A New Season

 

Dear friends and family, hello from Guatemala!  

I hope all is well with you.  So, here is the first update to the mission here in Guatemala.  Once arriving at the airport in Guatemala city, a total of 10 of us new team members were welcomed by existing team members, and we were all excited to embark on this journey together.

Here is some background information:  This ministry started about a year ago with around 12 team members, and now there are 24 of us!  There are now two locations that we are ministering in, one in Lake Atitlan, and one in Antigua.  I’m in the Antigua location, below is an overlook of the city.

Like starting any new ministry, there are a lot of different changes and ideas that are put into practice to see where the Lord wants us to minister.  Therefore, the vision that the Lord has primarily spoken to us missionaries is to raise up and disciple local Guatemalans to be missionaries to the nations.  Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  -Matthew 28:19-20

In pursuing the Father’s heart for where He is leading us from day to day, we first focus on “ministering to the Lord”, as it states in 1 Samuel 3:1, 19; 1 Chronicles 15:2; Ezekiel 44:14; and Romans 12:1.  For it is impossible to do the will of the Father without being in communion with Him.

So, we need to be in tune with the Holy Spirit so the Father can do with us as He pleases.  This is very important because we don’t want to just go out and rely on ourselves to do things according to our own will.  Therefore, we are to not just know the Father’s works, but to know His ways.  And to know His ways, is to be in communion with Him – listening to what, where, and how He wants us to minister in reaching the vision He has put on our hearts.

Above is a picture with all 26 of us, including Jonathan and Ann who lead the mission.  This picture was our team retreat for the first 8 days after we, the new team members, arrived.  We focused on leaving old paradigms behind and restoring our need to go deeper into the Father’s love, individually and as a team, discovering more of a relentless joy and zeal in Him.  This is utmost important in effective ministry.  “For if we walk into a new season with old paradigms, we will get an old season.”  -Jonathan Little

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”  -2 Corinthians 4:7

“As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.”  –Luke 8:15

My new friend above is the first fruit of this mission, his name is Javier.  He grew up throughout Guatemala and was forced to raise himself.  He is a now a part of our family, and it is great getting to know him.  God has given him a heart for missions to make disciples of Jesus Christ in the nations, and he is very grateful to the Lord for our team in helping him be sent out.  He told me, “Stu, my whole life I’ve wanted a family, and as soon as God changed my heart to be a missionary for building His Kingdom, He sent you all, my real family.”  There are limited to no options for local Guatemalans to be trained and sent out as missionaries to other countries, and this is why we are here. 

One of the immediate ministries that the Lord has brought us to pursue is the Market in Antigua (see picture below).  We call this an “ATL” walk, which means “Ask The Lord”, and have faith that He will answer.  As a team, we walk the Market and build relationships with the locals within it; they come from all over Guatemala, believing that the market is the answer to a fulfilling life.  The Lord has put this place on our hearts as one of the paths to leading up to raising Guatemalan missionaries.  God spoke to us about this, and then to wait for what He is going to do through it.

Please pray for continued team unity and for God to lead us into uncharted ministry in the Market.  That He would open our hearts by His grace – for the people He has chosen for us to minister to in the Market.  That He would renew our sense of vision as He brings His people our way, as we walk and serve them in their midst.  Thank you so much for the support!

Dios te bendiga,

Stu