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There is a certain satisfaction that we receive from teaching God’s Word, but it’s even more gratifying to see it put into practice. Let us share with you how that’s happening! Click here or on the picture to read our latest update!
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Tags: Newsletter, Teaching
Last week, I told you about Moisés, the teen who was filled with the Spirit during services at his church. We can certainly say that he received a blessing on that evening, but we know that the strength of the Spirit much more than that It is a specific power granted to believers in order to live as examples of the Kingdom of God and to announce it’s coming, and in my Evangelism Class at Instituto Bíblico Bethel, we’re learning to do just that!
One student, Guadalupe, (pictured above) has particularly grasped the idea and is running with it. Having made contact with three individuals through surveys that were a part of her homework for the class, she was able to meet with them in their homes. They are now gathering weekly to study the plan of salvation outlined in the tract, The Four Spiritual Laws. It’s humbling to see how a simple 5 minute survey could be used to bring life change to spiritually hungry people!
Looking over the past year, we can’t help but be overjoyed at the opportunities that God has opened to us. We’ve seen the first floor structure of a new Bible School building constructed, lives touched and restored through evangelistic outreach, believers strengthened through the implementation of systematic discipleship, and new areas opened to the gospel through the introduction of the Jesus Film in the Maya language.
Still, we’re even more encouraged about what the future holds. There is the feeling that we are on the verge of a breakthrough here in the Yucatán.
Bold steps are being taken to bring about church growth. Our district superintendent has stated that his goal over the next two years is to see 100 new churches planted and 100 ministers trained in order to guide these new works. We’re excited about the possibilities of coming alongside our superintendent to help attain that goal.
There is a renewed emphasis on removing obstacles to the gospel as well. We are moving forward with the Jesus Film Church Planting Strategy to remove the language barrier for those who don’t speak Spanish, and we are planning to attack the obstacle of drug and alcohol addiction through the resource and networking of two drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers utilizing Teen Challenge materials and strategies.
The possibilities are too amazing to imagine! What could it mean to the Yucatán to have one hundred new churches with trained pastors able to reach into even the most dire situations and declare the hope of Jesus, leading the lost along a sure path to restoration? However, even as we ready ourselves to leap into the New Year and the new opportunities that God has opened to us, we find the reality of resources holding us back.
As we write to you, we face a shortage of funds in our missionary account. If trends continue, our cash reserve will be depleted in a few short months, forcing us to drastically curtail our ministry expenses and perhaps watch as these amazing opportunities pass us by.
That’s why I’m making this appeal to you, not to ask you to “bail us out,” because we know that God is faithful to meet even the most overwhelming needs. Rather, we are asking for what might be credited to your account (Phil. 4:17). As you choose to invest in what God is doing in the Yucatán, you take an active part the advancement of the Kingdom of God although you can’t be physically present. We believe that God will work miracles of salvation and restoration here in Mexico and we want you to be a part of it.
As you plan your year end giving, would consider sending us a special gift? Your donation of any amount is your investment in the fertile ground of the Yucatán. Furthermore, it’s your active participation in what God is doing as He advances His Kingdom.
To make a donation, just click on the link provided below. It will take you to a secure sever which will step you through the process of making your tax-deductible gift:
Donate to David and Kelly Godzwa, Missionary Account # 269613.
Thanks for taking the time to read and consider this special appeal. We want you to know that we are thankful for the partnership that you have had with us in the gospel. As we stand together, we are hopeful that the best is yet to come
At times, the plans that we make work out beautifully. On other occasions, things don’t come together in the way we expect. In the fall of 2008, I entered Itzamná, the Maya language school in the center of town, with the goal of getting a functional knowledge of the indigenous language still spoken by a large percentage of the inhabitants of the Yucatan. However, a household accident had one of the Godzwa parental team off of her feet for a few weeks that November, meaning carving out four hours from an already active schedule got increasingly more difficult. Needless to say, that attempt at learning Maya met with failure.
Still the resolve to try again stayed with me. The reasons for learning were solid; drawing near to the people and being able to share the good news of salvation with the Maya community in their own language are goals I consider necessary for long-term ministry success here on the peninsula. Also, returning to the Yucatan, we found that ministry opportunities, from small group sessions to church planting projects, for those who spoke Maya were abundant, so with a bit of chiding from Antonio Gamboa (above) I began my search again for a program to help me gain this essential tool.
This summer, I enrolled in a free class offered by a local university designed to give novices a chance to learn Maya, while giving professors a chance to polish their skills in the classroom. Last week I entered my first class. Each Friday, therefore, I’m being immersed for three hours in Yucatec Maya. From start to finish, we are being taught and asked to respond only in Maya. Needless to say it was a bit of a shock, but my hope is that, at the end of the 15 week course, I’ll be well on my way to realizing the goal that I set for myself in October of 2008: to learn the Maya language.
Tags: Dreams, Evangelism, Maya, Missions
A year ago last spring, I was making calls to visit pastors in the KC area. It was my fifth day on the Light-for-the-Lost Tour, and I wanted to see if I would be able to get some face time with missions-minded individuals while I was in town. My goal was to be able to build our support so that we would be able to leave for the field, but God had seen fit on that day to begin a relationship that would have lasting repercussions.
In my calls, I spoke with Brandon Watkiss, Director of Operations for Partnership International, an organization designed to facilitate short-term missions trips. He agreed to meet with me that day to see the ways in which we might partner together. During the hour that we had that day, he spoke to me about monthly support, but he also shared his desire to link missionaries with missions teams in a way that was mutually beneficial to both the ministry of the missionary and to the lives of the team members. We parted encouraged, having both seen the potential of this new relationship.
Fast forward to late July 2011. Finally, the stage had been set to receive a team from Blue Springs Assembly, a team that had been sent through Partnership International. I had spoken to Brandon previously about the trip, about our need to see the additional building at the Bible Institute finished, and he responded sending a team with a “mind to work.”
The got on the ground on July 24th, and were undaunted by the rough accommodations at the Bible School. Armed with their own bedding, they set themselves up in what would be their home for the next week. They had little experience, but with instruction, they moved quickly on the first day, preparing the roof to receive the concrete that would be poured the next day and getting started on the kitchen walls on the lower floor.
The second day was a marathon of digging, pouring and carrying, as sand, gravel, water, and cement was mixed by the bucket load, time after time in order to pour what was to be the floor of the second level and the ceiling of the lower level. With their persistence and the help of local pastors, the work was done with time to spare before lunch.
The quick work on the first two days enabled us to prepare for the children’s services scheduled in the towns of Oxcum and Kilinché respectively. We spent time in prayer and canvassed the neighborhoods on Wednesday and Thursday in each of the communities, getting to know the both the believers in each congregation and get a concept of the specific challenges that each pastor faced in their ministry.
On Friday, the work stopped on the Bible school, but the ministry moved into full gear as services began. With a combination of songs, dramatized Bible stories, games, and lots of activities, the group effectively communicated their desire to be with each community and direct them toward Jesus, the one who had brought them to share His love in tangible ways with both the children and adults that gathered in each event.
Some of the highlights of the week came when, in Oxcum, some 80 children participated in Saturday’s event, where we had the chance to pray for many who indicated their desire to be a part of God’s family. Another came on Sunday night where, in Kilinché, two women came forward and committed their lives to Jesus for the very first time!
As we wrapped things up, we got chance to hear from the team members about their experience in the Yucatan. Pastor Jeremy Naranjo shared that the trip had been the realization of a dream that he had had to personally lead a mission’s team. He had faced several obstacles in the past, but he was glad to see how, through Partnership International and the ministry opportunities in the Yucatan, he was able to see this vision come to fruition. Others spoke of the life-changing nature of the trip, from the cohesion of the group itself to eye-opening experience that they had in their face-to-face encounter with the culture of the Yucatan. Each pastor as well expressed their gratitude for the work that had been done. Buildings had been advanced, communities had been opened, and lives had been restored because of their labor.
What Brandon Watkiss and I had seen as potential in the spring of 2010, the linking of missions teams and missionaries to for mutual benefit, has taken its first step toward becoming a reality. It is our prayer that, as we continue to observe the need and the way that God is working in the Yucatan, we’ll be able to utilize teams targeted specifically to advance the kingdom, both in the lives of the individual team members and in the ministries of the pastors and leaders with whom they work.
(Didn’t get enough photos with the post? Check out some more here!)
Tags: Dreams, Evangelism, Instituto Biblico Bethel, Partnership International, Salvation
The Bible Institute construction continues with work moving to the second level. Take a look at our recently updated gallery to check out the progress!
We also gearing up to receive our latest team from Partnership International. Eleven youth from Blue Springs Assembly will be joining us to help seal up the second level floor. They’ll also be holding Vacation Bible Schools in Oxcúm and Kilinché. Keep us in your prayers this week as we seek to make an impact in each of these areas.
In 2008, then Bible School Director Silverio Blanco and I met to talk about ways in which we could work together to update the facilities of Instituto Bíblico, Bethel. Since that time, we’ve invited others to join with us to make the vision that we put down on paper a reality. Finally, that vision is coming to fruition.
This Spring, construction began on a new building for Bethel. This will hold a cafeteria, a library, and a multipurpose room that can be used as an additional, much needed, classroom. This month, Sparrow Fellowship from Waterford, PA, was our first team to lend a hand in construction. They worked for a week, not only laying a foundation and building walls, but more importantly investing in the mission of raising up new leaders for the work here in the Yucatan.
Take a look at the pictures below for some of the week’s action:
“From June 11-18, 2011, Sparrow Fellowship came to Merida to help in the construction at Bethel Bible Institute.”
From Sparrow Fellowship Team. Posted by David Godzwa on 6/24/2011 (9 items)
Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher 2
Lately I’ve been traveling. I’ve been two hours to the east, and twice on 2+ hour trips to the south of Yucatán. My goal? It’s to find workers.
In the last print edition of our newsletter, I mentioned the organization, Power to Change, which is looking to bring the Jesus Film Project to the Yucatan. In this program, a team of two will visit churches to train action teams who will project the Jesus Film in the Maya language with the goal of planting a church within one month. The program is well defined and has produced some tremendous results all over the world, but the fact is that programs do not run themselves. They are only as good as the workers who take part in its execution.
For this reason, over the past two months, I’ve visited sectional meetings of pastors in order to promote the goal of partnering together to reach the Mayan culture. Through this promotion, I hope to find this team of two who can take the reins of this project and continue the work of evangelism among this marginalized people group. Not only will it require those who can speak the language, but it also calls for a special missionary vision to reach people throughout the state of Yucatan and beyond.
Would you pray with us? Pray that qualified, potential workers will respond. Pray as well that we will have God’s mind as our team selects those who will be trained to make up this Jesus Film Team.
Tags: Jesus Film Project, Maya, Power to Change
We’ve had a whirlwind of activity in the past few months. That means there’s more reason than ever to fill you in on some of the details! Take a look at our online newsletter to get all of the information. Also, be sure to note our updated address and phone numbers listed on the sidebar. Click here or on the picture to see all that is going on!
Our online newsletter is viewable as a PDF document. If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat Reader software installed, you may download it here.
Tags: General Council, Maya, Newsletter
The kids experienced spring, fall and summer in one week!
Our last few weeks have been loaded with activity. Saying goodbye, hello, goodbye, and hello again in the span of six short days. Yes, you heard right. We left Costa Rica on Sunday the 31st of October to land in Springfield, MO, where we stayed with friends for the remainder of the week, unpacking and repacking our bags and picking up our dog Kaixin for the journey to Mérida, Mexico. By 9:30 PM on Saturday the 6th, we were back in Mérida, greeting our good friends from our home church, Gólgota, as they picked us up at the airport, 18 bags, dog and all.
We are currently residing in temporary housing as we look for a place to call home for the next four years. The kids are enrolled in their former school, and we’re all getting our exercise as we walk and utilize public transportation until we can purchase our Speed-the-Light vehicle.
That brings us to some prayer points for this post Please pray:
Tags: Housing, Mérida, Mexico, Speed the Light, Visa
