God chose you and you chose me.

"But I have to ask you a question, and I don't know how to say in English."
I looked curiously at Victor as he sat beside me on my tiny couch which is covered with a blanket to keep whatever bugs may have wandered into it's holes from coming out while you're sitting on it.
"What's the question?"
"How do you say the word 'escoger'?" He asked.
"Choose," I replied.
"Why you 'choose' me Yenna? Why choose me? No person in Guatemala trusts other person. No person asks other person for help. There are so many bad people here. Why you choose me?" 
He was already late to work. He got here at 10:20am and had to be at work at 11:00. He just wanted to help me with every little thing I needed help with.

"I did not choose you Victor. God chose you and you chose me. Don't you remember in the restaurant you asked me in English if I needed help? We had our family and our friends praying very hard for God to send someone to us who could help us. Victor, God chose you and you chose me. I didn't chose you. God has a purpose for this." I explained slowly and clearly so he could understand.

He just shook his head and said, "Thank you."

On his only break at 4pm, I met him at his work and he took me to a man who owned land and wanted to sell. We looked at two pieces of land. One was very small, 15x25 meters, and on the slope of a hill. Looked like this:

Too small with no room to grow. And the unbelievable thing was the price he asked - $49,000! Yes USD. I realized quickly that it was going to be tough for an American to purchase land in a country where the people have so little. The man looking to get rich quick, said he had another piece a little larger. So we went there.
This is what it looked like:

I think when we showed up, the people who currently live there got a little worried. This land was more sufficient as far as size, but he wants $89,000. The size was 30x35x45 meters or something. That was crazy. This land should not cost more than $4,000 and that is only because it is near the outskirts of the city. I asked why the price was so high and he said because he had other foreigners interested in buying it. (yeah right) Victor assurred me the price was so high because I was an American.

He told me not to worry. He will come at 8am the next morning and we will first go to a judge that he knows who can not only help me with Visa stuff, but also with registering my non-profit in Guatemala.
This is Victor (my helper, the one you prayed for God to bring me):

8:15 am this morning I met Victor at the corner of my avenue. He took me to see one more piece of land, too small still but a LOT better quality. He called the guy and asked the price without telling him he was with a foreigner. The man said $26,000. Still too high, but way more fair than yesterday. Here is this land 15x35:

Next Victor took me to meet the judge. The judge looked over my paperwork and explained to Victor everything I would need. When we went back to my apartment, I fed Victor and he explained to me everything the judge said. You are probably wondering why we were in Guat City a few days before and working on Visa stuff still...well apparently ALL the information you get off the immigration website is completely wrong from the very first step. We did find out what we do need and we got the appropriate forms. After today though, I realize God is going to have to provide a sponsor that has an active bank account. Guatemalan. So please start praying.

I sent an email out to Intermissions (group exclusively for native English-speaking evangelical missionaries living and working in Guatemala) asking for recommendations of a Christian attorney in this area that I can trust. Pray someone will respond with an answer. There is so much to do, and I have to be soo so careful doing it.

For every encouraging moment, there has been ten discouraging ones. For every right turn I make, ten wrong ones have been made. Let the discouraging moments be fuel to my fire and the wrong turns be a blessing to every soul I encounter on my way back to the right turn. Give me eyes to see past the temporary and into the eternal, and a heart that is driven by the worthiness of Christ.

"Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, 'He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.' But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved."

-A persevering disciple of Jesus Christ

Hebrews 10:35-39

prayer requests ~

• God will provide a Christian attorney who can help me with:
• visas, registration of the non-profit in Guatemala, the purchase of land
• God will provide His desired piece of land for Casa Gloria and we will pay a fair price.
• God will continue to bring encouraging supporters alongside us who will pray and help make Casa Gloria truly a house of Glory.
• Three cases of bibles being shipped to me from the US will arrive and it will not be difficult or expensive to get them to Coban.
• That this Scripture will be put into the hands of the people who need it the most.
• And lastly, for the mormons that we shared the gospel and our testimonies with last week. Pray their hearts would be opened.

Over looking the city of Coban.

The next blog will be about wedding stuff :)

Love, Jenna

www.misionvidanueva.info

Okay, I finished this blog about 30 mins ago but didn't publish it. I refreshed my email first and before I had a chance to publish  this blog for you to read, I had two emails, two encouraging answers to prayers. God knows what we need before we even ask. The first was an email from a ministry referring me to two good attorneys to help with visas and registration. The second was an invitation from Francis Eachus to have lunch with Francis Eachus on Tuesday, next week. I didn't know who Francis Eachus was, but when she told me she had been living in Coban for 56 years doing ministry, I decided to google her name.

This is what I found:

"A Cup of Good Water
Enduring trials, discouragements, civil war and violence in Guatemala, Francis Eachus spent 50 years teaching Kekchi Indians to read and write, translated the Bible, wrote a Pedigogical Grammar and a Bible Concordance."

Mom will you please buy me this book off Amazon for my birthday or something? I can't believe who I will be eating with and gaining wisdom from on Tuesday. For every ten discouragements, there is one encouragement. And that makes the ten worth it.