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- We love you Wakaba!
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- McDonalds drive thru attendants
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- Chofu Baptist Temple Jr. High Campers
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- Minoru and Ritsuko C.
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- Minoru and Ritsuko C.
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- Jim, Amy, Jenelle, Tim, Minoru, and Ritsuko at Chofu Baptist Temple
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- Emily Smith and Jenelle
Sunday we were able to go to Wakaba mission again with the Smiths. It was really sad to say goodbye to the people there. They were all standing in the doorway waving and bowing. Over the three weeks we have been here we have been able to learn some of these peoples names, see their faces often and communicate with the ones that can speak some English. God has allowed us to meet them and given us a love for the people at Wakaba!
Wakaba is a small mission and it was started from a larger church in Tokyo called Chofu Baptist Temple. Chofu is one of the strongest JBBF churches and has started many mission works. We drove there right after the morning service at Wakaba after a quick stop at McDonalds for lunch. Tim and I were asked to give our testimonies at Chofu in their afternoon service. We were also anticipating the arrival of Minoru and Ritsuko C. to come and listen to our testimonies!
At Chofu they had a business meeting before the service and voted that Wakaba mission will become independent in February of next year and that Jim Smith will be the pastor. That was very exciting for everyone. Next a group of their junior high school students got up and each gave a short testimony of how God has been working in their hearts from the past week at camp. That was very encouraging to Tim and I since we work with middle school students. It was also encouraging to see young Japanese people serving Christ with their life and making decisions to help them grow as believers. Next Tim and I went up to give our testimonies and Amy Smith translated for both of us. We were so excited that Moe’s parents came and it was great to get to meet Minoru for the first time! In the afternoon service Jim preached through Romans 9. After the service we had several people from Chofu come up to greet us and say they would be praying for us. Everyone always says they hope to see us again soon as missionaries to Japan! The assistant pastor at Chofu welcomed Moe’s parents to the church, sat down next to them, and helped them find the Bible passages while Jim was preaching. Afterward his wife made a cup of American sweet tea for us, the Smiths, and Minoru and Ritsuko. We all sat down to talk for a little bit and enjoy each other’s company. God is so good and I am so thankful for the opportunity we had to see Moe’s parents and visit with them and to share some truth and be ambassadors of Jesus Christ to them. Their family is always on my heart and I have been praying for them to be saved as soon as we decided to host a Japanese exchange student! They are such a sweet couple and very kind! Most of the conversation was in Japanese between the Smiths and the C. family, but that was ok because I knew we would be leaving soon and I was excited for them to make a connection!
Ritsuko bought me a yukata as a gift! A yukata is traditional dress similar to a kimono but cooler and made to be worn during the summer. It was very special to me because it was just another way that God had met a simple, unimportant desire of my heart. I thought that a yukata would be neat to have just to wear as an example to show people and children someday when we are explaining about Japan on deputation, Lord willing. And God provided! He is always worthy of our praise and it is always humbling to be reminded of how much our Great God cares for his children!
We left Chofu Baptist Temple and made a quick stop at a convenient store to grab a snack to hold us over until dinner. God is in control of all things, and we ran into Minoru and Ritsuko again at the store! It was so neat just to see them one more time and to wave goodbye again! In Japan you wave goodbye and keep looking at the people until they are completely out of sight! A quick wave would imply that you don’t care a whole lot. So we waved again for a long time until they walked out of sight!
We drove on our way back to Jim and Amy’s house but we decided we were going to stop somewhere and get a bite to eat. We got to go to a Costco in Japan! It’s the only western supermarket we have seen in Japan. Most stores are really small and there’s nothing like Walmart here except Costco. We stopped there to have a huge pizza. It’s they only place in Japan that you can get a decent priced pizza. Everywhere else pizza is a delicacy and costs around $35! It was fun to look around the Costco and we enjoyed our dinner with the Smiths!
1. Crossing the Border
2. Awana Circle on Church Parking Lot – San Salvador
3. Dental Clinic in the back of the Church - San Salvador
4. Painting of God’s Hand
5. Kids Zone – San Salvador
6. TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONE IN CHURCH – it’s universal
7. A Sunday School Classroom – El Salvador Country Church
8. Pastor Manuel – Leading 2 churches and 2 missions
9. Jake and Kinman Kids
10. Kurtis’ Breakfast
11. Leah’s Breakfast
12. Just Us
13. My Son, with whom I am well pleased
14. Leah printed of signs for the Feeding Center to help with cleanliness and safety
15. Another sign to help remind kids to wash hands to stop spreading germs
Hello my friends,
Our time here is quickly coming to an end. In some ways that is a good thing as that physically and mentally we are ready to come home. In other ways, it will be difficult to say goodbye to my sister Karen after having spent this wonderful time with her, and we have gotten to know many the Kinman family and enjoyed our time with them. It was also difficult to say goodbye to the people in Sumpango at Church last night. We have really enjoyed our time with them and I am thankful for the Spirit of God which unites believers regardless of skin color, language, or socio-economic class. There is more that I wish we could have seen and done, but our Sovereign God has already ordained what would happen on this trip, and I trust that He is pleased with what has been done and how we have responded.
He has done a great work in our Life, but this work was not started when we arrived nor will it be finished when we leave. This trip is just a small part of God’ s wonderful master plan that He is bringing to pass. I praise the Lord for His Word which we have continually and how it challenges us to grow and change. To die to self daily, Rom 12:1-2. Which is our reasonable service. I think that is the most difficult part of following Christ, daily death.
Yesterday we were able to help Karen around her house. It was a very profitable day helping her. Leah did some decorating and sewing for Karen, while I helped with some small projects that needed to be done. Church last night was very enjoyable, and we took lots of pictures of the people to share with you all. The people are very loving and quick to smile. It was sad to say goodbye, but I reminded many of them that if we would not see them again on earth, then we would see them one day in heaven. That truly is a joyful thought and I look forward to that day.
Byron, Donny, Wilson, Jonny, Brenda, Yolanda, Blanca, Jose, Louisa, Cecilio, Angelica, Darwin, German, Brendita, Jaime, Carlos, Esdras, Carlitos, Eddy. These are just some of the names of people that hopefully one day you will all meet in heaven. People who have been exposed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in part because of your love and missions gifts. It has been my great joy to see God’s work here on behalf of my church, and I look forward to sharing with you all when I get home what I have seen and experienced.
Today, we are headed out on a three hour drive to Solola where we will spend the night at the orphanage and view the feeding center there. Leah is really looking forward to this, as she has been wanting to see the orphanage for some time. I am very thankful that she has this opportunity. We will come back home Friday afternoon and will have dinner at the Kinman’s house of Friday evening. I am expecting a good time with them as Leah and I get along with them very well and we are very thankful that we have come to know them. Saturday we will begin preparations to leave. That afternoon we will go to Kids Club and in the evening I will be giving a devotion (in Spanish) at the Youth Service. Please pray for me in that endeavor, that I will communicate the Word clearly.
Miss you all.
Kurtis
Imagine driving to Rolla from St. Charles. Easy, smooth, 1.75 hours (obeying the speed limit). Lots of gas stations, cell reception, and only a few highway patrol. Got it? Ok, work with me a little and use your imagination. Now go from 4 lane divided highway down to two lanes. Add in mountains. Throw in tons of potholes. Add some tanker trucks doing about 30 mph (which are hard to pass on two lane mountain curves). Landslides which take the road down to one lane every once in while, small towns who place speed bumps (yes on the MAIN HIGHWAY), random police check points with lots of shotguns and machine guns, and finally one frustratingly long border crossing. Do all this with little to no cell reception (so that if you get shot, or wreck, or robbed, or whatever, nobody would no). Would that drive to Rolla be great?!? We left Guatemala City, drove roughly the equivalent distance from STL to Rolla, and arrived in San Salvador 5.5 hours later. Brutal. Long. Hot. Sweaty. Stinky. Irritated. You get the point.
That was Friday. We drove back to Guatemala on Sunday Afternoon, by a better road. It still took 3.5 hours, but less potholes, and better roads.
While we were in El Salvador we stayed with Missionaries Jeff and Paula Rhoades. We thank God so much for the hospitality, grace and kindness towards us. They were so loving to the four of us and they had no idea who we were. I just called him out of the blue 1 month ago and asked to come stay in his house. But they loved on us and treated us like family. Jeff and I got along great and had great conversations and fellowship together. Likewise Leah and Paula had great conversation and fellowship and what a great thing when the Spirit unites believers together. We had a great time visiting different churches in El Salvador. Please read the previous blogs to see what God is doing there. We also got to go to a real mall with a food court, with real ‘American’ food. Boy was that a welcome sight. We really liked El Salvador and felt really comfortable there.
We were going on to Honduras to visit the Epps family after we left El Salvador, but I did not feel it would be wise to subject my son and pregnant wife to another 6-7 hour difficult trip to Honduras and then a perhaps 10-12 hour ride home from there. So we came home here Sunday evening.
We are all doing well. Our health is holding up great. The baby is moving a lot in Leah’s womb, and she is showing no problems of health. I am taking it slow for her sake, so that she can get plenty of rest. And I really cannot say enough about how proud of her that I am. If you all could see some of the places she’s gone, some of the food she has eaten, some of the restrooms we have been relegated to using. She is the greatest. And we have really had a great time TOGETHER, which was really one of my main goals in this trip. I wanted us to do this as a family. To see, to hear, to smell, to experience this mission work TOGETHER and it has been marvelous. JAKE is doing great. He is getting less and less shy with every day. He said ‘Adios’ to one lady and ‘Gracias’ to another with no prompting from me or Leah. WOW. The mind is wonderful thing that he can just observe and learn and do. He travels like a pro, and is doing super well with his potty training. For which Leah and I are both thankful.
We continue to have a great time with Karen. As you all know, when relatives come to live with you (esp for 18 days) problems can come up and difficulties arise, no matter how deep your love. But God has given us all grace and even in our disagreements our love for each other (and the Lord) has helped us. Karen loves Jake and vice a versa, and Jake loves Karen’s dog CAYA as well. THANK YOU Grace Baptist Church. The money that you sent with Leah and me as allowed us to take Karen out to eat several times (paying for hers) and I was also able to take Pastor Jaime out to a nice restaurant as well. I am just doing that on behalf of GBC as an extension of your love and your generosity.
So in summary, I did not get to go to Belize (which I really wanted to do) nor did we go to Honduras. But God is in control and I trust His grace. and El Salvador was great. We have seen 7 different churches/missions, attended 5 preaching services, a youth service, the feeding center and 2 kids clubs. Driven a ton of miles, spent about $300 total on groceries/food, travel expenses and a few souvenirs. Met 3 different American Missionaries, 2 American pastors, 1 American Youth pastor and 6 National pastors.
We have been able to SKYPE with our parents (Boenkers and Kolbs) and the Krawczyks several times, talked with Pastor Kevin on the phone twice for about 1.5 hours combined, and got to SKYPE our good friends the McCowns in Japan once for about 10 minutes. We really miss them and cannot wait to talk to them when we both get home. We miss our church, and our little house in Ferguson, and our dog, and did I say we miss our church? We really do. I talk about Grace Baptist a lot, and tell them how great a church I come from.
This week we are going to go see the orphanage and feeding center in Solola. Wednesday church at Sumpango. Help Karen with some projects around her house, and pack up and come home. OH AND DID I MENTION, our airline went backrupt. http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2010/08/mexicanas_bankruptcy
Love you.
Kurtis
New Life Baptist Church has been going strong in San Salvador for over 20 years. The founding pastor, Pastor Julio, started the church in his living room and is still the head pastor at the church. The church runs over 600 adults every Sunday in three services. Their auditorium seats 275. They have a three story Classroom/Office building next door. They have a huge AWANA program, a seminary, and a private school thru the Third Grade (adding a grade every year). They have helped to start or grow about thirty churches in the smaller villages around San Salvador. They are consistently sending young men out of their church to be church planters/missionaries in El Salvador and Central America. See http://www.vidanuevanet.org/.
Another passion of this missions minded church is Metro America 0-20. http://www.vidanuevanet.org/metroamerica_sv.html The goal is to plant a church in every urban city of 1 million people or more, in Central or South America between 0 and 20 degrees latitude. This a big vision, but they have already sent a man from their church to Guatemala City. His church runs about 60, and we are planning on going there this Sunday before we come home. As you can see from their website, 60% of the people in between these two latitudes live in the these cities of 1 million people. And they estimate over 220 million unbelievers as well. Please pray that God would send more missionaries to these people that the Gospel of Christ would be proclaimed.
I was able to attend the Friday night service with Jeff Rhoades, a BBFI missionary who is working with MetroAmerica to plant churches. What a great time I had singing and worshipping with those dear people on a Friday night. Their Friday night service is also when they do their AWANA program. They have a huge AWANA circle painted on their parking lot and another one in their children’s building. On Saturdays, they have 3 services for the youth, first the Junior High, then High School, and then College which is anyone single between 20 and 35.
Leah, Jake, Karen and I were all able to go the 7:30 AM church service. There were about 70 people when the service started and about 150 by the time it ended. The music is very contemporary with a band but the singing was great. No special music, no choir, and a 1 hour message. The pastor is preaching expositorily thru the book of MARK. He will preach the same sermon three times on Sunday. We were very happy to witness a baptism at the conclusion of the message as well. The people were very loving and gracious to us.
A FEW PERSONAL NOTES – This church in San Salvador is more urban and middle class than the church that Karen and the Kinman’s work at in Sumpango. Example, at this church they need more parking, in Sumpango no body drives. There were more fair skinned people, they were not as short, many of them spoke English better than we spoke Spanish. So we did not stick out as much, whereas in Sumpango we were white GIANTS in a land of small, dark, people. Also, because the church has been in existence longer, there were many more mature believers than in Sumpango. There the majority of the work is done by the Kinman’s, Karen and Pastor Jaime and Damaris. At Vida Nueva the church body does the majority of the serving and the work. What a blessing from God that Leah and I were able to view two completely different ministries towards two different classes of people, in two different locations. It was a beautiful thing to see.
I wish you could see what I have seen. You’re heart would be broken, humbled, and yet at the same time full of praise and glory for our Lord. God is working everywhere, the name if Jesus is lifted high all over the earth. And it is great to see.
The Gethsemane Baptist Church is located about 45 minutes outside of San Salvador. It is literally in the middle of nowhere. They run over two hundred in their church. I tried to give you a glimpse of the church in the above pictures. No plumbing, no water fountains, no pews, no powerpoint, no gym, no parking lot (no cars), no A/C. But they have Christ. They are not perfect, not better, just different. By God’s grace they have come to know His Son the risen Savior. And they congregate often thru out the week with none of our amenities. They love to worship and they love fellowship.
Their pastor is Pastor Manuel. In his sixties (I think), he started this church, and from this church has given birth to a second church in another village a few miles away, and two more missions that are moving towards being churches. He preaches or attends 4 services every Sunday. His son-in-law is the pastor at the second church which runs about 50 people. They are finishing the building for that second church. Concrete walls, and a tin roof, and 3 Sunday school rooms/sheds in the back. One of Pastor Manuel’s biggest needs? A bus, so that his people can come to church in the dark and the rain. Because they all walk. I asked him, “Where do these two hundred people come from?” He told me there are little neighborhoods all over. Here is the best part, a few of the neighborhoods are entirely filled with converted members of that church. How cool is that. His vision is to plant a church/mission in the 90-some villages and towns in his part of El Salvador.
Me working on the solution for music production. The mask is because my allergies were acting up.
Praise be to God we made it back to the Smiths house alive after our little mountain adventure last night. We arrived sometime after midnight this morning. We had our first good sleep in several weeks.
After we woke up and got ready today I decided I would help Amy Smith with her music ministry. She purchased an upright digital piano several years ago with the hopes that she would be able to use it to digitally record music. She soon found out that her technical ability was lacking and it was not as user friendly as she had hoped. Praise be to God that he has gifted me with some technology knowhow. Technology here in Japan is changing at a fast pace and missionaries here on the field struggle to keep up sometimes. Within an hour we had worked out a solution for her so that she would be able to digitally record her piano performance straight to a USB thumb drive without any devices or computers. Then she can make a music CD from the piano data file on the USB drive. She will use this to make background and accompaniment music not just for Wakaba mission but for JBBF churches around Japan.
We went to the laundromat today to dry our clothes. Some of the missionary families have dryers in their homes but don’t use them because they generate too much heat. In Japan not all of the house is air conditioned because there is no central air. Running the dryer can make parts of the house unbearable to be in.
After the laundromat we went to the local electronics store to see how much it would cost to upgrade the memory on the Smith’s laptop. We got a good idea of the cost and then walked around to check out the costs of home appliances here in Japan. Appliances here are technologically advanced compared to ours in the USA and they are pretty expensive. There are so many features and the Kanji written on all the buttons is confusing even for a missionary who has formally studied and knows Japanese. Amy says you’ll learn quickly which buttons are essential and you’ll stay away from the buttons that you don’t understand. We walked around the electronics store and saw a lot of people and a lot of very high technology. I walked away with a reinforced notion that Japanese society is changing to where they often live for material things. Several people have explained to me that Japan is beginning to value less the things that cannot be seen and valuing more the things that can be seen.
After picking up our laundry and having dinner we went to the local hot spring. Japan is in the middle of the buddhist Obon season and many people have traveled back to their hometowns to stay with family. The families often go to the hot spring when their families are in town. The parking lot for the hot spring was packed with cars. The Smiths said they have never seen so many people there. Families in Japan are very stable and many homes have three generations living there. Pray that the Gospel of Jesus Christ would spread throughout these homes and that they may fall before the feet of Jesus in worship!
Our relationship with the Smith family has really flourished while we have been here in Japan. The Smith family is very loving and hospitable and we feel that we have a close friendship with them and the people at their mission in Wakaba. The Smiths have been instrumental in our lives over the years as we have thought about coming to Japan as missionaries. They have helped us plan for our trip, think through adjustment issues, and offer guidance for us to come to Japan. We seem to work well together, have good rapport with one another, and our theology seems to match up well. Jenelle and I think that out of all the missionaries and places we have visited in Japan we seem to fit the best with the Smiths in Wakaba. I look forward to seeing my family and my home church next week, but I think I will also have a hard time leaving Wakaba on Tuesday. Jim and I had a good discussion at the hot spring about potential future ministry opportunities! Please pray that God would guide us in our decision making and that we would please him!
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- Hamamatsu City from our Hotel Room
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- Our translators were so wonderful!
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- The Sissons ate lunch with us!
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- Tim’s lunch!
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- Invitation at the fourth session of the JBBF Meeting
We had two sessions left today in the JBBF meeting. The JBBF is celebrating their sixty year anniversary. They showed a video with pictures of different pastors and missionaries that have served the Lord in Japan over the past sixty years. History and memorials are very important to the people here in Japan. It is another thing that is very deeply felt by the Japanese.
By the way, we have been able to understand this conference in English through an earpiece that we wear. There are some great English translators here that have kindly spent their time translating for a few people including us!
It is such a blessing to be able to worship alongside so many Japanese in the JBBF meeting. Each Japanese Christian is very precious to Jesus Christ, the missionaries here, and to us. Japanese are extremely resistant to the gospel as a people group. Each Japanese Christian here is a true testimony to the power of the grace of God and his interest in even those from a group of people that most times are uninterested and resist the Truth of the Scriptures.
As you can see from the pictures and video, we have a view of Hamamatsu city from our hotel since it is one of the tallest buildings here. We can see out our window that there are easily over a million people in this city. Because of the small Christian churches in Japan, the few missionaries in Japan, widespread idol worship, and the resistance of the Gospel here, there are so few Christians. There is a great need for missionaries in Japan and we feel a great burden to give the gospel to the people here.
Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
Another missionary family we met, Steve and Melinda Sissons, invited us to lunch after the meeting. They minister in Hokkaido, which is in the far north and borders Russia. It is very cold and the climate is like Siberia!
We met back up with Jim and Amy Smith after the fourth JBBF meeting and rode home to Wakaba in their car. What was supposed to be about a four-hour car ride turned into about six hours! The roads here are very small, there are many tunnels through mountains, there are many new roads, and many times lots of roads overlap and confuse even the newest of GPS systems here. Jim took a wrong turn so we unexpectedly went up a winding narrow mountain road in the dark and it was pouring down rain! Praise the Lord He is in control and protected us on yet another adventure! There were people walking on the mountain road in the dark and in the rain making their way to temples to worship. They were doing something so dangerous and they are blind to the fact that if they were to get hit on that road and die they would enter eternity under God’s terrible wrath. Then we made our way down the curvy, long, narrow, dark, rainy road and we all started feeling carsick! Jim had to stop the car a few times because the kids needed a break.
There are many situations we find ourselves in while in Japan that we are not familiar with and that have the potential of being dangerous such as the narrow mountain roads. We praise God that regardless of the situation we find ourselves in he has protected us through them. Missionaries here have told us of the many dangers they have found themselves in. Jesus lived a life of danger, sorrow, and suffering and as his followers we will experience many of the same kinds of things He did when we obey. While we or other missionaries to the Japanese haven’t been persecuted by the people in the last century or experienced near the extend of what Jesus or Paul experienced, I think danger is just part of life as a missionary. Paul went through many dangerous situations, often found himself physically hurt, and even tortured:
Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
Some of the missionaries here have served for more than 40 years and still struggle emotionally with the dangers of every day life here in Japan. Most of life and thinking here is culturally backwards and difficult to adjust to. There is also the threat that the disciples you make will be patiently and harshly persecuted by society.
The missions opportunity is great in Japan. God is worth glorifying. People need saving. We can give them Truth so they can be saved and join in worshiping him for all eternity.
Photos 1-3 are children eating at the Feeding Center.
Photo 4 The meal, rice and carrots, with a potato fried with egg
Photo 5 Me talking with Angelica and Eddy after the meal. Those two are very precious.
Photos 6-7 The church building at Quetzal.
Photo 8 Finishing the cement roof of the building.
Photos 9-10 Chuck Ward and I survery the potential all around the church building.
Click on the photos once to be taken to a new page, and then again to see the large version of the pic.
On TUESDAY, we were able to do two of the things that we have really desired to do. In the morning, we went up to Sumpango to view the feeding center in action. The Feeding Center takes place in the lower level of the church. They set up tables and chairs in the hallway for about seventy kids. There is a little kitchen in which they are able to prepare basic nutritious meals for the children. For some of those kids, it will be the best meal of the day. I praise the Lord for MANNA and for those involved with this concept. What a blessing, at the same time to satisfy a physical need as well as give them the BREAD OF LIFE. By this time, since we have been here for about a week and been to Kids Club, Sunday School, Youth Group, and church, any of the kids remember us and they look forward to talking with JAKE and playing with him.
In the afternoon, we followed Jerry and Chuck Ward out to Quetzal to the new church plant/project. The building is being built as we speak that will house the feeding center and the Sunday School classrooms. God has really blessed the purchase of this land as it is in a prime area for sharing the Gospel. The government just built a new elementary school for poor children 1 block away, and the area’s main high school is about three blocks away. The entire church project will be built in 4 phases as money comes in. Phase one is going on now. In time a second story will be added over the current building, phase 3 is the auditorium, and phase four will place a pastor’s quarters and small gym on top of the auditorium. What a blessing to see this project firsthand. Grace Baptist Church, we all have given several thousand dollars for this project and we have a vested interest in the lives of these people. BUT the biggest need is not the building, but a minister and a ministry here to share the gospel. There are a couple of big Charimatic churches in this town of 140,000 souls but only one or two small works in which the true Gospel is being preached. Please pray that God would raise up some men and women to help start this church that could be a strong foundation for Gospel work in this area.
Just the facts this time, I promise.
Monday – Leah and Jake stayed at home with Aunt Karen and played with the Kinman kids. Why you may ask were the Kinman kids at the Aunt Karen’s house? Because their house was being fumigated for scorpions. WOW! (Another reason to pray, for safety.)
I got to got with a group of 11 people from Texas (2 pastors and people from their churches), Chuch Ward, Jerry Kinman, and Jaime to a small town about 1.5 hours away to the south called La Gomera, on the coast by the Pacific Ocean. Yes… I did get to walk along the very nice black sand beach, and yes I paid too much money for a very nice meal of garlic shrimp and Caribbean style rice and beans, and boy was it good. But that was not even close to being the highlight of the day. Let me tell you.
La Gomera is a small town way out in the country. It is not in the mountains (like Sumpango). It is not an urban town with homes built right next to each other. It is spread out, laid out almost square, straight streets, symmetric blocks and so on. It is not city poor, it is rural poor. The town is surrounded by huge fields of sugar cane.
Pastor Dagoberto is a Mexican Missionary, sent out by a group of churches in Mexico. He has started in church in a suburb of Guatemala City called Villa Nueva. It is a lower middle class church, meaning some of the people own cars and computers. He has worked at that church for six years, and has a solid core of believers attending. I don’t know how God worked this, but somehow this Mexican pastor working in the Capital of Guatemala found out about this tiny little poor country town in the south and decided to start a mission there. In the town proper, he rents a small building and has about 25-30 adults attending as well as 25-30 children. But then, he went about 3 to 4 miles further out into the country to the really poor people and has started a Bible Club for children in a little house he rents. And when I say house, I mean a concrete and block building with dirt/concrete floors, only cold running water outside of the house, no indoor plumbing, no inside doors, no beds only mats and a couple of chairs. This man chooses to live this way in order to share the Gospel with little children who don’t understand or appreciate his sacrifice.
Here is his schedule. Every Monday he rides a public bus for 2 hours from his nice modern house in Villa Nueva down to that poor tiny house outsided of La Gomera. On Monday, he has kids club. On Tuesday, he does a radio broadcast in that town. On Wednesday, he does visitation and a midweek service, and one weekend of every month stays thru Sunday and preaches at the little church in La Gomera. The other three weekends, deacons from the church come down and do the preaching. The pastors from Texas are looking into sponsoring a Manna Feeding Center in La Gomera.
Pastor Dagoberto is hoping that in one year he can turn over his church in Villa Nueva to another man, and move with his wife to La Gomera. Praise the Lord for his heart and willingness to love those people and share the Gospel with them. It was a great thing for me to see and made a big impression on me. What a great example of Philippians 2 in which Christ left heaven, and took the form of man, humbled himself, came to serve, became obedient even unto the death of the cross.
The other great benefit and blessing for me on that Monday was the great conversations I had with Jerry Kinman, Pastor Jaime, and Pastor Dale Wilt of Jerrell, Texas. We had a great day of fellowship together, praising the Lord for His work in our lives, His work in the US, and in Guatemala as well.