Dear prayer partners in Christ,
The beautiful season of May has begun. How is May where you live? Here in Guatemala, it’s like a mist that silently permeates a quiet space. It’s like the river that we see here, which is always flowing with new water, but we often don’t see that it’s flowing. Likewise, we are already in the month of May, and we did not even recognize that it was here. Time moves by so fast.
The Guatemalan government has introduced a four-color marking system (red, orange, yellow, blue) to indicate the levels of our COVID-19 situation in the various districts. Red is the most dangerous and results in greater restrictions. Curfew times and social distancing are strongly enforced. The next level is orange. Red and orange are both very serious, so we are told, for example, that you have to self-medicate at home in case of a coronavirus infection. In the case of yellow, the business activities are still restricted, but it is possible to do more, and emergency patients can be taken to a hospital if needed. And finally, there is blue, where you take normal precautions. Currently, all of Guatemala’s regions are dominated by red and orange, and many of those orange areas are changing to red.
Vaccination is currently underway, with the government announcing that more than half of the population will be vaccinated by June next year (2022), but it is not clear. In this situation, we must minimize face-to-face contact, and do our best to safely share the Word and encourage faith in as many ways as we can. As believers, our personal ministry is very precious. We are grateful that the practice of our little faith, in our daily lives, can be a step toward experiencing greater things through His grace.
“And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to me. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.”(Matthew 14:17-21)
Zion Middle School
Sharing the Bible through language classes (Korean, English) of 3rd graders is going well. In each 40-minute class, Bible reading takes really only a few minutes, but we believe our God will work in the hearts of those who read His Word. We can easily judge things from the perspective of the world, but this little practice we see with the eyes of faith, believing that God will keep this little seed growing into a big tree in our students’ lives. More than 30 students meet online on Wednesdays and Fridays. Please remember them in your prayers.
On Tuesday morning, we have English classes for the graduates. This class is conducted without time restrictions according to the school class, so it lasts for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Because of this, we have more time to share the Word. Considering the situation of these graduates and their different class schedules, the number of students who could join was limited. Currently only five students are studying together. Please pray for God’s blessings of growing in the knowledge of God.
With various restrictions because of the coronavirus, it is difficult to visit Patzicia. Recently road construction on the way to Patzicia began, and so traffic control is also underway. It is said that the road work will be completed within two months, but it seems that it rarely works as planned, so it will probably take more than six months! Would you please pray for safety and smooth traffic while driving under these conditions?
Family News
Our son Joshua is busy working as an intern and writing his thesis. Our prayers are for God’s grace to sustain him, so he completes his assignment and will be able to start a good job when he is done. There are several coronavirus confirmed cases in his dormitory. Still, we thank God that Joshua is safe. Let us keep praying for His protection.
We pray that our daily little acts of faith will lead each one of us to experience a great miracle of God’s presence in our life.
In His endless love,
Caleb and Debra