Our college team returned home on Wednesday, June 18th. What a bittersweet day it was for us to say goodbye to a place we’ve come to love so much. I know everyone was excited to see their friends and families, but leaving Guatemala was tough.
Our last week in Guatemala was busy and eventful, and we apologize for not blogging sooner. We spent our last few days in Chanco revisiting homes and seeking to communicate the truth as clearly as possible. Although we won’t be the ones to see the fruit of our labor, we left encouraged and confident in what the Lord is doing and in what he has promised. We used the analogy often and the verse over and over, but we were given the privilege of sowing the seeds. The teams that have worked in Chanco and Nearar in the past have tilled the ground and prepared it for planting, and it was our turn to further the process by planting the seeds of the Gospel among the people of Chanco and Nearar. The parable of the sower in Matthew 13 talks about the different types of soil that the seeds will fall on–some along the path to be devoured by birds, some on rocky ground where there is little soil, some among the thorns, but some among good soil that produced a hundredfold. We know that not every seed that has been planted over the last month will grow into a relationship with God through Christ, but we are confident that the Lord will raise up believers in both areas who will have a desire to see their people come to know Christ.
We were also given the privilege of working with the children of both villages during our time in Guatemala. We used the Spanish version of the Jesus Storybook Bible to tell the kids about Jesus. We loved how it constantly pointed to Christ with every story. We gave many of the books to the children, and our hearts were filled with joy when they would come back to tell us about a story they had read. Pray that the Lord would use those books to bring the children to a saving knowledge of who He is and what He has done for us. Pray also that their parents would be curious about the books and that they would be impacted by them as well.
Thank you for praying faithfully for our team. I think it is safe to say that the Lord has worked on our hearts just as much as he has worked on the people we’ve ministered to during this time. Please continue to pray for Chanco and Nearar and the difficult work there. We firmly believe that it wouldn’t be so difficult if something powerful wasn’t happening among the hearts of the people. Pray faithfully that the Lord would not only cause those seeds to grow, but that he would also continue to raise up laborers to send to the harvest. Just a few chapters before the parable of the sower, Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38). We’re being used as His instruments–what a privilege.
We are confident that our work has not been in vain–He who promised is faithful.
Jenna
And one last joyful picture from our beloved lunch & bible study spot–The Porch.
E3 Global Teams 