Good Saturday afternoon, everyone!  About two hours til Bulldog kickoff this sunny Saturday, and Praise God it's on the network we actually get here!  Plus, Sarah, (our daughter), an ardent 'Dawg fan, is here visiting.  We went into the city (Guat City) to do our monthly shopping and to pick her up at the airport.  We stayed with missionary friends in Antigua Thursday night to show her Antigua before coming to Panajachael.  On the way we stopped at the school in Patzun to show her one place we're helping.  They are nearing completion of banos which were severly needed. This is the beginning of "summer vacation" here.

Good news...got word that our digital projector has been repaired and forwarded to CAM, so we're praying that soon someone will be coming to the area from Dallas and bring it into the country for us.  Then we'll be able to continue and expand our ministry in presenting inspirational evangelistgic videos.

Got an anticipated call from our son, Aaron who with Ruth had just been to the O.B. guy for a sonagram..and the baby is doing excellant!  Such a blessing to know.  The excitement builds!  By the way, they are going to have a .....hmmmm...maybe I'd bestg let them share the sex of my grandchild to be!

ESL classes going well...will probably suspend them in a coujple weeks til after Christmas.  So neat....we have challenged the class to learn scripture verses in English, while we learn them in Spanish!  They have REALLY gotten into it, and 17 of our 30 students were able to recite I Cor. 10:31 word perfect!  Also, one of our newer guys recently graduated for a branch of SECTECA, our seminary, and I've been working with him to lead out in our mens group to, hopefully begin next week.  Pray for Oliver in that regard.

We've had a couple of circumstances that could be discouraging, much of it having to do with the way things are here in a third world country.  Diana and I are praying for our Saviour to keep us uplifted through these circumstances and rely solely on Him for our joy.  

Sarah and Diana are exploring the local market this morning, as we are really enjoying her visit.  Will blog again soon...

Pray also for the Vacation Bible School we will be helping with in early December, as we expect over 250 kids, many  from catholic nonevangelized home.  Fantastic oportunity!

Praise to our Soverign Saviour.  niel.  I Cor. 10:31 

 

Good evening, everyone!  It was pointed ou to me that its been awhile since I've updated this page.  Sorry!  Maybe partially because some not so great stuff has occured that I need to report on.

    As beautiful as this place is, Guatemala does have an underbelly we'd really like to ignore.  All the more reason to be here ministering as God leads to make impact at the individual level.  

Diana's sister (see previous blog) was on her way to the airport in Guatemala City via professional shuttle when they were pulled over with 5 other vehicles by a group of professional "banditos" with guns and masks and were fully robbed.  Money, watches, jewlery, cameras, etc.   Noone was hurt..at least physically.  Linda, Di's sister, was able to to help other passengers due to her dependance on our Lord.  We have learned that police sometimes join the "other team" on their days off.  Playing "cops and robbers" is a childrens game in the states...here, it's a vocation.  This on top of Diana's  being pick-pocketed the week before....

We have a run-off election here in November between a couple of guys for President..neither of which are very desireable. One would greatly increase military presence throughout the country, approaching marshal law.  The other has a history of new-age, satanic involvement.  well, at least we don't have Hillary to worry about. 

Been raining alot...sorry we can't refer some of it to Georgia!  Supposed to soon be int the dry season, though.  Once we have a few days looking so we can do some major roofing work.

Pray  for guys interested in doing a men's study I am organizing.  It's classically been a tough sell here, but much needed. 

We continue to be blessed in many ways here, and it is good to know yhou are in God's will in your life and vocation.  Was out jogging this morning while counting the many blessings.  I'll concentrate on relaying those to you nest session.  Thanks for your prayers and support.  niel. 

                                                 

I am Diana's sister and I am just completing a two week stay here in Panajachel. It has been a wonderful experience of the Mayan Guatemalan culture. The people here are very warm and accepting. While here, Diana and I took a boat across the lake and visited the town of Santiago Atitlan. It was a little different Mayan culture. We also visited two schools in nearby towns. Another day trip was to the National Reserve here in Pana and I walked up the mountain and came down on five different zip lines. That was quite an experience to say the least.  I would not have made it up to the first zip line if it weren't for Carlos, my guide. He was a young man and very nice to me. I have also enjoyed shopping and feel I have contributed to the Guatemalan economy. I am bringing home a suitcase full of souvenirs. I am really feeling sad about leaving and am looking forward to coming back.                           -Linda Driesen

Good afternoon, everyone. Here doing e-mails in that I cannot get ANY UGA feeds from radio or anyplace else due to the capacity of the internet hear.  Also, we frequently lose power for a couple hours at a time and that further messes things up.  BUT..the weather is nice!  It has been raining daily in the afternoons, though.  We have enjoyed our duties here, and many of the skills Ecolab taught me have come in real handy.  We have pretty good water softening and filtration systems at our facility which I monitor and upkeep.  We have a 300 foot well that provides water at over 90 degrees due to the local volcanic activity.  There are five volcanoes around the lake we are on (Lake Atitlan), but only two are active.  We have some ministries across the lake in some villages there, and I expect soon to provide some water filters there to help not only the local populace, but also the groups that come in to help continuing rebuilding from Hurricane Stan from a couple years ago.  I am organizing a men’s Bible study with locals we have had opportunity to form relationships with, having just received materials in English and Spanish. 

Some of the above has been a repeat I am sure, but for some of our newer readers...there it is.

Diana's sister is wrapping up a visit, and we expect our daughter Sarah in a couple weeks.  An acquaintance visited two weeks ago we knew from our ELS classes in Georgia, bringing with him a hundred or so CD's he'd make and hoped we could help him sell.  Kinda Christian Mariachi music..(interesting concept)...(Nah...)

That's it for now.  Will update this again soon.  Thanks for tuning in!  Blessings to all!  niel.

P.S. to Eric and Megan....send us a direct e-mail so we can communicat about your requset.  I'm sure we can be of assistance.   (?Wanna buy a CD?)   nthomas@caminternational.org

 

 

 

Good morning, everyone.  It's a beautiful morning in Guatemala, but in a few hours it will start raining again and continue through much of the night.  That's been the pattern the last six weeks.  We are told that it will be this way thru much of October, then it will begin to dry out and wind will pick up.  We ned a couple of dry days to retile half the roof of one of our casitas we bought the materials for.  The other casas roofs are holding up well, praise God.but this one needs help!  I'll soon be able to add "roofing" to my experience list.

I started thinking through the many ways God has used multiples of partners to help us in our ministry here. Example...our projector bulb died, and a partner who was schedueled to come down to do a mission thing at a nearby city orphanage went to the trouble to just days before he left the U.S. to have two lamp assemblies rushed to him to bring to us and have us up and running in under two weeks of the burnout!  What a guy! What a God!  Similar helps have come from MANY of you....and you know who you are!  Our monitary support partners who are so integral conitue to be a blessing as well.  Thanks to you all!

Diana went up to a market in nearby Solala, and in the very crowded conditions was relieved of her wallet and money, including crfedit card and liscense.  It hard to feel "violated"in such a way, and to try to make all the calls  & cancellations needed.  I have thought of giving her a bag full of scorpions or something nasty and going back to the market....

We stopped with Di's sister at the school in Patzun on our way home from Guat City (had to go o some VISA work, do our monthly shopping, and pick her up at the airport) and gave all the kids toothbrushes and paste that she had brought down.   Also, some materials and supplies for the teachers ...allwas much appreciated.  Thanks, Linda!  We will be taking a small group from son Aaron's Greenville school there for the preparation of a longer term helps committment with educational materials, building groups & supplies, as God provides..

For us....still much to do in upkeep/upgrade of our facility, and we have expanded our ancillary ministries to helping a "colegio" (high school) in San Andres.  One of our ESL students is headmaster there.

More real soon.  Hope to be able to post more pictures soon.

Blessing to yhou all.  Thank you for keeping up with us! Niel.

"Good morning, my friends...do you love my Jesu, too?"  These were the radio words of Dr. Michalson as he sarted his daily radio broadcast from Chester, Pa. as I remember as a child.

"Even EVIL exists  to make the Glory of God shine more brightly."  explains John Piper in the message I've downloaded this morning.

God is in control, and uses our life experience for His glory.  My submission to His will...even the ability to do so, has resulted in sevice to Him..that is, to be a pipeline of grace, and I pray daily to remember that purpose.

As part of that service, I cannot attend the local church we have been going to due to responsabilities at LBN.  Thus I listen to preaching on-line..so please forgive my preaching to you! 

Had about twenty folks here, locals of Kachekal Indian heritage, for a Movie Nite, and showed 'Narnia" with which they were fasinated and blessed, but not as much as we were in showing it and giving devotional concerning the picture of Christ's work represented there. BUT...half way through, the bulb burned out!  However, a group here we were hosting had a projector,so we were able to switch out and finish!   Now shopping for a new bulb...and those things are expensive!  Over $250., and unavailable in this country.  Will be shopping on line later...

Tried to listen to Georgia Football on the internet, but for some reason was unable to get connected.  Real dissappointing, but it looks like Mark Richt and the boy were able to gain victory without my

help!

Please pray for our paperwork floating around the Guat Counsulate in Atlanta.  It's, supposively, been in process for a month now, and I'm told we should have gotten some kind of response by now.  Laboring hard at the Spanish as well...and it's no coincidence I mention it in the "pray for" section of this blog...

By the way, Diana and I have been praying for you guys, and all our partners and churches we have visited during our "Partner Raising" earlier this year.  We are praying by name for 1/7th of our partners per day, and also pray thatg you all are lifting us up at least weekly.  Thank you.

More real soon.  So grateful to have the opprtunity to serve here, and encouraged by many affirmations of God's will for us being here!  niel. 

 

Good evening, everyone!  Thought I'd try a new font tonight and catch you guys up on some experiencesGod is giving us.  Preparing for our continuing "Prayer and Coffee with your Hosts" series started four Wednesday mornings ago.  Wednesday morning was the time I'd be at our men's meeting at tohe ol' Cracker Barrel in Athens, a time I truely miss.  (Question...what was the first thing God made?  No...it's not in Genesis: Check Proverbs 8:22)

    Interesting thing last night at our LBN class we have in our local church sanctuary (31 in attendance!)...chickens walked in and started pecking amongstg our attendees.  No, that wasn't the interesting thing...what was interesting was that the occurance did not sem to us to be at all strange and outofthe-ordinary! Thatg's what they mean by becoming acclimated to the culture. 

Pray as we will be leading a "small group" here at our place Friday night, and we're expection 14 or more.  It is another opportunity to further integrate and form relationships to serve better.  Particularly, hoping to  get a men's accountability group soon started.

Been raining  a couple times daily, and we've bee losing electricity a couple times a day.  That means...gasp!...resetting various clocks and electronic appliances.  Talk about roughing it!

We've been reading alot about early missionaries to this area in tghe early 1900's...and we are really humbled by the heritage we try to uphold as missionaries here.  The tasks have changed, but the goal remains firm..."Glorify God in Everything".   niel. 

Hurricane?
Mood:  a-ok

DEAN Who?  .....no, we have not been visited by Dean, though we may get some of the rain.  Actually, it was overcast and intermittently showery today, and more of the same is expected.  We did not, however, that Dean should score a direct hit on Pozo Rico, the town where the crooked cops shook us down.  Hmmmm..!

We finally got our pick-up back.  Nice to have wheels, again.  Will be taking a load of folks from church to the Centennial Camp where our friends are working.  We'll have a service there, then a picnic and games this weekend.  Many folks looking forward to it.  So few get out of town, and then only on a chicken bus.  The level of poverty is high, but these folks are not complainers.  They work hard and make the most of what God has given.  A real lesson for us.  There is a special couple with four kids we are especially trying to help. Noe is the husband/father, and is a real strong belivever in our little church, and I am sure would jump at the chance to take classes at the seminary, but the means just aren't there.  He has been doing the devotional at the end of our ESL classes, the attendance of which remains great!

Full house at the facility this week, and I've been working on water systems.  Electricity been real unstable the last two weeks, and most days we've been down for a couple hours.  During these time I must fire up the ol' generator, which only services the pump motors for the  water.  Struggled thru anothe Spanish lesson today..just need to take more time to memorize..so keep praying!  niel.

I know, I know...just blogged yesterday, but got a sweet return note from my neat neice Jenna, and was encouraged to do one again.   (She has a really cool blog, so if you want to see how its done right, log in..)

  We're realy learning why they call this "Invierno" (Rainy season.)  Got mildew growing between my toes.  It does keep the streets clean, though.  AND, I've been able to run (a whole 1.5 miles) most mornings to keep the ticker in shape and the cholesterol moving around. 

We've begun teaching an ESL class at a local church with really great response.  Almost thirty students, and ove half men!  (Really amazing in this culture.)  Diana really shines as a teacher, and I'm trhying to keep up as a helper.  BUT, my main objective is to form relationships w/ the guys to begin discipleship groups in tghe near future.

More soon..time fordinner!  niel.
 

Good evening, everyone.  Hope you guys are out there, and are just to shy to reply!  Our recent guests left Sunday (Fletcher, Hunter, and Scott) and it was really good to see them.  WSe are still convinced of God's leading Fletcher and Kassie into missions, so we're praying that Fletch would yeild to that same call. (Kassie already has!)  We hope they learned about the country and some of the needs here, but are sorry we could not show them more in that the govt. still has not completed the paperwork to release the Toyota...maybe next week!

Have a group here from Dallas or a short termer, working in some small communities north of Pana.  Was able to lead in devotions with them tonight and provide some insight to the area.  It's always neat to have folks stay here as they bring anticipation and excitement  with them. Of particular blessing, a couple of people they were helping do construction accecpted our Lord as Saviour, and I will try to link these folks up with a good nearby church. It was helpful, as I spent much of the day helping dig a new septic tank we needed.  Should complete it tomarrow, hopefully before our Spanish teacher comes at one.  I'm falling behind on my memorization, and need uplifting prayer to make all these verbs, irregulars, and tenses stick in this old brain.  Diana is doing so well...!

Thanks to all you guys and your committment to us.  We will soon be sending out by snail mail out news/prayer letter, but you have a heads up on us by rfeading this blog!  God bless, everyone!  Til next time,  niel.