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 …
Shiny Shoes and Clean Hearts
There are dozens of shoe shiners in Chichicastenango. Starting as young as five years old, these youngsters prowl the streets looking for leather shoes to turn into shiny proof of their work. “Shoe shine?” they ask in earnest. “Son muy sucio.” (They are very dirty.) These poorly dressed youngsters can be seen carrying their little …
Chichi Feeding Program
In Chichi boys as young as 5 years old prowl the streets carrying what look like little black toolboxes. Their hands are filthy and most of their ragged clothes are a close match. These boys are the shoeshine boys looking for anyone with leather shoes to shine for as low as two quetzales (about 26 …
Hope and a Heartrending Home Visit
While hosting the first ASELSI team of 2012, we left the main road and went out to visit a family with a large tub filled with food for them. As we wound down hairpin curves, our little white Toyota van bumped over hardened ruts and finally descended to the smooth sand beside the Motagua River …
ASELSI CHRISTMAS PARTY 2011
On December 1st I got up early and drove over to ASELSI at 5:45 a.m. It was the big Christmas celebration and the line of guests had been growing since people started camping outside the ASELSI gates at 5:30 p.m. the night before. These Guatemalans really look forward to a party! With nearly 800 families …
And you clothed me…
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 …
Q&A
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 …
Dia de los Muertos
Dia de los Muertos or The Day of the Dead (Nov. 1) is celebrated in Guatemala to remember, honor, and even worship the spirits of the dead. Even as I write this, I can hear the explosions of fireworks that have been rocking the air since about 5 this morning. In local cemeteries across Latin …
A son returning home…
We met a young Korean-Guatemalan man this evening. His father is a pastor but he’s been following his own direction for a while and now finds himself robbed and trying to make it to his home near the El Salvador/Guatemala Border (about 8 hours from here). He wasn’t ready to put God back in charge …
A Mayan witch accepts Jesus
In a recent update from one of our fellow ASELSI missionaries, an amazing example of God working in Guatemala was described… Emily Romero described what she saw while translating for a medical team in the village of Xalbaquiej: She said that an older man sat down for a medical checkup. He had three strange large …