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

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.

November and December 2009/January 2010 Newsletter

Dear friends,

It is a great blessing to be in contact with you again. We have not had a newsletter since the month of November, so in this newsletter, we will share the information for the past three months.
As some of you know, I was in the United States during the month of November, so Pili, Jorge, Daniel, and Brandi were responsible for the ministry during my absence. They shared with me that it was a great experience and a blessing for their lives. During the month of November, they distributed the basic grains for all of the families of Lela Obraje village. Also, during this time, the teachers at the school had their vacation, but the feeding center continued as always, and the children only came to eat lunch each day and to hear the Word of God given by Pili and Brandi.
Jorge and Daniel continued the men’s ministry in this month, and this is a great ministry because this allows us to have more contact with the Chort´i Native families, and they in turn approach us with more confidence. It is a blessing to have the approval of the whole family because of this men’s ministry.
Also, in this month we had a blessing of money given by Alan Mitchell that allowed us to buy and install the new windows and doors for the new classrooms. We thank you deeply for this donation.

The month of December was a slower month at the ministry because the three cooks took their vacations since they have not had vacations for many years. But, we were able to buy the children their basic grains for the month and distribute them to their families so they would have food during the vacation time. Also in this month, we were able to use the blessing of money that was given by Barton Baptist church and Pastor Frank Whitaker to distribute food to all of the families another time right before Christmas. This was like a gift from God for Christmas because we were able to give food two times.
Also in December, we had a group of nine precious servants of God come from Hatton Baptist church. They were all a tremendous blessing. They stayed from December 27th to January 3rd, and during their stay they painted the two new classrooms, and they did a beautiful job. They also shared a variety of Bible stories with the children, youth, and women in the village and completed activities with them as well. They brought backpacks full of goodies for each of the children and shoes too, and they had a Happy Birthday Jesus party with a cake big enough to feed 300 people! We all had an amazing time. We were all able to visit two orphanages as well. One of the orphanages was in San Jacinto, which is a small town outside of Chiquimula, and the other one was in Zacapa, which is a city near Chiquimula. The orphanage in Zacapa has about 80 children, and it was astonishing how they enjoyed the affection they received from us. When we were there, they would call us “Mama” and “Daddy”, and they deeply touched all of our hearts. The last day this group was here, we went and visited the dump near Zacapa, and it was astounding to see all of the families living in or near the dump. They sweep the dump each day to try and find things to sell or to eat. We praise the Lord that this group was able to come and work with us here in Guatemala for His glory.
We thank the Lord for the lives of each of you that are reading this newsletter, but our deep gratefulness is for the prayers you lift up for this ministry and for the donations that you give each month to help us feed children here in Guatemala and for helping us provide an education for these children as well. There are so many families here that live from day to day hoping to find food, even if it is in a dump, and because of your obedience to the Lord, we are able to help families physically and to also share with them the love of God and teach them how to live their lives for the Lord and seek Him daily for their every need.

In the month of January, everyone returned to the ministry working in full force and thanking God for allowing us to work and serve in this ministry another year.
We have two new teachers at the school this year. One of the teachers’ names is Zulma Dinora Guerra de Ardón, and she will be teaching second grade this year. The other teacher is Deynor Arnaldo López Vásquez, and he will be teaching fourth grade. Praise the Lord that this year we have a complete elementary school, Kindergarten through sixth grade, with seven teachers. All of the teachers' names are as follows: Nely Consuelo Welches Leon, kindergarten; Eimy Eunice Morales, first grade; Zulma Dinora Guerra de Ardón, second grade; Milgian Yusely Gonsalez Monrroy, third grade; Deynor Arnaldo López Vásquez, fourth grade; Kenneth Geovani Díaz, fifth grade; and Rudy Alexander Morales Sánchez, sixth grade and principal of the school.
Also, we were blessed with a new cook this year, since Hermana Erma de Jesús Vásquez is no longer with us because of health problems and because she is now taking care of her grandchildren. So, in the place of head cook will be Sister Leonidas, and the new cook is Elsa Marina Perez, which will make over 400 tortillas daily. Glendy Yadira Osorio Pérez will continue working with us also as the third cook this year.
The month of January was a month of blessings because we were able to buy 60 new textbooks for the students, which were especially for those students in the new sixth grade class. Also, all of the students received their scholastic material this year and the teachers received all of their materials needed to give classes sufficiently. The new classrooms are in use and in working order, as well as the entire school. At the beginning of January we had a teaching seminary for every person that works in the ministry, and it was very interesting, and we all learned a lot about serving the Lord with joy and how to be better workers for His name.

God bless you all,

SARITA.

Prayers Request:
Please pray for the violence to cease in the village and for the laws to be obeyed. The people do not follow the laws, but also, the authorities do not enforce the laws in the village.