Telma's Legacy

Claudia shows off her new Bible

Telma is one of my favorite ladies in the Loving InDeed program.  She is a teeny tiny little woman--her biggest feature is her beautiful smile.  In fact, I've never seen her without a smile on her face, even though she has had such an incredibly rough life.  Her six children are absolutely precious. How their father could ever dump them to be with some other woman is just beyond me!  Last Monday, Telma's 12 year old daughter, Claudia, shyly approached me to say that she'd memorized her 10 verses and would like to say them to me and win her Bible.  She said all 10 perfectly; I was so proud! In fact, she was the first female in Tuicogel to even attempt it.  But the story gets so much better!  After the study, Telma asked me for a ride down the mountain, and I gladly obliged.  She sent Claudia home with her siblings, and hopped in my car.  On the way down, she started to open up to me.  She told me that her mother had died very shortly after her birth.  She had been raised by her father who did not allow his daughters the opporutnity to have an education.  He preferred that they stay home and work his fields.  So sadly Telma has never been to school a day in her life and cannot read or write.  She told me how determined she was that each of her children would get to go to school. Having very little by way of physical possessions, an education was the one legacy she could give them. Then she hung her head and said, "The thing that bothers me the most is that I cannot read the Bible for myself.  I wish I could.  But my Claudia can read. (up came her head!)  She told me the other day,  'Don't worry, Mama.  I'm going to study my verses until I can say them all.  When I win my Bible, we'll sit down together, and I'll read it slowly so that we can both understand.'"  I wanted to cry.  I already loved Claudia--she is an absolute sweetheart--but that little story her mama told me ensured that I will do whatever it takes to make sure that Claudia gets to go to school for as long as she wants to. This morning Claudia chose her new Bible, while her mother sat behind her beaming with pride. 

                

What's even more wonderful is that three other ladies won Bibles this morning:  Imelda, Brisela, and Leysi.  The younger generation of women is gaining confidence in this remote village, and my heart is nearly bursting with joy!  I had 25 women in the Bible study this morning--young and old--and I got to help these four learn to use their new Bibles. What a thrill!  It still amazes me that God lets me do this.

             

                                                                                               

The Ugly

When I started this blog, I promised you that I wouldn't sugar-coat things. Life here isn't always sunshine and roses.  Sometimes it really stinks.  Today was one of those days.  Let me explain.

Every Tuesday is a food delivery day for the widows in the Loving InDeed program, so I went out to Chicol this morning for that. When I pulled in, I was surprised to see G* (for privacy) sitting in the shade waiting for me.  She had had a baby boy while I was in the states, and most Guatemalan women take at least 40 days of rest at home after a delivery.  G* had been sending someone else to pick up her food while she recuperated.  I had brought a gift for her and the new baby though, so I was excited to see her there.  When I got out of the car, she approached me, and I noticed that there was no baby tied to her back.  I greeted her and asked how the baby was.  "He's dead." Before I had a chance to say anything, she continued, "No, he's not dead, but I don't have him." And then she left and went to help the other women carry in the food, leaving me there with my mouth hanging open. Later on, I got the full story from her.  G* had to move in with her parents after her husband died. Later, she'd gotten pregnant again by some random guy who is long gone now.  Her father decided that didn't want another person in his house, so he forced her to give her baby away to her sister.  The sister lives in another village, is married, but has no children of her own.  G* had no say in the matter whatsoever.  Men make decisions in this country, not women. 

As soon as G* and I finished talking, O* came and sat down next to me.  A week ago I had given her daughter a scholarship application, and she just beamed!  She was  so very excited about the prospects of continuing to go to school. Today her mother informed me that she didn't want to go to school next year.  Knowing that was complete baloney, I kindly explained to O* that the money I had was ONLY for scholarships.  I think O* had it in her head that if she didn't send her daughter to school, I was just going to hand over all that money for them to use however they wanted.  O* looked disappointed, then went on to say that even so, her daughter didn't want to study.  I continued to push her...WHY did her daughter change her mind?  She had been so excited last week!  Then the truth came out.  (Understand that I'm using the word "truth" here very loosely.)  O* said that her daughter preferred to stay home and work in her grandfather's fields.  (which means that that's what HE wants) So this bright little girl will likely end up in the same boat as all the other women out there--married young, lots of babies, living in a shack, doing hard physical labor.  Honestly, I wanted to yell at her mother.  I was offering her daughter a way out!  A way to break this horrible cycle of poverty!  TAKE IT!!!  But truthfully, it wasn't up to O*.  Men rule supreme in this country.  Period.

Then just as I was about to leave, someone informed me that E* had gotten married last week.  This might have been joyful news were it not for the fact that I just talked to E* less than a month ago, and she had no boyfriend and no prospects for marriage. So whoever this guy is, it's someone she just up and decided to marry out of the blue, which breaks my heart. We've had so many talks about the importance of choosing your mate wisely.  FFF had recently bought her some land and was getting ready to bring in the water line and build the house.  Now she no longer qualifies for their program. Not only that, but she will no longer receive weekly food deliveries, and her adorable three year old daughter is the most malnourished child I've seen.  I can only hope that this new husband can provide for them.  

So there you have it.  I know you win some and you lose some, but three big losses in one day feels a little heavy.  I left today feeling angry and frustrated, but it's time to shake it off and start preparing for next week.  As always, I appreciate your prayer support, especially for discernment in dealing with these types of situations.  

Firstfruits

Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits 

of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, 

and your vats will be bursing with wine.  --Proverbs 3:9, 10

Last night I had the opportunity to go to one of my very favorite church services--the year end Firstfruits Service in the village of Suculque.  On the day of the service, the church doors open early and villagers in Suculque and the neighboring villages of Tres Cruces and Talmiche all converge on the church grounds to bring their offerings to the Lord.  By nightfall, the place is full of corn, beans, sugar cane, chickens, goats, cows, squashes, limes...you name it! Then during the service that night, Pastor Rafa and his wife, Xiomara, call groups of people--children, teens, women, then men--to come to the altar to deposit any financial gifts they may have brought into a big box. It is an incredibly special, powerful night.  I can't put into words what it means to me not only to be able to watch it, but to participate. I especially loved how Xiomara shared that we are no longer under OT law; that we get to bring our gifts to the Lord simply because we love Him. This particular Culto de Primisias (Firstfruits Service) was made even more special by the fact that my friend Kelvin was ordained as the new pastor there in Suculque. His kind, gentle nature has won the people over, and I am sure he will make a wonderful pastor.  As always, I left that service with a very full heart.

Then this afternoon I got to go up to Cochico for my friend Carlos Morales's graduation party.  In true Guatemalan fashion, it was less of a party and more of a church service. Carlos got a new motorcycle which will enable him to preach a whole lot more than he is able to now with the limited public transportation that is available in the remote village where he lives.  I wrote about it on facebook; maybe you saw it.  The thing is, I left a large part of that story out.  Sometimes I feel like people put me on a pedestal.  My intention was to avoid that, but in so doing, I think I did God a disservice.  The way He provides is nothing short of miraculous, and I want you to know the amazing thing He did!  So here it is--while the money to build the church in Cochico, and the money to help support Carlos's family while he studied, and the money to send him to seminary in the first place in large part came from special donors in the US, the new motorcycle was a gift that God let me give him. The supernatural part is how God enabled me to be able to do that.  See, a while back a friend gave me the Nissan Pathfinder that I currently drive.  That's right--they GAVE it to me. Free.  A 4x4 truck.  FOR FREE.  I'm still blown away every time I think about it. And honestly, I wanted to turn around and give away the Chevy Blazer I had been driving to another missionary for free. Pass the blessing along, so to speak.  But I knew that Carlos was desperate for transportation, so I prayed about it, and God gave me an idea.  I ended up selling the Blazer dirt cheap to a fellow missionary to help them out, and then I used the money I made off that sale to buy Carlos's motorcycle.  So to recap--someone in the states gave this friend of mine the money to buy the Pathfinder. This friend knew I needed a more powerful truck, so she told God that she'd give it to me for free if He provided her the money to get something else.  He did, so she kept her end of the deal and gave the Pathfinder to me.  I then sold the truck I had been using super cheap to another missionary who has since called me to tell me how much they LOVE it.  Then I used the money to buy Carlos a motorcycle. Carlos will use the motorcycle to preach the gospel in remote mountain places.  Souls will be reached for Christ.  And God started all of this chain of incredible blessing by touching someone's heart in the states to give, and that person obeyed.  Just hearing about this would be exciting, but God let me be a part of it!  Coolest. thing. ever. I have the BEST boss!