I wanted to share some good news I received today from Brady Garcia, who at the start of this year moved to Santa Cruz del Quiche in Guatemala to begin a new church. When our initial team from First Baptist Lee's Summit went to Cantel in 2008, he was pastoring a church there. Brady has attended each of the training sessions that the BGCM has conducted in Quetzaltenango in Western Guatemala since 2007 and always is quick to share how the training has been applicable in his local ministry setting.
Brady writes, “Here in Santa Cruz del Quiche, everything is going well, thanks to God. This week we began five cells or small groups. I am working with a group of alcoholics on Wednesdays with 6 attending. Very soon I will begin to offer Bible classes to the children of two schools as we did in Cantel, since I think I have a little bit of experience in this field. The families that are attending church are very committed and we have our services scheduled for Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays with Sunday School and worship in the afternoon. The children meet separately, although we’re lacking some materials for them, but God will provide. Also this week, a group of youth will begin meeting on Fridays. As you can see, brother, I am very busy (thanks be to God), and the best part of it is that here I am putting into practice all that I’ve learned in the training sessions that you all have come to share. Blessings, brother, and I hope to see you in July.”
It's such an encouragement to receive a note like this and hear how God is blessing and using the visits of teams from our churches and the ongoing training sessions to help equip Guatemalan leaders for their ministries. My next trip there will be July 5-9, and our pastor, Blake McKinney, will be going with me as a conference leader. I know that he will be a tremendous blessing to the leaders there as he shares with them.
7 comments:
it is incredible news isn't it? We're pretty excited about what God's doing. Our next team will be in Santa Cruz del Quiche in about 4 weeks.
Micah,
It is indeed. Glad to hear that a team from FBBC is heading back down soon. I trust that they will have a productive and blessed time there.
Glad to hear an update on Brady -- what a cool guy. Sounds like good stuff is going on in his new place of residence!
Jennifer,
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I was so glad that you were able to accompany us on one of those trips and assist with the interviews of Brady and Roger.
I trust that you're not too stressed out with the countdown to your upcoming wedding. Sorry that I won't be able to attend. We're doing a bit outreach effort as a part of Lee's Summit Downtown Days festival.
I've had my stressed moments, but for the most part, just excited. The list of things to do is pretty small at this point -- so I'm able to have fun with it. We'll miss you at the wedding!
You're making a difference down there. It's pretty rewarding to see the direct results of your work. Keep it up!
Joel,
Thanks for stopping by my blog and for your kind words. I read April's post the other day. When are you going to resume blogging? You're an outstanding writer and I miss the chance to read your stuff. Hope you both are doing well these days. Enjoy the holiday.
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