discipleship groups

Last night was the kick-off for the new year with our respective men's and senorita's groups.
 We invited all of them together to share some hotdogs and fixins, then separated for the evening.  Niel started with games from "Minute to win it", which the guys loved, then talked about the steps of a Christian life.  10 guys committed once again to meet once a week with a partner for prayer, Bible study, and accountability! Encouraging men here to be vulnerable with each other is a very long process, but we are praying that the Holy Spirit will use these guys to spread that enthusiasm to the rest.

The girls from the youth group meet at our house about once every 5-6 weeks for a Bible study and usually some kind of craft.  Last night our study title was how the Christian life is like a race.  One of the girls volunteered to model all kinds of extra clothing representing sin in our life that we need to throw off if we want to run the "race" well (I wish I had a picture of that).  After the study, two of our women taught the girls how to make earrings.  They really enjoyed that!

All in all, we trust that God was glorified in the evening and our "hermanos in Cristo" were encouraged in their walk with Christ!

Vacation Bible School

VBS!  We invited some students from the Biblical SEminary in Chimaltenango and Guatemala City to come and help us since we have no pastor at this time.  They were awesome and great examples to the teenage helpers from our own church.

The theme of the week was "Cambio de Rumbo" which means Change of Course, which spoke to unbelievers and believers alike. On Thurs. the story was of Phillip and the Ethiopian where Phillip tells him the story of Jesus and he responds by trusting Christ as Savior.  So, that day, we emphasized the need for salvation and gave the kids an opportunity to trust Christ. These are the kids who responded to our invitation.  We are praying that some of these 60 kids were sincere in their desire and will continue to grow.  We got all their addresses and hope to visit all of their families in the next 3 months.   We gave each of them a wordless book bracelet to help them remember

 

 their decision.  We spent some time with this group explaining what salvation means.

Can't forget snack time!

 Our 9-11 yr. olds made pinatas.  They were very excited and many showed some great creativity!  The large group was divided into 5 groups.  Each group had the task to paint their pinatas with the theme of one of the Bible stories.

 

 Usually each VBS has a small "store" where the kids can buy small snacks, but each day one of the groups from the church also gives a substantial snack.  So this year we decided to give the kids an alternative to put their money.  We made a styrofoam church bank and encouraged them to give their small change to a missionary.  Made about $15 to send to a Guatemalan family who are serving in Spain.  Not a lot, but it's a start of getting them to think about missions.  We also had a mission story every day.

What a great week!  Started with 150 and had 200 by the end of the week.   

 

Making pinatas!  Very messy, but extremely gratifying.

 These were our 3-5 yr. olds.  In the space of 10 X 20 feet, there were 45 little ones.  We had one teacher and 3 helpers for this group, which we really needed!  But as you can see, they had a wonderful time!

 

All in all, it was a wonderful week and we praise our Father in heaven for the opportunity to  minister to so many children in the community and plant seeds of the gospel in their hearts. Thanks to everyone who donated crafts and finances to help with this year's VBS!

Finding room for so many kids in our small sanctuary was a challenge.