By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector
Jania Howe, left, of First Baptist Church, Manchester, leads some public school students in an activity in Guatemala.
BRENTWOOD — “We went to Guatemala to change people there and show them Jesus, but we came back with changed hearts and opened eyes,” said Jania Howe, 17, who ministered recently in Guatemala.
Howe and 77 other teens and adults served in Guatemala as a part of the Youth Evangelism Conference missions team. They went to support the Tennessee/Guatemala Baptist Partnership. The team served June 3-11. Offerings given at the 2015 and 2016 YEC helped fund the trip.
The team was made up of students from 11 churches, reported Bruce Edwards, youth specialist, Tennessee Baptist Convention, and team leader. “It was an incredible experience for all of us. We left a part of our hearts in Guatemala!
“Seeing these students boldly share their testimonies and the gospel through interpreters was amazing and we saw many Guatemalans, especially youth, accept Jesus Christ and make professions of faith,” he added. Assisting Edwards was Wes Jones of Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief and his wife Pam, who are former Southern Baptist International Mission Board missionaries to Guatemala.
Team members ministered in the Lake Atitlan region in elementary, junior high, and high schools teaching Bible stories, leading craft activities, singing songs, and playing games. Tennesseans also visited very poor families in their homes where they delivered food baskets and shared God’s love.
Stephen Fisher, student pastor, Boone Trail Baptist Church, Johnson City, speaks to some students in a high school in Guatemala with help from Dianita Garcia, a translator from Guatemala City.
Stephen Fisher, student pastor, Buffalo Trail Baptist Church, Johnson City, saw five adults, one college student, and four teens from his church join the team.
“It was incredible seeing all of these different people coming together from across the state and working so well together. … Everybody just got along seamlessly. It was like we had known each other all of our lives. … It was almost like the Lord handpicked everyone, considering their personalities and skills,” said Fisher.
For instance, he saw one young adult man on his team really “come out of his shell,” as he ministered in schools, telling Bible stories with help from translators and leading activities.
Fisher, who also served in Guatemala in 2015, said he and the others on the team who taught the students about the Bible and Jesus had no restriction in sharing the gospel. The older team members also spoke on social media, sex, and drugs.
He was struck by the fact that the Guatemalans visited in their homes didn’t ask for prayer for themselves. They always asked for prayer for someone who was not a Christian or someone who was sick.
The churches there had worked really hard preparing for the Tennesseans, he added. He plans to return again with a team of students and adults.
Camryn Shepherd, 17, of First Baptist Church, Manchester, wrote an article about her experiences for the Coffee County News Facebook page.
Teaching a large group of Guatemalan students a story from the Bible are members of the Youth Evangelism Conference missions team. The group is gathered in a room in a public school in Guatemala. — Photo by Stephen Fisher
“Every single person that left the comfort of Tennessee and went to Guatemala came home a different person. We have a new perspective for Christ, and we are ready to proclaim His name in all that we do,” she wrote.
“If you feel called to share with someone at work or on the other side of the world, go. The Lord has great plans for you. Do not be afraid because He is the one, true, almighty King and Lord.”
Sammy Mai, 17, of First, Manchester, said in the Coffee County News story, “When I got a five-minute hug from a child that had never had the opportunity to play with a basketball or draw with chalk, it truly made me just stop and thank Jesus for what He had provided for me.”
Marc Rollman, one of the adult leaders, was struck by the fact that the Tennesseans partnered with Guatemala Baptists which meant that working together they “planted many seeds for the gospel.”
Students came from Gum Springs Baptist Church, Walling; Saint Bethlehem First Baptist Church, Clarksville; Hillcrest Baptist Church, Dyersburg; Bethlehem Baptist Church, Crossville; Crievewood Baptist Church, Nashville; Hurricane Chapel, McEwen; Ooltewah Baptist Church, Ooltewah; Hope Fellowship Church, LaVergne; First Baptist Church, Manchester; and Boone Trail Baptist Church.
