Maria recently had the opportunity to teach a business class at the organization Love Guatemala for one week. She had about 20 students and the class seemed to help immensely. One of the women, who sells cakes, said she realized through taking the class that she sold her products for less than what it costs to make!
Scholarship Program
This is the first year of a WIND scholarship program. I spent most of my time in my trip to Cotzal in January preparing for the initiation of this program. We have four students (3 of whom are HOREB graduates) attending the 7th grade at the middle school founded by Agros. They have classes for 5 hours in the morning, followed by a 2 hour workshop after lunch. We are excited about the opportunity these kids are receiving.
HOREB
The Christian elementary school that WIND supports, Colegio HOREB, has ballooned to 149 students for 2015. They began Kindergarten last year with under 20 students, but this year they have all three levels with a total of 47 students. This year HOREB, which currently rents a facility, is hoping to buy land to build their own school.
Team Preparation
We have three teams coming in these next few months that we have been preparing for.
Selah Covenant church will be coming in 2 weeks. They will be doing nutrition workshops for the mothers of children at HOREB, helping with construction at the school, and also doing community projects in the village of Cajixay.
A team of dentists from Medical Teams International will be coming in March, giving some much needed dental work to villagers around the Ixil area.
Also, a high school team from Westminster Chapel will be coming in April to serve at the HOREB school, supporting the teachers in the classrooms and installing stoves in homes in the afternoons.
Immigration
We are currently in the process of immigrating to the U.S. and we hope to move in June. Thank you to all that have supported and continue to support our work here. Please keep that transition in your prayers. We will continue to serve here until the process is finished and are excited for what God has in store for us in the future.
This song is my favorite of all time. It touches my soul, awakens the Spirit within me. My mind constantly tries to reason through everything, distracting me from my greater purpose. This song cuts through all the noise, and straight to the heart of my walk. The truth is, I am walking on water, I have no idea what I'm doing or where God is leading me, and at times I feel overwhelmed. That is the essence of faith: believing, trusting, and walking, even when you can't see.
I read through some of the comments this song generated on YouTube. It is obvious this song touches the hearts of many others. Out of these comments, I found some amazing testimonies, which you can read below, verbatim. We live in a world of doubt and skepticism, but testimonies of God and His love abound everywhere if we keep our eyes open and listen.
I'm in tears.. Just 7 days ago. I was at a park, just 1 pull
of the trigger close too ending my own life.. But then a homeless man saw..
Quickly darted to me and screamed NO! I stopped, I set it down, he handed me a
small bible.. And we talked about it and he read me some of his favorite
verses. And he said I should never give up on life, giving up on life is like
giving up on God.. I went home woke up the next morning and I looked up some
gospel music.. Chris Tomlin really helped me and I watched a movie called
Courageous and another called Fireproof.. I am glad to say I have accepted
Jesus as my lord and savior. I am going to church this Sunday to continue my
path with God.. I wish I could tell that homeless man thank you.. I tried
looking for him 4 days after my incident.. I can't find him.. I'm going to
continue and try to find him.. I just want to say tell him how grateful I am
that he took his time to talk to me about it..
I'm breaking down right now as I'm typing this, because I
had a similar experience. As I was ready
to load my Glock 17 to end my pain, walking up those dark lonely stairs back in
the fall of 2004, a male heavenly voice called me, I swear it sounded like my
beloved grandpa who passed away 10 years earlier, to stop! In that short brief
moment, time stopped and I suddenly was reminded to know these truths - that I
am loved, that I am better than this, that life is truly worth living, and that
I'm not alone. The lies I believed were
being replaced with a renewed love and faith for my savior, a renewed soul to
know I am not worthless, that I'm a son of a living King, that I'm loved beyond
anything I can imagine. Do I believe in
guardian angels? I don't think I would
be here today without them. They
probably had to work overtime watching over me in this life I've lived. Thanks
and praise to the one who saves all, even the lowest of low, the downtrodden,
the broken ones, like me. Since 2007, I
have renewed my vows to Jesus, and help other guys to confront their demons, to
submit back to Jesus Christ as their personal friend and savior, and to admit
that it's ok to be human and a bit messed up, because we are still so loved and
blessed, and that His grace is way more than sufficient. His love for us? Deeper then the sea, wider than the 4 corners
of the earth, with everlasting arms. May
His hand continue to work in you and your life brother. You're not alone my friend.
With all your respect,i believe you ,once in my life when i
was 16 committing suicide because of a heartbreak,from a guy i was engaged .I
goinh through strong emotions that took me to depression.At that time my life
just didn't make since to me.At that i was a believer,i used to pray for
everything.I remember i locked myself in the closet crying with anger.Asking
questions,i said where are you! telling God that if i died i wouldn't care if i
went to hell ,and i was expressing how i felt(with pain )I was also saying buy
i was going to comment suicide the next day that nothing was going to stop me,
or change my mind,that i had it planed it and was. i was tired of living pain..
But then he stopped me before that. God had my mom
concern,which to me was awkward at that time,she sent me to her room and had
the radio on a christian station.As i was laying down in the bed crying myself
to sleep until mitnight...Then i wake up and heard a preacher in the radio
saying if there's someone out there tring to commit suicide don't do it!
because God loves you,please don't do it! He has a purpose for you. .But i
still felt bad,so went back to sleep.So i was awaken the second time and the
preacher was like "If you are going to kill yourself please don't do it
God loves you and he has a purpose for you"Don't do this,God wants you to
know he loves you "i was like yeah sure i'm dreaming" went back to
sleep...then the 3rd time my shoulder was shook i felt a hand on my
shoulder.I'm like what???! I look to my left shoulder and i see no one standing
on the side of my bed,i sas nothing but white fog.I heared the radio and the
preacher is worried " "If you are out there trying commit suicide
listen God loves you so much,and you have a purpose to be here.I even looked at
the time it was 3:00am .After that morning i was my pain was transformed,i felt
so much better my mnd set was changed i was like new person i felt different,i
left my moms room and then cleaned my whole room it was so dirty.Then i shared
my testimony in a christian station to testify that God saved my life. If God
had compassion for me i know that he has it for everyone else. He loves us all
the same because we are his creation he tell us in the bible. Much blessing and
prayers to you.
My father Rich (WIND Exec. Director) and I with Francisco Chamay
“God, if you save my leg, I will give my life for you!” That was the prayer that brought Francisco
Chamay to Christ. Since then, Francisco
has struck true to his promise, miraculously walking each week to far out
villages on that same leg that was almost amputated, making disciples for
Christ. In my 30 years of life, it’s
possible that I have never met a man with more faith than this short, humble
Ixil man whom they call “Hermano Chamay.”
I first met him almost 3 years ago at the Bible Institute
that WIND supports. At the time my Spanish
was very poor and I only roughly understood as he spoke of his ministry of
walking to all the villages. I did
conclude, however, that a person that spends the majority of their time walking
to villages, and who pastors only a handful of people at a tiny church, would
likely have financial difficulties. So I
asked him how he had money to live and support his family. His response I did understand and remember to
this day, “Por fé, hermano (by faith, brother).”
I have had two meetings with him over these past two months
at his tiny church, trying to pin down how extensive his ministry actually is,
but he seems to have no interest in numbers.
Discipleship making books made by the Global Church Movement were loaned
to him and he went out and started a 4 book diploma program out of them. Eventually, I was able to gather from him
that this program has 6 teachers and over 200 students spread across at least
10 villages. He informed me that he has
to give the books back by the end of the year while the students are in the
middle of the series. We estimated how much
it would cost to make about 200 copies of the books, estimating it to be a
little over $1000 which might as well be a fortune to the Ixil people. Having no idea how these books would get paid
for, he told me he was leaving in a few days for a “run” of the villages to
tell them the program would continue again in February. I laughed out loud, shaking my head at this
man’s bold faith. He smiled and said “Si,
por fé, hermano.”
He showed me his leg, which is slightly deformed below the
knee. He says God always gives him the
energy he needs to walk and not feel pain.
We talked about faith, how people often wait for money first before
moving to serve God but sometimes God is waiting for us to move first, to show
faith. I had had a conversation just an
hour earlier with another local church leader who said he would love to
evangelize in the villages but that first he would need to have money for gas,
materials, etc. It is human nature to
want to know what will happen or know we can succeed before we set out but sometimes
God is waiting for us to simply obey him and boldly dive into the unknown,
trusting that He will provide for us. Francisco
gets excited with this topic for he has seen personally how God always provides
exactly what is needed for him to complete His will. “Por fé, hermano.”
I ended my visit with a walk to his home (or as he calls it
his “ranch.”) As I expected, the house
was small and impoverished. A little 4
year old girl greeted me and I asked if it was his granddaughter. “No, she is an orphan that we are caring for.” HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD. Francisco, with no guaranteed income to
support his own family or ministry, still has enough to support this little
orphan girl as well.
POR FÉ, HERMANO
The world may not know who this small man is, living in a tiny
house in the remote mountains of Guatemala, but in the Kingdom of Heaven, I
know we will see Hermano Chamay as one of God’s mighty warriors of faith, who
walked on a miraculously healed leg to all the villages that surrounded him, giving his
life for the sake of making disciples for Christ.
“God planted a seed in your heart through your studies at the HOREB school and as you go out into the world, be like a salmon that swims against the current.” These were the words of Pedro Elias, the vice president of the Board at the HOREB Elementary School, speaking to their 4th graduating class. Maria and I were privileged to watch as all eight of the 6th graders received their diplomas.
Eylin
I have gotten to know these kids, visited most in their homes, and served as their English teacher off and on for the last three years. They are a really bright group and eager to learn. Keep these students in your prayers, that God would comfort them in troubled times, lead them on the right path, and that He would use their lives in mighty ways for His kingdom.
It was nice to see moms and families involved...
Abigail with her mom
Eylin with her family
Mayerly with her mom
The girls
Alejandro, first in his class, receives his diploma
My pose with the graduates...
Top from left: Abigail, Adilia, Jordan, Mayerly, Eylin
Botton from left: Manael, Dionicio, Teddy, Alejandro
During our last visit to Cotzal, we were able to meet with these four students in their homes. I have personally taught all of these children off and on for these last three school years. All four will graduate 6th grade this year from the HOREB school without resources to continue on in Middle School. If you wish to sponsor one of these children for the 2015 school year, the estimated costs for all their expenses is about $50 per month. If you wish to support one of these students in their future studies, email us at jordanrrice@gmail.com.
Mayerly has studied at the HOREB school for all six years of her education. She is one of four siblings who recently has dealt with the loss of her father who died from alcoholism. She wants to continue studying at a Christian school in one of the nearby towns if given the opportunity. We interviewed her while she was attending to her family's little store, their main source of income.
Dioniciois a bright kid who is near the top of his class at the HOREB school and is always the first to contribute in class discussions. His favorite subject is English and has the best pronunciation of all the children I taught at HOREB. He wants to be a judge when he grows up.
Abigail is a sweet girl who works hard in her studies and has studied all six years at HOREB. She wants to be a teacher when she grows up. Through my experiences watching her teach some of the younger children, I can tell she is going to be a great one! She is the middle of three sisters.
Manael is the middle child of many siblings and he loves to sing. After not being able to attend HOREB his 5th grade year because of low finances, he received a scholarship for his final 6th grade year. In this video, he and his mom explain why he attends the HOREB school. We did not directly interview Manael and hope to get a better interview when we return in October.
The Christian elementary school that WIND supports, Colegio HOREB, has ballooned to 149 students for 2015. They began Kindergarten last year with under 20 students, but this year they have all three levels with a total of 47 students. This year HOREB, which currently rents a facility, is hoping to buy land to build their own school. 
