August 16th, 2023

When he (Jesus) saw the crowds he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like a sheep without a shepherd.  Then he said to his disciples “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field”.
Matt:9:36-38.

Hello Friends and Family

Our summer in Canada has flown by and we are looking forward to returning to Guatemala.  We were able to share about our ministry several times in the Vernon and Lavington area, and in Nakusp also.  Thank you to all of you who hosted and invited us.  You are such a blessing and an encouragement.  ​

​We enjoyed a day of chopping onions and peppers at the North Okanagan Valley Gleaners
Psalm 66:5. Come and see what God has done, His awesome deeds for mankind.


We want to share a story about the faithfulness of God, and answered prayer.  During the years of raising our family and attending the Lavington Baptist Church, there was a sweet little elderly couple, Sam and Margaret, who attended the Church, who without fail, every Sunday during a corporate time of prayer, would ask  for prayer for the salvation of their unsaved loved ones, and in particular their grandson and his wife.

Over the years, we have been invited to share about our ministry several times at the Lavington Church.  Two or three years ago, after we gave our presentation, a young couple engaged us in conversation, very interested in what we were doing in Guatemala, and as we heard their story, it dawned on us that this was the grandson and his wife, of Sam and Margaret.   They had recently started coming to the Lavington Church. 

  Earlier this year, a mission team from Lavington Church came to visit our ministry for 10 days.  This couple, Cody and Bronwyn, joined the team, and we saw quite an impact made on the whole team, but especially Cody and Bronwyn.  They contacted us a couple of months after they returned and asked if we would mentor them onto the mission field.

I will insert their story here.

We are the Watson family, who currently reside in beautiful Lavington, BC.
Cody, Bronwyn and children (Cameron is 10, Payton is 9 and little Madison is 5)
Cody and I were blessed to join Denis and Eileen in Coban, Guatemala in January 2023, when our church Lavington Baptist sent a team to join the mission field.  It was a wonderful, eye opening, life changing experience. A part of our hearts were left behind and it left us feeling a little empty.  What’s next?  How do we help now?  We jumped into helping Denis and Eileen from afar by volunteering at the Gleaners and fundraising for their wonderful people of Guatemala.
We were so touched by how Denis and Eileen bless their community and surrounding communities by doing God’s work that we prayed and called on God our Father to use us.  In any way He wanted.  Low and behold (!!) we have been catapulted into this mission with EVERY possible door opening with such ease and care.  God’s hand is at work in every detail and we are very excited to see where He takes us next.  In a space of a couple weeks, He  had our house rented in Canada, cars sold, a house rented and a vehicle to drive over in Guatemala.  God is so good and we so look forward to this journey He has us on.  We will be calling Santa Cruz our home for the next 6 months for sure, while we wait on Him to show us the road forward.
With our very little knowledge of the language (Cameron outshines us all with his Gr 5 Spanish he took last year), we look forward to immersing ourselves in the Spanish language and the culture that we have come to love so much.  There is so much to learn, we know! We are aware that things won’t always be so smooth, but that is the joy of being a child of Christ……He is forever moulding us and challenging us for our own good and His GLORY!
We ask for prayer for protection, health and peace as we stand FIRM in God’s love for us.  

PROVERBS 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart.  Do not depend on your own understanding.  In all your ways obey him.  Then he will make your paths smooth and straight.”
EPHESIANS 2:10
“We are God’s creation.  He created us to belong to Christ Jesus.  Now we can do good works.  Long ago God prepared these works for us to do."

                                                                     The Watson Family

Back to our story:
They, Cody and Bronwyn and their 3 children, will be arriving in Guatemala with us on Sept. 29 and will be living about 15 minutes from our home.  We will be including them in as many aspects of our ministry as we can.

We firmly believe that it is when we are willing to take the first step of faith then God will be there to lead.  

Sam and Margaret have long since passed into the presence of our Lord, but we often think of them and their faithful prayers for their family.

We have had funds donated to begin construction on a Church in the village of Santa Marta.  We met the community of Santa Marta when they were chosen for a maternity clinic a few years ago.  From that project several people from the community wanted to start a Bible Study, which quickly grew to a Church.  They currently meet in one of the homes.  A piece of land was purchased and donated for a Church, and they will start on building a retaining wall on Monday.  
We have seen God at work in this community and we are excited for this next step.

One of the many good things that arose from the visit by the team from Lavington was that the Lord placed on their hearts to raise funds for and ship a container of medical equipment and many other useful items to our ministry in Guatemala.  This container is scheduled to leave Canada for Guatemala around the 22 of September.  Thank you to the Lavington Church and the North Okanagan Valley Gleaners for your complete support for this container. Also thanks to those who prepared for and attended the dessert auction and to Keith Dinwoodie, Auctioneer, who raised a good amount of funds towards the container.

 We are aiming to ship a container of food within the next few months as we are down to about 25 boxes of soup mix.  Unfortunately Guatemala has changed their rules for import and we cannot mix food and medical anymore.

We have a new group of Pastor training starting the week after we get back.  

Please keep the Watson family in prayer as they step into a very different culture, and for health and safety.  We know they will be welcomed by our small missionary community in and around Coban.

We thank you for letting us share with you our continued journey in Guatemala.  It has been one of the biggest blessings of our life.  

Denis and Eileen Nogue
Seeds to Harvest Ministries