So Long, San Pablo

Today was a good day; one of those bitter-sweet experiences.

 

We finished our ministry work in San Pablo. It turned out to be a really good week in this village. As I understand things, after talking with Randy for some time tonight…

• We were the first group (Working with Randy and the ministry here in Belize) to venture into this village. This was the maiden voyage into this village to do ministry work.
• The church that is being planted is called New Jerusalem. So far, there have been discussions with some of the church leaders, but until just recently, there has been no formal commitments or relationship. We had a chance this week to meet the church leaders and some of the village leaders.
• This village is virtually unreached, except for a handful of believers there does not appear to be much of a functioning church. Best guess is that 60 to 70 people identify with the Catholic, Baptist or New Jerusalem Fellowship. It is unclear when the Catholic and Baptist churches meet. They have a building, but there is no evidence of regular meetings in these congregations. The New Jerusalem fellowship seems to have 20-25 people who are committed to reaching the village of San Pablo.
• These men and women who love the Lord, have begun the process but are lacking leadership, support, training and resources.

There was something significant that happened in the last two days. I am not sure that I can tell you all of the details, but it is that “God is up to something” feeling that you get when God is up to something. There were some connections made that surprised us…they even surprised the missionary! Each of our students was able to make connections with different children in the village. For the last two days, we spent hours in relationship building. As our students walked the village meeting and inviting kids and parents and people and pets to come and hear a story about Jesus, they were able to share their own stories about Jesus. I heard our students talking about the difference that Jesus had made in their own lives. They were asking spiritual questions that lead to more in depth conversations about the Lord. We talked a lot about being “born again.”

 

For me, the young man was Eduardo. He is 14 years old. He and I connected. He walked with me through his whole village. He showed my the water falls, his house, the animals, and taught me about his language and culture. Today we talked about his relationship with the Lord. He has had some teaching. He knows about Jesus. He says he loves God, but does not know Jesus as his savior. It was a good talk. I pray that the Lord will continue to work on Eduardo and that he will accept Jesus.

 

Today when we left, it was tough. We had developed and cultivated relationships in just a couple of days. ALL of our students worked very hard. I was so impressed by their willingness to be used by God. I cannot express in words how proud I am of the team that has been here this week. Everyone of them served with their whole hearts!

 

Before we left, we passed out “sweets” and said goodbye. We took some pictures, gave hugs and high-fives. I slipped Eduardo an extra piece of candy. Then we boarded the bus and left San Pablo.

 

We are scheduled to be in a different village next week. Please pray for the children and families of San Pablo.