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Guatemala
Byron E. Benitez & Hawatthia "Hi" Jones
Guatemala Mission Work
Kingsley Terrace Church of Christ
2031 E. 30th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46218
Mission: Guatemala
1st 2004 Newsletter from Guatemala
Byron E. Benitez and Hawatthia “Hi” Jones
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18
Monday, February 2, 2004
Dear Supporters, Family and Friends,
May the God of mercy shower upon you His infinite blessings. We hope and pray that you and your loved ones are doing well.
We are thankful to Him that we are enjoying good health (if you don’t count the few extra pounds we put on while in the US).
We enjoyed the time that we had to spend with so many of you. The gratitude we feel toward the kindness you extended to us cannot be expressed with words. Unfortunately, we could not spend all of the time that we wanted to with each of you, but we are thankful for each moment that God gave us, with some of you a little longer than others. Thank you for opening your homes, your hearts and your willingness to help our work here in Guatemala.
Permanent Residence Visa
The process itself of obtaining our permanent visas seems to have become permanent! We put in our paperwork in mid-2002, and as of yet, we have not received a “yes” or a “no.” The last message we received from the gentleman working the details is that he was given an appointment on February 10 (of this year, thankfully) to get some type of answer (notice the generality).
We are not sweating this process too much, though. We can stay in the country as long as we want until they give us some type of answer. The headache is trying to leave. Last year, Byron got delayed because they would not let him leave until he paid a fine. It’s a long story we won’t get into.
Anyway, what we have decided to do is leave the country every 3 months even though we do not TECHNICALLY have to because it is less trouble to do it this way. Continue to keep this in your prayers.
United States/Europe/United States
The first congregation that we visited on this trip to give our end of the year report was the Magnolia Center church of Christ in Riverside, CA, monthly supporters to the work. They had asked us to speak at their Mission Sunday, which was scheduled for the last Sunday of October. We were glad to see many of the old faces that we had not seen in a while. Hawatthia served on staff with this congregation at one time and Byron was baptized there.
We then flew to CO, maintaining a similar schedule to last year’s, flying, driving, preaching, teaching and giving the presentation on the work in Guatemala for 2003. This year, however, we were able to prepare a PowerPoint Presentation since most of the congregations now have presentation projectors. While based out of CO, we gave our reports to eight congregations, 2 in Wyoming and 6 in CO. During this time period, Byron also made a trip to St. Louis, MO, while Hi visited Oklahoma City and Howe, TX.
Leaving the Rockies, we flew to Germany to work with the 40th Annual Churches of Christ Retreat normally held in Chiemsee, Germany, but this past year moved to Garmisch, Germany. Those who traveled with us were: Wesley Walker, Vincent Grossi, and Jeremy and Rebecca Korodaj. All of them had an active part in the teaching program.
Prior to the retreat we drove to Vienna, Austria and visited Murray and Dorothea Czeczotka, who work with E.E.M (Eastern European Missions). We were impressed not only with the facilities, but also with the work that this ministry is doing. Byron and Jeremy even had the opportunity to help with the packing of some Russian Bibles. Thank you Murray and Dorothea for your kind hospitality and for the time you took to share your ministry with us.
The retreat began on Saturday, November 22nd. The facilities this year were smaller and in a different location, so we were expecting a smaller crowd. However, we still had about 150, which is about as many as this hotel could handle for a conference. The hotel was German and it gave a different sense to the retreat, but we think most “retreaters” still prefer the American military facilities.
We really enjoyed teaching on the theme this year, “God’s Family, the Church.” It is heart breaking, but many in our brotherhood are actually mocking many of the biblical teachings about this important subject, especially when it relates to the distinctiveness and uniqueness of the church of Christ. We hope that we made some small contribution to help bring us back to what God says about the beautiful bride of Jesus.
As we mentioned in last year’s newsletter, this family retreat is held for members of the church who are living in Europe. Most of these brethren are either affiliated with the military or are missionaries residing in the European Theatre. Our primary work each year is with the teens with whom we are always impressed. They are, for the most part, very interested in learning more of the Word and how it applies to their lives.
This past year we did something we had not done in many years, we had Thanksgiving dinner in the U.S. For many years we had been coming home after this holiday. It was good to be able to be in the U.S. for this holiday unique to our country. It was good to be able to give thanks to God, to be grateful for what we have, and to spend time with fellow Christians.
The last Saturday of November took us to Indianapolis, IN, to visit with our overseeing congregation, the Kingsley Terrace church of Christ. What made this visit more special was the fact that Anibal and Fanny Ramirez, with their two daughters, Sarai and Cynthia, were able to be there, also. Anibal is the local evangelist at the Linda Vista church of Christ in Guatemala with whom we work. We must express a special THANKS to Lesha Colglazier, Marian Leslie and Vonda Granger. These ladies entertained the Ramirez Family for several hours until we arrived. And, no, they do not speak Spanish. And, no, the Ramirez Family does not speak English. Now you understand why we are so thankful to these ladies!
The Kingsley Terrace church hosted a special Sunday for the Ramirez Family and really impressed them greatly. Anibal still speaks of the beautiful singing that he heard there like he has never heard before. We all enjoyed the special program that some of the children put together after the potluck, showing what they had learned about Guatemala and missionary travels. Thank you family at Kingsley Terrace for your constant support and love for us and the work.
From Indiana, God blessed us with safe travels back to California. The Inglewood church of Christ invited us back to conduct the 2nd Annual Bi-lingual Gospel Meeting, Sunday through Friday. Their goal is to reach both English and Spanish-speaking cultures with the universal and saving message of Jesus. Our theme this year was “Back to the Bible.” We are happy to report that there was one baptism, a young woman who came from the community. She learned about the meeting because of a flyer that was handed to her by one of the members when several of them canvassed the area. We have been asked to preach again next year.
From this point, the schedule really gets a little complicated. Actually, it’s been a little complicated trying to keep up with where all we’ve been. After the Gospel Meeting Friday night, Byron took a 1:30 a.m. flight headed to Lubbock. He then drove to Clovis, NM. Hi, on the other hand, was able to get a good night’s rest. He visited congregations in CA and did not fly out until the following Tuesday. However, Hi also had to fly out at 1:30 a.m., so don’t feel too sorry for Byron.
Our travels then took us for our first visit to TN to do a couple of presentations, one in McMinnville and one in Hohenwald. Byron then returned to CA, while Hi went to Liberty, MO. We both met up again in Los Angeles just prior to the holidays. We picked up Byron’s mother, Aralee, and spent Christmas with his sister, Judy, who became a Christian last year. New Year’s Day was spent in TN with Hi’s family. Up to this point we had been doing well in watching what we ate and maintaining our weight. Last year the brethren in Guatemala said we came back “gordos” (fat), so we were not about to let that happen again this year, or so we thought. Once we tasted some of Hi’s mother’s cooking, it was over. We gained some weight, but thankfully not enough to receive the welcome greeting of “gordos” by the brethren here in Guatemala.
While in TN, Byron came down with something (he thinks it was a sinus infection) that affected his throat. As a result, we had to cancel his visit with the Blackwater Macedonia congregation in Alabama, and had to switch some things around so that he would only give the presentation one time that Sunday. We apologize to the congregations who were affected by these changes, but we appreciate your understanding and willingness to work with us.
The close of our travels took us back to CA. However, this time it was northern CA. We arrived in Sacramento, drove down to Modesto and spent good fellowship time with Mike and Rut Crowley and the rest of the Davis Park. We then drove further south to Merced and visited with the brothers there. Afterward, we drove further south to Los Angeles (stopping for a few hours to say hello to Byron’s sister Judy again on our way past there).
We were thankful to be able to visit one more family and the congregation with whom they work prior to our returning to Guatemala. Marty and Mistie Browne were gracious enough to host the Ramirez Family and us in Anderson, TX as we were concluding our annual trip to the U.S. Thank you. We really enjoyed our visit with you and with the brothers at Anderson.
One more note. We made a last minute trip to Denver, CO to empty out a storage container that has been costing us each month for the last three years. The Bryant Family was gracious enough to let us store most of our things in their home and to give away, sell or throw away the rest. Thank you Jon, Sharon, Shawn and Kayla.
As you can see, if you can still see straight after reading all of that, we were on the move quite a bit. It was nice to be able to come back to Guatemala and to begin the work the Lord has for us here in 2004. We always are disappointed that we cannot visit everyone, but we are always so encouraged by the visits we do get to make and we look forward to seeing those we did not get to see this past trip.
Linda Vista
Each year that we make our trip to the U.S. we wonder how things will be in Guatemala when we return. This year, however, brought more anticipation because Anibal Ramirez and his family traveled with us on the plane to the U.S. Anibal was invited to speak at the Pan American Lectures held in Dallas this year. This meant that the church in Linda Vista was without a full-time preacher and their two missionaries for many weeks.
We tried to prepare the congregation for this but in a sense unknowingly. Last year, we worked hard at training more men to take leadership roles and to be more active in all of he affairs of the church. We did this because it is only right that the church should mature. Also, the ladies program was begun again, as we reported previously, and more teachers were trained for some badly needed classes (a new Christian’s class and a youth class). All of this was done not realizing that the big test would come at the end of the year. You see, we did not find out that Anibal and Fanny were going to be gone during the same time that we were until October, the same month we all left. This made many of the members very nervous and some brothers even protested the idea.
Thanks be to God, however, that the congregation took our admonishment well. We encouraged the brothers and sisters to continue in the work that we had been doing all year. We expressed our confidence in their abilities (though they did not have a lot of confidence, at first). We reminded them that the same Jesus whom we had been serving together was the same Jesus they would be serving while we were away. And finally, we stressed to them that the greatest expression of appreciation and the greatest satisfaction that we could have after another year of teaching, preaching, visiting, encouraging, rebuking, etc., was to see the congregation continue to flourish without us.
We have to admit that we were still nervous. We did not know how the congregation would do with the three of us gone. In the past, when we left and Anibal stayed behind, things would still not go very well and we would have to start over in many respects.
We are overjoyed to report that the church of Christ in Linda Vista did not just hold their own. They flourished and grew. While we were gone the men stepped up and took the responsibilities of preaching, teaching, coordinating the Tuesday night prayer sessions, met regularly, made good decisions, evangelized and baptized people! The ladies did not stay behind in any sense. They were right there with the brothers encouraging them, teaching the children, coordinating benevolence outreach, visiting hospitals and much more. What a beautiful thing it is to see God’s family here working as it should, and without us!!!
While we were gone, the church had 2 restorations and 2 baptisms. They were sharing their faith with their families and friends, offering correspondence courses, and visiting the weak and burdened. In addition, the steps to the front of the building were completed and a door was repaired. This may seem trivial to some, but it is very uplifting and rewarding to missionaries who are making every effort to mature the church and get the members to be independent (that is, not to depend on outside support or on someone else always telling them what to do). It was wonderful to see they had taken the initiative to do the work God has given us. It makes you say “Thank you!!!” to God.
We will be sending updates giving you more specifics about these restorations and baptisms so you can pray for them by name. Also, we have had three more baptisms since we have returned. Praise God!
We are looking forward to what God has for us in 2004. The brethren seem excited and eager to work. They want to grow numerically and spiritually. Many of you plan to visit this year and we know it will be a time of great blessing for you and for us.
We also thank each person who has committed to support the BECA PROGRAM; the program that we are initiating this year in order to sponsor so many children that need and want an education but who, without your help, likely will not get it. We are working diligently on the details of the program and will be contacting those who either verbally told us they wanted to sponsor a child at $30 per month or who have already sent funds. If you are interested in this, please send your funds to our overseeing congregation with a note or card stating it is for “The Children’s School Fund.” You may mail it to:
Kingsley Terrace church of Christ
Attention: Dwayne Himes/Children’s School Fund
2031 E. 30th St.
Indianapolis, IN 46218
Also, if you write us an e-mail letting us know that you are sending or have sent funds, it will help us to more quickly assign the child and get the funds advanced to him or her.
We are confident that this program will be one of great value not only to the individual families, but also to the church. These young people will be the preachers, teachers, leaders and faithful members of the Lord’s church in the future and we want to give our Lord and His church the best that we can.
Jicamapa
The work in Jicamapa will be experiencing some changes this year. We have shared with you how difficult this work has become in previous reports. We have prayed about it and we have studied the situation and we feel that the best thing to do is to move the work to the largest town of the department of Chiquimula, called Chiquimula also, about a 30-minute bus-ride from Jicamapa. This will give Cesar Gordillo, the evangelist working in this area, greater opportunities to build up the church without having to fight the gossip and other evil influences of the family that brought us to Jicamapa in the first place.
Also, the few Christians in Jicamapa will be able to go to Chiquimula without too much difficulty, allowing them a place to worship and to grow.
We will begin making contacts in Chiquimula through Bible correspondence courses, which are still of interest to many in Guatemala. We believe this is the best thing for the Christians in Jicamapa, for Cesar, and for the church in general. Please pray for this work and be listening as we report its progress.
Well, as much as you hate to quit reading, we must bring our 1st report of the year to a close. We ask that you pray that God will fill us with wisdom and the courage we need to build up the church here and to stay “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” We love you and pray God’s richest blessings on you in 2004.
Con amor,
Hawatthia
Byron
“Teaching the CENTRAL MESSAGE in CENTRAL AMERICA!”
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