“I don’t know how old I am because I don’t go to school” was the response from a young Quec’chi’ girl of about 7 or 8 as she was tending to her baby brother while The Hope was being shown inside a classroom in the Community of Balbatzul. This conversation happened through an interpreter as she did not speak Spanish.
This is the reality for so many of the children in the Indigenous villages that we work in. There is a good probability that she will never learn to read or write, and the mothering skills that she is learning now will likely become a reality when she has her own children at the age of about 14 or 15. I found it interesting that in her mind, she reasoned that not attending school was the reason she didn’t know her age. Likely never had a birthday party. Such a different world we come from. Our hearts are constantly challenged by these moments. We just finished an amazing week with our team from Shiloh Church in Somerville, Alabama. They came with open hearts and ready to serve and the community was blessed with some awesome children’s ministry, home visits, and just showing the love of Jesus. Over the 3 days in the village, 13 people received Jesus, and they were truly incredible moments to witness. This Church raised and sent money ahead of time to build a maternity clinic in the village of Chitu. The men of the village hired a builder from a neighbouring village to lead them in the construction. As well, they donated their time to build and by the time the team came, it was pretty much complete, as was the plan. They did an awesome job. Once the bricks are completely dry, it can be painted inside, and we will try to stock it with many items from the container. The week after the team left, we did another trip to Coban and dropped in to Chitu to show some friends the clinic. It was a pleasant surprise to find the rural nurse there working and using the clinic. There are many challenges in this village, from schooling to water issues, and open fires in the homes for cooking. We are praying that this clinic is the start of many good things for this village. We can’t express enough how blessed this community feels to have received such a gift and they are very proud of it. We thank the Alabama team for coming with such open and generous hearts, and we are pretty sure they went home feeling as blessed by the connections made as the people of Chitu do. If you could also pray about the next maternity clinic. We have had some funds donated specifically for another one. We have a village in mind, but we will not give any indication to them until we have received enough funds to complete the project. Just waiting to see how the Lord leads on this one. If you would like more information on this project, please email us. One of the newest members of our team, Sergio, is our Quec’chi’ interpreter and is also a young 24 year old Pastor who loves his people and has an incredible way with sharing the truth of the gospel message. We had been praying for a young person who could come along with us, who has a passion for the gospel and could speak into the lives of their own people and the Lord answered. We are so thankful that our lives crossed with his. He has become a valued member of our ministry. If you would like to support our ministry, a little goes a long way in this country. Also, if you would like to consider bringing a team, we would love to host another. The value of this kind of relationship building is immeasurable. Thank you for your support and prayers. "Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do." Galatians 2:10 Blessings Denis & EileenDonation options: - Online at Commission to Every Nation click: CTEN - Denis & Eileen Nogue - Cheque's can be made out to: Commission To Every Nation Canada PO Box 22017 11500 Tecumseh Rd. E. Windsor, Ontario N8N 5G6 (indicate "Nogue" in the memo line) - United States residents: Commission To Every Nation P.O. Box 291307 Kerrville, TX 78029-1307 (indicate "Nogue" in the memo line) Like us on Facebook! Facebook at Seeds to Harvest Ministries/Denis & Eileen Nogue |
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