november 2022

Psalm 105:1
Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
    make known among the nations what he has done.

​Dear Friends and Family
We are in the midst of Pastor training this week, and this morning while we were preparing for lunch, we could hear the students praying, and then many of them weeping in the classroom.  We have witnessed many times the Christians here in Guatemala express their deep reverence and respect for the Lord.  It is humbling.  We feel so blessed to be a part of what God is doing with this Pastor training.   This side  of heaven, we will never know how far God will use these men to bring the Gospel to their communities.  Their commitment to this study is deep and they are so very grateful for the opportunity to study the Word of God.  So thank you to those of you who pray for these men and women, and who support this program.
Shortly after returning to Guatemala in September, we were contacted by an elderly couple who were making an appeal for food for their community, about 3 hours from where we live.  This is an area that has received Gleaners food before.  Over the last few years they have had heavy rains and have been continually flooded out, therefore have been unable to grow sufficient crops for their village.
We made a plan to go, and then one of the tropical storms swept through our area and a massive mud slide came down on the route to that community.   We were told it would be a month or more before the road would open.  We have received news that it has just opened, so we plan to make that trip in a few days.  Such is life in many parts of Guatemala.  The hardships are very real.
They have expressed interest in seeing the film La Esperanza (The Hope) in their own Q’eqchi’ language, so we will be bringing our film equipment along.  Pray for open hearts at this event, and that the gospel message is clearly understood.

Yeimy is doing well.  She completed several months of chemo which ended in September.  After a few more tests, they wanted her to have a treatment of radiation therapy in November.  She is scheduled for another treatment in January 2023.  We continue to support their travel to and from the Childrens Cancer Hospital in Guatemala City but we don’t really know how much longer these treatments will go on for.  She is happy and seems to feel good.  She turned 6 recently and we brought a cake to her home and celebrated with her.  It was such a special time with the family.

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We also had a wonderful visit with Wilson recently.  He is full of joy despite his circumstances.  His mobility is good since his surgery, but his eyesight is very poor.  He will be checked by having an MRI this month at the hospital in Guatemala City and if there are no problems internally, they will assess him for glasses. He also recently celebrated his 15th birthday.

Some amazing stories were shared of some of the elderly folks in the villages who had never heard of Jesus and wanted to know more.  They are unable to read or write, so we ordered and donated to those working in those villages, audio Bible translations on portable radios that were prepared by a ministry called TWR in Canada, Trans World Radio.  They had the audio version in their language Achi.
We recently had the graduation of our second group of Pastor training students.  It was an awesome celebration at Sergio’s Church.  Their dedication and commitment to their studies was reflected in their marks, as they all had excellent marks.   The two young women in the photo below, who both work in Childrens ministry, were at the top of their class.

We have begun home visits with the students in our third group.  This is where we feel we get to know them so much better.  And we are always thankful for Sergio who translates the Q’eqchi’ during these visits.  
One of our visits was to a young Pastor, Erick, 27 years old.  He is the third youngest of 11 children, the young man in the photo below.  He had an amazing testimony of how he was a runner, and ran on an international team and ran in different countries.  However, through a knee injury and then a sickness he was called into Christian ministry and then into Pastoring a Church.  He is also a tailor and is in the process of building a beautiful little wood store to sell the items he sews.  Most rural Pastors in this country rely on other work in order to survive.

Last but not least, we will be receiving a team from Lavington, BC in January 2023.  We are excited for them to come and to see what the Lord is doing in our region of Guatemala.
Blessings to all.
Denis and Eileen Nogue
Seeds to Harvest Ministries
Commission to Every Nation