Today we
get to start a new ministry. We will be
working with Carol and Forest in a ministry called servents for Him. They have been in Guatemala for around five
years now trying to improve the quality of lives here in Guatemala. They have three primary focus in their
ministry.
Making water filters
Making clean wood burning stoves
Teaching health classes
Servents
for Him focuses their ministry on ¨Good
deed evangalism¨ This means that they perform good deeds to give them an
oportunity to share the gospel with the famlies.
Water Filters
Water
sanitation is non’existent here. The
number one cause of sickness in Guatemala is bad water. Almost every water source in Guatemala is
contaminated and causes sickness. The
problem is so bad that the locals actually think that having diareah is a
normal occurance. They believe having
solid stool means that they are sick. So
when we give them clean water they become well. This is a great illustration of our lives with and without Jesus. With Jesus we have health and feel better…
but without Him we are sick and not getting the fullness of life.
Wood Burning Stoves
The local
Myan culture is very old school. The
people still live in huts, kill there food, and cook it over an open flame. The problem is the open flame that they cook
on is in the middle of their huts. The
huts are black on the inside and full of smoke all the time! The people have breathing problems and seeing
problems because of the over exposure to smoke. We get to make stoves that have a chimney and
burn the wood much slower. There is also
a deforestation problem which leads to landslides. The forest are being cut down for firewood
not industrial uses. Through this we can
show two photos to the Myan people one of them with smoke in their houses and
one with the new stove installed with out smoke. Again, this is an illustration of thier lives
with and without Jesus Christ.
Health Classes
Carrol
teaches health classes as well. The
people here use the restroom anywhere. We
actually saw a man taking a pee in the middle of the road yesterday. People are not informed on how bacteria and
diseases are transmitted. We get to
teach them to cover their water, to boil the water, and to use the filters we
are giving them. They truly have no
concept of personal health and communial health. It is truly sad, but education is a key to
changing the culture here.
We are
going today to begin this mimistry. I
will post photos later of the actual construction of these filters. They have a mold that the concrete is poured into. The mold cost $600 and each filter is only $25. For $25 we can make a filter that will create
pure water. This is a natural filter
that is much like an aquifer. The filter
never goes bad if the people actually maintain it by adding only one gallon a
day. It is truly amazing!
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