April 2013 prayer letter

THE NICODEMUS PROJECT, GUATEMALA CITY

APRIL 2013

As you read this prayer letter the Holy Week-Easter season will be finishing up.  Guatemalan offices will be open again on Monday, employees will return to work after a nice break, buses will once again begin service, traffic will return to Guatemala City and the city will once again be a busy place.  Engadi Ministries published a prayer request which is applicable and pertinent year round in Guatemala.   Engadi Ministries said: While many people Engadi ministers to call themselves Christians, it is the religious rituals and traditions in which they place their hope. Pray that people would come to the saving knowledge that no religion can save us, but rather only the pure and holy blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Pray that as we share Christ with people, false hopes would be destroyed as people turn to place their hope in Jesus.

Monday, April 1: Thank you for your prayers last month for the goodbye for the Plylers and Carol.  It was a sweet time of fellowship, encouragement, and of course good food.  Pray for the Plyers as they fly out today and pray for Carol as she leaves on Thursday.  Pray for both families as they are both flying with pets and lots of luggage.

Tuesday, April 2:  Happy Belated Birthday Richard Cook!  Richard celebrated his birthday on March 20.  "For Richard is God's masterpiece. He created him anew in Christ Jesus, so Richard can do the good things, He planned for him long ago." (Ephesians 2:10, NLT)

Wednesday, April 3: Please continue to pray for Nathan and Claudia Hardeman and their developing ministry at Engadi Refuge and Ranch.  A court order shut down all construction at the Antigua site because of lies told to the City Council.  Soon after that the president of the Council was arrested for extortion.  When a judge and other members of the Council visited the site for a hearing, they discovered that none of the accusations were true.  They are requiring him to get an environmental study done, but that was the only requirement they put on him before allowing the construction to resume.  Pray that this will be done quickly and that they will be able to get back on track.  Continue to pray for them as they return to the US today to work on Claudia's citizenship and to solidify their Board of Directors for the ministry and support base.

Thursday, April 4: George's brother Mike and wife Suzanne will be visiting the Hardemans during Easter week.  They plan to go to Antigua to see the beautiful floral carpets that are elaborated for the huge floats carrying images representing Christ carrying his cross, Mary with her heart pierced by the sword (Luke 2:35), etc.  Antigua will be packed with people participating in the parades on Friday with many staying up most of the night on Thursday to prepare the carpets that will be destroyed as the parade passes over them.  While the symbolism can be very moving and meaningful, to us the atmosphere is oppressive as so many do not understand and accept the true meaning of this event.  Many depend on their participation, for which they must pay for the right to carry the float for a block or so, to get them more years out of Purgatory rather than trusting in God's grace that comes through faith.  Pray that the light of His truth will shine in the hearts of the people here.

Friday, April 5:Noemi Macumber will be speaking today at the seminary to a group of ladies who are interested in pursuing Christian Education at the seminary. Also, she will be speaking on May 6th at the WMU Mother's Day celebration in the capital.  Pray for God to give her an encouraging word to share with these ladies.

Saturday, April 6:  Elvin and Jacqueline began a Bible study for the youth in their neighborhood last month.  The first week there were eight youth including their three children.  Pray that this group will grow and that many youth will come to know the Lord and share Him with their family and friends through this study.  Also the team who was here from Canada were able to have a Sunday afternoon fun time with the youth group.  It was a good time of playing soccer, fellowship, and sharing God’s love.

Sunday, April 7: It will be mid-April before the Monday group finishes the Fruit of the Spirit study.  They have loved the topic and really gone deeper into the study of Scripture as Sharon leads each week.  Pray for the Spirit's guidance for Helen as she prepares to lead the new study series after Sharon finishes this one.

Monday, April 8: Thank you for your prayer support for Kaila's and Josiah Macumber’s HACIA debate participation.  They were able to offer resolutions to the problems of drug trafficking and youth violence in Colombia and Children's Malnutrition in El Salvador.  They had a valuable experience, made friends, and are inspired for next year's HACIA debate work.

Tuesday, April 9:  The Wednesday night group is continuing in Psalms.  Sharon Cook is leading them in a new step in growth by teaching them to research a section of scripture themselves answering some key questions so they will learn how to have a meaningful devotional time.  Pray that the group members will grow in this area.

Wednesday, April 10:  Happy Birthday Ellis Leagans!  Ellis and Judy Leagans are actively looking for employment in the US to supplement their retirement after June 1.  They appreciate your prayer support in this process.  Ellis is especially looking for

bi-lingual opportunities.  They also appreciate you prayer support as they determine where to live and how to become involved in active ministry programs, hopefully involving Spanish.

Thursday, April 11: George Hardeman and Ellis Leagans were in San Salvador, El Salvador, March 12, to complete the process of the transfer of the El Salvador Baptist Bookstore from the IMB to Salvadoran Baptists.  We rejoice at the completion of this transfer process.

Friday, April 12: Pray for Miguel Angel, a man who attends the Villa Lobos Mission.  Hopefully, during the first week of April, he will have his leg amputated; this leg has been a risk for his life as the bone is exposed from a car accident a few years ago.  He is a leader in the making in that Mission, working closely with Sergio, the man in front of the Mission.

Saturday, April 13: Today Carol Wilkinson has two opportunities to share about the mission work in Guatemala.  Pray that she would have the words which God would have her to share and pray that people would be interested in praying for and supporting the missionary work in Guatemala.

Sunday, April 14: Impacto Biblico Baptist Church began their new Sunday school program for adults last month.  Elvin is the teacher and doing a good job.  There are usually around 10-12 in attendance.  Pray that this will continue to grow and be a blessing.

Monday, April 15:  Ana and Helen waited for 45 minutes to see if anyone would show up for the preliminary Crown Financial meeting, but though several had expressed interest, no one came.  Both Marco Antonio and Judith were out of town.  We will wait until after Easter week and try again around the middle of April.  Pray for the Lord to lay it on the hearts of those who need to be there.

Tuesday, April 16:  The women from Impacto had a Thursday afternoon tea last month with 20 women present, 9 of whom were visitors. Noemí Macumber gave a devotional.  Pray that we will be able to continue with this activity and continue inviting friends to come.  Pray that they would have a desire to know more about the Bible and God's salvation.

Wednesday, April 17: Pray for Sharon Cook as she prepares a class with pastor's wives.  She wants to help them with some inexpensive card ideas they can do in their own churches.  Pray that she would have the ideas and resources that she needs.

Thursday, April 18: Even though many of the Nicodemus Team people group attend private school, this is such an important prayer request because of the importance of education in our lives.   As Engadi Ministries prayed: Corruption is tightly intertwined within the core of the educational system in Guatemala. Funds are often embezzled from the top, robbing kids of the necessary resources for learning. Pray for complete reform of the educational system within not only the city, but the entire nation.

Friday, April 19: Thank you for your prayers for the team of youth who came from Canada to work with Carol Wilkinson.  One of the activities that touched the youth the most was a ministry visit to the local public hospital.  Many of the eyes of the youth were opened to needs of others during the visit.  Also, one of the youth with the team shared his testimony for the first time while he was in Guatemala.  Continue to pray for the spiritual growth of the team members.  Praise God for the seeds which were planted during their visit.

Saturday, April 20:  Happy Birthday Sharon Cook! May you enjoy a day filled with your favorite things.  May you have the peace and contentment of many people praying for you.  May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you both now and forevermore.

Sunday, April 21:  Pray for teams that will be coming to work at different ministry sights this summer with the Macumbers.  Pray for God to use them in reaching out to the lost.  Pray for the planning and coordination of the teams.

Monday, April 22: Pray for George as he continues to work on the course on Revelation that he will be teaching at the Baptist Seminary in June.  He is also working on getting work goals for the year finalized and approved both for himself and for the Logistic Coordinators in all of Middle America.  Pray that he will be able to get all this done on time.

Tuesday, April 23:  Praise God for two successful card classes in which Sharon Cook had the opportunity to share with the ladies God's plan for them.  Pray for Richard Cook and his leadership at the Baptist Seminary. 

Wednesday, April 24:  Fredy and Lidia traveled to San Cristobal, Alta Verapaz last month to support and encourage the work among the Pocomchi people.  Jeff and Karen Thomas, the missionaries there, are on furlough.  Our church has made a goal of sending someone to visit and support Alfredo and Pedrina, the pastor and his wife, with visitation and any other way possible once a month.  It was a blessing for both couples.  Fredy and Lidia came back very excited about the opportunity to serve in this way.  Pray that the church will remain faithful in this commitment.

Thursday, April 25:  Pray for Jeff Macumber as he works in transferring properties to the Convention and selling properties for the Mission.

Friday, April 26: George traveled to San Salvador last month to pass the last IMB property there, which is a bookstore, over to the Salvador Baptist Convention.  Praise God with us that this went smoothly.  That should be his last responsibility in El Salvador.  Pray for him as he tries to get the last properties in Belize and Nicaragua sold.  They are both in problem areas which has made their sale more difficult, but in Belize the main problem is getting all the legal paper work in order.  Pray that this will all be resolved soon.

Saturday, April 27:  Pray for Manuel and Siomara and their leadership at Impacto Biblico Church.  Pray for the activities and ideas which the church members would like to participate in.  Pray for Manuel as he stays busy being a bi vocational pastor.  Pray for contacts and relationships which Siomara is making in Samuel’s preschool. 

Sunday, April 28:  Helen has been in contact with a minister to students at Auburn University about the possibility of bringing down a group of students for the month of July to study English on the University Del Valle campus.  If this is the Lord's will, pray with us as we seek adequate housing and work out all the details.  Pray that they would have a tremendous impact for Christ on that campus.

Monday, April 29:  Pray for the Macumber children as they finish the year of school.  Pray that they will finish strong and be ready to minister this summer with teams. Pray for Kaila as she will be going to take care of Noemi's mother one month during the summer, pray that she will be strong as she sees how her grandmother's health has declined.

Tuesday, April 30:  One of the mission trip team members from Canada gave a good summary of traffic in Guatemala.  He said, “stopsigns are suggestions.  Traffic never stops, you just keep merging and merging.  Stops are a roll and go.”  Friday afternoons are usually one of the heaviest traffic times in Guatemala City and Sundays are usually the lightest traffic times.  Pray today for the Nicodemus Team members as they travel throughout the city and throughout Guatemala.

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