Sacrifice
Sacrifice is defined as “an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy.”Sacrifice involves putting something or someone else higher than your self. In your own lives I’m sure that you have made sacrifices for your family, your children, or for yourself.
If you don’t already know last month my new team (Team Sista Fierce) had Unsung Hero month. Instead of working with one ministry for the entire month, we have been able to travel the country looking for new ministries for Adventures in Missions to partner with within Guatemala. What we did was prayed and ask the Lord where should we go, and each time He showed up!
Quetzaltenango (Xela)
After our first week in Antigua the Lord called us to Quetzaltenango (Xela), Guatemala. None of the ministries contacted us back, but the Lord was definitely calling us there. Our last day there, we decided to go to church. We walked to the church and found out the one we planned to go to was closed for the day. We walked back to the main road and found another church. Although we were an hour early, we made it. We were going to church. Right before the service started we noticed the only non-Guatemalan in the place, but we didn’t pay him any more attention than that.
After service he came up to our group and introduced himself as Chris Campbell, and he was part of innerCHANGE ministries. InnerChange was one of the ministries that a few of my teammates were really excited about and wanted to meet with so when the Lord provided us the opportunity on our last day to know more we couldn’t say no.
Divine Appointments
InnerCHANGE started in Xela, Guatemala when German and Karl Avila decided to do a 40-day exploration in the summer of 2005, which is pretty standard when your thinking about starting a ministry in a different country. However, German was looking for a ministry to work with local gangs and getting them off the street and turning their hearts to the Lord. However, what he found was that there we no gangs in Xela. On day 38 of the exploration, what German did find was a number of children living in an abandoned building. German knew that what he was supposed to do was work with was the children.
The first few months working with the youth was challenging. They were used to being invisible and they wouldn’t even look at German. It made it hard to build relationships with the kids because the barriers that they had put. However, German didn’t care he was going to be persistent. German signed up a number of the boys that he met for a soccer tournament. It was at the soccer tournament that German had his first bible study with the kids.
German and Karla, along with Julio & Melanie Avila now minister to many types of people on the streets including shoeshine boys, children who sell candy, incarcerated women, and immigrants. They provide ministry support to local ministries in Xela. They combine work, ministry, relationship with God, and family. Teaching kids the importance of these critical values. German has 3 of his own kids, but he also has two boys who were part of the original boys he ministered to when he started in Xela. The two boys are now examples for the other boys in the program. One is going to college for pre-law and the other for business administration. Its safe to say that InnerCHANGE is doing great things in Xela.
Challenge: Find Your Sacrifice
German made a major sacrifice when he moved his family to Xela. He lost the comfort of America and the life that his family had known there. However, he sacrificed the plans he had for his life for God’s will. How many of us can actually say that we have done that? I know I am currently sacrificing a year of my life to do the Lord’s will, but that’s only one year out of 26. How many of us are willing to get up and follow the Lord to the ends of the earth, no matter what it looks like? I challenge you today to find your sacrifice.
Please visit innerCHANGE Guatemala for more information. You can also donate,partner, or go on a trip with innerCHANGE through the website.
