Hands and Feet

My life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus – the work of telling others the Good News about God’s wonderful kindness and love.  – Acts 20:24

It was a great day and God was at work for us in Guatemala! Our teacher team began their day at school with five teachers from Chanco exchanging ideas about education, from teaching techniques to classroom behavior management. We were awed to see the Lord already working there through Bible story-reading every morning and teachers praying for their students at night. They challenged us to a futbol match tomorrow – Guatemala vs. USA! More on that later… : )

After lunch, the teacher team went on a prayer walk in the village. A seventeen-year-old girl with special needs wandered up behind them. Some neighbors explained that she was about 15 minutes from home and that she spends her days walking around the village. She grabbed Linda’s hand and they walked down the mountain together. Linda prayed and sang with her, despite their language barriers. As Linda prayed with the girl, the teachers who followed them were praying as well – praying for her salvation and her safety. Later in the day, the teachers with some other team members found the girl asleep in a hammock on the neighbors’ porch. The team laid hands on her and prayed with her. She asked David Miller, the IMB missionary, if Jesus would heal her. He answered in Spanish, saying that God can do anything. They prayed for her healing. She asked Jackie if she loved Jesus, and Jackie responded, “With all my heart.” The girl said, “I love Jesus, too.” That was a sweet moment.

While the teacher team met with local teachers in Chanco, the Bible-storying team worked with the nationals (local believers) from two local churches. They learned the story of the sick woman who was healed by her faith after touching Jesus’ garment and the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000.They retold the story to us, acted it out, and answered questions so they would be ready and able to share these stories with non-believers in Chanco.

The two teams met up in Chanco around 2 pm and began visiting people in their homes. We hit the ground running and began spreading the good news of Jesus’ love. Pastor Rolando from the church in Zacapa led a team to a particular house where we met Nicholas and Aurelia. Both were very open to hearing our stories and testimonies. After talking and praying with them for awhile, both prayed to receive Jesus. In fact, we prayed with four Chorti people who accepted Jesus as their Savior today!

We have been welcomed with open arms and our cups are overflowing with God’s goodness and grace. We feel God is not only changing lives in Chanco, but changing all of us as well. God is pouring out His blessings on us indeed…and we’ve only just begun!