So here I am, month 4 of the Race, in Guatemala. Now some of you may be thinking, “Wait, what happened to Honduras?” No, I did not skip Honduras, but let me assure you that Christmastime in Honduras is just as jam-packed as it is in the States. So forgive me for not updating you on ministry while I was in Honduras, but ministry was both wonderful and busy. But if you want to know more about my month in December, just email me and I’d love to update you! ([email protected])
My team, along with another team (Soul Sisters), arrived in Chichicastenango, Guatemala about a week ago. I can’t even fully describe to you some of the joy I’ve experienced since being here. And I want to use this blog to share with you the ministry we’re doing this month and about our ministry hosts. This month we are working with Juan and Evelyn (pictured below), who started a ministry here called Nueva Generación.
Since we first arrived here in Chichicastenango and heard Juan and Evelyn’s heart for the Lord and their dreams for their ministry, most of us knew that this month would consist a lot of simply blessing our ministry hosts. Sure, we always want to bless the people are working alongside of, but some days Juan has asked us to just pray for him or to help him brainstorm ideas for ministry. And it is a joy for us to do so, in part because Juan has one of the biggest, most humble hearts I have ever seen.
Today during our church service, which consisted simply of both of our teams and Juan, Juan shared his heart and his story with us. Since only being here one week, I can already see how my faith has grown simply being around Juan and hearing his story. With that said, I want to share parts of Juan’s testimony with you, in hopes that it might strengthen your faith as well.
Juan is the youngest of 10 children and was born here in the small town of Chichicastenango. Juan shares that at a young age he went to live with one of his family members and also lived partially on the streets as a little boy. He says that he never questioned why, but he assumes he didn’t live with his parents because they simply did not have the resources to care for him. When Juan was a young teenager, at the advice of some friends, he made the journey to the U.S. He ended up in Los Angeles, where he had some friends already living. Juan says that he knew nothing about what was expected of him, that he would have to work once he arrived, or even really why he moved to the U.S. But eventually Juan enrolled in school and got a job, with the guidance of his friends.
The rest of Juan’s story leaves me in awe of his faith and the Lord’s presence in his life. After several years in L.A, Juan moved to Seattle and started working there. However, he shares that he eventually lost everything and ended up homeless on the streets of Seattle. At this time, Juan did not know the Lord. This began what Juan describes as the most difficult 6 months of his life, and Juan tried to take his own life multiple times during this time.
After a lot of hopelessness and nights where all he wanted was something to eat but had nothing, Juan moved to Minneapolis. At some point, Juan began to read the Bible and found the Lord through doing this. Juan says that his mother always told him about God and the importance of prayer, but that he never knew God as someone he could trust, who loved him, and with whom he could have a deep relationship. Juan continued to experience many trials, but decided to try praying to God and began to take small steps of faith. And the Lord showed up in Juan’s life in powerful ways. If I wrote down every way God has showed up in Juan’s life, this blog would probably be 10 pages long. But I’ll give a few examples:
When Juan decided to leave Seattle for a fresh start, he remembered the name of one man who he had met in Minnesota. Juan doesn’t even remember how he got this man’s number, but when Juan called this man, the man told him that he and his wife had been praying for years for God to send them someone to live with them. They told Juan that they believed that man was Juan. And they wanted to help him.
Once in Minneapolis, Juan got a job but didn’t have a car. But that didn’t keep him from walking 4 HOURS each way to work. Nevertheless, Juan eventually decided he needed a car. So he started praying for one. One day Juan saw a car for sale for only $800. When Juan showed up at the house to look at the car, he realized it was really $8,000, which was money he did not have. However, when the owner of the car stepped out of her house and saw Juan, she said that the Lord told her to give Juan the car for free. The Lord loves to give good gifts to his children.
After several years of life and ministry in Minneapolis, the Lord told Juan that it was time to leave, although Juan admits the last thing he wanted to do was leave the United States. But Juan wanted to be obedient, so he followed the Lord to El Salvador to plant a church. Juan says that in El Salvador, part of his ministry was to reach out to gang members, who at one point had threatened his life. But that didn’t stop Juan from ministering to them, and today, those same gang members run the church Juan started.
Juan also never thought he would marry. But while in El Salvador, Juan met his wife Evelyn. Evelyn left her job as a police officer to move with Juan back to Guatemala, where they felt the Lord calling them to do ministry. On the way to Guatemala, their car exploded and they lost everything they had. How were they to know if this was God telling them to not go to Guatemala or if it was the Enemy trying to deter them from following the Lord’s will? They decided it was just another test, and continued on to start their ministry in the same town Juan grew up in.
Once married, doctors told Juan and Evelyn they could not have children. But Juan felt that the Lord had more for them. So they prayed…and gave birth to their son who they named Isaac, because God always keeps his promises.
Currently, Juan’s faith in the Lord is one of the strongest of anyone I’ve ever met. Juan and his wife do not make any income, but they trust in the Lord to provide for them every month. And believe it or not, He always does. Juan and Evelyn pray and pray with expectancy. They love to reach out to the police officers and children in the school. Juan uses his gift of speaking English to bless those in the community by teaching them. He builds relationships with police officers because he knows what an incredible impact they can have on the community, and even more so if they know the Lord. Juan wants his church to be a blessing to his community. Whether that is a hot cup of coffee to a tired, working man who needs a rest, or a place for children to come do their homework.
Since being on the Race, one of my favorite parts is getting to know our ministry hosts around the world. Watching someone like Juan who wakes up in the morning and depends solely on the Lord to provide for every need for his family, rather than depending on a church, a group of missionaries, or a steady job, and then to see the Lord actually provide in really cool ways, makes me want the same for my life.
For the next two weeks, we will continue to work with Juan and Evelyn in ministering to the local police officers as well a teaching English and Bible lessons in the school. As always, thanks for your continued prayers and support. I look forward to continuing to update you on how I see the Lord moving and hearing about what He is doing in your life too. 
-Marisa
