Friday afternoon we flew back to Guatemala City in time for Dan to speak at Pastor Juan Carlos’ youth meeting. The place was packed with youth and some adults. After Dan preached on having a vision for your life, we prayed for every person in the place. The anointing and power of God was amazing as people were receiving the call of God on their life and a clearer vision for their future. Wish we could take you with us on these ministry outreached! It’s so difficult to express what things are really like unless you see and experience it for yourselves.

The most amazing part of our 10 day journey to Mexico City and Guatemala was on Saturday morning, just before we left for our flight back home. We had breakfast with several pastors and their wives. We shared with them why we had come to Guatemala and yet how amazed we were with the strength of the church in Guatemala. We then challenged the group to come up with a 5 year plan to reach those areas of Guatemala that do not have a thriving church planting movement in that area. We could see them begin to look at each other and to realize that we were not just talking about bringing in a short-term team that might interrupt their own schedules of outreach but we were talking about something bigger than what any of them had planned…something bigger than themselves. This took the level of outreach and engagement to a whole new level. Then one of the pastors stood up and said that he and his wife wanted to go with us to Africa as well to minister. When we said that we’d be glad to take any of them, several of their eyes lit up and they began to get excited. God was beginning to move on their hearts and put a bigger dream and vision in them than what they had before. We left that day in anticipation of what God is going to do in Guatemala but also wondering how God is going to use these Guatemalan pastors to change other nations in the world!

As we are looking for possible future ministry sites, we like to try the restaurants and visit the hotels that are available in the area. While at one location, we met up with some ladies who needed some help carrying their wet laundry back to the road to catch a bus after washing it in the nearby lake.

Wow! These guys are struggling with what the typical Guatemalan lady puts on her head!

Of course Dan had to try out the hammock!

Craig and Peggy took us out for dinner in the small tourist village of Fores, Guatemala.  The town was is located next to a beautiful lake with cobblestone streets, tourist shops galore, and many authentic restaurants to choose from.  It was a nice relaxing atmosphere to spent time getting to know Craig and Peggy and talk about their vision for the future.

Craig and Peggy in front of their home in the Peten.

Our next stop was to Peten, Guatemala with Craig and Peggy. After an hour delay at the airport in Guatemala City, we took off in a small plane to the northern part of Guatemala in the region of the Peten. Craig and Peggy greeted us warmly at the aiport…and so did the weather! It was quite hot and humid in the Peten compared to the rainy, cool weather in Guatemala City. We quickly changed clothes and ate at the airport before we took off for our first visit to the village of Jomopeche where Craig and Peggy have worked for several years now. We arrived just in time to take part in the daily Bible Club in the village. Today they were meeting with the 7, 8, and 9 year olds.

Children helping with the Bible teaching with flanngelgraph

Children helping lead in worship

Children in line to play the marble game

The team that picks the most marbles out of the water with their toes first wins!

Before leaving the village for the night, we visited a few of the families house to house and distributed some vegetables and other food which is another project that Craig and Peggy have seen as a great means of outreach and meeting the physical needs of people.

Craig and Peggy’s “adopted” grandbaby

Dan was fascinated the family “pets” in the family’s home.

Typical village kitchen

Discussing future plans of breadsticks at Little Caesar’s Pizza

On Tuesday, Pastor Jorge, Director of FCF in Guatemala, along with Pastor Jaime, took us to meet some of the other pastors that he had sent out to plant churches in the area. The Church in Guatemala city is strong. They are raising up their own leaders and sending them out and doing great outreach. We were very impressed. We began to ask ourselves, now why do we need to send teams here…they’re already doing the outreaches and very effectively!

Pastor Corina’s church

Pastor Corina also has a new church plant in a village a couple hours away in Mantufa.

Pastor Jaime took us to another town where he began a church in a school. It is thriving and doing regular outreach.

Pastor Jorge took us to his beautiful church building where he has had a strong, growing congregation for about 10 years now.

We also visited Pastor Armando who has opened his home up to people on the street who are dealing with alchohol and drug addictions. Right now there are about 18 men and women living in his home who are getting help. He also provides lunch and dinner for several other families each day. He does all of this by faith. We met one lady who he took in off the street five years ago. She had been abandoned as a little girl and lived on the street all of her life. When she came to the rehab home, she had to be taught how to use a toilet and sleep in a bed. She now has a a place to call “home” after 40 years of living on the street.

children near the school church

lady making tortillas