We basically have become full time food distributors. We purchase the food, divide the food, pass out food, repeat. Nothing glorious about it and yet we know it is essential right now. It is Thursday night and we have already given out 165 bags of food this week.
Just a few weeks ago we were praying that God would provide the finances for one week of food bags. People gave and God blessed. We have given out food bags for 5 weeks to our families at Colegio JET along with helping other ministries, the widowed, and the elderly.
Guatemala has a system in which a family displays a white flag as a sign of needing food. This works well if your house is located in a community with people wiling and able to help or if your house is located in the central part of town. However, we have chosen to work with pastors, teachers, and other missionaries to serve the families who are not seen. The families who may simply be waving “white flags” but no one can see them.
We are honored to be able to help a near-by ministry who provides medical care to malnourished babies. The ministry is able to provide the necessary formula for the babies, and we are able to bless the family with some much needed food. Over the past week, the missionaries have sent some quick updates:
“This food is going to families that need it. Just yesterday a widow with 5 little kids picked up one of the bags. They live so far into a finca no one knows a house is even there.”
“This is a huge answer to prayer for us. We’d love to keep providing the moms food every couple weeks – most of the dads are out of work. The food we just gave out was amazing. . . One dad starting crying in relief.”
How are things in Guatemala? Right now, the curfew is from 6:00pm-4:00am. Masks are mandatory when in public. Certain streets spray your car with a chemical before entering. Some communities spray your cars and check your temperatures. I have been to the store several times and there is inconsistency in the procedures–so who knows. In my opinion, the streets continue to be very crowded.
How are we doing as a family? We have stayed busy by doing a lot of things on the mountains. There’s enough work on the mountain to keep us busy for awhile. The mission house has been de-cluttered once again. We have organized and cleaned all of the areas at school that were placed on the “when we have time” list. Today, Soy told me I would eventually run out of things to organize and clean.
My girls have remained on the mountain since March 13th. This past Tuesday, I took them through the drive-thru at Burger King as a celebration. What were we celebrating? Nothing! They all wore their mask while riding in the car. Sydney said, “Wow! Everyone is wearing these things!” I felt like they had not seen civilization in years. We ordered Burger King and then parked our car on the side of the road to enjoy the meal.
Please continue to pray for the families in Guatemala. We believe the Guatemalan people are going to feel the impact of the lock-downs for a long time. Pray we continue to be the hands and feet of Jesus! Thank you for being part of meeting their needs!
Shining Light Abroad Ministries 