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Our Schedule for Visiting the States in 2012

August 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

We’re excited to visit with as many of our friends, family members, and our church family as possible while we’re visiting the states!

We’ll be updating our schedule here as new Gatherings are scheduled so keep an eye out and we’ll keep you updated!

Tulsa

August 28, 6:30 p.m. — A Gathering* at Joel & Mitzi Ray’s home, 6219 S. 28th W Ave. Tulsa OK 74132

Kansas

9 Sept., 10 a.m. — Faith Christian Center, 2203 Deer Road  Garland, KS 66741

10 Sept., 6 p.m. — A Gathering* at Shead Farm, 2468 Cavalry Rd. Garland, KS 66741

11 Sept., 6:30 p.m. – A Gathering* at Mark & Haley Shead’s Home, 2067 Kansas Rd, Fort Scott, KS 66701

12 Sept., 6:30 pm. – A Gathering* at Shead Farm, 2468 Cavalry Rd. Garland, KS 66741

 

Michigan (WE ARRIVED IN MICHIGAN Sept. 14!)

  • Sunday, 9/16, — Following the 11:30 service we’ll be at the Olive Tree Cafe if anyone wants to stop by and see us!
  • Thursday, 9/20, 6 p.m. — At Aaron & Rachel VanOosterhout’s Home at 2272 Van Singel Lake Dr. SW, Byron Center
  • Tuesday, 9/25, 6 p.m. — At the Gilleo’s Home,  6730 Estate Drive, Byron Center
  • Sunday, 9/30, 11 a.m. — Iglesia Resureccion y Vida Central, 1001 Hermitage St SE Grand Rapids MI 49506

*Gatherings are great times to hear about what’s happening with us and in Guatemala over some refreshments. Join us for an informative evening to watch videos, hear stories about Guatemala and enjoy a time of fellowship together! We’d love to see you!

 

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Needs all around

March 19, 2012 by Leave a Comment

One of the challenges we face as we minister to the people around us is knowing how to respond to the many needs we see every day. There are women begging in the market, sick people in need of care, children who can’t attend school because of the financial burden, a neighbor who was in a motorcycle accident, death of a friend, and ministries that need help too.

Chrisi checking on Rosa's clubed foot.

One of the things that keeps coming up in my mind is that we must not look past these needs to the point of missing the people, but we must look through these needs to see that in the middle of that physical need is a spiritual need. When we start seeing what God sees in each situation, we help bring the will of God about as we help reach people with Christ and with care.

Just this week we saw that happening: Two people accepted Christ during a hospital visit! We connected with a new ministry with a unique tool for reaching children with the Gospel, and we are helping connect a 10-year-old girl with much needed medical care

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And you clothed me…

December 2, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Chichicastenango

You never know what you’ll run into in the streets of Chichicastenango. Just a few weeks ago, I (Michael) was driving home and I saw a young man sitting on a street corner near the local fire station.

This isn’t all that unusual except that this man had no socks and no pants. I assumed he was drunk as, sadly, public drunkeness is not an uncommon sight here.

A light rain had started so we gathered up some clothes (a raincoat, pants, socks) and some food and water. As we pulled up, there he was, still seated on the corner and visibly shivering. Chrisi stayed around the corner with Hudson as I approached the man and quickly realized that he wasn’t drunk but had an obvious mental disability. A pair of pants in a bag sat next to him as evidence that someone else had tried to help him as well.

The man couldn’t communicate, but he showed obvious delight as he quickly ate the bread and two hotdogs I handed him. I couldn’t convince him to put on the socks or pants I brought him, but I covered him with the raincoat and prayed over him. He continued eating quickly and laughed several times. I patted him on the sholder and a local taxi driver called out a warning that we should be careful.

I couldn’t help but think of the Gaderene Demoniac who Jesus met in Mark chapter 5. Like that man, the man we met needed Jesus’ deliverance as well as the clothes we gave him.

That night we prayed over him and made our way home. The next day he was gone.

Please pray for this man who couldn’t even tell me his name. Jesus has complete freedom of spirit, mind and a self-controlled body for this man.

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Q&A

November 11, 2011 by Leave a Comment

A recent missionary intern at ASELSI asked us some questions about missionary life for new missionaries. I thought I’d share our answers…

Q. How did you know you wanted to be missionaries?
A. We’ve both had a desire to be part of fulfilling the Great Commission since we were kids. Chrisi remembers telling her friends and family that she was going to be a missionary one day…even though she wasn’t really sure what that meant! I (Michael) grew up reading missionary biographies, and knowing that God has a purpose for me and that it includes missions. I remember my family helping missionaries and since I was a young teenager, I have had the privilege of traveling to the mission field personally and seeing what God is doing and discovering how He wants me to be part of His plans! Those were the seeds in our hearts that began germinating as God gave us fertile ground and opportunities to grow, be trained, and develop deeper relationships with Him. Our journey to the mission field has been indirect, but straight in the direction God has for us one step at a time. We very much see God’s hand in preparing us to be here. This is good, because it makes us all the more reliant on Him and His leading now that we are here!

Q. What is the most challenging aspect of coming on to the mission field?
A. There are the challenges of new language, different culture, and support raising, but I think one of the most challenging things is to keep our eyes on Christ and not on challenges, circumstances, or even our temporary goals. When we get our eyes off of Christ and His purpose for us here, we can get discouraged, into bad attitudes with others, negative outlooks on our surroundings, and out of fellowship with Christ. However, when we keep our focus on Christ and His desire for us to grow in love for God and for people, we stay on track. That’s the challenge, keeping our focus on Christ and His desire for us and for the nations!

Q. What do you love most about serving with ASELSI?
A. We love that ASELSI has a vision and tradition of training up local people and preparing them not only for the task at hand but for the purpose and plan that God has for them. We want to not only be here and do our part, but to help train up others to do things even better than we can, in ways that we haven’t though of yet, and in places that we can’t go. We love being part of ministry that is training a new generation of leaders who will bring Christ to their people and to the nations!

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How much do people make in Guatemala

June 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment

As we move around Guatemala, we see a variety of life. There are people here who work so hard to make a living and there are people who have life made because of the position they have made for themselves or that their families were able to give them. Here are some of the wages and hours people work to make ends meet.

One man in his late thirties spends 16 hour days running deliveries of snack foods to small tiendas across the city. In the mean time his wife works at a radio station. They live with their children in a small house attached to his parents house.

A 28-year-old single mother of two children under 3 years works 7-hour days, six days a week and earns her meals and 800 Quetzales a month. That’s about US$104 or about $27 a week.

In the capital, Guatemala City, Yellow taxi drivers (secure and metered taxis) make about 200-300 Quetzales ($26-$39) a day while White taxi drivers (cheaper but less secure) make about 100 Quetzales a day ($13) and those are long days of about 13 or 14 hours.

It’s not uncommon to see families working multiple jobs to keep the family supplied with finances. It may be a side business, renting out a room, selling food, or doing laundry. The innovative Guatemalans try keeping their families fed.
These salaries are from the two largest cities in the country.

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Finding the right directions

February 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Michael and I are doing great here in Guatemala! We love the people and are so excited about the doors God is opening for us to share the Gospel!

Michael & Chrisi in Xela, Guatemala

Today, when walking around looking for a bookstore, a Guatemalan man heard us speaking English and saw the map in Michael’s hand and probably the confused look on our faces. He asked us if we needed help. We asked him if he knew where the bookstore was and he headed us in the right direction. We complimented him on his wonderful English and he told us that he was an English teacher here. He said he has a dream to help native women and children come out of poverty here by helping them export their handmade goods.

As we talked, we realized that we weren’t the only ones looking for directions. He said he had been exploring different beliefs and that he liked Jesus and Buddha. We then got to share the Gospel of Jesus with him and the importance of having a personal relationship with Christ. We talked with him about how Jesus is the ONLY way to relationship with God. He was very excited to have his sins forgiven and to have a personal relationship with God. We were able to lead him in the sinners prayer and encourage him on the steps to take next.

There on the corner of the street he found true spiritual direction and relationship with Christ. We were excited to not only get directions to the bookstore, but to get to be part of sharing God’s directions with others! God has plans even when we seem to be lost on the street!

Our running into this man was surely not a coincidence and we know that God wants to reveal Himself to the people here. This man’s name is David. Please pray for him and this exciting new start in his life!

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On the ground in Guatemala!

January 31, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Guatemalan Volcano!

Our 737 jet swept over mountain slopes and ducked into the clouds over Guatemala City as we caught glimpses of volcanoes and green ridges through spots in the white clouds that raced eastward on the wind. Seven hours ago we left the snowy fields of Michigan and were now landing in the warm 66-degree sunshine of Central America.

An old military jet, a couple of DC-3s and a bunch of random planes sat beside the runway as our tires touched down in the land we’ve been praying and preparing for, for so long. We are finally here! After months and years of preparations, we arrived in Guatemala excited to start up life as missionaries. Now our Facebook page shows that we live in Guatemala. Nope, we’re not just visiting this time…we can now answer the “Where do you live?” questions with an excited, “Guatemala!”

At the luggage carousel we counted as our seven bags (Yes, seven!) and carry-on that had to be checked came off the conveyor.

Leaving the airport with our luggage

We were happy to see that everything arrived safely and intact. In the states we had sold furniture, clothes, and more. We gave away stuff, stored things and realized that we can do without a lot of the things we thought we needed. We didn’t ship anything and we pushed the limit on our 50-pound bags as we filled our luggage with what we expect to live with for at least the next two years or longer. We packed things like clothes, a water filter, baby supplies, books, Bibles, computer equipment, a scanner, tools, and more.

Now we’re here and one of the biggest adventures of our lives is underway!

Thank you Lord for bringing us this far. Lead on, Lord Jesus, we are excited to follow!

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Miguel’s Story: Physical need leads to spiritual hope

November 17, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Miguel was two when his mother first brought him to the clinic.

Miguel in about 2005

His severely clubbed foot and eye problems made life very difficult for this growing boy, but that first visit in 2002 began a life changing relationship for both Miguel and his family.

Over a matter of four years, Miguel underwent care for his eye condition and his deformed foot was replaced with a prosthetic. With special care and therapy he literally stepped up to his dream of being able to kick a soccer ball like the other kids. The medical team cried the day he kicked a ball for the first time.

Miguel and his mom at the Father's Heart Clinic in 2005

Despite hearing the Gospel in her own language during many clinic visits, Miguel’s mother, Maria, consistently declined accepting Jesus Christ. However, when a short-term mission team visited them in 2008, a team member asked her if she had ever accepted Jesus into her life. Maria said, “No.”But when they asked her if she would like to she said, “Yes.”. That was just the start. That day Miguel’s two sisters, grandmother, and Miguel himself also accepted the Lord! It took four years of caring, but the love of Christ brought new light and life into this family.
In 2010 we saw Miguel, now about 10 years old, standing on his own among other children as they played in the clinic yard. He is doing well.

Here's Miguel with some of his art work in 2010

Pray that more families will accept the healing power of God in their bodies and their hearts.

This is just one example of how ASELI’s Father’s Heart Clinic is making a difference both physically and spiritually in the lives of the Mayan people of Guatemala.

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Incorporation…

November 6, 2010 by Leave a Comment

We just incorporated as Reach World Mission, Inc. We will be pursuing 501(c)3 status as we continue to finish preparations for our move to Guatemala. Thanks to family and friends who are encouraging and praying for us!

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We’re going to have a baby!

October 22, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Yes! We’re due to have a baby in Guatemala about May 15th. We’re very excited and learning all we can about having a baby in Guatemala! We see this news as a blessing to our family and to the ministry because of the potential this gives for more genuine interactions with people

Here’s a nice article from long-term travelers who were in Guatemala with their baby and the interactions they were able to have because of their baby:

Guatemala has proven to be a good country for traveling with a baby. Strangers walk up to us often and ask if they can hold her, if Petra starts crying on a bus, someone — both women and men — will usually start playing with her to make her happy again, and if we are sitting in a restaurant and Petra starts to get bored and cranky a waitress will usually come up and take our baby from us so we can finish eating.

“You know how when you are in the States and a baby starts crying in public people give you dirty looks? Well they don’t do that here, they come up and play with your baby and try to make her stop crying.

Here are some of the photos of that blogger’s baby interacting with people in Guatemala.

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