9 Years in Guatemala

 It is hard to believe we have been in Guatemala 9 years. We moved here June 20, 2012. Caleb our youngest boy was just 2. How things have changed. We did not really know what we were getting into when we moved to Guatemala. God has done more than we could have imagined or thought. Here are a few of the things God has done:

• Moved us here: Not an easy task to sell everything and pack up 21 suitcases with 5 boys and head to a foreign country. Many challenges along the way living in Guatemala but we wouldn't have it any other way.
• Learned Spanish: Well still learning but that will be the rest of my life.
• Helped further Establish Love Guatemala: Before we arrived our home church and other missionaries and mainly Carlos and Telma Lopez had established the Art, Cooking and Carpentry School and we came to support and further establish things. We were able to help further develop and implement devotionals, a sponsor programs, teams program, expand staff etc.
• Purchased Property: In 2013 we bought property which was a miracle in and of itself for a small ministry with very little resources.
• Built a 10,000 sq ft facility: Then God surprised us again by miraculously providing over a half million dollars for a new building to house our growing ministry in 2014.
• Started some new schools: In 2015 with our new space we started an English School and Literacy program which has now become a primary school for older youth/adults. 
• Started our Feeding Center in 2015.
• Started New Life Church in 2018.
• Bought more property and built our multi-purpose space in 2019. (The Lord knew we would need this space with the pandemic coming!)
• Started Bible Institute in 2020 with 10 students graduating this year.
• We have seen the Lord transform countless lives.
• Our family has grown by 2 soon to be 3 more. (See pics of family changes over the years below) 

To God be the glory! Great things he has done!

Thanks for supporting and praying for us over the years!

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Psalm 36:5

We are so grateful for God's faithfulness!

Our commissioning service in June 2012.

2014

2015

2016

2017

2019

January 2021

Easter 2021

Jennifer and Jake's Trip Stateside

Traveling these days is challenging. So we were glad that Jennifer and Jacob could get back for a quick trip to visit Levi and family. Check out some pictures below.

Lots of fishing for Jacob.

They celebrated Levi's graduation as well while they were there.

I can't believe Levi is finishing Highschool!

Brothers

Joel made them a welcome home cake.

Dad held down the fort while Jennifer and Jake were gone. Joel and Caleb helped quite a bit. Joel likes to cook so he helped with that and they both helped with the girls and Luke. We are grateful for our family and it makes me (Ben) even more grateful for my wife after she is gone for a while.

Sofia doesn't look to happy here but we had a good time for the most part. 

 

Mother's Day, Luke's Birthday and Prom

 Yesterday and today (Today is Mother's Day in Guatemala) we are celebrating. We celebrate Jennifer and our Moms. We are also celebrating Luke's 21st birthday which is hard to fathom. How can our oldest be 21? Luke has taught us so much and we are grateful for his life. I am grateful for the amazing Mom God has given me and also my amazing wife who is a great Mom. 

Grateful to do life with this fine lady!

We are grateful for our moms too. These are the most recent pics we have with them. Hard to be away from them on Mother's day but we were glad to at least talk with them yesterday.

Jake is becoming a fine young man as well.

Luke needed a little help blowing out candles.

He was happy with Rice Crispy Treats and Mom's pizza bread for dinner.

Levi was also able to be in Texas with his girlfriend for her prom. He stopped there on the way back from our trip to Colombia. Hard to miss these types of moments with him but glad he was able to go.

Trip to Colombia

In 2018 we had a young man, Yeison from Colombia come and intern with us in the Church. He was a huge help in getting New Life Church started. This past week he got married. I was able to go and meet Levi there in Colombia for the wedding. I had the privilege of preaching at the wedding. I also got to share in a church there on Sunday May 2nd. It was an interesting trip with all the COVID restrictions and also the protests happening in Colombia but it was a good trip overall. It was good to spend some time with my son and also share with some other Pastors, churches and ministries there. We were in Bogota and Medellin. Below are a few more details and pictures:

We arrived Friday night into Bogota. We spent Saturday hanging out with Yeison and our host family. We also went and met Yeison's family who was staying in Yeison's apartment about 30 minutes away. (Bogota is a very big city about 10 million)

Sunday I got to preach at a church there in Bogota.

This is Pastor Diego. Below is his family and leaders that led the service. The churches there are still virtual.

Hanging out with Yeison and his brother Yeimer.

The wedding. It was in a beautiful place.

After the wedding we got into the back of a box truck and tried to get to the airport (Long Story) we finally made it and got to Medillin another city in Colombia about 10 hours by car but only a 1/2hr flight. We spend time with our friend Remberto and his family. He leads the New Life Network in Colombia.

They have a great public transportation system with cable cars that go over the city which gave us a great view and tour of the city.

This was a touristic place we visited. We climbed to the top.

My favorite part was hanging with this guy. He is becoming a fine young man. We hope to travel more together in the future. The Lord is doing some cool things in his life!

Easter and Sofia's Birthday

 

We had a great Easter as I hope all of you did. We had our own family good Friday service with Jake and Joel leading us in worship. (Sorry about the bad picture)

We had a great time celebrating on Sunday with our church here and also took a few family pics that you can see below.

We also celebrated Sofia's 4th birthday on April 1st.