Anticipation and Hope

It is an exciting time of year here in San Lucas. We have all been busy with our own things for the last month but today we begin the summer team season. It will be a long season this year filled with lots of teams. When we stand back and look, it can be almost overwhelming. There are going to be 9 teams between now and Aug 12^th.  We will work with 150 to 200 team members and complete several projects. With few days off it would be easy to feel tired before we even begin.

I cannot speak for everyone but I can say that I have a sense of anticipation right now. From the time that we pick up our first team at the airport tonight until we drop off the last team members in August I believe that we are going to see God move. In Zapote, Membrillal and in San Lucas, He wants to make His love known. He is bringing people in for that very purpose. Each person that comes is a different expression of His love and can impact lives in ways that nobody else can. The thought of so many people coming means that God is going to be seen in many new and different ways.

We will see several families receive new houses and/or stoves this year in Zapote. We will also be working on other projects there as needs arise.  Teams will be working to complete the Church and the second floor of the school in Membrillal over the next few months as well. Towards the end of summer, we will have a medical clinic in Membrillal. The work is great and we love to see all that will be accomplished, knowing that the Church and school are important in the transformation of both communities. The houses and stoves are important to help families get a sense of their value to God and to the people that have come to help. By changing a person’s view of self and the heart of God for them you can often motivate them to change and improve their lives. We are working to create a partnership that allows people to work their way out of the poverty they live in as well as proclaim the truth of the Gospel to them.

We would ask that you would be in prayer for our teams, our projects and the communities this summer. Without the leading of the Holy Spirit, all of our efforts will be wasted but as He guides and we obey, we will see the Kingdom of God make great inroads this year. We are the tools i His hands but we want to make sure that Jesus is the center of all that we do, that it is Him leading and directing our work and our words.

Pray for team unity. It is hard to spend  24 hours a day working, eating and playing with people especially ones that you may not know as more than a name and face that you pass each week in Church. Pray that they will have a sense of expectation but not be focused on self. Pray that they find their purpose within the scope of the group’s purpose and submit to the leaders of their teams with willing hearts. These things are not normal to most of us. Pray that God will speak to each of them and that everyone will go home with an outward focus and an eternal perspective. Pray that they will be ready to return to their own communities with a vision for transformation, ready to make a Kingdom impact on their cities.

Pray for our communities. We have problems with alcoholism, drugs, gangs, poverty, single parent families, child abuse, abandonment, occultism, and numerous other issues. It is our desire that the light of Jesus would bring transformation and that the work we do would make it a little easier for people to see Him. Our prayer is that we would see transformation and revival in San Lucas, Zapote and Membrillal leading to transformation in all of Guatemala. Please join us in praying that these communities would receive the gift of life in Jesus and a renewed mind.

Thank you all for your love, prayers and partnership in the work of Jesus at Iglesia Galilea. We appreciate you and hope that you too are anticipating a life changing and community transforming summer. We pray that you are blessed in all that God has for you this year.