My Trip to Guatemala
By John Briglia
Doug Springer had invited me previously to join him in Guatemala to help out with God’s ministry work and I had not taken him up on that. But this time I felt that I should take the opportunity and join him. I was happy to be warmly received by our hosts, Cesar Arreaga, and Gudy Apen, seminary professor, in whose home we stayed at the Seminario Biblico Guatemalteco in the city of Chimaltenango.
The work that we were doing at the seminary was providing improved quality of the recording facilities. This was done with the installation of sound attenuation foam on the ceiling, additional studio lighting, and an overall upgrade to the look of the studio.
I was very impressed with the vision that Doug had for the studio and how he brought it about. It was completed with a backdrop of the Jerusalem Western Wall.
This is one of two studios from where the teaching of the word of God goes out into the world – for seminary students’ accredited courses and for non-seminary students’ courses, and soon through radio broadcast to other countries around the world. I was blessed to be a small part in all of that.
We enjoyed Cesar’s hospitality as we were invited to be with his family for gatherings around their kitchen table. We had most of our meals with the seminary students in the cafeteria.
They were friendly, curious about us, and engaging as some of them talked with us to practice the little English they knew. There were young children in uniform who attended the Christian school that was also part of the seminary. I loved seeing the young children playing and waving to us as we passed each other.
Doug and I took time each day to walk around downtown Chimaltenango – the central park, the market and various stores and shops – and enjoyed the sights and sounds of people and families. Guatemalans are friendly and hard-working people, and many are people of faith. The thing that stood out is that Guatemala is a poor country and they don’t have the same conveniences and comforts that we have in Canada. Many cannot afford cars, so motorcycles are their mode of transportation, with sometimes up to five on a bike, usually without helmets. Others ride the inexpensive “chicken buses.” They are North American school buses that are fancied up with chrome and colorful lights and provide transportation in and out of the city.
Seeing this gave me a fresh perspective on life, something I was glad to have. I am reminded to give thanks for all that God has given me, and to value and love my family. What a blessing it was to take this one-week trip with Doug and see the seminary and meet some of the people that CMRC supports.
Thanks for taking me along Doug!
Congregational Pentecostal Church “Fuente de Salvación”.
Pastor Geobani Proenza Sánchez.
My wife: Irunis Bartumeu Linares.
My Daughter: Ana Esther Proenza Bartumeu.
The peace of our Lord, and our Savior Jesus Christ be with you and all the family of faith.
By the grace and mercy of God, we are pastoring in Santa Clara City, Villa Clara, Cuba. When we arrived, there was no place to live, just a “solar” (a type of tenement building) wall with no roof.
We started taking care of an old man. Our principal objective was to start the ministry here. Four years later, God gave us brother Oziel Barrios and his lovely wife Maria Elena Anido.
We thought that the church was growing too slowly. Oziel and Maria Elena gave us the vision of a children’s ministry around this community. Oziel and Maria Elena introduced us to pastor Doug Springer. We are blessed that they are supporting our missionary work today.
We are working in this city and two other places. One is located in Sagua y Linea, and the second is in Guamajal prison. At the beginning of this work, we had eight people and no children. Today, we are pastoring 76 adults and serving 111 children. We have a house and a sanctuary where we join together to praise the Lord. We thank our God because we have many people helping us here to serve the Lord.
I want to take this opportunity to testify that we remain steadfast, hands to the plow, doing a serious job and intense work with the church and the community.
Thank you for this opportunity to express my gratitude to Pastor Douglas and all CMRC collaborators who, with such love and faithfulness, reach out to us monthly through Maria Elena Anido and Brother Ignacio
We always thank God for you in our prayers. Just remember: your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
We pray that God will spread His blessing every day in your life and ministry.
Prayer Requests
- Pray for Anna, who’s husband Joshua passed away recently.
- Pray for Karen as she leads the young women’s program in Iquitos, Peru. Pray for her wisdom in mentoring the young woman.
- Pray for Michel in Cuba as he takes over, from Joshua, sending support to the pastors.
- Pray for CMRC as we work through the summer.
