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So back to Friday afternoon. sorry for the delay! After leaving Doris' place we headed over to meet with Mario, a shoemaker who came to the training last year and one of the companies we funded. It was great to see him again and meet his family (wife and 2 kids). He showed us some of the material that he uses to make shoes and he had some very nice, quality looking shoes. He still needs more equipment to fully complete different size shoes but he's planning on that this year. We thought it was pretty funny that his son's name was David Estuardo and since we had David and Estuardo with us. We had a nice laugh about that. Mario is still working at a shoe factory but hopes to be working for himself fulltime this year once all the equipment is purchased. His heart is amazing and please pray that eveything goes well for him and his family.

After a few good byes and some photos we headed to the church to prepare for training. Again, we had a very large crowd with over 65 students coming to learn. I felt the team did a great job communicating the material and as always we had a great time of prayer. Terry and I both gave our testimonies of coming to Christ and how we are just sinners in Gods world just like them. However, we are saved and loved because of what Christ has already done for us. I think it means a lot to them to hear that from us. After many hugs and people bringing us gifts of all sorts (food, poems, tea, key chains, and lots of love) we headed back to MMM for some needed rest.

Saturday morning came early and Estuardo and the Perez family picked us up and we headed out for a real Guatemalan breakfast...at McDonalds. Its always so nice to have them pick us up and see the kids first thing in the morning. The room began to fill up around 9am and soon we had over 65 students again. We were all amazed. It's not an easy task to even get to the church much less take care of the childern and other responsibilites. It truly makes us feel that we are having an impact here and that we are doing exactly what God is calling us to do. It's awesome and very fulfilling when we actually do what God is calling us to do. David opened up the teaching with his testimony and Erin and Rolando did another great job of translating. At lunch we brought in Pollo Campero (our KFC) and everyone enjoyed chicken and fries and a nice break. During lunch David tells me to get the camera and come outside. I thought it was the kids playing or something but when I get out there I find one of our students (Giovanni) truly being creative with his business. He sells donuts and other bakery good and he had pulled his small, very old, toyota wagon right up to the door of the church. He tied up his banner and starting selling sweets. Now that's entrepreneurial! He was working to fill a need and it worked. We laughed and took some pictures and told him that he was very creative and had some great sweets too. As we wrapped up the training several students shared with us what the training actually meant to them and how thankful they were that we were here. This is always a very powerful and emotional time. Emundo (the head pastor) had also joined us and he came up and spoke about the importance of this training and thanked us again and told the class that we were the angels that he's been praying for for many years. We were very grateful and very thankful to them but most of all to our Lord that called us to be there. After many hugs and thank you's we headed out to have a great evening with the Perez family. We enjoyed a nice dinner but most of all enjoyed spending time with them. When we arrived back at MMM we were greeted by another team of smiling faces from the Atlanta area. These were all college students from UGA and Auburn excetp for two. One young man and his wife that we had met last year. He's now leading college students down there to spread the gospel in the villages and provide medical care with Hermans team. It's amzing to see the hearts of these young people and the passion God has put on their hearts. After a great debrief with the team we turned the lights out and hit the sack.

Sunday morning came soon and again we were picked up by the smiling faces of the Perez family. We headed to Showers of Grace for worship and Emundo preached a great serman on love and what it meant. Rolando translated to us on small headsets so that was very nice. We had a chance to see many others we knew from past trips and had a great time hugging and catching up them. As always its a bitter-sweet moment to leave. We shed some tears and then headed into the airport to head home. What a trip! So many "moments". As I said before it's an awesome experience when we do exactly what God is calling us to do. GO and enjoy!

The next team will be heading down in July so please keep them in your prayers and please pray for the people of Guatemala. Thanks again for your support. God bless!

Friday May 14th: So, how many "moments" can a team have in a week??? Here in Guatemala...a lot! We woke up Friday morning to another beautiful day. We spent a little time with our new friends from Fellowship Bible and Dr. Alb. We exchanged contact information then Rolando picked us up to head over to Hope for Guatemala. Hope is an amazing ministry here in Zone 18 (the hoods hood!) that is run by our dear friends Jose & Erin Armas. They provide meals, vocational training, computer training, bible studies and so much more for over 220 kids that basically have no other place to go. But more important than all of that, they provide hope and love. Most of the children here come from very, very poor, gang and drug infested enviroments that most of us cannot imagine. Most of them sleep in homes with dirt floors and no running water. It's a blessing to be able to spend time with them and serve them. After a nice tour of the facility with Jose we got to truly serve a group of kids by serving them a wholesome lunch of chicken, vegtables and a tortilla with orange juice. It was really fun. The smiles on the kids faces alone makes it worth it. God is here in such a clear way that it's overwhelming at times. After lunch we got to give each kid a Mizuno jersey that my dear brother Paxton donated. (I wish you could have been here brother!) I can assure you that you've never seen a simple shirt have an impact on a kid like these did. It was Christmas in May! After lunch we had a very powerful time of prayer with Erin & Jose and we hit the road to meet the lead pastor at Showers of Grace, Emundo and his wife Berlin (his daughter Vienna joined us too). Remember the moments I was referring too? Well here's another one. When Rolando picked us up at MMM to come to Hope he came in the building to say hello. One of the guys from Fellowship Church, David Womack, come up to Rolando and asked him if they knew each other. Rolando said that he did not think so. A few minutes later David asked again, "are you sure we don't know each other?" Rolando asked what his name was and he told him. Rolando could not believe it! He said "David, I tried to get back in touch with you years ago. You prayed over me in 2003 in one of the villages and told me that I was going to be called to work with children and that I would be a translator one day. I started speaking English right then (by the grace and hand of God!) and I now work in a childrens ministry in our church." Folks, that is a moment and these happen all the time in Guatemala. God is moving and so alive here! It's fun to see and hopefully be a small part of what God's doing in this great country. I encourage you to come one day soon.

Our lunch with Emundo and Berlin was great and we discussed the business ministry and how it's impacting the people of of Guatemala. They are so greatful for the teams coming down and sharing biblical business practices with their members and they really believe that it's having an impact for His Kingdom. Emundo recommited to supporting the business people in his church and said that God has really put this on his heart. Estuardo picked us up and we headed over to see a past graduate, Doris. Doris owns a beauty shop and really has a heart for the Lord. We got to spend time with her listening to stories about her true Kingdom company. In the first week she was open she lead two ladies to Christ. What??? in the first week? Now that's a kingdom company. Unfortuantely Doris was robbed last year at gun point and they stole all of her money and products. She told us the story but more importantly she told us the story of forgiveness she had for the robbers. I'll finish up the rest of the day and evening on the next blog. 

Wed night our in country partner said that he really felt lead to have us rest on Thursday morning. I don't think any of the team really wanted to do that but we agreed without too much resistance. As usual he was right on the money. We had a very powerful time of prayer with Dietrich, Mario and several other Guatemalans and our new friends from Atlanta from Fellowship Bible Church. it was another "moment" for sure. They asked if they could pray for/with us about the mission and especially for my back problems. It was amazing and we experienced a very powerful time of worship and fellowship. Shorty after Herman came in and he gave us the royal tour of the new training center at MMM. It is going to be an amazing home for training, resting and sharing the gospel. We always learn and grow so much while we are here.

Estuardo and his family picked us up and we had a great lunch at the world famous, Pollo Campero. It's the Guatemalan version of Kentucky Fried Chicken with a waitress. We ran a couple errands and then had the opportunity to stop by and visit with one of the first year's graduates, Maria. She is amazing! Her faith is so strong and something to admire. She shared with us the story of her being robbed at gun point. the robbers stole her merchindise and what little money she had and left her with nothing. Nothing but hope! Hope in a Saviour! We asked if she was scared. She said no. We asked if she prayed for them.....she said yes. We asked if she forgave them....she said yes. Wow! I'm not so sure I could say the same. We had a nice visit and ended our time in great prayer. She is a gift from God.

On to the church to prepare for the evening training. Before we got there Estuardo asked if he could pray for us. No problem. Yes, you guessed it. Another "moment". The chairs began to fill and we had over 70 students eager to learn. The training went ver well as we shared with them God's Will for our business/work and how we can work and still serve our Creator. Several students brought us treats that they had made and they were very tasty. God is moving in Guatemala and we are so blessed to be a part of it. Hopefully we'll have some more "moments" to share tomorrow.

It's Tuesday, the hour is near... and the team is ready to serve! I think we have all the logistics of the trip prepared and we had a great night of prayer with Larry and the others on May 4th. Our flight departs in the morning and we are looking forward to seeing the smiling faces of the Perez family as we walk out of the airport in Guatemala City. It's such a joy to servce down there and we are excited. We'll keep the blog up to date (hopefully no connection problems) and please keep us and our families back home in your prayers. Adios and God bless!

Initial blog for Guatemala BPI

Well, we are off to Guatemala again on May 12 and return on May 16. At the basic level, the objective of our trip is to help poor members of a partner church congregation to start successful small businesses.

But, if God is in it, the ultimate objectives are: economic development at the grassroots level; empowerment of the poor; enhancing church leadership and resources; marketplace discipleship; and, ultimately, cultural transformation.

Anyone who has spent time with our Guatemalan brothers and sisters in Christ comes back in awe of their faith and their hearts for the Lord. We are conscious of preserving these in the transition to the business world. While we strive to share with the entrepreneurs the best business tools and wisdom with which to start a business, the primary objective is the creation and management of businesses that conform to God's will.

We will conduct the program in three phases.

Phase 1 (May 12-16) shows them how to define their business and leaves them with research assignments and the task of drafting their business plan.

Phase 2 provides them with one-on-one counselling to refine their strategies and business plan and to develop their 3-year financial plans in a comprehensive spreadsheet.

Phase 3 teaches them how to manage their business once it is up and running.

Based on the subsequent assessments of the instructors and the in-country ministry team, a select few of the entrepreneurs will receive start-up funding as a loan from a revolving fund. If you are interested in donating to that fund - or you are interested in participating in a future trip, please click here to email us and let us know.

As in everything, we need prayer for this ministry during this trip and on an ongoing basis. Please pray that God would teach through us, that the students' hearts and minds would be open, that the in-country team and our partner church, Showers of Grace, would be blessed and that God would bless the entrepreneurs and the resulting businesses and that He would work through them to expand His Kingdom in the Guatemala marketplace and culture.

We thank you for your support and prayers.