Our ministry in Guatemala can be boiled down to three words: Restore, Redeem and Release. This is the second of three posts designed to share with you how these three verbs are fleshed out.

Clay helping with the construction of a house in Barrio de la Cruz.

Providing for physical needs is important. It is part of the restoration process.

Water, food, shelter, education are all life-sustaining things. But none of them offer the full and abundant life that Jesus offers. In a very brief conversation with a woman at a well, Jesus remarked:

“If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water…Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” (John 4:10, 13-14)

Our hope is to not only provide for physical needs, (After all, isn’t this why the woman came to that well in Samaria in the first place?) but for the deeper spiritual needs as well.

VBS in Santiago Zamora is one of the key pieces of our work with Redeemer’s House.

Once a week a small home in Santiago Zamora is transformed into a kid ministry center. About 40 kids show up looking for that water that Jesus talks about in John 4. Sure, some show up for the music, others for the games and all for the snack, but like the Samaritan woman, they leave with so much more.

Each week they are given the opportunity to have their lives redeemed. They get to step into a life that Jesus promises to be “full and abundant” and with this exchange, they receive hope.

The physical side of our ministry is important, the spiritual component essential. Together they are life-changing.