I write to you from Nebaj to tell you that, thanks to God, things are going well here.

As many of you have heard me say, concerning our projects with Missionary Ventures and medical services in Guatemala, the Word of God inspires us.  A passage that always comes to my mind is John 6: 1-5 because here we find an example of what the Lord wants in our lives as believers.  We believe the Lord Jesus Christ calls us to do great things for him, as he asked Philip to do in John 6:5,6.   Jesus said, "Philip, Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?  He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do."  In this same way, we believe the Lord calls us TODAY to find ways to help people meet their need for food, health, and especially the knowledge of the Savior Jesus Christ.  For many the answer to the call of Jesus is the same as Philip in John 6:7.  "Eight months wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a little bite!"

Many people are like Philip, experts in making excuses for their shortcomings, for the scarcity of money, for limited speaking ability, for limited capacity as a doctor and so on.  These are excuses that cannot be denied because they are the truth.  Our desire as medical servants in Guatemala is the same as Andrew's response to this question of the Lord in John 6:8-9: "Here is a boy with five barley loves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?  We want to be like Andrew, always looking for ways to serve the Lord through what we can do, while recognizing that whatever we do is not enough before the eyes of the Lord.

It is important to notice too, that Andrew takes this little food and puts it into the hands of the Lord to bless the little that he and the boy are giving for the needs of the crowd.  Do you remember what happened?  The Lord blessed the gift of Andrew and the boy and multiplied it so that it became sufficient for 5,000 men, women and children.  We must notice too what the Lord did in John 6:11.  "And Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would among those who were seated, and so with the fish, as they wanted."  Here we also recognize that the Lord uses us to bring blessings to the people in need just as Jesus did when he shared the bread through his disciples.  So, for us here in Nebaj, in our area of influence in the villages we support the local Christian community and churches as we strive to be a channel of blessing from the Lord to all those in need of his Word, healthcare, education and love.  We also notice that although it was Andrew and the boy who brought the food, no one could say that Andrew was the one who fed them all, but only that Andrew had the privilege of being involved in more works of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the only one who must have the glory in everything we do.

Dear friends, this is exactly what we yearn to do in the medical field and in all areas of Missionary Ventures, we always seek opportunities to bring health, and relief to the people's basic needs, involving the churches and those who also have the desire to serve the Lord and do what he has called us to do.  For now, we can testify that the Lord has increased the medical services we provide in Nebaj with two doctors giving medical care, a dentist giving dental care, clinical laboratories, auxiliary nursing classes, visiting patients and evangelizing them through our pastor and church members who work closely with us.  We also are taking medical care to outlying villages and to other remote areas of Guatemala.  We have seminary studies specifically for people who want to study the Bible but have little formal education so it is a program that is designed especially for them.  Daily our staff is here to care for the people that the Lord has called us to serve.  We thank you for your continued prayers and support of this ministry of Missionary Ventures in Guatemala. Our most sincere desire is that the Lord would bless each of you.

Your brother and friend,

Juan Pablo y Carolina Noriega

Directores medicos de Missionary Ventures Guatemala