in October for a month and fell in love with the people there. In talking with Sarita, she expressed a need for medical help for the people that live on the mountain. Since I am a Registered Nurse, this caught my attention and plans were made for me to return to Chiquimula the first of February this year for 3 months. In the mean time, the old kindergarten building was to be converted into a clinic. While there these past 3 months, God worked wonders in my life, teaching me more about His love, and in turn teaching me to love others more. The people there have received me very graciously, and I have made many new friends, despite the fact that my Spanish is very, very limited. While in Chiquimula, I lived with Sarita and had a wonderful time. She taught me much about Guatemala and the Guatemalan culture. They are a wonderful people.

The clinic is now completely finished, and I started seeing patients in the middle of March. At first, things were slow, but as the people started to gain confidence in what I could do for them, they began to come. It was amazing. Most of the medicines we have were sent from the United States or money was donated to buy medicines here. A church in Guatemala City sent us some medicine as well, and all of this medicine is a true blessing from our generous God. Also, a local laboratory has offered to do lab work at a greatly reduced price for us as well, and we are only getting started with the big plans we have. God continues to teach and guide me in all that I do and I thank all the people, especially Sarita, for their hospitality and for what they are doing in Guatemala.

During my stay, I had many sick patients come through my door in need of medical attention, so many actually that I cannot share them all, though I would love to :). I would though like to share one story with you just to give you an example of what I do. A mother with four sick children, ages one to eight years, came to the clinic. The oldest child's temperature was 104.5 degrees and all of the other children had a fever as well. They all had what they call "gripe", which means upper respiratory infection and cough. I was able to give them each an antibiotic and other appropriate medicines. The worst thing about this situation was there was no water on the mountain that day, and there hadn't been for the two previous days. Can you imagine having four sick children, no car or money to take them to see a doctor, and no water to give them to drink or to wipe there hot little bodies? We searched around and were able to come up with a half gallon to give them, and Daniel took them home in his truck so they wouldn't have to walk all the way up the mountain to their home. I praise the Lord for giving me the opportunity to be able to help families like these during my stay in beautiful Guatemala.

I plan to spend two months in Alabama and then return to Guatemala the first week of July. I need and would appreciate your prayers, as well as anything else you would like to give for my precious patients on the Lela Obraje mountain.

God Bless You,

Mme Jo Beaver, RN

Thank you so much for your time and for continuing to pray for this ministry. You are all blessings to my life and for the lives that are here in Guatemala! May God bless you abundantly.

With love,

Sarita and staff