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 Isaiah 55:11. So shall My word be that goes out from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I propose, And shall succeed in the purpose for which I sent it. Dear Friends and Family It has been a busy few months since we sent out an update. Last update we had just received a team from LAVINGTON BC, end of Jan. 2023. We really enjoyed this team and believe they saw the Guatemala that we have come to know and love. After some home visits, the Lord placed on the hearts of several in that group to fundraise and send a container of used medical supplies and blankets etc, as the needs are great. We believe that project is well under way and we are very thankful for the help. Guatemala customs does not allow us to bring food in the same container now, so we expect to ship another container of food in January, 2024. Russ Phillips, the plant manager of the NOV Gleaners spent a week with us at the end of April. We took the opportunity to give him a glimpse of where and how the food, medical and seeds are being used. We put many miles on and hiked into one remote village where the men strapped two or more boxes of food on their backs and carried it the 2 1/2 miles up into the mountains to their village. We visited several more villages by vehicle. We have had opportunity to show our film in a few more remote villages, with such a great attendance and response. Pastor training for our third class has now finished and a beautiful graduation was held at Sergio’s Church. On the last day of class, one of the students had some questions about matters of faith, and Sergio told us that through a dramatization, one of the other students (a young Pastor, Erick) presented the gospel to him, and he received the Lord that day. We can never assume where people are at with their faith, but what a testament to the goodness and faithfulness of God that on the last day of class, after studying the Bible for the last 9 months, he would take this step. We continue to support Yeimy and Wilson with their trips to Guatemala City for their post cancer treatments. At this point they are both doing well, praise God. We had hoped to bring Sergio to Canada for 3 weeks to be able to share at some of the Churches that support us, and to see the Gleaners, but at this point we still have not received word about his travel visa. Many of you have been asking about the status of his visa, so we will let you know the moment we know.
As we wrap things up here in Guatemala to head back to Canada for a bit, it would be great to connect with many of you. We will be speaking at the Arrow Lakes Alliance Church in Nakusp on Sunday, July 2 and the LAVINGTON Church on Sunday, July 9. If you are in the area, you would be welcome to come and hear about what is happening in Guatemala. If you need further details and times, please email us. Many blessings Denis and Eileen Colossians 3:16. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Dear Friends and Family In our last ministry update we mentioned that we had been trying to reach a community a couple of hours from us that have been continually flooded and crops washed away by the frequent rains. Their road was blocked by a mudslide for many weeks, but in December we finally had a chance to go and deliver food to 153 families. We took the opportunity to show our film Magdalena in Q’eqchi’ and the gospel was clearly presented. We are returning next week with more food and seeds, as they have gone through what they have. The community has a list with the names of the families that would receive food, and I will never forget the look of fear on some of the women’s faces that perhaps their names wouldn’t be called. We don’t know what it is like to reach that level of hunger. We had a team of 9 come from the Church in Lavington, BC, and what a blessing that was. They came with open hearts, prepared to serve. We had a busy full week of children's ministry in a couple of different villages. We took the opportunity to visit the two children we are helping with their medical needs and their families. It was meaningful for the team to meet the children we have been asking for prayer for and to take the opportunity to pray with them. Yeimy’s treatments have ended and she is being monitored for the next few months. Wilson continues with testing to see if they can find out the reason for his poor vision. We hiked into a remote village (a good hour one way) that we have been working in, where children’s ministry, a short skit about baptism, distribution of Gleaners food, and games and a piñata with the kids was a blessing to the community. We did several home visits to some elderly folks that lived in the mountains, in the pouring rain. They were encouraged by a gift of food and a visit, and the team had another glimpse of rural Guatemala, as we slipped and slid up and down the muddy paths to their homes. We did a hospital visit, the ladies on the team visited families and patients on the children's ward, and the rest of the team, along with some members of Sergio’s Church gave a hot drink and snack to those waiting outside the hospital for their loved ones, some of whom wait for hours or maybe days because they have nowhere else to go. This was emotionally hard for many on the team, to see the reality for many here in Guatemala. We visited an old Folks home that operates by donations, and it was a joy to serve them cake and a drink, to sing for them, and some of them even danced. At one of the villages where we showed our film and did children’s ministry, we noticed a girl carrying her disabled brother into the Church and setting him in a chair. We asked if he had a wheelchair and then found out that he had two older brothers, also disabled and none of them had a workable wheelchair. Out of 6 children, 3 of them are disabled. As a team, we visited their home and assessed them for needs. We were able to return last week with a couple of wheelchairs, some adult diapers, and food. We want to bring a couple of hospital mattresses, and a friend and fellow missionary with a wheelchair ministry will meet with them in the near future to fit them properly in his specially designed wheelchairs. Unfortunately, the two older boys, because they haven’t had physiotherapy in several years, their thin little bodies are quite seized up and their movement very restricted. It’s hard to think of the many resources in a first world country for children like this, but with the lack of everything here, we provide what we can through the resources we have to ease their comfort and make it easier for them and their Mom. We began the week with a baptismal service with a few people from Sergio’s Church, and ended the week with one of the team members deciding to be baptized. So blessed by those decisions and such a perfect way to begin and end our week with the team. We just finished our 6th month of Pastor training. It was interesting to learn that this group had the idea that you needed to be married to be baptized and also that they have never given or taken communion in their Churches. They said they were afraid that they would do it wrong and offend the Lord. The teacher took them back through the passages of the Bible that referenced both topics. We realize that we should never take for granted the level of Biblical knowledge of these men, some who have already been pastoring for many years. We are so thankful to be able to bring biblical truth to these groups and thankful for Godly teachers. Please continue to pray for these students. The team was a big encouragement to us, and the fellowship was wonderful. The family of Christ and the fellowship of believers. Nothing can compare. We don’t always see the big picture in how God is moving, but we know that He is always at work in our lives and the lives of others. Sometimes we get a glimpse of His purposes and it is a beautiful thing to see.
Thank you for your continued support and prayers. Blessings to you all. Denis & Eileen Nogue Seeds to Harvest Ministries 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. 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 |
Join Our Mailout List!
Archives
April 2024
|