Jungle Kids for Jesus

Hello from Guatemala,

I am so excited right now I can hardly sit down to write. I am so happy I just can't believe it. Today what I have been praying for and dreaming of and preparing for seven years has come to pass. Please let me share our day with you.

For the past 5 years Riechelle and I have been through some tests. We had some valleys to go through for the Lord to see if we would trust in Him or head back home. Some tests I failed at and some I learned a hard lesson. Can you relate? But in the past 5 years we have been going into remote villages of Mayan Indian people who do not trust strangers because just 18 to 20 year ago, they were being slaughtered by strangers. So they moved out into remote areas to survive. Some live in such poor and primitive conditions it is hard to describe. Their health is bad, from mal nutrition and poor hygiene. They eat a corn tortilla in the morning with a cup of black coffee every day of their life. The villages that do have small churches are so poor that they sit on wooden benches on a dirt floor and the preacher has to use a candle to see the Bible.

Well some time ago David Alvarez and I began praying and thinking about what we could do to give the villages the Gospel of Jesus Christ and better nutrition and educate them on good hygiene. So here is what we did today at our first Jungle Kids for Jesus Program in the village of Aqua Caliente. Friday night (last night) a team of 7 people including David drove from Guatemala City to our home in Rio Dulce loaded with food, pots and pans, 300 dishes, 300 spoons, 300 cups, tables, and 300 plastic stools. We got up early this morning and headed for the Village of Aqua Caliente. Several months earlier, a church from Presque Isle Maine called State Rd Church came here with a team and we helped put a roof on the church and they helped them get a cement floor and tile for their pulpit and today I gave them money from the church to pay for their doors and windows. They were so grateful I got choked up watching them praise the Lord. When we got to the village we unloading the goods and took them into a small boarded up room they called their kitchen.


David carrying a pot.	The village ladies cutting up fruit.	Normally these women are very stoic and show no emotion. I have never in my five years here seen them laughing and having as much fun as they did today.


We had to cook the food over a wood fire with lots of smoke but we loved it. Well, not all of us loved it.


Then we served the kids a bowl of cereal and fresh fruit with yogurt. We put some Granola on top of it. They did not know what Granola was so they were afraid to eat it at first. (I knew how they felt I don't do Granola either).


Then we served them a hot drink called Atol. It is full of vitamins and is very good for them. They loved it.

They could not eat all of the food we gave them. Like I said they were used to eating a corn tortilla for breakfast and now they had fresh fruit and yogurt and cereal and a ham sandwich and Atol. We also gave them vitamins. They were so full they had to give the left-overs to their mothers who were standing outside the church watching us like we were the best thing to hit their village since, uh sliced bread? (I don't think so). After Breakfast they were given a toothbrush and taught how to brush their teeth. Can you imagine not even having a toothbrush? (I'm not talking to you folks from Kentucky here but the rest of us can't imagine that huh?) Then each child was taught to wash his or her own dishes, spoons and cups and bring them to the front of the church. We serve them their food and I feel that was important, but they have to learn responsibility and clean up after. They do not know this concept.

Then we divided up into three groups according to their ages. The first group was given a class in Health and Hygiene. Today was about how we get worms and why and how to keep from getting more. The team has a power point presentation and someone from the States is getting a projector for David so we can start showing them videos of health and germs. This will make a tremendous difference in their lives. The second group was recreation. We want them to learn how to work together and do things as a team. They think they are playing but they are learning team work and leadership skills and this too will change their lives.

The mothers watched at first trying to figure out what in the world we were teaching their kids. They have no concept of how to work together as a unit to accomplish goals. The third group was inside the church learning Bible stories and about the Word of God. They were very polite and listened to Samuel (David’s brother) teach them about Jesus. Of all the things that will change their lives and village, this is the most important. What good will it do if they learn good health and nutrition and leadership skills if they die without knowing Jesus? That is what we are here for. The medical care and dental for 5 years has just prepared the soil of their hearts. They trust us and love us and now see why we have loved on them for all these years.

I am going to bear my heart to you for a minute because today has changed my life also. You know that five years ago I did not have a nickel to my name. Riechelle and I came here and just began serving the Lord. The Bible says true Christianity is taking care of the poor and widows and orphans, right? So we said, "OK we will do that." Then God in the last few years has opened the windows of heaven on us. The Medical Bus, the Dorm and Apartment. The Shuttle bus and boat, you know. But I have had my eyes on projects and thinking that these were blessings because somehow we had worked hard and were finally getting a reward (I know I am scum bag), but it is so easy to depend on the Lord and love Him when we have hard times and difficulties because we have no where else to go, but when we have all these blessings we (or I), start thinking about the created things instead of the creator. I have had my eyes on things and equated that with being in Gods will. Today I realized that all those things are just tools He has loaned me to use to tell the people who live in the Jungles of Guatemala about His son Jesus Christ and what He did to give them a free pass into heaven. I am telling you that today the Lord showed me why we are here on this earth. To show these children how they can change their lives and come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. That is why we are here. And now with David's church teams coming every week end to help me share this message with these people we are truly making a difference. I am so humbled and thrilled at the same time. For those of you coming down here on a medical team we will take one of your days and go to the villages and help feed these kids and teach them about the Lord and it will blow you out of the water.


When we finished the yard was mess because they have always just thrown their trash down on the ground and the village is very dirty.	So we taught them to pick up the trash and put it in a bag. They had never done this before and even the parents could not believe it.

Then David called a meeting with Pastor ElMondo and the elders and we had a conference right there in the middle of the road. You may notice David's friend who stayed next to him during the whole meeting. I tried to keep a straight face when he talked but when the turkey started gobbling at his comments I lost it and had to take a picture. We explained to the Pastor that we were there for 10 years and we were there to help build his church and bring more people to know Jesus Christ and build up the local body of Christ. We also told him we would be teaching the kids to clean the village and next month we will plant trees and lay out big rocks on the road and paint them white. (Hey it is a Guatemalan custom). This will lead to the church. We will put up a sign for the church. The pastor and elders were almost in shock. This is so much fun you can't believe it. This went so well today that David and I and the team are so pumped up we are on cloud 9. Then, now get this. Hang on 'cause we are really in shell shock. We get an e-mail today from another church in Presque Isle Maine. They said they had a man come in today and say he wants to buy David's church the 4x4 pick up truck we need to get to the villages with the food and supplies. We all just felt our jaws hit the floor. I just can't help but feel God is orchestrating this whole thing and we are just learning to follow His leading. All I can get out right now is, "Thank You Lord! Please help us to love and serve you more for your Glory. Amen."

God Bless,
Truely In His Service,

Bryan & Riechelle

Junglemedic Missions
Rio Dulce, Izabal
Guatemala Central America

E-Mail: Bryan@JungleMedicMissions.org
Web Site: http://www.junglemedicmissions.org/

This page was last updated 02/28/07