Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Photos from Guatemala

Lily, Diane, Glynis, Kathy and Carol

Kim and Carol during Semana Santa in Antigua.

McWrap Americano, it was very good.   Hashbrowns, eggs, bacon and sausage.

Carol and friends

Carol at the zoo.


Carol and Lucilla

Carol and group of friends

Carol and Noemi at Paseo Cayala

Guatemalan flag


Carol and family after arrival in NC.

Carol and Lottie Moon car

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.


To join or leave this prayer list group, please include your name and email address and send your request to prayerlist@multilingualservice.com.

March 2013 prayer letter


THE NICODEMUS PROJECT, GUATEMALA CITY
MARCH 2013

What a great pleasure it was to meet two faithful readers of the prayer letter when I (Carol) was at the Arkansas House last week.  And thank you to those who I have not met yet, you faithfully read and pray for the requests each month!  Thank you!

As I (Carol) write this, I want to tell you a personal testimony of how I was one of “o ye of little faith” as the disciples were in Matthew 8:26.  Last week I received news that I was put on an alternate list for a CPE program of study which I really wanted to get into. I was disappointed.  I started making other plans.  The program leaders had said “we’ll let you know by February 27th if a position comes open”.  I thought that isn’t going to happen.  Usually I have more faith but this time looking back I can say that I didn’t have faith that it would work out.

However, on the 27th, I opened my email and I was so excited.  Why?  Because I had an official letter from NC Baptist Hospital in Winston Salem, NC, inviting me to begin the CPE Chaplains program of study.  I was so excited.  I said thank you God.  It was truly God who worked it all out. I’ll go on STAS (furlough), April 4.  I’ll begin the studies May 28 and they will take about a year and a half.  Then at that time I’ll see where God leads.

Pray that the each one of us on the Nicodemus Team would keep the faith.  Pray that each one of you reading would keep the faith in whatever situation you might be facing.  Pray that we would all be faithful in what God has given us to do.

Friday, March 1: Today the Guatemala Baptist Seminary finishes the first cycle of its on-site 2-week Master's courses.  There were several students from Honduras that joined the program this time.  Pray for safe travels as they return home.  Pray for each student as they now must do their follow-up assignments.  Pray that these studies will help them to be better servants of God, for His glory.

Saturday, March 2:  Today, the Baptist missionaries in Guatemala are having a farewell lunch for Larry and Sarah Plyler and Carol Wilkinson as they return to the US and their next place of ministry.  The Plylers will be leaving behind the Gospel Outreach Project that did prayer walks and scripture distribution in many parts of the country where there was no Baptist work, while connecting with local Baptist churches to do follow-up.  Praise God with us for the many new churches that were started as a result of their efforts and pray that they will be established on a firm biblical base and continue to grow, prosper and reach out to others.  Pray for Carol's disciples that she leaves on the private university campuses and the seeds that she has planted to take root and result in more souls for God's Kingdom.

Sunday, March 3: Pray for Manuel and Siomara and the leaders of Impacto Biblico Church.  Pray that they would have wisdom in decisions and plans they are making.  Pray for each one of the churches represented by the Nicodemus Team members.

Monday, March 4: A meeting has been scheduled for March 5 at Marco Antonio's house (where the Impacto Bíblico Church meets) to see if there is interest in beginning a new Crown study group.  He, Ana and Judith have said that they have friends who are interested in the study.  Pray for the Lord to once again use this as an opening for a new Bible study group.

Tuesday, March 5: Sharon Cook gives thanks for a successful card class with the Wednesday group. On Ash Wednesday, she had a chance to talk about accepting the Lord and the truth about Easter rituals.  It was really a good time.  Pray that the members would come to understand the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and having a personal relationship with Him.

Wednesday, March 6: Nathan and Claudia Hardeman will be in Guatemala this month hosting teams that are helping them with construction of the Engadi Refuge, a ministry for young boys in precarious living situations.  Pray that the building permits, that have been held up in the Antigua City Council, will come through.  Now the neighbors are trying to have their water cut off.  Pray that the Lord would change hearts and open doors so they the work might move forward. Pray for the financial support they need for building materials.  Pray for them as they return to the US and work there on getting Claudia's citizenship and continue forming their Board of Directors for the ministry of people who are passionate and dedicated to seeing their vision carried out.

Thursday, March 7: Thank you for your prayers last month for the Intermissions Conference!  It was a good weekend of fellowship, worship, seeing old friends and making new friends.  It was a time when the participants where encouraged to “Maintain Joy in the Trenches”.

Friday, March 8: Pray for Elvin and Jacqueline as they try to begin a Bible study group in their neighborhood.  Usually, just getting started and getting people to come the first time is the hardest part.  

Saturday, March 9: Last month the Impacto Biblico Church celebrated Pastor's Day and Manuel's birthday.  Pray that he will be encouraged in his ministry and that the Lord will bless him and his family spiritually, emotionally, and financially.  Pray that he would find time to prepare each week to lead the church and take care of his work and other ministry opportunities.  He and Siomara have been trying to visit different families each week, but his time is really stretched thinly.

Sunday, March 10:  Continue to pray for Noemi Macumber’s mom.  She needs to have a portal put in which will make dialysis safer and easier for her.  Pray that it would all work out in God’s timings.  Pray for her mom as she waits to have the portal procedure done.

Monday, March 11: “I think that if they knew Jesus they wouldn’t want to go drinking and partying every weekend.  Drinking is boring.”  This was an observation made by one of the university students.  Pray for the continuing spiritual growth of Roger.  Pray that he would continue to grow in his understanding of having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Pray for him as his classmates invite him out on the weekends for drinking.

Tuesday, March 12: Thank you for your prayers last month. Twelve pastors' wives met on February 16 for fellowship and to pray for and encourage each other.  It was a good beginning and the women were very enthusiastic about the time together and want to continue meeting.  There is a pastors' retreat scheduled in June and the president of the pastors' association has invited the wives to join them and then have some additional time apart.  The women were also encouraged to go back to their areas and try to organize the pastors' wives there in local groups in the meantime.  Pray for these servants of the Lord as they minister with their husbands in many challenging situations.

Wednesday, March 13:  Pray for the discipleship time with the young couple Mario and Kathy that Jeff and Noemi meet with every Wednesday. Pray that they will continue to grow in their obedience to the Lord and find places of service to exercise their gifts within the body.

Thursday, March 14: Ellis and Judy Leagans appreciate your prayer support as they work on plans for the future.  Their IMB retirement date is June 1.

Friday, March 15:  Pray for Josiah and Kaila Macumber as they will be attending a conference in the Dominican Republic March 14 through the 17th.  It is for the Harvard Association Cultivating Inter-American Democracy (HACIA) XIX Summit of the Americas. This is a conference where they will be debating different subjects that pertain to topics that affect the Americas. Kaila will be participating in the Hemispheric Security Committee, and Josiah will be in the Pan-American Health Organization Committee. 

Saturday, March 16:  Today is a Conference for "Ministerio Juvenil Bautista de Guatemala".  A group of Guatemalan Youth Leaders will be doing a conference in Cobán and Noemi will be the Missions Representative for the Conference.  Pray that we will be inspired to share what God wants to teach these young men and women in regards to missions, youth ministry philosophy, the ABC's of youth ministry and leadership character development and relationships. 

Sunday, March 17: After flying all night a team from Canada arrives early this morning to work with Carol Wilkinson.  Pray that they would arrive ready for the week.  Pray for the different activities which they have planned.  This afternoon they are going to have an activity in the neighorhood where the hotel is located which is also the neighborhood where Manuel and Siomara live. 

Monday, March 18:  Please continue to pray for the Monday group as they finish up the Fruit of the Spirit study by the end of March.  Also pray that Kathy, one of the members, will find a way to change her tutoring for Monday night so she can come back to the Monday night group.

Tuesday, March 19: Pray for the work in La Comunidad.  There are leaders that will be starting to take care of that work and their names are Alexander and Wendy.  Pray that the families from the Bible Studies there will see themselves as one body and that the work will flourish there. They are looking for a place to purchase that will be more central to all the families there.  

Wednesday, March 20:  The men from Impacto Biblico have been meeting for breakfast and Bible study once a month.  Now the ladies would like to begin meeting to share and pray together.  Pray for Siomara and others as they try to find the right date and place to kick this off.  Pray that it will be a blessing for the women and bring new women in.

Thursday, March 21: George has been asked to teach in the next cycle of the masters program at the Baptist seminary in June.  Pray with him to know the will of the Lord.  Also, remember him as we works with the logistic coordinators of the various countries to prepare and refine their work plans for this year.

Friday, March 22: Pray for the team and Carol today as they finish up the week.  The team flies out tomorrow.  Pray for the contacts which have been made.  Pray for those who have made decisions to accept Christ. 

Saturday, March 23:  Pray that Gaby and Roger would continue to grow in their spiritual lives.  Pray that even though Carol is leaving soon that they would still get together on a weekly basis.  Pray that they would continue to grow more comfortable in their talking to God throughout the day whether it is when they are in the car, between classes, in the store or wherever they may be.

Sunday, March 24:  The Impacto Biblico Baptist Church will be beginning a Sunday school program for adults and continuing classes for children and adolescents.  Pray for each teacher to prepare well and for each participant to arrive on time eager to learn more about God's word.

Monday, March 25:  Pray for a Ladies Bible Study that Noemi is leading at a new church plant in San Cristobal. They meet every Tuesday.  They are going through Beth Moore's Breaking Free Bible Study.  God is using this Bible Study in the lives of these ladies in amazing ways.  There is a need for a Men's Group and God is touching the heart of  one of the men of that church to start a men's group.  Praise the Lord!  The ladies are also reaching out to their families and wanting to bring the Bible Study to their families.  So, there will be other Studies started hopefully by the middle of March where these ladies will bring the study to others in the community.  

Tuesday, March 26: As usually happens during Holy Week, many people from Guatemala City will travel to the beach or other places throughout Guatemala or outside of Guatemala.  It is a nice week of less traffic in the city.  Pray for the Guatemalans to come to know the power of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Pray that those who know would share the truth with others. 

Wednesday, March 27:  George’s trip to Belize was frustrating.  The paperwork was not ready for his signature because there are several more issues.  The man who originally was helping needs to give a clear report of what he did before, but he avoided George while he was there.  Pray that the real estate agent will be able to finalize the sale of the property.  George is planning to travel to El Salvador this month to finalize the transfer of some property.  Pray for a fruitful trip. 

Thursday, March 28:  Continue to pray for Manuel, Siomara and Samuel. Pray that they would feel the strength of many people praying for them today.

Friday, March 29:  Happy Birthday Kaila Macumber!  May you have a day filled with God’s blessings.  May He bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you both now and forevermore.

Saturday, March 30:  Pray for Carol as she is cleaning out, packing, visiting and enjoying her last days in Guatemala before her April 4th departure. Pray that it would be an enjoyable time for her.  Pray that all the loose ends would come together.

Sunday, March 31: Celebrate the Resurrection on this Easter Sunday! Pray that those who don’t understand the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ will come to know Him today.


To join or leave this prayer list group, please include your name and email address and send your request to prayerlist@multilingualservice.com.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Alabama group

The Alabama team
Happy Birthday! 

Add caption

The grandmother (flower shirt above) and I got in trouble for letting her grandson drink out of the bottle and to drink Pepsi!

Shalom, one of great translators who worked with us all week.
Edu, another great translator who worked with us all week.

Last but not least, Gustavo, another translator who worked with us all week.

I had a great week working with a team from Alabama.  We did VBS activities at Impacto Biblico Church in Guatemala City and we did a lot of other fun things.

Christmas Display





At a hotel I went to the other week they had an incredible Christmas display of a small town.  It was so nice.  The next night I was able to take two groups of friends to see the display.  The one who set up the display was excited to show us.  We kept saying "wow, incredible".  Unfortunately the photos don't reflect all the detail and magnitude of the display.

Burning of the Devil Day

Taking the devil figure to sell.  Many were sold and burned on Friday December 7.

Burning of the Devil in the street.

Fireworks plus burning of the devil
When you burn the devil, you make way for Mary. The tradition of burning the devil began in colonial times. In anticipation of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a day which honors the Virgin Mary, those who could afford it adorned the fronts of their houses with lanterns. The poor, who could not afford such lanterns, would clean out their homes, gathering all their garbage, and
would burn the year’s rubbish in front of their houses – the idea being to burn all of the bad from the previous year and to start anew from the ashes. Over time it was formalized and in addition to individual piles of garbage, communities started to burn effigies of the devil to clear the way for Mary’s feast.

In cities throughout the country, the devil is burned at the stroke of six o’clock in the evening. In La Antigua, head early to the east end of 4a Calle Oriente to secure a spot to view the spectacle. In Ciudad Vieja, one of the former capitals of Guatemala, a devil three stories tall is constructed and burned in the city square!
 
The burning occurs at 6 pm on December 7, you can set your watch by the 6 pm starting time.  
 
 

McDonalds in Antigua


McDonalds in Antigua, Guatemala, is always an enjoyable place to go.  It has a large courtyard area with beautiful views of the volcano.