Psalm 40:5. “Were I to speak and tell of Your deeds, it would be too many too declare”.  
We had written in our last ministry update that we had had to cancel the Pastor Training class.
Wouldn’t you know that the day after I pressed send on that update, Pastor Erick, our Kekchi Translator  and also teacher of many of the modules of this course, told us that he had recruited a few more for the Pastor Training.  Currently we have 3 and a possible 2 more that we are checking if they can take the course online, as they both work.  Module 1 has been completed and Module 2 will be starting next week.
It is not a large class, but if they remain committed, one Pastor or Church Leader can bring much impact to many in his community, so for that reason we carry on.  


Susana and her family travelled from the remote northern part of Quiche for a March 9 appointment with a Prosthetic team from the U.S..  They were able to take a casting of her stump and will build the prosthetic back in the U.S. as they have access to much better materials there, they said.  Two of the Prosthetists wear prosthetics themselves and really understand the finer details of what is needed.
They will be back around the end of June to fit her with her new leg.  All of this work and the prosthetic is free of charge.  Very thankful for this group who give of their expertise to help so many in Guatemala that would not have the opportunity for a prosthetic otherwise.


In the meantime, we were asked by another missionary if we could help Sandra, an 18 year old girl who was born without her right leg.  We reached out to the Prosthetic Team and they were happy to add her to their June list.  We are always happy to network with other missionaries.  Our help reaches further into the country by doing so.
Leonel, the man who lost both hands in an accident is doing amazingly well with his prosthetics.  He is learning to hold a spoon and to feed himself again, and has been practicing writing with a pen.  He has a lot of determination, and always with a big smile on his face.  
We would ask for prayer for continued healing of his feet and that it doesn’t turn into a bigger issue for him.
We had a wonderful team from Alabama and we sure had a busy week with them.  It started with a special opening Church service in Santa Marta Church at their new Church, with a wonderful meal and children’s ministry after.


The rest of the week we focused on stove installations and children’s ministry in the villages that we visited.  The gospel was presented during children’s ministry as the Moms looked on. 
We did lots of hiking into the mountains, up and down various paths to the homes of those  receiving a stove.  The stoves had all been delivered to the homes a week earlier, so it was just a matter of installing.  There were some sweet moments of prayer with and for the families, as various ones openly shared some of the burdens they were carrying.  It is always a privilege to pray for one another.

The Alabama team also raised funds, enough for 80 bags of food to bless 80 families.  Each bag was about a month worth of food for each family.  It was a real blessing for these families.
We also had the chance to visit the old folks home that we visit regularly.  One of the team members brought each resident a beautiful handmade crocheted handbag, which they loved.We were also able to arrange to take the team to the village of Rio Negro where we had lunch, children’s ministry and then a tour through their small museum which explains the sad history of that area when a dam was constructed back in the 80’s and the Indigenous people in that area lost their land and many lost their lives.  The community is hoping the story is not forgotten, so as to never be repeated.  


The museum in the village Rio NegroWe reported in a past newsletter that Pastor Francisco, the Pastor who was the inspiration for us to proceed with a Pastor training program, had been sick. Unfortunately he passed away about a month ago.  We had a chance to visit and pray with him a few days before he passed. We had given him an audio Bible in Kekchi, and he took comfort in listening to it in his last days.
We went to both his wake and funeral  We have never seen so many people gathered for a funeral.  He was well respected and loved, and will be missed.

We love that the picture used at his funeral was his graduation picture from the Global Action Bible Training.  He was very proud of that achievement.


On Good Friday, we were invited to a new Church to show the film Magdalena in Kekchi.  It represents the gospel well and is a favorite among many.  Erick shared a great message after and we brought Gleaners apple to make a hot ponche to share, and a bag of black beans for each family.


It was this type of event that we started our ministry with and over the years our ministry has expanded to many other areas, as the Lord leads.  



We thank you for your prayers and your financial support for our ministry.  And a big thank you to the North Okanagan Valley Gleaners who donate the medical equipment and Gleaners food, when we have the funds to ship a container.   We couldn’t do what we do without you.

Blessings
Denis and Eileen Nogue
Seeds to Harvest Ministries

Proverbs 16:9
In their hearts humans plan their course,
    but the Lord establishes their steps


 How true Proverbs 16:9 is.  We had planned to start our Pastor training in January, and a day or two before it was to start most of the students backed out for various reasons.  So we will wait for a time when more students are available.
In the meantime, we had several sewing machines on the container that were donated by several women in the Town of Nakusp, so for several weeks a group of ladies from the community we live in here in Guatemala came and we learned all about sewing machines, and then sewed several projects.  They then took home their machines and this will give them an opportunity to sew for their family or sew for others and earn a little extra for their household income.  It is always fun teaching the Kekchi ladies.

In January, we made the long trip to Antigua for Susana’s surgery, which ended up being an amputation and really was the best option for her.  It took the American surgical team that came to convince her that she would be able to do far more with a prosthetic leg than to try and repair what she had.  She is doing well and back in her village recovering.  She has seen a Prosthetist, but she will need between 3 and 6 months to heal fully before receiving a prosthetic.


Her family ended up being in Antigua for about 5 weeks before they took her stitches out.  They stayed at a shelter and those costs were covered by some generous donors.


There will be some costs associated with her prosthesis.  We have had a quote of around $3,000 USD mínimum.  Because the amputation was close to the knee, apparently some special bracing needs to be built.  We will be getting a second opinion from a Prosthetist from the US in early March … but we really want the very best for her.  She is young and has been through alot.  We will ask though if it is on your heart to give towards Susana’s prosthetic, it would be a great blessing.

Susana being assessed by the prosthetist.Leonel, the other amputee that God has placed in our path had his hands couriered by the Prosthetist, Erick Lamoray, and via a video call he showed us how to put them on him.
  Leonel was pretty excited, as was his wife and kids, and when he had one of his prosthetic hands on, she handed him a cup of water and he was able to bring it up and take a drink.  Recently his friend sent us a video of him eating a banana.  
He needs prayer for healing of his feet which were also damaged during the electrocution.  He is still in a wheelchair and his feet are still bandaged.  He has faith in God which we are thankful to see.  In this culture where the man of the family is so much depended on to support the family, and so much of it with hard labour, there will be alot of adjustments that need to be made, not just with his family, but his extended family also. 
We gave him an audio Bible that has Spanish and Kekchi. He was very interested and excited to use it.

Erick explaining to Leonel how the audio Bibles work.We have been blessed by the donation of over 200 audio Bibles, in Spanish and Kekchi, mostly donated by a group from Calgary, whom several of them volunteer at the North Okanagan Gleaners every summer.  These Bibles are produced by a ministry called Trans World Radio out of Ontario, and most of them were transported in the luggage of  a team from Ontario coming to visit some missionary friends with another ministry.  It will be a blessing to distribute these audio Bibles as many of the elderly cannot read or write in the villages.
We are getting prepared for our team from Alabama.  Shiloh Church in Alabama has sent us the majority of our teams over the years, and we love their big hearts and their love for the people of Guatemala .  They are a joy to serve with.  We will visit a few villages, sharing the gospel through children’s ministry and will include several vented stove installations in a couple of the villages.  


A ministry here in Guatemala that customizes wheelchairs, beelinewheelchairs.org, is now making vented wood stoves and a portion of what they sell them for goes to support the cost of building the wheel chairs, so we made the decision to switch over to these stoves.  The cost is the same but we like the idea of supporting another ministry, and they are also much lighter to pack in to their homes, as they can be taken apart.  

The new vented wood burning stove.  The sides fold down and it is completely lined with fire brick for efficiency.The Santa Marta Church has the floor tile in and is looking quite beautiful.  They are wanting to be as ready as possible for the Alabama team coming.  


We attend the Santa Marta Church once a month with Erick, our Kekchi translator, to encourage the Church and Erick will share a message that Sunday.  It had been on my heart to bring some Sunday school lessons to the kids, except they mostly only speak Kekchi.  A few months ago, we met our granddaughter’s grade 2 Teacher, Naza.  She speaks Spanish, Kekchi and English, and she offered to come with us to Santa Marta when we go, so I planned a simple Sunday school lesson on the story of Noah.  None of the children knew the story of Noah, but they were so attentive and enjoyed it alot and are asking to do it again.  It was nice being able to go from English to Kekchi.  So we will be looking forward to more Sunday school lessons
Yeimy just had her recent 6 month check up at the Childrens Cancer Hospital in Guatemala City.  She remains cancer free, praise God.  We often think what a miracle her story has been, and such a privilege to have been used by God to play our small part in it.  

Many of the contents that came on the last container were brought for a new hospital that will be a surgical centre, among other things, for the indigenous.  For example, there is a surgical group from the US that come twice a year to do cleft lip and palate surgeries.  Other groups will now be coming to perform general surgeries.  It will also be the home for prosthetic teams that come to help amputees.  It is much needed and will be closer for many of the people that we help.  They also bought our last container for storage.  Thank you to the North Okanagan Gleaners for some of the beds and many of the other supplies that went into this facility.  They just had their official opening a couple of days ago.Lastly, we took a few days for ourselves to visit another part of Guatemala we have been wanting to see called Xela.  Near Xela are some hotsprings called Fuentes Georginas, founded in 1902.  We arrived early in the morning, and for a time were the only ones in the pool.  Beautiful surroundings and a time to reflect on the beauty of God’s creation.  
What was also spectacular was the drive there, through a fertile valley where all you could see were fields of beautiful produce, at different stages from just being planted to being harvested.  We read that back in the 70’s and 80’s many people in that area turned from idols and turned to God, and many attribute the agricultural success to this event which continues to this day.  If you are interested, google the story behind Almolonga, Guatemala.  We took some photos, but photos do not do this area justice.  In our opinion this is probably one of the most beautiful areas of Guatemala.  We then travelled on through a town called Zunil where the agriculture continued.  Apparently not only export, but they provide much of the food for Guatemala.


Thank you for your continued prayers and support for our ministry … and a special thankyou to those of you who remind us that you are praying for us.  It is an encouragement.


Blessings,
Denis and Eileen Nogue
Seeds to Harvest Ministries

​We celebrated Christmas with the Santa Marta Church that same day.  We brought some really delicious Turkey tamales made by a neighbour of Erick, our Kekchi translator, and a piñata which of course the children all love, and gifts for each family.

We recently had the opportunity to host an evangelism seminar with several of our past Pastor training graduates.  They really enjoyed the two day event and went back to their villages with some fresh enthusiasm and skills.

Pastor Francisco, who really was the inspiration for us to move into coordinating the Pastor training program wasn’t able to come, and we heard that his health is failing.  We made a plan with Erick to go and visit him.  He is quite frail and weak and is suffering with kidney and prostate issues.  His wife passed away a couple of years ago and he has no children to care for him, but his Church family seems to be taking on that role.  He lives a 15 minute walk down a path through the coffee and cardamom fields, but said he was going to be moving into a house right next to his Church.  This will be better for him.  
He will always hold a special place in our hearts.  A very humble man of God.  It was beautiful to watch Erick (young Pastor) minister to Francisco (elderly Pastor) in Kekchi with the word of God.

We visited again with Leonel and his family.  He is the man who lost both hands and damaged his feet through an electrocution accident at work.  He and his family have moved in with his parents, Grandmother, and his brother and his family as he recuperates.  It is a lot of people under one roof, but the activity is probably a good distraction while he recuperates.  
While there, we had a video conference call with the missionary who is going to make his prosthetic hands in order to get him measured up.  He thought he would have them ready in a couple of weeks.
Such a life changing incident and we pray for healing of his feet.  They are bandaged and the bandages need to be changed every day.  He still goes to the hospital twice a week to be checked.  Some money and toys were donated and the children were pretty excited when we arrived with Christmas presents.  The money will help with his medical supply needs and we can help provide bandages and dressings that we have from the last container.  Leonel needs prayer as he deals with these major changes and the  trauma of an accident like this.

We had a special Christmas celebration with the Senior home that we visit once a month.  The last time we were there we had overheard some of them saying that sometimes they were cold at night and so we gifted each one of them and the 10 resident Kekchi nuns who care for them with a handmade quilt (thanks to Sharon Israelson and Anne Lockhart and all the ladies who participate in making them) and donating them to the North Okanagan Valley Gleaners.  Many people seem to think it is always hot in Guatemala, but we are in the central highlands.  November, December and January can be cold and damp.  Think Vancouver weather in winter.  These quilts were very appreciated.

And finally, we had a chance to go up to Yeimy’s village and visit with the family just before Christmas.  She continues to do well and her cancer remains in remission, praise God.  She will go for another checkup in February which will be six months from the last.  They are a sweet family.



Our next Global Action Pastor Training class will start on Jan 19.  Please pray for these students and we will send more details when we have them.


We thank you all for your continued support and prayers.  It is much appreciated.  And again, have a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.

Blessings
Denos and Eileen Nogue
Seeds to Harvest Ministries 

We appreciated those invitations to share about what God is doing in Guatemala, both individual and the group invitations. We love to be able to share about our work and stories of how God is moving in the beautiful people of Guatemala. 




Since returning to Guatemala we have been busy.  We are coming to the final month of classes for the Pastor training and we have been planning for the graduation in October of around 26 students. We enjoyed a breakfast meeting with one group just after we returned and just hosted the other group in our home this week.  They all have one more session until graduation.
On our first Sunday back we visited the community of Santa Marta to see how they are doing and see the Church construction.  We had a wonderful Church Service with them and we love how they worship with their whole hearts.  


After the service they asked us if we would like to visit a family that had a new baby, a family that goes to their church.  The baby is 12 days old and typically and traditionally the mother stays home for 40 days before leaving the house.


This was a 20 minute walk up into the mountains, right next door to an elderly lady we visited last time we were there.  She has since passed away.  The circle of life.  Life and death is such a part of daily life in Guatemala that is so often experienced up close and personal.


  While we were visiting it began to rain quite hard.  The paths that we walked up on quickly turned to slick mud.  I had worn a skirt to Church but fortunately had worn flat sandals.  However, I knew it would be an adventure going down.  I always bring a walking pole with me, but this time I was thankful for some strong arms also, as we slipped and slid all the way down.  We got a little muddy in the end, but that washes off.  The visit and the prayer time with them was worth it.

We connected with the Senior’s home (also abandoned and disabled) for a beautiful time of visiting and fellowship.  The fellow in the photo below is always waiting for us with a big hug.  He was sad and had tears in his eyes when we left.  We are told that many of them have no family that visit and they appreciate these times.  Thankful for Erick to translate as many of them speak Kekchi only.  ​

A container of used medical and other items is on its way and is expected around mid October.  We would ask for prayer for smooth sailing through customs.  


Susanna has had a recent appointment with another American Orthopedic Surgeon a week ago in Antigua, Guatemala.    It sounds like the Doctor feels her best option is amputation, but the family is not interested in that route.  The Dr said there is another option which could help with straightening the leg, but her leg would be shorter and her ankle is fused, so there would be no mobility.  Plus there are a few more potential issues with healing from such an operation because of previous tissue damage. The risks of infection would be greater.   Please pray for their decision making and that they fully understand the potential complications as Erick reviews with them all that the Doctor has written.  That surgery will happen in January 2026 if they decide to proceed.


 We haven’t made any headway with schooling options for Susanna yet.  Her town is remote and far from us.  Right now just coordinating her leg issues is probably enough and once that is settled we can try to tackle the next issue.

There has been quite a lot of rain in our area since returning, causing some road issues and mudslides in areas.  Otherwise, we have settled back into our normal regular routine.


Although sometimes normal is not so normal.  We have a little farm here in Guatemala.  It really started to become a farm when several villages we visited would give us a live gift of a chicken, one time a turkey and once a goose.  Of course we didn’t have the heart to eat them, but built a house and a pen and as they came they went to their respective pens and there they are, growing and reproducing. 


 Before we left for Canada we had one goose egg that hatched in an incubator (long story).  The goose parents were not sitting on their eggs yet, but we had a Turkey hen that had just hatched 9 babies, so it was suggested by Marvin, who works for us, to put the goose under the Turkey mom.  They accepted each other, and now we have a goose who would much rather be with her Turkey family, than her goose family.  It’s always entertaining.

Blessings,
Denis and Eileen Nogue
Seeds to Harvest Ministries ​