Comedor y Educacion de Paz, Chiquimula

Francisco cutting hair




Grandma with donated blanket





New stove for poor family

We have officially named the ministry in Guatemala to reflect the work that is being done there. The Guatemalan name for our ministry is Ministerio Comedor y Educacion de Paz, Chiquimula. It means that the ministry is a feeding program and education program with the emphasis on Peace. The name of the Guatemalan church also has the same emphasis. The church's name is Dios es Nuestra Paz (God is our Peace). We are still under WMOTW for tax purposes and for the non-profit status. Continue sending donations to WMOTW. The name Watchmen On the Walls does not translate to a meaningful statement of the ministry in Guatemala.

We are excited about officially becoming a Guatemalan ministry recognized by the government. Our hope is that more Guatemalan's will spearhead this ministry in the years to come.


Ministerio Comedor y Educación de Paz, Chiquimula

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light Isaiah 9:2

March 2008

It's been cold and then hot. I'm just coming out from under walking pneumonia. It's been a long boring time. I'm looking forward to some adventure. (smile)
Aimee has recuperated from her last baby-Nathan and has returned as part time secretary in the mornings. She will help with reports in English, input of information in English and also clean the ministry office. Angel just finished his exams and we are waiting for a good report.

While I was down and out, Francisco and Raquel helped a great deal. Francisco is now full time with the ministry while Raquel continues part time because of her new baby, Deborah, born in February. Francisco was off and running from day one...and I mean running. He has been talking to local merchants to help the ministry financially with monthly or one time support. We already had five faithful commitments of as much as $25 a month to as little as $2 a month. Two dollars buys 2 pounds of chicken or a little over 1 pound of meat. Every little bit helps.

On Francisco's first day he had two more committed donations of $25 a month each! Praise God! He was very pleased with himself for being able to make that contribution. He is now full time salaried as youth pastor along with Raquel. He will also do a lot of running for me that I could not do. As a youth pastors they are responsible for the ministry and games at the comedor, Sunday services with the children, helping with homework and activities. He cuts the boys hair and is teaching the older boys how to cut hair.

Francisco fits a special need in the ministry for a man for the boys. He is planning a sleep over with some of the older boys with fun and games. He is currently still working with the men one Sunday a month sharing the word. During my illness, he preached to the ladies on Sunday while Raquel worked with the children. Raquel also helps in the office keeping the files up to date for the ministry. She also writes letters to local authorities, tutors Angel, helps with presentations and is the teacher for the literacy class.

We are still looking for a pastor who will be able to minister to the whole family and build up the church from members in the poor community who are not attending church. Please pray for guidance in this endeavor.

Heidi, who is in the 7th grade, came by to use Myra’s computer to download some information. We do have internet cafe's and a local library where she could get this information. She said even though she has a computer class for the first time in school, the teacher doesn't come often and she does not understand yet how to use a computer. Myra searched and copied the info for her. It was too much information and not enough time to teach her and also complete the assignment. That's a good example of the need to provide computer classes for the poor while they are still in elementary school. Heidi had never encountered a computer before entering seventh grade and now she has to search for info from the web and is at a loss.


AN UPDATE ON THE BUILDING PROJECT

We now have an estimate of the cost of the building, water and sewer. The dimensions of the building are 19.20 x 9.5 meters one side and 16 x 9.5 meters on the other side. The first level is below ground and will be the comedor for 200 children, Church, kitchen, small bathroom for workers and storage. The cost is $40,000.
The top level will be an office, medical clinic, dental clinic, Susi Saltsman multipurpose room (library, computer lab, afterschool programs, literacy classes, Bible classes, etc,), and living quarters for someone to live there. The cost is $45,000.

We can complete the bottom level and open the comedor and church while we are still building the second level.

The well costs $5,000.00 and the sewer is $3,000.00. Electricity has come to the area recently so we do not have to put in a transformer, praise God. We are asking the mayor to resurface the road near the construction of the building so we can get trucks in and out.

We now have $9,600 saved for the construction. We need $13,000 to begin work. The builder is an excellent Christian man and included in the cost are doors, windows, plumbing and electricity. Please pray about helping us finish this project.

We also welcome groups to come see firsthand what we are doing here. Airfare is very cheap now and the trip with food, hotel and transportation to and from the airport would be as little as $1000 per person including airfare of $500 or less per person. A small group of twelve or less would be good. We ask $100 a person for a donation to the ministry. That should be included in the $1000.

We are all amazed at our all sufficient God. It's been a hard economic down time for so many people in the U.S. and even as we all struggle we are seeing how faithful God is. There are so many examples. We have 39 children who are sponsored this year and one adult. Because of personal economic struggles, a few of the commitments have not been met monthly… BUT GOD is still faithful. Two Guatemalan business men donated over 200 notebooks that we were able to give out to any of the 163 children attending school who needed them. The local elementary schools also gave out some school supplies. A local merchant donated 15 blankets to the ministry. We now have seven Guatemalan's who monthly donate Q25 ($2.00) to Q200 ($25) towards the ministry. We have given out over 800 meals this month. Another stove was donated to a poor family in memory of the late Ed Saltsman. God is truly awesome. There is no downside in Him. He keeps His promises and cares especially for the poor, children, orphans and widows.

I am encouraged that I am in the right line of work and have a great Boss who never cuts my wages but always gives life to His ministry. Thank you all for your love, prayers and support. Have a blessed Easter.

Love, Myra.


PRAYER REQUESTS

Joy in the journey
Good Health
Spiritual growth for my children
Good relations with ministry team
Pastor for the church
$3400.00 to start the construction
More visitors
More monthly support

The incomplete building



Francisco ministering to the men




Doris and her new stove



Children with new tennis and school supplies



Young ladies and Gilma at the sleepover


Ministering to the children and having fun too



Outdoor classroom for first grade


Nathan




Ministerio Comedor y Educación de Paz, Chiquimula
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light Isaiah 9:2

Greetings from Guatemala… cold, windy blustery Guatemala. For a while there I thought I was back in the states because of the cold! In parts of Guatemala it was below zero!

We have officially named the ministry in Guatemala to reflect the work that is being done. The Guatemalan name for our ministry is Ministerio Comedor y Educacion de Paz, Chiquimula. It means it is a feeding program and education program with the emphasis on Peace. The name of the Guatemalan church also has the same emphasis. The church's name is Dios es Nuestra Paz (God is our Peace). We are still WMOTW for tax purposes and for the non-profit status. The name Watchmen On the Walls does not translate to a meaningful statement of the ministry in Guatemala.

Birth Announcement! Nathan has come. My Aimee gave birth on the 12th of February to her second son. He weighed 8 lbs and is gorgeous.

Angel is well. With Raquel on maternity leave, Erika stepped in as his tutor. He’s in the fifth grade and really struggles with focusing. He’s smart, especially in math but he’d rather play with the cat, watch action videos (although he loves Bambi 1 and 2), sleep in, eat everything in sight, and play with his toy soldiers. He’s a typical 11 year old. Please pray for me.

There is a new school in the colonial where most of the families we work with live. We visited them one day. What a walk. There are 87 students from grades kinder through 4th. There are four classrooms. There are two classes of first grade. Many older children ages 10-14 are studying for the first time.


We have a wonderful group of youth coming to help with the children at the comedor. They have broken them down by age into groups to share the word and play games. It’s been a bit crazy because space is limited in the garage, but fun for the children. Francisco also faithfully comes to help.


We had our first sleepover for 2009. Twenty one girls attended ages 10 through 15. We had a great meal of chicken Chow Mein, cake, bread and a drink. Afterwards we had a time of games and then a special gospel sharing by a youth from a local Guatemalan church. We had prayers, popcorn and a movie. All of the girls save two had accepted Christ before. One of those two made a first time commitment. Please pray for the other girl, Katerin, who said she was not ready.
We gave out tennis, book bags and school supplies this month. Thank God the government is helping some this year but more is needed. We are so thankful we could fill in the spaces where more help was needed. This also meant we could help more children.



So far this year we have given out four stoves. They use less wood, have a chimney that takes the smoke outside of the home and is high off of the ground away from animals. The latest stove given out this month was donated by Jerry and Daisy Hudson of Zion 3 church of Ohio. Doris and her four children were thrilled to receive the blessing of the stove.


Francisco had his monthly meeting with the men. Seven men showed up and he shared on relationships within the family especially with their wives. There is a lot of abuse here. After the sharing and prayer, the men ate a meal and sat around talking more. We are thankful for Francisco’s positive influence on these men who are not attending any church. This is their opportunity to hear about another way to live.

As time goes on things change but remain the same…new birth, death and taxes. We rejoice in all three. Each brings renewal. How? New birth brings a new life, death in Christ brings a new life eternal, taxes bring an opportunity to take care of here and now. We are so excited about new birth in the ministry, actually the rebirth of the building project that has been on hold for four years.


The month of March we plan to restart the construction. We are in the process of getting a new estimate based on the rise in the costs of construction and a new building plan. We plan to build a two story building to house the comedor (feeding program), church, medical clinic, computer lab, library, space for an after school program, English classes and much more. Please continue to pray as we look to begin again on the construction. Become a part of what we are doing here if you have not already and if you have thanks and keep it up. You are needed.

Thanks for your love, prayers and support.
Love, Myra

A New Year with lots of shoes

Happy 11th Birthday Angel


Two of a kind-Aimee and Raquel


Children with new shoes


Children with new shoes


Children with new shoes



Francisco praying with the men



Happy Birthday children





Happy Birthday Ladies


Children with great grades and their gifts


Old stove



New Stove



Ministry staff - Gilma, Sindy and Graciela


Youth Group Helping out at Feeding program


Out with my Girlfriends

Greetings from Guatemala. We are warm here compared to when we were in the states. I am glad to be home. Angel loved the cold and snow.

Angel celebrated his 11th birthday on the 12th of January. He gained 27 lbs while we were home and now weighs 97 lbs. He is a big boy. He started back to school and is getting into the flow of studying and doing homework again. His reading English is very good. He is growing into a fine young man.


We've been busy getting back to ministry work. Francisco and Raquel did a great job running things while we were gone. Gilma took great care of the house and paid the bills. Raquel gave birth to her second child (Debora) late January and my daughter Aimee is still a lady in waiting.

The biggest project in January is always school. We ordered 161 pairs of school shoes. One day from 10am to 6pm we were able to fit and give most of them out. What a blessing to see the faces of the children with their new school shoes. This year we have scholarships for 39 children and one adult. The adult, Santos, is attending a local university. Some of our kids are now attending junior and senior high school. God is good.

We celebrated the children's birthdays for the months of November through January with our usual chicken salad and black beans sandwiches, cake and a flavored ice drink in a bag and a gift. We also gave gifts to the children that had excellent grades at the end of the school year in October 2008.

The Sunday services continued with the ladies. We also celebrated their birthdays with small gifts of toothpaste, tooth brush, comb, soap and a piece of jewelry. We started with the book of Ruth as we continue studying through the Bible forever...

The men had their meeting one Sunday with Francisco sharing the word, praying with them, and giving out clothing and shoes.

Towards the end of the month with Raquel home with her new baby, a youth group from a local church volunteered to come help. Praise God. They are very well organized and such a blessing to the ministry. My art teacher Eddy arranged it through his church. Eddy is the head of the children's ministry of his church and has come and shared before with the children. Eddy is like a kid magnet for God. Each time he comes the kids run forward to receive Christ.

We gave out three stoves this month. Gary & Kathy Speraw purchased one stove and Ed & Joy Saltsman purchased another stove. They are from Zion 3 church in Ohio. The third stove was purchased by Mark & Robin Hemming from Church of Nazarene also in Ohio.

In all of this busyness I did find time to go out with my four friends, Carla, Lucky, Sarita and Anita to celebrate Carla's and Lucky's birthday. We had a fun day and I needed it.

We are outgrowing the garage where our meetings and the feeding program is held. We are believing God to finish the building this year so we can have more space for the feeding program, provide a medical clinic, a computer lab, English classes, a library, after school study program and much more.

Thanks to all of you for loving on us while we were home, giving us generously of your time, hospitality and money. We are so blessed. We in turn can bless the poor in Guatemala through your support of this ministry.

Dental Triumps and Woes

When I was in the states Don and Mary Scro recommended me to their dentist who saw me for free. I have periodontal disease and need a deep cleaning every 3-4 months. I have not been able to find that in Guatemala. The dental assistant took x-rays and with two visits and a few almost painless needles, I was good to go for awhile yet. The visit was a blessing for me. That was the triumph part.

Here is the woe part. The dentist told me I had two crowns that were loose and will fall off sooner or later. One crown was done about six years ago by one dentist. The other only within the last six months by another dentist. He gave me an estimate of over $2000.00 to correct the problem... or go back to my previous dentists and have them correct it. The two previous dentists were from Guatemala and my confidence level with them was very low. I did not have that kind of money even though I sure wanted him to do the work.

I came home and decided to try another local dentist. I showed her the x-rays which the American dentist had graciously given me. My first visit she was working on a filling and her phone rang. With her plastic gloved hand she answered it, said she was not too busy, talked for a bit while still working on my mouth, finished her conversation and then continued with the filling. I was not too happy. Her office was clean, well ordered and modern looking but her service was wanting.

I am now looking for another dentist that can do the work. In Guatemala it may cost me $300 compared to over $2000 in the states but there is not much peace of mind. Please pray with me that I will find a good dentist here in Guatemala and then I can share more triumphs than woes.

Back on Track in Guatemala

8 year old Oscar with his new shoes and school supplies




Marco Tulio's first day of school


Yesterday we had a full day from 10:30 in the morning until 6 PM we were giving out school shoes. They were delivered about 7 am in the morning from the factory where they were made. We canceled the feeding program because we knew the garage would be very congested and it was. Pregnant Raquel, her mother, Gilma and myself were busy comparing lists with shoe sizes and with actual feet which didn't always match... but we made it through.

This morning a few more stragglers showed up and Marco Tulio came by to get his bus fare. Marcos is nearly 16 and in the 2nd grade. He's a bright mischievous young man who lives with his lovely mother Alicia and his abusive father Jose. Lets pray that he can get through this year and continue to study.


After Marcos left for his first day at school, four little boys came by, only one of whom was going to study. That happens so often, some children will not study and their parents will not encourage them. Oscar is in the 2nd grade, is well spoken and even said thank you when he left with his new pair of shoes.

The day is just beginning and I know more children will be coming by but what a good beginning to see one older child with potential starting a new year of studies and another younger also with potential on the same road and both with a chance to succeed.

On The Go in the USA

Myra, angel, Daughter Lee and grandchildren



Myra and the WMOTW Board




Angel in the Ohio snow



Myra, Angel and Natalie with "Angel's friends"

We just returned on the 7th of January from two and a half months in the cold, cold states. So many wonderful things happened to us during our visit, I don't know where to begin.

Our next stop in November, after the mission conference at Mt Moriah church and our wonderful visit at Huber Memorial church, was to Philadelphia to visit with Al and Natalie Turner. Angel was the star there because the staff at Natalie's job were eagerly waiting to meet him. We were taken to lunch and Angel was given money and toys. The money came in handy because the boy was growing from the moment we landed in the states and needed new clothes. The Turners had a small reception for us at their home and I shared at their Sunday morning church service. Philadelphia truly is the city of brotherly love. We left there blessed.


We then returned to Baltimore for a few days before we took a train to Ohio via Kentucky. Oh, it was cold there. We were hosted by Jack and Lora Jenkins and the entire Zion 3 church family. Almost every day I was going to eat, sharing about the ministry, being interviewed for a newspaper article and having a movie night with the ladies from the church. They also had their Thanksgiving church dinner while we were there. I also shared at a local Nazarene church. It may have been cold outside but the welcome was mighty warm. Angel also loved the SNOW and going to see the deer in the field. He said he would love to live in Ohio.

We returned to Md. and spent a short time with long time friends Paul and Lisa Fenstermacher, then I was off to Cambridge, Md to visit friend Mary West and her family. I also shared at lovely Speddens United Methodist church. It was beautiful on the Eastern shore but oh, so cold. I thought I would never get warm. I found time to visit with Dawn Stewart and her family including her precious mother Jane. Angel was with his grandparents and uncle David for a week enjoying the sights. I returned to Baltimore in time to share Thanksgiving with my family and to be reunited with my son, Angel.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we met with Jose and Ana Flores and that Sunday I spoke at my home church Immanuels in Silver Spring, MD. We left after service for Chevy Chase, Md to visit with long time friends and then on to Haymarket,Va. There we shared at Park Valley church, gave my testimony at an Hispanic church, had a board meeting hosted by WMOTW president Kelly Schaeffer, fellowshipped with old and new friends and tried to stay warm.

We just left November and am entering into December. Are you tired yet?

We left cold Va. on December the 9th and took a train to Wilmington, NC where we shared at Robert Register's church Pine Valley COG. Robert also took Angel shopping. He had outgrown his clothes I had bought. We then stayed with Ari and Brenda Brady and their new son Ryan in Southport, NC. Ari is a hunter and Angel had a great time hearing his hunting stories and seeing his trophies. We actually rested for a few days before Brenda drove us to Loris, SC where we stayed with Kenneth and Barbara Staley. I spoke two days at the Mt Olive Missionary Baptist Church. The southern hospitality and food was great.

Kenneth and Barbara drove us to Raleigh,NC where we stayed with Don and Mary Scro. They had set me up with a much needed dental appointment. I had two days of dental work done for free. Thank you Lord. We caught our last train from Raleigh to return to Baltimore a week before Christmas. The Sunday before Christmas we shared at the First Baptist Church of Pimlico with Pastor Anthony Dorsey. I thank Bernadeen Green, Shirley Scurry and Deloris Leiley for accompanying me there on that icy, cold morning.

Christmas we spent with more family and I finally had time to visit with some old friends from Baltimore. Angel went off again to spend time with his grandpa again and I went out to eat and be with old friends. I had a great time at Liz's Christmas brunch with good food, good conversation, games and even prizes.

We were winding down but I had one last visit at pastors Anthony and LaVern Murray's church. Afterwards we had fellowship at their home. New Years Eve was spent with Sandi McFadden at the Rock church. New Year's day was spent with good friend Shirley Scurry looking for old friends and visiting others. Glad we found Jackie Carter and spent a few hours with Larry McNair's widow Bernetta. I also went shopping with good friend Zakia after the new year. What great bargains.

2009 is now here and we were on our way home finally. It was a great trip although not a very restful one. I apologize for not being able to get with so many old friends. Do know I think of all of you often and I do pray for you. I especially missed seeing dear old Bill.. but we did talk on the phone. I have so many memories of so many people I have met in my life and all of them are good!

On the Go in the USA

Hello,

We, angel and I have been from Philadelphia; Ohio; Silver Spring, Cambridge, Columbia and Chevy Chase, MD.; Virginia; Willmington, Southport and Raleigh North Carolina; and Loris, South Carolina. It has been exciting and hard. We were on the train over 15 hours going to and from Ohio. Angel loves the train and has traveled pretty well.

We have been blessed on every hand. The love, compassion, interest, generosity, friendship and love has been overwhelming.

We are well on the way to provide 163 pairs of shoes for shool children and one adult next year. The school year begins in Mid January.

Our hearts are full and overflowing with joy. God bless you all.