Fulfilling the Great Commission

"And he said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.'" - Mark 16:15 (The Great Commission)

We are the Operation Jabez family. We attend different churches here in Guatemala, but we all come together to serve the Lord and to fulfill the Great Commission. This week, God opened up a new door of opportunity to take the message of Jesus Christ to another region of Guatemala!

Balmory, who is a friend and has been a driver for visiting teams, wanted to bless our ministry and offered to take us on a free trip. We had the option to take a fun trip (explore, vacation, tour, etc.), but our volunteers came together and decided to do a mission trip. We wanted to serve Jesus together and seek the Lord together in a new place!

So, we got connected to Kathy Roberts who is a missionary in areas near Antigua, and she was a dear friend of Carol Gleeson (our founder). As we began to plan, we were concerned about the trip because we did not want to go with empty hands. We wanted to be a blessing to people in any way that we could. As you know, our God is our Source and Provider! Little by little the Lord began to bless us and provide tools for ministry...

Last week we were talking with our missionary friends from Canada, Grant and Carol Lamb, and they gave us cereal and Gleaners food. Then, another friend, Anthony van Eagen (Fe Viva) had some shoes, Nelson and Melissa (Fe Viva) gave us 20 bags of groceries (oatmeal, oil, rice, sugar, beans, pasta, etc.). Somebody else gave Irsa Spanish tracks (tratados). Next, Pastor Mark from Kingdom Connections International sent us clothes for the community of San Antonio. However, about half of the box of clothes were clothes for cold weather... As some of you may know, the climate in San Antonio is very hot year-round. The Lord was providing more clothes for the mission trip to Antigua (which has as cooler climate)!

Today we arrived for this great missions trip! Total, there were 15 people on the mission team, including our 3 girls. At 1:00pm, we went to a community called El Gorrion. We visited door to door, we gave a bag of groceries to every home, and we prayed for anyone who was sick. Some of the mothers received Jesus Christ in their homes! Praise God!

At one point, we were giving out sweaters when Balmory began to play a few childrens worship songs from the van (Yo Tengo Un Gran Dios and Si Tuvieras Fe). Suddenly, about 100 kids plus their mothers appeared! We gave candy to the kids and clothes to the little ones and the mothers. I shared the Gospel according to the colors (black = sin, red = blood of Jesus, etc.) and several kids received the Lord! God is so awesome!

At the end of the day, we ate dinner together. Kathy our Missionary friend and connection in Anitgua joined us. We spent time in prayer together and shared our hearts. We are so happy! What an amazing day God has given us today to serve Him and make Him famous here in Guatemala! We cannot wait to join Him in more tomorrow, if the Lord wills. 

Continue to keep us in your prayers and stay connected for the next update from our Missions Trip!

- Olga Esquite (Operation Jabez Team, Guatemala)