We boarded the jet bound for Guatemala on January 21st, leaving the freezing cold, blowing snow in KC. Within a matter of hours, we said goodbye to our winter coats and replaced them with shorts on our way to Central America specifically Guatemala. This was how our two-week mission trip started!
Our first stop was Fray, a larger town in the jungle area where we were to meet with the jungle pastors at their first Pastor’s Conference. We had lunch with the association leader and observed they had done an excellent job of uniting these scattered preachers. At this point, the jungle is unique because in most all cases the pastor is the one who started the church.
I spoke with a pastor I first visited 11 years ago and he’s still pastoring that same church! We both recalled our first meeting with great joy. One of the major issues with the jungle pastors is isolation. They deal with the same issues pastors everywhere face. When difficulties arise in the ministry, they need support like Moses when he needed Arron and Hur to hold up his arms. Support is the key for working through problems and making good decisions. Being alone invites discouragement and the loss of confidence. That was one of the issues we addressed when speaking to them.
Another major breakthrough they experienced was when Cesar addressed the pastors concerns that there weren’t enough unchurched people in their area. Using a simple mathematical formula, Cesar revealed that there are three times as many people in the community who are unchurched than those already attending a church. I feel they fully grasped the illustration and that it will greatly impact their ministry!
~ Pastor Ray Gurney
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