Rio dulce

No matter where you live and what your days look like, you have the choice each day to depend on yourself, to live safely, and to try to control your life. Or you can live as you were created to live- as a temple of the Holy Spirit of God,as a person dependent on him, desperate for God the spirit to show up and make a difference. When you begin living a life characterized by walking with the Spirit, that is when people will begin to look not to you but to our Farther in heaven and give Him the praise. -Francis Chan ———————————————————————This weekend we where in rio dulce inaugurating the church that just got finished! It was so amazing to get to see the church full of people after all the months that it's taken to build it. It's been so exiting to be apart of what God has been doing in that village. And turning a place that was once dark in to a beacon of light to all the villages around it! The first time the church doors where opened they had a cont of 400 people! God is on the move. He is awaking harts, and the hungry harts are being filed with his love.

First week back

I have been back in Guatemala for about a week now. It’s been so nice to get back and out of the cold weather of Colorado! I am back in Zacapa for about a month by myself then the rest of the team will be coming back in February! It’s been good for my Spanish to be back for a month and get it in some practice before all the English speaking people come back! The kids have been slowly coming back through this week to start school and the rest will be here next week. So we will have a full house come Sunday!! It’s been so fun getting caught up with every one and talking about what had happened in the last 3 months. Mostly, I have just been helping the dorm mom get the house ready for the kids. On the 6th of January I started the long journey back home to Guatemala. A trip that should have only taken around 10 hours, turned into a day and half journey. My plane was late landing in California due to a storm and all planes where grounded and no one could land. I keep praying that God could hold the other plane, so I could make my connecting flight. But, I got to the gate just in time to watch them close the door and not let anyone on. I was a little disappointed that I missed my flight. I walked over to the help line and joined the group of lost and stranded travelers. In all the years of travelling back and forth I have never had any problems and have always made my connections. So, I guess it was just my turn in learning to become a well-seasoned traveler! While in the line to get my new ticket (that was probably about an hour long), I texted every one telling them that I was not making it to Guatemala that day. I found myself getting a little disappointed and upset that I missed my flight. All around me in the line everyone was mad and yelling at the representatives about how the airline made them miss their flight. So after I texted everyone, I asked God why he wanted me there…I didn’t want to become mad and upset like everyone else. I believe there is a reason for everything that happens. If we can just take our eyes off of what seems to be the problem, maybe we would see God working and how God wants to work in that situation. I asked God to open my eyes so I could see what he wanted to do; to help me stop looking at my circumstances in that moment and live for his purpose. Right after I said that I looked up and the girl next to me was on the phone telling her dad that she missed her flight to Guatemala. So I asked her if she was heading to Guatemala and we started talking. She was helping an old man that was from Guatemala that did know English or what to do to get a new flight. So I started talking with. Then another older guy that was in line to get a new ticket to get to Guatemala joined in to the conversation too. He was a retired guy traveling around doing everything he always dreamed of doing when he was young. So he was heading to Guatemala to go to Spanish school and explore the beautiful country. So there we were a group of 4 a girl my age that is in collage here in Guatemala, an old farmer guy from a village about 2 hours away from where I am, and an older retired man that was out making all his dreams a reality, and me. So I got to talk with all of them and share with them what I do here and what God has done in my life. It was really cool to get to know them and hopefully speak into their lives. But through that whole day I learned that we are the ones that decide what are situations will look like. I could have let the day be ruined and get mad that I missed my flight because the plane was late. But then I would have missed out on all God wanted to do in that time. We get to choose to let God have his way and give us a mission where we are in the middle of what we are doing. Or we can choose to miss out on what God wanted to do and walk around mad because something did not happen the way we wanted. We get to choose what are actions are going to be. If we let God have the situation we are in then something beautiful will always happen. Even if you don’t see the outcome of the impact we had, God will always use you if you ask Him to.    I found out later that the plane I was supposed to be on had engine failure and had to land right away. Every one was stranded in the airport for hours while they were fixing the plane. I did not know until hours later that God was watching over me by rerouting me. After about 30 hours of traveling and not much sleep I made it back to Zacapa. And slept for 2 days!!      While everyone else was asleep, I was sitting talking to the old guy that was with us. He is a farmer and works with cows. So we were just talking about all sorts of different things. Then he digs in to his pocket and hands me $4 and says that we are family now, and just like he does with all his grandchildren he gives them money to get candy so he told me to go and get myself some candy! He was so sweet.   Support: Thank you to everyone that has supported me in these past few years that I have been here. If that has been by much needed prayer or through giving financially; I have been very grateful for your support and having you fight next to me in the work God is doing here in Guatemala. All of us doing are part in getting what God wants accomplished! Thank you for running this race side by side encouraging one another to make it to the end. I could not do it if it weren’t  for each and every one of you! I am excited to announce that I have accomplished 60% of my monthly goal! It’s been so amazing being a part of this journey God has put me on. If you would like to support me personally or any of the other projects we have going on go to:  http://fiaministries.com/give/ to give to me personally make sure you select my name in the menu  where you would like you donation to go.     Prayer requests:   That God would be with all the kids here at the dorm as they are all entering into a new school year. That God would open doors for all of us at FIA to speak in to the lives of these kids. Many of them are not Christian. But we believe that God has put all each kid in the dorm for a reason; to experience who He is and how much He loves them. Pray that there hearts will be opened and softened to hear about God and who He is. For the dorm parents Milvean and Anibal that they would be strengthened in this new year with the kids, as they are the ones that live day in and day out with them. That God would give them opportunities to speak into the kids lives. That they would be living examples of Christ’s love to the kids. I know there heart’s desire is to be there for all the kids and teach them about God and help them become good strong people.

City dump

On Sunday I went to one of my favorite place the city dump in Zacapa. Every time I go it just reminds me of how real Gods love is. The people or so happy you talk with so many of them and there so confident in the love God has for them yet they live among mounts of trash. Every time I am there it reminds me that there is only one thing that can make us truly happy one love that can truly fulfill us to the point that it doesn't mater what we have or where we are. This one thing is God His love can fulfill us to the point that no mater where we find are selfs we can always have true happiness. We can always have true happens if we put God in the center of all that we do and all that we are if its throw Him that we live then we have true life!