Greetings from Antigua! The warm weather is here soon to be followed by 6 months of rain so I am enjoying all the sunshine I can get. We are presently hosting a YWAM team from Chico, CA who have come to Guatemala for the final 2 months of their Discipleship Training School. They have ministered in a variety of places and have been a blessing to everyone. Yesterday we visited a feeding program run by a church about an hour from the base. They feed 46 kids two days each week and have a Bible program for them before they serve the meal. Many of the children are from single parent homes in which the father has either abandoned them or died. The team ministered to the children through songs, stories and dramas. Afterward we play soccer with the boys: Gringos vs Guatemaltecos. The field was on the side of a hill which made for an interesting and challenging game. The boys thoroughly enjoyed playing against us. I hope we will be able to bring more teams there in the future and provide help for them as they reach out to the needy children of the community. The team will be leaving for Lake Atitlan on Saturday for a week of ministry with a couple of churches in San Pablo.
Semana Santa, Holy Week, brought in a lot of people to the city. We passed out tracks and did evangelism during the week with several people making decisions to follow Christ. During this week the people are very open to hearing the gospel message. We celebrated Easter with a sunrise service at the Cross on the hill overlooking Antigua. We had about 50 people join us as we worshipped the Risen Savior. This service has been ongoing for at least 8 years and is one of those memorable events for the tourists and students who are in Antigua for a short term.
We are looking forward to new staff joining us soon as well as some volunteer help for the summer months. June and July have typically been our busiest months of the year and it is nice to have the extra help when we need it. We have fewer teams scheduled to come to Antigua to work with us this summer which can be attributed to the economic crisis most of the world is experiencing. The rental agreement for Higher Grounds Coffee House will expire at the end of October. The future of the shop is unknown at the present time and I ask for your prayers for guidance and direction. The proposed rent increase is beyond our ability and desire to pay each month so we are looking at other options.
During May we will be conducting a one day seminar on prayer for a large group of women and pastors in the Lake Atitlan area. We will be conducting sessions for the women, children and pastors. We also will be hosting a seminar at the Coffee House on personal support raising for missionaries. We have a guest speaker who has worked with YWAM for 30 years and raised 7 children on the mission field. He has a lot of good information to share with the missionary community as they face the challenges of living by faith.
We continue to get inquiries about our September DTS. I will be meeting with several pastors to solicit their help in selecting Guatemalan students who will participate in the 5 month program. This will be a great opportunity for them but will also be a challenge for them being away from family and being around people of different cultures. Please pray that we will be able to recruit the right students and be able to help them with the expenses of the school.
I will be going back to India May 26-June 16 to help with Evangelistic Crusades and Pastor's conferences. I am looking forward to the trip and am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the ministry to the world's second most populated country. During my last trip God did amazing things to make Himself real to the people and demonstrate His love for them. I plan to visit a YWAM base in Chennai when I arrive to explore opportunities to bring student there for outreach. I ask for your prayers for this trip, that God will provide everything I need both financially, physically and spiritually to minister to the people.
A local missionary has developed a website to help missionaries raise funds throught the purchase of Guatemalan coffee. The coffee is grown in Antigua and is high quality. You can purchase the coffee via the internet and have it shipped to your door. Each pound of coffee sells for $10 plus shipping costs which are calculated when you make the purchase. The missionary will receive $4 of each purchase. The website for my personal support is:http://www.hishousecoffee.com/ywam-bruce-ahlberg.php
The website gives information about the ministry I am involved in and there is a short video interview. Whether you contribute through the coffee purchase or through your sacrificial giving I am very grateful to receive your prayers and support. Many mission agencies are reporting greatly reduced support for their missionaries but so far I have only had a couple of supporters that have had to reduce the contributions. Thank you for your continued partnership in the ministry.
For Him,
Bruce
Correspondence Address:
Bruce Ahlberg
YWAM Antigua
6ta Av. Norte #33
Antigua, Guatemala
Contribution address:
YWAM Chico
15850 Richardson Springs Road
Chico, CA 95973
(Please attach a note to designate your contribution)
Personal blog: http://guatemalaministry.blogspot.com/
YWAM Antigua Blog: http://ywamantiguanews.blogspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment