GUATEMALA Baptist Convention Partnership by Mike Douris

One way to really understand one’s place in the universe is to take a moment and contemplate the massive nature of the church and how the Lord uses each member to achieve His will. David in Psalm 139 does just that as he reflects on the universe the Lord created and the vast wisdom and know ledge He possesses. As he is reflecting on the vastness of God he says in verse 5, “…Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”

Amy Norton and I sat in the offices of The Convention of Baptist Churches of Guatemala preparing to sign a memorandum of understanding with Orphan Outreach and my mind went back to the year 2000 when I first met the former president of the convention very late at night in his home on the seminary campus. We prayed together and covenanted to work together as brothers in Christ to serve the children of Guatemala. Several months later that dear brother died of a heart attack and another brother in the Lord Jorge Morales became president of the convention. He will soon leave that position having been president for seven faithful years. He is such a humble faithful servant and dear friend to all who serve with him.

Another dear friend was sitting next to Jorge, Amed Bendfeldt who has just taken on the responsibilities of being president of the Social Ministries and Humanitarian Aid board. He has such a committed heart for the Lord and his country Guatemala. He has been such an encouragement in the formation of our partnership with the convention as we work with both the convention and several key churches in educational ministries in the slums of Guatemala City, a remote village called Pachux, and in a villiage destroyed by hurricane Stan called Panabuj. The manner in which the Lord brought us together and guided us to these projects and people has been amazing.

We all reflected on the grace of God before the signing and in prayer we made a commitment to serve hand in hand as one body – brothers and sisters in Christ to serve the least of these in Guatemala as “God prepared in advance for us to do.” Eph 2:10. As we signed the document and anticipated what the Lord has planned for our partnership the words of David came to my mind, “…such knowledge is to wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”

We know there will be struggles, obstacles to overcome, battles to fight, victories and defeats, fear and courage but knowing beyond any doubt that the Lord will be our sustenance and our strength. He will give us wisdom, courage and hope. It will be by His will and His resources and the love He expresses through our lives that will go before us to reach those he loves so dearly. Our prayer and our hope is that many will commit to pray with us that this new partnership with The convention of Baptist Churches of Guatemala and Orphan Outreach will glorify the Lord and will be used by Him to bless the children of Guatemala.

GUATEMALA Panabuj by Michael Douris

There are all kinds of days we experience throughout our lives – we have good days, bad days, happy days, not so happy days, productive days and days that will never end – I could go on and on – and so could you. But every now and then the Lord arranges a day that drives you to your knees and you know that you will not be the same after that day is over – today was such a day.

It started out as early travel at 6am to a place called Leoma just outside Chichicastenango near Lake Atitlan. We were meeting with pastors about a possible school in that area. We left very encouraged by what we saw and were blessed by the humility and faith of the pastors. We headed to Lake Atitlan to visit the site of families affected by hurricane Stan in fall of 2005. We had heard the day before that many families were still displaced and many children were orphaned and not receiving education.

Little did we know what was before us as we got into the small motor boat to cross the lake to go to Santiago, Atitlan. Lake Atitlan is one of the most beautiful lakes in the world surrounded by three volcanos on its southern flank. Its depth is not known as it has not been totally sounded but estimates are it is a least 340 meters deep. Our boat pounded on the choppy water as we approached the weathered docks where we were immediately greeted by cabbies that were ready to take us where ever we wanted to go in their three wheel motorized bikes. A boy about ten jumped into the boat and started speaking in Spanish expecting us to know what he was saying – good thing we had Gloria – who quickly told him we did not need his services as a guide. When we left later to return home, he asked for money and when asked what he did for us to earn it, he replied, “I offered my services – it was not my fault you did not use them.”
As we made our way up the unsteady dock, Pastor Diego emerged from his vehicle and welcomed us. He asked us to use the cabbies to get to his church as he did not have room in his car. It was an interesting ride up the mountain to the church. I had been in Santiago before and walked up the steep mountainous streets - though it was easier to ride - I was thinking it was not near as safe as I watched the cabbie weave between vehicles and hop over speed bumps.

Once at the church, pastor Diego dropped off his passengers and asked us to accompany him to the area impacted by the hurricane. He headed to the small village of Panabaj which was a very short distance from Santiago. We immediately saw the massive devastation. Children from the village came running up to see what we were doing there as Pastor Diego described that night. He said it had been raining all day when at about midnight the fireman came to the village and said they thought that it would be good to evacuate the area. The villagers were in shock and many were reluctant to leave for fear of losing the few possessions they owned. At about three am they heard and felt tremors - not knowing what was happening - they came out of their homes to see a huge mudslide cascading down the volcanic mountain. In a panic, they thought that their only safety was in their homes but as they tried to run into them they saw their neighbors, men, women and children being swept away by the force of the mudflow. It was too late and about six am a larger mudslide buried most of the town in volcanic mud, boulders and wet ash. It completely changed the landscape of the town to where it is barely recognizable.

We were standing in an open field at the base of the volcano where 800 families once lived and there was no trace that anyone had ever lived there except one small foundation of the nicest house in the village. Under the ground are buried many that died that night. It was impossible to find the bodies under the mud so they left it as it is. What was once a village is now a memorial of the 500 lives lost that night – 100 of them children. The buildings that survived are vacant destroyed by the mudslide with each wall marked permanently indicating the level of the mud as it pounded into them. All along the road huge boulders had been pushed out of the street that had careened down the mountain carried by the flood waters. The ground is now a dark volcanic ash and everywhere carved through streets and fields are the remains of the rivers of mud as they carved a new landscape heading to the lake.

The impact to families has been devastating. Over 800 families, approximately 7,000 men women and children live in what was supposed to be temporary housing. A village has been set up in the middle of a field where scores of small metal buildings and tin outhouses line up one after another – no water, no electricity - no hope. There is one elementary school that the city set up that cares for about 600 kids with 10 teachers – that is it. The government began building permanent houses out of cinder block but decided that the area was too dangerous after building many of the structures. Next to the tin village there are half completed cinder block houses symbolizing the hopelessness of the family’s situation. Whenever it rains the villages run to Santiago in fear that the mudslide will happen again.

This is now the ministry field of Pastor Diego. As he took us through the village scores of men, women and children ran up to him and waved hello. He has lived in Santiago his whole life. He told us he grew up in extreme poverty. He got his first pair of shoes when he was eleven. His teacher sewed pieces of craft paper together so he would have stationary to write on and he remembers how proud he was of possessing one pencil. Pastor Diego only completed the fifth grade. His father was murdered in the civil war so he had to care for his mother and a sister who had epilepsy. He grew up in the Baptist Church that his grandmother started and his father was pastor. When his father was murdered, he was asked to become its Sheppard.

He is a man a great conviction and determination to tell his people about the love of Christ. He told us that he has very little money but what he has he shares with the kids who lost everything. He says he tells them that Jesus is not only their past and present but also their future. He said he knows what it means to be poor and have no hope and he wants desperately to reach out to them with the love of Christ. He has been used to grow a vibrant church of 400 people built through the Lord using his vision, talent and drive to serve.

As he drove us to the dock to catch our boat before night fell, he turned to me and said, “I only have the words given to Paul in his vision the Lord gave him to go to Macedonia, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” I looked up those verses when I got back to my room tonight. His words stirred my spirit when Diego challenged me. Acts 16:6-10 says,

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

Pastor Diego says he had teachers ready to teach and a church ready to respond to open a school for this village. He says it would be such an encouragement and witness to the community if that could become a reality. He said education is there future. He showed us the library the church built which is most of the second floor of his church. The pastor who only finished the fifth grade knows for the children of his village to have a future they must first have Jesus and a good education.

Orphan Outreach wants to help but needs churches and individuals to come along side and make this dream a reality for a people who are currently living without hope. Please pray for Pastor Diego, his church and the people of Panabaj - and pray about what the Lord would have you do to have an impact on this community.

GUATEMALA by Mike Douris

One of my favorite verses of the bible is Hebrews 11:35 -38. The writer of Hebrews has finished his list of men and women who showed extraordinary faith and then with a sense of exhaustion says in verse 32, “And what more shall I say?” He then lists others he had not mentioned and then begins describing acts of faith by those who no one will ever know their names. He begins in verse 35 and says,

“…Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated – the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

I love the phrase, “…the world was not worthy of them.” I would imagine that each of us has had the privilege of meeting believers that would fit that description. The writer of Hebrews list many examples of faithful men and women so we will aspire to that kind of faith. In my travels I have met so many men and women of faith who fit that description but very few people will ever know who they are or what wonderful works the Lord does through them.

I was in a room of such people today in Guatemala – faithful servants of the Lord who serve for no other reason but their love for Christ and those whom they serve who live in Guatemala. One of this number is a young pastor by the name of Arnoldo Cuja Lopez. He is the pastor of Iglesia Bautisia De Rabinal (Rabinal Baptist Church) in a small village called Pachux. He is a faithful loving pastor in a community that is very poor and ministers to families that have suffered loss in the civil war, endure poverty, lack of water and access to education. Arnoldo is one of those who lost his father in the war. He ministers to a congregation of a little over a hundred people and also to approximately 50 orphans and many other severely marginalized children.

His dream is to have a church that has walls. You see his church consist of only pillars and a metal roof -but Arnoldo is more focused on what God is doing than what he does not have. His eyes light up as he talks about the families and children he serves. He has been leading this small congregation for the last six years but has only recently been officially ordained as a pastor after much hard work and study. His wife and seven children live in a mud brick house next to the church. He was very excited to tell us he recently was given an award for his work with the youth in sports by the Rabinal Soccor Association. It was a rare recognition for a Baptist pastor to be recognized by an official governmental agency. All those who know him talk about how he has made a real difference in the lives of children in this community.

Orphan Outreach is praying we will be able to raise the money to complete the church building so that Arnoldo can minister more effectively to the community. The church building will also become a preschool through kindergarten Christian School for 120 children most of whom are orphaned or live in extreme poverty. It will cost $28,000 to complete the church building. As we talked about the construction plans Mateo (Arnoldo’s mentor and regional pastor) mentioned that Arnoldo will need to find another place to live. When we asked Arnoldo why - he explained that his house will need to be torn down to make way for the expanded church building. He said he did not know what he will do but he knew that the Lord wanted the church built so in faith he would see how the Lord would provide for a new place to live.

We all felt that we needed to provide for his need and build a house next to the new church for Arnoldo and his family. We will need another $5,000 to provide them a home. It was clear that Arnoldo was not going to share with us this need until Mateo brought it up in our conversation. Arnoldo’s main concern and hope was that the church be finished so he could minister to the community he loves more effectively.

Hebrews chapter 11 came to my mind as I looked at Arnoldo as he and Mateo thanked us with tears in their eyes. It was beyond their ability for words to think that this dream of a completed church building may become fulfilled. I watched Arnoldo leave the room - and as he turned - I noticed the small backpack with the few belongings he brought for his journey to Guatemala City so he could meet with us - the words, “…the world was not worthy of them” ran through my mind and my heart. I know the Lord will provide for Arnoldo and his dreams and prayers will be answered because of his incredible faith – and as the writer of Hebrews said, “what more shall I say?”