We could not be blessed with more beautiful weather. October is rainy season in Guatemala, and sunshine has filled each day so far. Today we completed the pastors’ conference with the final two teaching sessions. Cheers rose up from the crowd when the local overseer asked those in attendance if they wanted another conference in the future. A prayer session capped the conference, with those hungry for more of God’s presence and power in their ministry pressing up to the altar. Our team was touched as the local pastors asked to pray for us, and did so in the most heartfelt manner.
After nearly two straight days of a very full schedule, this afternoon was a half-day of rest. Most of the team visited central Nebaj, where booths filling a street make up the market. We managed to find an open ice cream shop, so you all can relax your fears of us losing a lot of weight while we’re down here working, shoveling dirt and hauling gravel for concrete.
Terri met us here in Nebaj today for the first time on this trip. She treated us to stories about Santa Rosa, a town God put on her heart to help. Years ago, Mike McComb tried to bring a medical team to this small village. When he found the town seemingly deserted after a ten-hour hike up the mountain, Mike asked his Ixil cook to talk to a townswoman in Santa Rosa. Maria came down ashen, and assured Mike they needed to leave, right away. Their lives had been threatened in a very real way.
Two years ago, the Lord began putting Santa Rosa on Terri’s heart. As we sat by the fire with s’mores, Terri told us about how much better those in Santa Rosa are doing now, and about how faces that were the picture of perpetual sadness now regularly light up with joy. Mike and Terri found some forgotten leftover bags of school supplies that CityLight had purchased for a previous trip in some boxes in a closet. There were exactly the right number to bless each child in Santa Rosa. This will be the first Christmas present any child in that town has ever received.
Tomorrow we’re heading out to a village to help expand an overflowing church. At night, we’re excited to attend service at Palabra en Accion.
We love you CityLight. More tomorrow.
Text by Josh Feldman. Photos by Tim Maggio. #citylightnyc
