Our main AIM contacts in Guatemala gave us freedom to do ministry almost wherever we wanted in Guatemala. So, our team prayed about it. Amanda had been here before and worked with a man named, Felix, in Puerto San Jose. She explained to us a little about his ministry that he brings kids from the street into his house and loves them and disciples them. It resonated in all our hearts and we felt that God confirmed this direction. So, on Saturday, we packed up in Antigua and set out for a two tour bus ride on a “chicken bus” to Puerto San Jose. It was quite the cozy ride as I was squished into a seat with two other people and someone leaning on me as they stood in the aisle. Our bags were strapped to the top and prayed they would not fall off as we took those mountainous corners at a rapid speed. We arrived in San Jose and were met by Felix.
Felix is a 22-year-old Guatemalan who started a ministry called “Abdeel” which means “God´s servant.” Felix grew up on the streets of Guatemala and Los Angeles. He was involved with gangs, drugs, and crime at a very young age, but gave his life to Lord in his late teenage years. He explained that what brought Him into a relationship with the Lord was his own father. His own father continued to pray for him, continued to pick him up from the street when he was drunk or high, continued to love him no matter what he did or how bad he messed up. His father continued to love him no matter what the circumstances.
Now, Felix´ ministry is loving kids from the street and being a father figure to many. Felix brings kids from the street to live with him. He calls them “his kids.” He doesn´t just go out and love them, he brings them in. He disciples them. He challenges them. He gets them involved in ministry and evangelism. This man has a HUGE heart for these kids and the city of San Jose. When he was telling us about his ministry and stories of these kids, it brought tears to my eyes many times. My faith has been increased by his faith, by his passion, and by his heart. One night, we stayed up late just talking to him for hours about spiritual warfare and other things. I enjoyed just soaking up his wisdom and experience!
Felix explained to us that right now the kids are not living with him and he had to put the ministry on hold. At first, I was kind of bummed. I had heard about the faith of these kids and all that they had done and wanted to meet them, but I have learned that God had different plans for us. Felix had a vision of one day owning a place for the kids to stay that was big enough for them. One of his kids told him about a place for sale about 20 minutes from the city that would be perfect, but it was going to cost $1,000,000. He immediately put it out of his mind, but this kid continued to bug him about it and he finally went to check it out. It was exactly what he wanted, but he knew he could never pay for it. He prayed for it and many things happened during that time, but he ended up buying the place for $275,000. I wish I could tell you the whole story, but I can´t remember all the details. It is AMAZING how God worked, because he shouldn´t have been able to get the place by himself.
We arrived on Saturday and he was planning to move to the new property on Tuesday. So, we began painting the new place. We have been painting straight for the last few days. There are six of us plus some Guatemalans that have been working hard for four days and still have lots to do. Felix was going to try to do this all by himself. He has said many times that we have been a blessing from the Lord because we came at the perfect time. We have learned that helping Felix get this place ready for ministry is doing more than we could ever do if we were talking to the kids or helping in the ministries here. They are the best at what they do and if we can come along side them and help them prepare for ministry, then we have a part in that too.
Getting ready for our first day of painting!
We´re planning to be here until at least, Tuesday and are asking God what he has next for us. Please join us in prayer as we listen for God´s direction.
Taking a break for some fresh coconut. yum! yum!
Paint, paint, paint!
