Good morning!

What an incredible week! Vonda’s father Dwight, uncle Carl and nephew Lane visited from Colorado! And they brought gifts! Before their visit they stopped by Home Depot and picked up two sets of solar lights! You know the kind, the outdoor lights for your patio or garden.

We spent an entire day installing the lights. Everyone was so excited.

The kids were peeking in the windows with unbelief! I had no idea they would think this was so amazing. Francisca, a single mom to 4 girls asked if we would show her how to use the lights. Her daughters’ smiles were so big for so long; it must have given them a headache later that night.

Elvira, a grandma who is living with her daughter and 6 grandchildren said she didn’t think she could sleep that night. She was just going to lay in bed and stare at the light all night. And then, with the flick of a switch, there was cheering.

It was a very good day.

Last week we were also able to follow up with most of the 25 families who received water filters. What a great program! Someone in the States gifts the first water filter ($35), which includes a 5-gallon bucket and water nozzle to hold and dispense the water. They pay Q10 (about $1.30), a month to a water board elected from El Rosario. That money is collected every 3 months by Ecofiltro and at the end of two years, they will have paid for their new water filter and two more years of safe, tasty, filtered water.

Following up on the water filters gave the team the opportunity to visit and pray with these families. As our relationships grow, so do our responsibilities that God has given us. If you would like to participate in the program, please send us an email.

Our missionary work does not end in El Rosario. Vonda and I spent almost 3 hours last night talking with our neighbor. Actually, mostly listening. She is a new mommy who grew up knowing the bible but after being severely beaten by her father who is a “Christian” and taught her the bible, she no longer believes there is a God. “I don’t want the God who is my fathers God.” “How could God let my father beat me so badly that I could not walk?” “My father played a game called “you’re my girlfriend”’.

She asked some very hard questions. We listened and answered with as much love and compassion as we could. We prayed with her and told her that God loves and adores her. We have no idea how God will soften her heart. But, she is looking for God. If she weren’t asking questions that would mean she didn’t care. She cares, a lot. God wants her.

Meet our missionary partners David and Lindsey Owens! We are privileged to be working with them in El Rosario!

Please pray for the relationships we are building in this little village. That God would continue to guide us to the suffering and oppressed.

Please pray for the two incredible pastors we have met.

Pray for Enrique Rosales, the school principal, as we work together to provide a better future for the children of El Rosario.

Please pray for single moms. Give them strength and courage and hope.

Pray for baby Marcos as he gets bigger and stronger.

Please pray for 15-year-old mommy Norma and her son Jaime.

Pray for our team the Owens and Marroquin’s, that we would knock on any door He asks.

And please pray for our neighbor here in Guatemala City. Pray that God would show her, in a tangible way, that He loves her and wants her. Please pray that she would continue to ask questions and seek Him. Please pray that she is covered in His peace and adoring love.

Vonda sent me this bible verse today and I’d like to share it with you;

“No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people.

Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

“Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind.

Then when you call, the LORD will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply. “Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!

Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.

Isaiah 58:6-10