The other night we invited Paul, our ministry contact this month, over to our house for dinner. He’s been in missions work for over ten years and we were excited to hear more about his life and experience.
Paul grew up in Pensacola, FL. For ten years he worked for Mercy Ships. Mercy Ships is a ministry organization that transports medical staff and medical equipment to the mission field. They carry hundreds of missionaries on board their large ships and all the supplies to support them. They port in Africa and East Asia and bring medical care to the people there in need. Paul told us that three quarters of the world’s population is reachable from water where a ship can port.
Paul did three different jobs for Mercy Ships over the ten years he was working with them. We got to hear his heart for the ministry and it was apparent that Paul is the type of team player that any leader would want on his team. He is willing to do whatever job necessary to help get the job done. Paul has a servant’s heart.
While with Mercy Ships, Paul had once ported in Guatemala and fell in love with the area. A little more than two years ago he decided to move here.
He first tried to buy a Christian camp. He worked with someone who was helping him to navigate the Guatemalan banks and politics while he was still in the States. By the time Paul reached Guatemala however, he was out $300,000, the bank had never given him a deed or any purchase records, and his “friend” who had helped him was $30,000 richer. He was a bit discouraged and, understandably, is still a little hurt.
When Paul had worked in Guatemala before he had become good friends with a Pastor who was running a radio station. Since Paul had been gone the Pastor had been called to another city and had turned the management of the radio station over to his son. The Pastor’s son was ill-equipped for the task and was taken advantage of by some friends. Consequently, the radio station was in shambles and in need of a new manager and some direction.
Paul took on the task. With much hard work and the Lord’s provision, Paul and a group of friends that he cultivated here in Puerto Barrios brought the radio back to an operating standard. They have since committed to be more than simply a radio station. Paul challenged his group of young men to be a ministry to the area here. They receive multiple short-term missions teams each year and truly have a heart for the community.
Paul talked with us for a few hours, but he was the most excited when he was able to talk about the men with whom he works. He is supporting several of them as they finish high school and talks about wanting to get a few of them started in Discipleship Training School (with Youth With a Mission – a worldwide missions organization). He talks about how he wishes his Spanish was better so he could teach them about spiritual warfare, because so much of the setbacks they face with the radio are blatant spiritual attack.
As passionate as Paul is about his ministry work in Puerto Barrios, it was still painfully apparent that we were able to be a huge blessing to him simply by listening to his stories and conversing with him in Spanish. We are realizing more and more how hard it is to be a long-term missionary in a culture that is not your own. None of Paul’s close friends in Guatemala speak English. He lives where he works and he often feels like he is fighting an uphill battle.
As Paul left I told him that he had been a huge blessing to us. I’m learning that’s one of the best ways to encourage a missionary. Paul lives to bless the nations and he wants nothing more than to serve others. Our fellowship was a mutual blessing and a great window into the work God has been planning and executing in Puerto Barrios years.
