Our twelve-day mission trip to Guatemala this last December 17-29 is nearly worthy of a book of its own. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to write all the stories, but I am sure there is a much more interesting, beautiful and detailed account recorded in heaven. Maybe we can all read it together during the Millennium! That said, I had to share a few extra stories with you that didn’t make it into the December newsletter.
On the afternoon of December 18, we arrived in the mountains of Los Encuentros along with a cold front of wind and rain. The original word had been that we would be camping, but some kind soul had made arrangements with the town council at the last minute, and they conceded us the school building which was conveniently available as Guatemala’s school cycle ends in October and begins in January. Boy, were we glad for that roof over our heads as the rain continued for several days! The rain turned out to be a godsend, however, because the village water was turned off when we arrived! So we collected runoff from the tin roof for cooking, bathing and flushing the toilets. After installing our tents in one of the classrooms, and cooking dinner over an open fire in the shed next to school, we went to the Suchite residence to do a small-group worship service.
The next day we started door-to-door visitation. Besides the Cawich and Chavez family, Lyli and myself, we had three MOVE graduates with us: Melinda and Yuvini from Belize, and Israel from Nicaragua. Israel brought his friend José Jiminez along too. José is an exuberant Pathfinder Master Guide leader, who used his vacation time from his job with an American company to come on the mission trip.
“Isra even paid for my trip up here!” José told us later. “But he didn’t tell me until we got here that there is no money for the return trip!”
More than once during our twelve days together he praised God for the experience he was having, which turned out to be like a big shot of spiritual vitamins! José went home with renewed faith and focus.
“I am definitely going to get more involved in mission work at my home church again!” He promised. “As soon as I get a little money saved I am going to come take the training program at MOVE, and do my six months of service. After that I want to study theology and be a missionary pastor!” Please pray for José, that he will follow through by the grace of God!
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| Left to right: Noelito, Israel, and José, enjoying the Mountain View over Los Encuentros |
José, Yuvini, Israel and Miguel were out visiting one morning when they saw a little old man struggling to drag a large wooden post down the road. Immediately they went to his aid. He wanted to help them carry the load, but was so short he could only hang from the beam, so the boys told him to just lead the way! Their small act of kindness did not go unnoticed by the neighbors.
“You guys are different than other Christians!” A man named Manuel told the boys later that day. “Other people here who go to church will pass you on the road and not even look at you, but you guys actually care about others!” Manuel received us into his home, began Bible studies, and attended several nights of the evangelistic meetings! Manuel is next-door neighbor to the only baptized Adventist in the village, (see December newsletter, linked in my previous post) and Mr. Valeriano has promised to continue the studies.
“There’s going to be a big shindig at the corral and the ball field starting Sunday” the villagers warned us. Bull riding, music, dancing, drinking and carousing were all on the docket.
Oh dear, maybe it’s not such a good idea to try to hold our meetings those nights, at least not here at the school! I thought. But then I realized, this could be a way for even more people to find out about our meetings. As it turned out, the party music cut off right before we started our first meeting and didn’t come on again until we were finished! The brothers from the church at Machaquila loaned us their sound system, and the Word of God was heard by all passers by, many of whom stopped to listen for awhile. Others told us later that they had heard the preaching clearly from the comfort of their own homes!
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| Adult meetings held in the government school breezeway. Interest was high! |
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| My precious wife leads the children meetings in one of the classrooms. Some nights there were up to 70 in attendance! |
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| Yuvini (far left) poses with villagers who attended the meetings and received Bibles |
Israel had a powerful experience giving Bible studies to the most influential man in town, a well-to-do rancher and president of the town council named Mr. Cecilio. During their last study, God put it on Israel’s heart to go through the parables of the prodigal son and the lost coin. By the end of the study both the tough old rancher and his wife were in tears. Both are Christians who had fallen away from God. Their son is now a drug addict, a shame and a menace to the family. God gave Israel powerful words of comfort and courage as he prayed with the family, and when we packed up to leave, Mr. Cecilio, his treasurer and secretary all came out to thank the team, say goodbye, and invite us to return whenever we wish!
ANOTHER DIVINE ENCOUNTER
When I arrived back at the school where we were staying after morning visitation, I saw a man standing outside the crowded classroom where Lyli was doing crafts with the kids. I approached and greeted him. His name was Rolando. Turns out he works in Belize three month periods at certain times during the year, trying to "get ahead" in life. “I opened a clothing store here for my wife to operate while I am away. We live just up the road. My daughter was begging to come to this… I was busy, but when I got done I brought her down, but it looks like the activities are about over.” he remarked.
I explained what we do and asked if I could visit him at home.
“We have meetings in the evenings too, and there are videos for the kids! Y'all should come!”
Christmas day I went to visit Rolando, but he wasn’t home. Only his pregnant wife, eight months with child. Two girls arrived on horseback with firewood. “They are going to bake bread today” she motioned to the big clay oven behind the kitchen.
Two days later I was walking by with Lyli on a quick trip to the store and I saw Rolando on his front porch.
“I have to visit him while he’s home,” I told Lyli. But I had a Bible study scheduled with another family. It was nearly 4:00 pm before I got to his house.
“Y’all don't celebrate Christmas do you?” Rolando asked after several minutes of small talk.
“Well, not in the same way that most people do, but we do enjoy having special family time. Also, Christmas is a great opportunity to talk about Jesus and what He did for us in coming as a man and what that means for us today.”
“You’re different than the JW’s then." He observed. "You’re Sabbath keepers aren’t you?”
“Yes on both accounts!” I smiled and shared a couple verses with him.
“But your Bible says sábado. Mine just says the day of rest!” Rolando protested.
“Yes, some Bibles translate it that way” I agreed. “I have a Bible that says that as well, but there is a little asterisk by the phrase dia de reposo, and in the margin it says that it is equivalent to sábado. Also, the fourth commandment clarifies that God’s day of rest is the seventh day.” I turned to Exodus 20.
WHICH DAY IS THE SEVENTH DAY?
The devil has different lies for different guys, and sometimes he has to adapt them to the language. In English people tend to think that Sunday is the Sabbath. In Spanish, people don’t really have that problem because Saturday in Spanish is sabado, or “Sabbath”! So folks here aren't fooled about which day is Sabbath! It's a no brainer! We have learned, however, that one of the false narratives at these latitudes is that Sunday is the seventh day! The people in Los Encuentros are so ingrained in this tradition that when Lyli taught the children the days of creation and told them that God rested on the 7th day and made it holy, and then asked “which day is the seventh day?” she was shocked by the unanimous chorus of enthusiastic voices shouting “Domingo!” Also, on this same trip, Brother Daniel Cawich and his wife Mirta studied the Bible with Verónica, an earnest seeker full of questions, one of which was: “Which day is the seventh day?”
Now, I have seen some newer calendars, and even a Spanish Encyclopedia from 2009 that actually have the audacity to list Sunday as the seventh day of the week, but all the calendars that I saw in Los Encuentros were still of the traditional sort. Still, Rolando insisted that Sunday is the seventh day, and went to get his calendar.
“See, Sunday is in red” he showed me, as if to prove his point. This was the first time I had ever heard of a cultural identification of the color red with the number seven, but I made no comment! I just counted the days of the week out loud for him from left to right, and what do you know, they were still in order, and sábado is the 7th day!
“But domingo is in red ink! Besides, people here get paid on Sabbath to end the work week and everyone keeps Sunday! Only you Adventists keep Sabbath!” Rolando insisted.
“Jesus and the apostles also kept the Sabbath!” I offered. “Also, remember that biblically speaking, the majority has never been the safe option! Jesus said the wide road is not the safe road!”
“If the Sabbath is so important, I will do a fast and the Lord will show me the truth!” Rolando concluded.
“I’m glad to hear you say that, and I know that as you pray and fast and read God’s Word with an open and sincere heart, He will give you all the right answers!” I encouraged. “It’s like it says in John 7:17: ‘If any man will do His will, He will know of the doctrine whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.’ So the most important thing is that you be willing to do God’s will whatever it may be, and then seek to know His will.”
“I believe in God,” Rolando said. “No one can convince me that He’s not real because He healed me!”
“That’s wonderful! Tell me about it!”
ROLANDO'S SPECTACULAR EXPERIENCE
“I was raised an evangelical, my Dad is a pastor, but as a young man I drifted away, seeking pleasure, and became addicted to drugs and alcohol.” Rolando began. “In order not to disgrace my father’s ministry, I moved away. One day I received an injury over an altercation about a girl. I was in critical condition, and was alone in my hut, near death, when some evangelical Christians came to visit me. They asked me if I was a believer. I said yes, and they began to pray. I lost consciousness and seemed to drift up and above myself. I saw two great pillars and an open door from which poured out a cloud of white smoke. Inside I could hear the voice of singing. I lifted my foot to enter, when I remembered I had never said good-bye to my father. Suddenly I awoke, back in my bed!
‘He’s revived!’ shouted the older visitor, the pastor.
"Oh Lord, I realized. I died but now I’m back! At that moment I felt a warm tingling that began at my toes and rose to the top of my head and I knew that I was healed! Suddenly I saw a shining being over 12 feet tall standing in the corner of the room.
‘Look, look!’ I grabbed the pastor’s arm and pointed. There’s someone here!’
‘There’s nobody there!’ replied the pastor emphatically, but I could see him plainly. Solemnly he lifted is arm and pointing at me said ‘You have been healed! You now have the gift of healing and you are commissioned to take that healing to others.’”
Rolando finished his testimony. While I don’t doubt that God in mercy saved his life, I was struck by the sudden thought it would be just like the devil to make a fellow sick to death, and then "heal" him to leave him doubly deceived! The Lord kept me silent on that point however, and I just kept listening.
“I know I have failed to obey that call.” Rolando confessed. “For a while I was active in church, but you know the devil never sleeps and I soon became discouraged. The brethren would be so kind and pious at church, but then during the week some would gossip and backstab while others lived in sin, and I thought man, if Christ were to come at this moment they would be lost! Eventually I stopped going to church and fell back into my vices. Then one day while drunk in Poptún I was nearly killed. I knew I was failing God and I was very afraid to die. So I tried to change my life again. I no longer drink. I just work, and then home to the family and the kids. But I know I am not fulfilling God’s commission. This,” He gestured at the house and yard “is just a wimb of mine, just doing my own thing…”
The man is under conviction. I realized. I need to say something! Lord, give me the right words!
THE CALL
“The fact that you feel that way is evidence that God is still calling you.” I encouraged. “He is speaking to you again today! He has plans for your life! Don’t put Him off any longer!” I urged. “Just make sure that you are willing to do all his will. His will is in His word! Study what He asks you to do in His Word! Many passages in Scripture tell us what God’s will is for our lives.” I shared 1 Thess 4:3, Matt 12:50, and Lk 8:21. “And so, as powerful as miracles and supernatural experiences can be, by themselves they are no guarantee that we doing God's will!” I turned to Matthew 7. “This is the same passage that we talked about earlier, where Jesus warns us not to follow the crowd because the path to eternal life is narrow and only a few find it! Just a few verses later Jesus explains that not even all those who claim to be Christians and work miracles will be saved, but only the wise who build on the rock!” I read verses 21-24. “So we see that what makes the saving difference is when we listen to God’s Word and do what it says!”
“Hey, you guys really do use the same Bible we do” Rolando tried to shift the conversation. “I remember reading these same texts you just shared.”
“Do you have a Bible here at home?” I asked.
“Just a New Testament. I had a complete Bible, but it is at my sister’s house in Poptún.”
“I have an extra Bible here with me, I’d love for you to have it!” I offered.
“Oh yes, absolutely.” Rolando took it gratefully.
We said goodbye, but not before I invited him to the evening meetings again along with his wife and daughter. I was really excited when the whole family showed up that night! After the program I spoke to them for a few minutes, and gave them a Steps to Christ and a booklet of study guides called “The Faith of Jesus.” They had already left when I felt strongly that I should have given them a copy of the book “When God said Remember” by Mark Finley as well.
“Why don't you take it by their house tomorrow morning” Lyli suggested. The next morning when I arrived at Rolando’s house, he was already gone, but his wife sat at the counter in their clothing store with the new Bible open in front of her. Pencil in hand, she was looking up texts and answering the questions from the first Bible study in “The Faith of Jesus” booklet! Her daughter sat on the floor looking at the pictures in Steps to Christ. A customer entered right behind me, so I wasn’t able to chat, but I greeted her with a smile, handed her the Sabbath book, and left praising God! Lord, may You bring forth a rich harvest from the seeds we scattered!
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