Hello friends and supporters!
Steven here. As we begin the new year serving in Guatemala, we are reminded of our friends and family back home. Your support means so much to us and we are incredibly grateful to you and to our Lord who has shown us the meaning of providence and grace. I am grateful that He provided people like you who give so willingly and pray fervently for us. It is a true joy for us to be goers and we could not do it without our senders, so thank you so much!
TRANSITIONS
As the new year has quickly approached us, so have new opportunities for ministry. As you know, I have been teaching Bible classes for secondary students at Christian Academy of Guatemala for a year and a half now. This time has been a great experience. Last year we began with only three Bible teachers and no real Bible teaching program to speak of. By God’s grace we now have an established committee for spiritual development, sufficient Bible teaching staff, a student counseling program, a biblically focused curriculum, a worship arts & music class, and significantly improved weekly chapel services. This will be however, the last year that I teach at C.A.G.
Part of the reason why I will be leaving C.A.G. is because of the reason I entered in the first place, to help serve a school who needed help in their Bible department. I believe that this has been accomplished and that the right people are in place to continue the program without me.
Another reason why I will soon be transitioning to new ministry opportunities has to do with my original intent to return to Guatemala, to make and mature disciples of Guatemala. While I enjoyed working with missionary kids and there was a fair share of Guatemalan students in the bunch, my desires lie in planting the gospel with the people of Guatemala and this is where my ministry in the near future will take place.
NEW OPPORTUNITIES AHEAD
If you follow our blog, you’ve already heard of our new ministry, Centrados, a website with theological resources presented in the style of an online magazine. Centrados literally means “centered” in Spanish is all about being centered on the gospel in our faith and communities. It is much more than just a website. It is our launching pad for gospel-centered ministry in Guatemala.
For the past decade, our mission, HOPE, has been working with leaders, pastors, teachers, and churches in rural areas of Guatemala where there is no other Christian presence. Partnered with A.G.A.P.E., an aviation ministry, HOPE has been able to send men and women to teach and equip local leaders with the gospel. However, one of the greatest needs for us has been securing resources, materials, and teachers who can teach locals. By God’s grace, Centrados will help provide the needed resources not only to these churches, but thanks to the wonder of the internet, to all of Latin America, free of charge.
Centrados is also helping churches at the ground level. Starting this month I will be working personally with a local church as they seek to assess their teaching and restructure in a more gospel-centered direction.
WE NEED YOUR PRAYER
We are not cut out for ministry, which is why we depend on the Holy Spirit. He guides us, protects us, convicts us, and reveals to us the truth of the Word. We need your prayer that we could continue the work that Christ has begun through the work of the Holy Spirit. Here are some particular ways you can pray for us:
- School for Gaby // The school year has begun for Gaby and she is now in her [technically] third year of med school. While her schedule is not as crazy as last year (she can actually come home before it’s dark! Yay!), her classes are much more difficult. Fortunately, they are SUPER interesting. As a guy with a degree in theology, I can only take her word for it. Please pray for the perseverance to get through difficult classes in a somewhat hostile environment. Please also pray for her safety as she is still driving across Guatemala City every day.
- Physical recovery // I’m very happy to say that Gaby has been recovering very well from her Bell’s palsy incident. She is no longer taking medication or going to physical therapy. We were able to visit a doctor in the United States over the holidays who examined her eye free of charge and assured us that she is in the final stages of recovery. Please continue to pray that it will come soon!
- Finishing well at C.A.G. // Perhaps it is a little silly to speak of “finishing” when we are only halfway through the school year, but I believe in thinking ahead to ensure that when the time comes, nothing is forgotten or left half-done. As I mentioned in our last blog post, this semester I am teaching through the book of Acts (which we actually started today!) When you’re handling a room full of ninth graders, you need prayer. Trust me.
- Contributors for Centrados // I am still looking for contributors to help provide articles and resources for Centrados. Please pray that I will be able to find likeminded individuals with a similar vision for this ministry.
- Financial Support // We are currently living under-budget by about $300-400 a month. By what can only be explained as God’s grace, we are currently living rent free so we’ve been able to get by for the past 6 months but we will need to look for a new place to live later on this year. Please pray that we will find an affordable home and that God will provide the financial support we need.
GUATEMALA IN THE NEWS
I thought I’d start doing a new segment at the end of our newsletters featuring articles or videos highlighting current events in Guatemala. If you’re interested in discovering more of Guatemala, check out the following links!
- Maximón: Guatemala’s Product of Syncretism // “Unlike other Roman Catholic saints in Latin America, Maximon is seen by his followers as being able to grant both good and evil requests — from helping to yield better crops to finding love to recovering from an illness to taking revenge on an enemy.” Maximón is a local pagan idol adopted by the Roman Catholic church worshipped by many Guatemalans in rural areas.
- Gun Violence Plagues Guatemala // These photos from Al Jazeera America show the grim reality of gun violence in Guatemala City. The third photo in the slideshow was taken at the same hospital where Gaby studies and examines patients.
- Justin Bieber Came to Guatemala // So last October Justin Bieber had a concert in Guatemala. No, I did not attend. As it turns out, he visited some rural villages the next day and was surprised by the degree of poverty in which these people live. If anything, you can check out this article to see the conditions most Guatemalans live in.
Much love,
Steven (and Gaby!)
