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
