Our First Christmas....

We're always up for a new adventure...and I think I'd consider Christmas as one for us. It was our first Christmas in Guatemala, the first since we've been together that we weren't with family and friends, and honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect. We'd heard of the massive fireworks displays at midnight Christmas Eve, but didn't realize there was another set at noon on Christmas Day! Surprise!

We were able to Skype with family, so that did help. What did missionaries do before the Internet, email and Skype? Mail here in Guatemala is iffy...so letters could get through...maybe.

We started the holiday on Christmas Eve at our church in Antigua. Iglesia del Camino is a multi-cultural, bilingual church where everything is presented in English and Spanish. They will speak in one language a sentence or two, and then it is translated, rather than simultaneous translation. The children presented a pageant on the birth of Jesus Christ, and then sang for us. Sounds typical, right? NOT! The power went out three times during the presentation, and the kids performed without microphones, without lights (who knew that so many men had flashlights in their pockets?) and still provided us with an absolutely blessed rendition of the birth of our Savior. Oh, and in a totally Guatemalan touch...the pastor rolled his KLR 650 into the sanctuary, and turned its headlight on so there would be light on the south side of the sanctuary. Gotta do what you gotta do...

The sky was lit up from the time we left Antigua at 8:30 until well after midnight. It isn't just the big, pretty mortars they shoot off...lots of firecrackers and what the SWAT team might call a "flashbang", a mortar that produces a bright white flash and lots of noise. Our windows rattled more than once Christmas Eve!

Christmas Day started out with a bang as well...I swear the people in our neighborhood don't sleep. The music and fireworks started at 6 am. So we were up and moving early. We had a nice dinner and watched some old classic Christmas movies on TCM. King of Kings in Spanish was interesting...I am actually learning quite a bit.

God is good, and we were blessed for our first Christmas in Guatemala. I pray that your Christmas was blessed as well.

Dios de bendiga!

Lisa

December or is it Diciembre?

Wow. How did we get to Christmas already? Wasn't it just Thanksgiving last week? We've been busy this month...and we've not had any teams. Christmas is usually a time when all the missionaries who host teams get a bit of a break from the hustle and bustle of hosting...well, except for the YWAM (Youth With a Mission) hosts. They'll have a team come in on Friday the 23rd.

Bill and I are adventuring out on the bike more. We've gone for one long ride with our pastor and his wife. They have a KLR 650 but it's a 2006 instead of 2008 like the one we ride. Knowing that mornings are cold here at 6,800 ft. I dressed in layers. By the time we got to Alotenango about a half hour later, we had dropped 3000 ft and I was ready to start peeling. The closer we got to the coast, the warmer it got. I haven't seen such beautiful country since we left Idaho. Here are a few pics...the volcanoes Agua, Fuego and Pacaya, clear creeks, lava outcroppings, and then some sugar cane.

The week of December 13, Bill and I were privileged to attend a three day seminar sponsored by Freedom Ministries from Gateway Church, Southlake, TX.  http://gatewaypeople.com/ministries/freedom-kairos/about   It was a very moving and inspirational three days. It definitely made me rethink some things I was believing!  Here are some views from the mission complex we were staying at...including the almost full moon shining over Chimaltenango.

The rest of this month (and most of next) is scheduled for maintenance projects around the mission house. We have painting, repairs...(any volunteers?)  We are so enjoying our time here. God has placed many teams on the schedule for next year but there are always openings...if you or someone you know wants to take a mission trip to Guatemala, please contact the MVI office and ask for Amber. She's in charge of team trips. www.mvi.org or 407-859-7322.

GOD BLESS AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Lisa and Bill

CMA presents motorcycles...
November came all bright and sunny on the heels of the wettest October we've ever experienced. The sunshine was a welcome treat after over 60 inches of rain in October. Rainy season ended, and just in time for the Christian Motorcyclists Association to arrive! This team was comprised of Run for the Son (RFS) winners for the most part. RFS is the one time a year fundraiser that CMA does to support ministry worldwide. Last year, almost $4 million dollars was raised. Each region in CMA competes to see who can raise the most money for RFS, and the top fundraisers recieve a mission trip for their efforts. Many of the winners raised over $15,000 apiece. That's a lot of money! This money is divided in four ways. Twenty percent goes to Missionary Ventures, twenty percent goes to the Jesus Film Project, twenty percent goes to Open Doors, and Brother Andrew, "God's Smuggler".The final forty percent stays inCMA. None of the money is used for administrative costs.

The team of twenty arrived on November 5 for a week's stay with us at the mission house. Prior to their arrival, our director Randy Purcell had recieved applications for the motorcycles from pastors across Guatemala. He narrowed the list down, and then interviewed the potential candidates. Once the recipients were chosen, the motorcycles (Yumbo 200 Dakar) were purchased and readied for the presentations. The five motorcycles were presented in several locations across Guatemala, including the mission house, I have never seen such an enthusiastic group of people as this team. They were ready for anything. As Cat Noland (one of the team members) told a friend after arriving back home when she was asked if she had been on a mission trip, "Yes...with Missionary Ventures and the CMA we delivered 5 motorcycles to pastors so they can reach the people they minister to...many of them walk miles and miles a day to reach their people. Now they can get further faster and maybe back home to spend time with their own family too."



Bikes in bodega...waiting



The first recipient, Pastor Juan Real Casteñeda, from San Cristóbal, Mixco came to the mission house to receive his gift. He and his wife were very excited, because he has several churches spread out over a great distance and walks or rides the chicken buses to get to his congregations.

The second and third presentations were in Santa Elena Barillas and in Mezquital. Santa Elena is on the southwest side of the city, up in the mountains. There the team met with Pastor Marco Tulio Agustín Arriola and his family. Pastor Marco Tulio has a church in Santa Elena, as well as two church plants.



After a quick bite in the city, a stop at Harley Davidson Guatemala was called for. :)



Then it was on to Mezquital!

In Mezquital, the team met with Pastor Juan Luciano and his family. Pastor Juan Luciano has always been in evangelism, and he works to not only pastor his own congregation, but he oversees five other churches that he has planted and now have their own pastors. He is also praying to open three more churches in 2012. Mezquital is an extremely poor part of Guatemala. Pastor Juan Luciano and his church had all the sound equipment stolen (everything but the speakers, because they wouldn't fit through the windows) in July, 2011. He and his congregation have replaced almost everything they lost with the help of many donations from various sources. The motorcycle will allow Pastor Juan Luciano to reach all of his churches in a much more efficient manner.



The following day, the team loaded up and went to Nebaj, Quiché, Guatemala for the final two presentations. Due to the landslides from the rainy season, many times the road was a single lane. There was heavy equipment trying to clear the road in several places. Nebaj is close to the highest mountain range in Central America. The population is mainly Mayan Indian, and many still hold to the beliefs they have had for many generations. The team presented two motorcycles in Nebaj at the hospital there. The hospital is supported by Missionary Ventures. The hospital has a nursing school and a dental clinic.



Juan Pablo Noriega Herrera, with his wife and daughter. Juan Pablo is the the administrator/chief doctor of the hospital.


Team Leaders Roger and Rayleen Wilson (CMA National Evangelists, NorthCentral Region) with the nursing students.

The first motorcycle went to Pastor Eduardo Chen Chomo from Chicamán, Quiché. Evangelism and church planting is heavy on his heart. At this time, Pastor Eduardo has five churches that he oversees, and four more that are church plants. There are villages that he must walk to, because there are no roads in those areas. The motorcycle will allow Pastor Eduardo to carry the Gospel farther than ever!



Pastor Eduardo, his son Santos, and part of the team.

The final motorcycle was given to Pastor Oziel Martínez López from San Pedro, Huehuetenango. He currently has three churches that he oversees, as well as three more areas where they are trying to church plant. Pastor Oziel has also worked with Student Crusade for Christ and also presented the Jesus Film for three years.

There was another blessing in meeting the pastors at the hospital. The team got to meet with two other pastors that have been previous recipients of motorcycles. They came to tell of the great success they have had in reaching their people with the motorcycles to assist them. The program has made such a difference for them and their congregations!



Roger Wilson, Randy Purcell (MVI Guatemala Country Director) and the four pastors in Nebaj.

Our blessing...

Bill and I were amazingly blessed by the CMA team, both in spirit and in reality. There are many things that need to be done here at the mission house, and the team was able to take a day to do projects here at the house. We painted, cleaned an entire lot that was at least knee-high in growth (bushes, vines, etc.), installed security lights, and rewired for 220v. Each team member became family. There was no squabbling, no picking...it was just like we had been transported back to the States and were at a rally. You have no idea how they blessed our spirits. We took them to church with us in Antigua. We attend a bilingual church where everything is said in English and Spanish, even the songs. The pastor was quite impressed (especially with Roy, who at 6'9", stood at least 4 inches above him) with the group, and has expressed interest in CMA and what it's all about. Our job was to ensure that the team had everything they needed, enough food, and to transport the motorcycles on the presentations. Due to insurance concerns, the bikes weren't ridden to presentations like in years past. With the traffic, and the distance, I think that was a good idea. We didn't want to send anyone home with injuries! Here are a couple of pics of the project day.








And no....Roy wasn't on a ladder! A handy skill when you have tall ceilings!

Coming up....

We are so thankful for those of you who support us, whether it be prayer, financial, or just loving us! We know that God has called us here, and we want to make a difference by reaching people "one heart at a time" here in Guatemala. The holidays will be different, since we won't have our families here with us. We know that we will be fine, and God will carry us through. We have a scout team for MV Canada coming in Thanksgiving night, and then we'll be quiet until January. Then we'll have 2 teams back to back in January, 1 in February, 2 in April and the list goes on. Pray that the rest of the slots fill up for the year.

Prayer requests...
Please pray that our financial support increases, that we stay healthy, that our financial support is enough that we can buy an economical car (gas is $4.50-$4.75/gal), and that we can use our skills to bring Jesus to the people of Guatemala. God Bless you for your prayer support!

Thank you....

Thank you to all our financial partners and prayer partners. Your generosity keeps us here in Guatemala, doing the Lord's work. We greatly appreciate the sacrifice you make to give to our mission. If you are interested in supporting us here at the mission house, please use the information in the "Donate Now!" box.

Asking for prayer....

We are asking for your prayers for the Guatemalan people (and us!) as we endure a 12th day of unrelenting rain. Landslides and road collapses have closed 81 different highways, and there appears to be no end in sight. We have a mechanics team here now, and they are working diligently in the rain to repair the cars that belong to pastors who work with Missionary Ventures. Pray for their health, their safety, and the completion of 27 cars before Friday.

Here is a link that shows a road collapse in progress just about 2 miles from our directors Randy and Brenda Purcells' house.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XxXB5VdMaZI

God Bless you all!

Lisa

The last month...

Mercy! How time flies. We've now been in Guatemala for 10 weeks. It seems like we've lived here a long time (except for the language issues, and we're making good progress!). Our last month has been very busy, and we've had another team come in. This team was from Indianapolis, IN. They belong to Gray Road Baptist Church. They spent a week in various locations doing construction and working at schools to help the children learn about Jesus. They did several dramas and VBS activities with the students. We were so glad to have them here, simply because they were such NICE people! Here are some pics of their week, courtesy of Amy Rigel. Amy is a member of Gray Road, but is here in Guatemala teaching. It was nice for her to catch up with her friends!

The Gray Road team at work

The kids in El Rancho, singing

A drama entitled: "Let the little children come to Me"

The heart drama, done in mime. The drama shows what happens when you give your heart to someone else, and what happens when you give your heart to Jesus.

Sharing the Wordless book. Doing translation is our director, Randy Purcell. He and his wife Brenda are also members of Gray Road, even though they've been here 13 years.

The children listening as a Bible lesson is taught

The heavy rains had made the river rise, and washed out a bridge. Fording the river was the only way to get to Lo de China.

Taken from mid-river. That is a tuk-tuk getting ready to cross.

A mountain road going to Palencia. And people think this is a good road, just very steep!

Everyone had to hike this section. The van couldn't make it with everyone inside. This is definitely typical, and shows why we have an amazing mechanics team here now working on the pastors' vehicles.

The mechanics team is from North Carolina, and their leader has been coming down to Guatemala to serve for 8 years now. They spend several days just diagnosing problems (there are 27 cars to be worked on from the 13th to the 22nd), and then the parts are brought down by the second half of the team. They will be here on Saturday. I've spent a bit of time in the garage, and I've heard lots of things like "wheel bearings need replaced on this one" and "the brakes are shot". These guys are top-notch, and lots of fun to boot. It'll be a great 10 days with them.

The mechanics leave on the 22nd, and the Christian Motorcyclists Assn. Run for the Son team will arrive on Nov. 5th. This very large team (18 at last count) will have the honor of presenting motorcycles to deserving  pastors. What makes them deserving? They are those who have no other transportation, are in a supervisory role overseeing several churches besides their own, and are going to use the motorcycles to spread the Gospel even farther. The money for the motorcycles comes from the Run for the Son, the annual fundraiser that CMA does. CMA takes the money and divides it in this way: 20% goes to Missionary Ventures, who plan to buy 180 motorcycles, 300 bicycles, 18 boats and 7 horses this year; 20% goes to Open Doors Ministry, which is Brother Andrew and the "Bible smugglers" (they take the Gospel into places where the Bible has been banned. Amazing hearts!); 20% goes to the Jesus film, which has been translated into 1121 languages in its original format, 426 languages for the "audiodrama" and 147 languages for the children's version; and the final 40% is spent across the world for motorcycle ministry at rallies and bike gatherings.

If you want to support the efforts here in Guatemala, you may do so by sending a check to Missionary Ventures, PO Box 593550, Orlando, FL 32859 and mark it "preferenced for the ministry of the Rileys in Guatemala" or you may go online to https://www.mvi.org/donations/online-donations and follow the directions.

Que Dios los bendiga en todo lo que haces cada dia.

Lisa

It's POURING--Again!

Holy cow. It's raining hard enough that I can't see across the street. Yes, it's rainy season (not over til October...maybe!) and it rains every day, but usually I can see out, and Bill and I can still have a conversation while it's raining. Not today. The rain sounds like bass drums on our tin roof.

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I've blogged anything. Where has the time gone? Oh...it's gone to maintenance at the mission house, to Spanish lessons (I'm teaching English to the pastor's family in return), to trying to navigate the crazy streets of Guatemala City...

We do have some progress on our visas, that is if we can find someone to take our fingerprints down here. You see, in order to get a resident visa, you have to have a "certified" background check from your residence in the US. That's all well and good, but the Idaho State Police won't do that without fingerprints. So...once we find out where we can do the fingerprints, we'll do them, and get them sent back to the States with a team. Mailing from here isn't an option unless you FedEx, and that's really expensive. Then we have to order "certified" copies of our birth certificates and our marriage license. All of that must be sent to the Guatemalan consulate in San Francisco. They will "certify" that all the documents are real, and then send the documents to the Guatemalan Consulate here. Then, we fill out an application, prove our income (it has to be $1,000 a month) and turn that in too. Oh...did I mention that it is almost impossible to do this without a lawyer being involved? So...there goes a huge chunk of money.

We finally have helmets, vests and insurance. Now we can ride the bike (if you can find a time when it isn't raining!) to places close around here. Guatemala City traffic is terrifying. Not only is the traffic moving quickly, no one uses signals, and it's usually bumper to bumper. The riders don't follow many rules here...if the same moves were tried in the States, they'd be run over or locked up. They split lanes (ride between two cars), ride on both shoulders, weave in and out between cars, and generally do what the heck they want to. The bikes usually are 125's or 200's...the KLR650 that the mission has for us to ride is huge compared to the bikes here. You wouldn't believe what they pack on those bikes either, and ride down the highway! I've seen everything from a 40 gal propane tank to chickens in a crate, to eggs (yes, eggs) to 4 people on one bike. Oh...and this man, to get through traffic, was riding on the sidewalk when he couldn't get past the cars. From front to back on the bike were a 4-5 year old girl, Dad, a 2-3 year old girl, and Mom. All on a 125. Dad did have a helmet on...but no one else did.

The law says that in the city, there should be no more than one person on a bike. This keeps (supposedly) bandits from riding up beside you, the passenger jumping off and holding you up while the rider keeps going. The law also says that in reflective tape, stickers, embroidery, you must have your license plate number on your helmet and your vest. So, we had to do that too. No, we didn't put stickers on our leather. They sell little  nylon vests especially for this.

If the rain would stop, we'd go down to the market. I'm learning all the names of things in the store. Then I come home and cook them. Of course, Bill gets to be my guinea pig. :)

Please pray about our financial support. Without it, we don't stay on the field. Thank you to those of you who do support us. We are currently driving the mission house truck (96 Chevy) and gas mileage isn't great. Gas is between $4.50 and $4.75 a gallon here. We're approximately 35km from the city, and about 20km from San Cristobal, the town where we do a lot of our things.

Here's a map of what we drive...nothing like mountain roads...  :)

Isn't that just a lovely road? Now, add in all sorts of traffic, the rain, etc...

I'm not complaining. We love it here. We're settled in, and we're learning new things every day. We pray that the Lord provides us with opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus with all whom we meet.

God Bless Y'all!

Lisa

Guatemala City

This has been a really busy week for us. We've had one mission team here from Idaho since last Wednesday the 10th. They left yesterday at 4 am...MERCY! It was a lot of fun, though, visiting with people from Idaho. I got a real sense of how they felt out on the mission field, even if they were only there 5 days. I think the poverty really affected the two teens in the group. Some of the team had been here before, so they were a bit more prepared.

The Canadian team came back from the field on Monday night. There were 11 of them, so all of a sudden we had 18 mission people to care for and pay attention to. (Yes, I know I ended that sentence with a preposition. It just didn't sound correct any other way!) They left in two waves yesterday morning.

Here's a pic of our first team, the one from Idaho.

On Monday morning, Bill and I were up at "O'dark thirty" as our director would say. Actually, it was 5:15 and we were gone by 6. We had an appointment in the city at 7 am, and we had to stop and pick up Randy (our director) first. It was interesting to see how early Guatemalans get up and get busy. The road didn't have too much traffic because it was a holiday of some kind. Something about Guatemala City's history, Randy said.  At any rate, we went to this huge Bible College called SETECA. I can't remember what Randy said it stood for now. We picked up Luis and his son. Luis was taking us to meet several pastors that might be candidates for the motorcycles that CMA gives away each year. CMA donates 20% of their only fundraiser to Missionary Ventures. Part of that money is used across the MVI network to provide transportation of different kinds to pastors so that they may better reach the people they serve.

Here are some pictures of Guatemala City. I'll tell you now, these are only a few of the pics, and I won't post any with recognizable people because that's just not fair to the Guatemalans.

The pics are pretty self-explanatory. This country is very poor, except for those who are into illegal issues and those who have made their fortune outside Guatemala and moved here. We're here to try to make a difference for these people.

Yes, I know there are those in need in the US too. I get that. But God didn't call us to be missionaries in the US, He called us to Guatemala. Here we are, and here we'll stay until He tells us to do something different. We covet your prayers, and we would ask that you consider being a financial partner for us. Pray, and listen. God will tell you what to do.

God Bless Y'all!

Lisa