IMPACTO: September 6 Update
Reminder: November 2010 VBS commitment and team information is due September 15 ... next week! Please email spoythress@newlifelaplata with the necessary information. Please be in prayer for all the missionaries, workers, and children who will participate in this year's VBS. We hope that many hearts are won for Christ and many seeds planted.
Guatemala Pastors Annual Meeting: The annual meeting/conference for all of our pastors, their spouses, and the church's main leaders was in Guatemala was held August 27-28. This year's meeting was really good with 60-70 attending. Three sessions were taught, (1) The Pastor and Leadership, (2) How to Lead VBS and Sunday School, and (3) Church Administration. There were times of worship and sharing and the meeting was a time of renewal, praise, worship, equipping, and learning. We give praise to God for this special time.
Update on Salvador and David: Many of you have asked about Salvador and David. They have both returned to church and are doing as well as can be expected. David has started school and his grandmother takes him each morning and picks him up each afternoon. This is good for him because he is making friends, playing, and keeping busy. Salvador is back at work and that is thankful to have his mom watching and helping so much with David. Your generous donations were enough to provide some groceries and all of David's school uniforms and supplies. Salvador sends his many thanks for this and asks that you continue to pray for him and David. They are sad and still grieving but doing well.
PRAYER REQUEST: The rainy season in Guatemala is proving to be a very bad one this year. Over the weekend, many more mudslides occurred and roads in many parts of Guatemala are closed, including parts of the Pan-Am Highway that our teams use to get to and from the lake area, and also some of the roads we use to Zacapa and Coban. One of the worst mudslides was where we turn off the Pan-Am to go to Poacorral. Reports are that a bus and two cars are buried under this mudslide. As is the custom in Guatemala, when something like this happens, men from the nearby villages race to the slide site and start shoveling to try to get to the people as soon as possible and even if no one is reported to be under the slide, they will begin trying to clear the roads because they need the big trucks to have access to bring in supplies and also to take out any produce that is headed for sale at market. The men were shoveling at this particular site and another slide happened, killing many of the men who were helping with the rescue. Word was sent out to all volunteer fire departments that urgent help was needed at this slide. Pastor Pascual from our church in Poacorral called Pastor Luis to tell him that at least 4 men from his church were killed while trying to help rescue others. The President of Guatemala flew to this mudslide site. A third slide occurred and he ordered all rescue efforts to stop until the rains stop and there is less danger of the mountain sliding yet again. He also ordered that the Pan-Am Highway be closed until authorities give the word that the mudslides are no longer in danger of happening. The crews that have been working on the roads and clean up efforts have been fighting mudslide after mudslide since Agatha came through in May. With the severe rainy season, fears are raging that more mudslides will happen between now and the end of October when rainy season usually ends. The worst part of rainy season is usually the month of October. The ground everywhere is already so saturated more mudslides are actually more probable than possible. Please keep our Guatemalan brothers and sisters lifted in prayer. Many lives have already been lost, not just in areas of clean-up, but of people in their homes when slides happened. Flooding is, of course, another issue that is causing many problems, loss of homes, property, and lives. We do not always understand why but we know from The Bible that God is in control and that He is Sovereign. Proverbs 3:5 tells us: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. We must trust God through the good and the bad because He has a plan and only He knows what is best.
Serving Christ with you,
Sarah, for Pastor Luis Martinez
Guatemala Pastors Annual Meeting: The annual meeting/conference for all of our pastors, their spouses, and the church's main leaders was in Guatemala was held August 27-28. This year's meeting was really good with 60-70 attending. Three sessions were taught, (1) The Pastor and Leadership, (2) How to Lead VBS and Sunday School, and (3) Church Administration. There were times of worship and sharing and the meeting was a time of renewal, praise, worship, equipping, and learning. We give praise to God for this special time.
Update on Salvador and David: Many of you have asked about Salvador and David. They have both returned to church and are doing as well as can be expected. David has started school and his grandmother takes him each morning and picks him up each afternoon. This is good for him because he is making friends, playing, and keeping busy. Salvador is back at work and that is thankful to have his mom watching and helping so much with David. Your generous donations were enough to provide some groceries and all of David's school uniforms and supplies. Salvador sends his many thanks for this and asks that you continue to pray for him and David. They are sad and still grieving but doing well.
PRAYER REQUEST: The rainy season in Guatemala is proving to be a very bad one this year. Over the weekend, many more mudslides occurred and roads in many parts of Guatemala are closed, including parts of the Pan-Am Highway that our teams use to get to and from the lake area, and also some of the roads we use to Zacapa and Coban. One of the worst mudslides was where we turn off the Pan-Am to go to Poacorral. Reports are that a bus and two cars are buried under this mudslide. As is the custom in Guatemala, when something like this happens, men from the nearby villages race to the slide site and start shoveling to try to get to the people as soon as possible and even if no one is reported to be under the slide, they will begin trying to clear the roads because they need the big trucks to have access to bring in supplies and also to take out any produce that is headed for sale at market. The men were shoveling at this particular site and another slide happened, killing many of the men who were helping with the rescue. Word was sent out to all volunteer fire departments that urgent help was needed at this slide. Pastor Pascual from our church in Poacorral called Pastor Luis to tell him that at least 4 men from his church were killed while trying to help rescue others. The President of Guatemala flew to this mudslide site. A third slide occurred and he ordered all rescue efforts to stop until the rains stop and there is less danger of the mountain sliding yet again. He also ordered that the Pan-Am Highway be closed until authorities give the word that the mudslides are no longer in danger of happening. The crews that have been working on the roads and clean up efforts have been fighting mudslide after mudslide since Agatha came through in May. With the severe rainy season, fears are raging that more mudslides will happen between now and the end of October when rainy season usually ends. The worst part of rainy season is usually the month of October. The ground everywhere is already so saturated more mudslides are actually more probable than possible. Please keep our Guatemalan brothers and sisters lifted in prayer. Many lives have already been lost, not just in areas of clean-up, but of people in their homes when slides happened. Flooding is, of course, another issue that is causing many problems, loss of homes, property, and lives. We do not always understand why but we know from The Bible that God is in control and that He is Sovereign. Proverbs 3:5 tells us: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. We must trust God through the good and the bad because He has a plan and only He knows what is best.
Serving Christ with you,
Sarah, for Pastor Luis Martinez
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