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.