Author Archives: paradiseboundministries

Medical Clinics and coming home!!!

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We had a whirlwind of two days of medical clinics and there is so much to say we could never do it justice in one post. You will have to ask one of us about the experience. What I can tell you is that we arrived in each village to welcoming children and even men from the village. In the first village we ministered to only 18 families in a small village called San Martin. The leaders of the villae welcomed us in an official way over the PA system, thanking God for our coming to the village. In both villages it didn’t take long for us to engage the children and even the mothers and fathers and young men. Many played soccer or frisbee or other games. The children had painted fingernails and played with new toys and stuffed animals. All of this to build a bridge in a culture we don’t completely understand.

In the first village we had all the toys and fun activities we would need. We brought frisbees and balls, nail polish and crayons and coloring books as well as toys of all kinds. In this village we begain to minister immediately and saw the Spirit working just as quickly. During the testimonies we poured our hearts out in song and stories of the power of Jesus in our personal lives. Indeed we did not come here for the people of Guatemala alone. Jesus has called us to himself this week one by one as he works through our inadequacies to mold and shape us to his will. After the testimonies Pastor Darwin shared a message and the Spirit moved mightily as we saw nearly the whole village respond to the call of the Gospel to accept a personal relationship. Many of our team members were moved and there are dozens of personal stories of prayer and God’s work in individuals both guatemalas and teams.

At the second village, we quickly discovered that the toys and candy we use to break ice were not in the van. We would have to build relationships without the traditional tools. In God’s wisdom, we had just had a devotional about the feeding of the 5000. The point revolved around Jesus looking at his disciples and saying “You feed them”. We knew what Jesus was showing us to do. He would provide in ways we couldn’t have believed possible to break the ice. What we discovered was a soccer field just a short walk from the school where we played Guate against American. We lost 4-6, but we won the hearts of the young men and boys. We also found several hula hoops in the school and used these to play games of all kinds with the children. One of the team members had a bag of nail polish and we made much use of those. God provided all we needed in this village without our usual supplies. Again at testimony time our team rose up and poured ourselves out with honesty and clarity about the power of Jesus to change our lives. At the time of the message, the Holy Spirit was so evident that Pastor Hermano Jesus simply summarized our testmonies and called them to turn to Jesus. Again there was a great movement of the people to respond to the Gospel. Jesus is alive and well.

Our team spent the day today in Antigua. We shopped and enjoyed some Pollo Campero fried chicken and ice cream dessert. We are all tired and yet strangely energized. The Lord has done and continues to do amazing work in our hearts as we begin to reflect on his call on our lives this week and in the weeks and years to come. Tonight is a defining moment for many of us in our final devotion together. We trust that He will continue to be present among us. Thank you all for your prayers. We are eager to share about our Lord and about Guatemala when we return. A few still struggle with some illness and we have an early morning arriving at the airport at 5:15AM Local time. Please pray us home and into the work he had prepared for us in His Kingdom.

Dedication Day!

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We finished building the homes in the morning and we painted them with personalized designs of flowers and trees and hand prints of the team members and the familes we built for. After another excellent lunch, we gathered for prayer to prepare our hearts and call on the Lord for his power to move in the vilage.

The first home was an older single man. He had received his home as a result of another family refusing help (which is rare but does sometimes happen). The team had their pictures taken and headed inside with Dan Smith and Hermano Jesus. The rest of the team surrounded the home and began to pray and lift up the team inside. Dan presented the gospel through gifts (regalos) that we had for the family. Hermano Jesus also shared about the time and the hour of salvation and this man, though knowledgeable of the Word of God, gave his life for the first time to the Jesus he had only been reading about for many years.

We continued on under threat of rain and though we prayed hard for the rain to depart, we were soon under a heavy rainfall with thunder and lightning. We continued to pray surrounding the homes where inside the deafening rain tried to keep the family from hearing the gospel, but God broke through and another family gave their lives to the Lord. We were wet, tired and pouring ourselves out for each home. We sang songs of praise to God’s faithfulness and his goodness as we lifted up te families and asked for the Holy Spirit to come into them.

House after house we were witnessing our Lord move with power as people rededicated their lives and some entered the family of God for the first time. We received many new brothers and sisters yesterday.

The final home was a very religious home. They had symbols and images in their home and we knew we would be up against a spirit of works religion steeped in idolatry and spiritualism. The mom was a smart woman who knew he own mind. She was a strong leader in her home over her 4 children. As we began we knew were in a battle for this family as they seemed to want to get the behind them.

The rains had let up and we could hear as we broke the ice and sought to build a rapport. Dan shared the gospel and we challenged their assumptions about religious behavior. You can’t get nutrient from beans by looking at the beans. You need to eat the beans and take them into your body for health and strength. The same is true with the Word. You can’t walk by the book and worship the book, you need to consume the book spiritually and take into your heart the author of the book. These words began to resonate and change hearts as God moved in the home. The father gave his life, then the mother, hesitated. She is a strong-minded one. Then the eldest son followed his father and accepted Christ. The second son followed shortly after, then the little daugther Lupita gave her life to Christ at 7 years old. Hermano Jesus returned to the mother, softened by seeing God work in her family and she said “Amen”. A new sister in Christ was born.

Tired and wet, but riding a high of spiritual Joy we returned to the mission base. Many of us too wired from the whole day to fall to sleep, others crashing from the exhaustion of spiritual battle. God is good. All the time. All the time. God is good. We had victory in Jesus today and we celebrate His work, not ours. The village of La Reina belongs to our Lord and he is building his kingdom in this place. Continue to pray as we travel tonight to the medical clinics. A few are beginning to have the tell-tale symptoms of Guatemala illness. Pray this doesn’t take hold in anyone and we can be at full strength for our next mission.