Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, ” All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!”  Exodus 24:7

Carlos and Isidro continue recording the New Testament in Eastern Pokomchi in Guatemala. The process is going very slowly because the people reading/acting the parts are not good readers. They have more weeks ahead to finish this project.

Learning to read as an adult can be difficult and takes practise.

Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of reading. Thank you for the Pokomchi people who are struggling to read their language to give the gift of your Word to others who can’t read. Keep blessing this process. Help each reader to relax and decifer the words and express them naturally. Give them the grace to flow more easily in reading their language. Give Carlos and Isidro wise ideas in how to encourage and coach the readers. Thank you! In Jesus name, Amen.

Inspiration

Each Deditos video starts with a script. In our revision process, the first step is to revise the script. This has been a challenging process, to decide what parts are worth the time and effort to change, and how to tweak the story to add more drama, focus and connection to the lessons. Right now we are beginning to revise the Joseph scripts. Join us in praying for this process.

Heavenly Father you are the source of all creativity. There are so many creative ways to express Your truth and Your story. We ask for You to continue to pour out the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit on the process of revising the Deditos scripts and videos. Breathe new life into each video. Give each person involved the ideas, images, and words for an excellent script and creative hands to bring it all into reality. We ask for a spirit of wisdom to guide the whole process and all the decisions. Amen.

Workshop

Sarah and Annelies will be traveling 6 hours from Viña to Aguacatan to give a workshop to Sunday School teachers on Thursday, July 29. This is to encourage them in their teaching and to introduce them to the Deditos materials.

Let’s pray: Thank you for these Sunday school teachers in Aguacatan. Thank you that they are willing to give of their time and effort to teach children about you. Give them the grace to see the children through your heart of love. Help them to learn to teach well, and to encourage each child to know You. Inspire the teachers to want to keep knowing You better. Protect and guide Sarah and Annelies as they travel and teach. Help them communicate Your truth and Your heart for the children effectively. Bless every part of this workshop. In Jesus name, Amen.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! Psalm 133:1

Father keep us in the unity of the Spirit!

Though we aren’t in conflict, we are very aware that anything that disrupts the unity of our team will disrupt our progress.  Destroying relationships is a work of Satan.  Let’s pray for God to strengthen and protect the unity of the Viña team.

Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us peace.  Your love is a very real comfort to us.  Please keep building the team to keep Deditos moving forward.  Provide all the people needed and bless with unity.  Reveal anything blocking Your unity such as of jealousy, impatience, pride or judgement.  Deal with hearts.  Draw them together for your glory and for effective ministry. Amen.

Continue praying…

PTL for a clear diagnosis and medicine that has calmed our colleague’s chest pains.
Let’s continue to pray for the film festival, a Spanish marketing plan, and the land purchase.
Let’s continue to pray for Carlos and Isidro recording the Eastern Pokomchi New Testament in Guatemala.

Thank you Father for so many answered prayers!  Thank you your peace and healing hand.  We thank you that all our materials are in the hands of film festival judges.  Please guide them according to your will.

And we ask that you continue to guide and bless the recording that is taking place now of the Eastern Pokomchi New Testament.  Help with every step, and protect Isidro and Carlos’s families during their separation for the recording. In Jesus name, Amen.

The humble will see their God at work and be glad. Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged. Psalm 69:32

A wide door of opportunity stands before us. Pray we will be able to enter it.

John, our dramatic consultant, attended a conference of international Christian media producers. He shared the Deditos video ‘God Makes the World’ at the conference and it generated interest. Christian TV producers in several European countries and India want to translate and use the Deditos series…when there is a set of at least 13 videos available. What a great opportunity! But there is much work to do before we will have that many episodes ready. Let’s pray:

Heavenly Father, you are so good! You have helped Viña in so many ways! Thank you for the excellent revision of the ‘God Makes the World’ Deditos video. Thank you for the gift of creativity and the direction of Your Holy Spirit. Thank you for the new opportunities before Viña for international distribution. Keep opening doors of opportunity!

We ask for continued help to be able to fulfill the calling to create the whole Deditos series of Bible Story videos. Keep Viña focused on this goal. Keep them diligent, seeking You, producing videos and lessons creatively. Provide all the funding, people, resources, talent and guidance needed to see this project through to the end. Show them how to work efficiently so that production can move forward as quickly as possible but with excellence.

We again commit the Deditos video project into your strong and capable hands. We give you the glory for all the progress so far and look with expectation for you to do great things through the use of these videos in drawing many people into relationship with You. In Jesus name, Amen!

Health issues

“… for I am the Lord who heals you.” Exodus 15:26

We always appreciate prayers for good health for all our workers and their families. Right now, one colleague is experiencing chest pains, a wife is having digestive problems, others have colds and flu, back problems and allergies and more. We all work best when we feel well. Let’s pray:

Father, you are the God that heals us. Thank you for all the help and healing you have brought to our lives! We ask now for health and healing for all the workers at Viña and their families. Bring wisdom to each one in how to live a healthy life. Step in with your supernatural help for each need, especially calm the chest pains. In Jesus name, Amen.

I love the Lord because he hears my prayers and answers them. Because he bends down and listens I will pray as long as I breathe. Psalm 116:1-2

Please join us in thanking the Lord for three answers to prayer:
*A safe arrival of the Deditos DVD in South Africa last week-before the July 1st deadline!
*An excellent end to the Kaqchikel workshops!
*The Pokomchí New Testament, which is ready to be recorded!

Let’s pray:
Heavenly Father, Thank you for answering so many prayers! Thank you for guiding the DVD to South Africa. Please give the video favor and may it be a blessing to all who watch it. Thank you for the way you have worked through the workshops and in the lives of the Kaqchikel prospective Sunday School teachers. Thank you for giving them confidence in teaching and for lessening their fears. Finally, thank you for the Pokomchí New Testament. Please keep Carlos and Isidro safe as they travel. We ask that you will guide them and the others involved as they work on recording these Scriptures. Please bring unity to the whole group. May you be glorified. In Jesus’ name,  Amen.

Teachers go over a Kaqchikel Bible verse with children

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18a).

Tomorrow, June 24th, will be the final Kaqchikel workshop for young prospective Sunday School teachers on “When Sin Entered the World”. We are so thankful for our wonderful interpreters who have also been great examples to the youth of teaching the lessons in Kaqchikel! We also thank God that the youth are taking more responsibility in teaching the children. This past workshop the Deditos lesson was on how God is so much more powerful than anything else so that we don’t have to be afraid. Thursday’s workshop will be on God’s love and forgiveness. We hope that the youth and children will take these lessons to heart.

Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, thank you that we can come before your throne without fear. We ask you to do a great work in the hearts and minds of the youth and children involved in this workshop. Please set them free of fears and give them a greater understanding of your unfailing love. May Annelies, Sarah and the interpreter be sensitive to your Holy Spirit. We ask that you will fill them with your wisdom and strength and pour out your love through them. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

www.transformingstories.org

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7

An earlier post explained that Viña submitted the newly revised version of ‘Dios Hace al Mundo’ (God Makes the World) to the 1st Annual International Christian Film Festival in South Africa. Those in charge of this film festival recently told us that they have not received the DVD, which was mailed from the U.S. and was supposed to arrive last Thursday, June 17th. We hope Viña’s entry was not lost in the mail and arrives in South Africa before the July 1st deadline.

Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for the opportunity to enter this film festival. Please direct the DVD so that it arrives by July 1st and guide the communication between Viña and those in South Africa. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Viña worker and Noah 's Ark

For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 2:6

Viña workers are currently making revisions of the Deditos Noah video. This involves a lot of work, including re-recording the voices remaking sets and refilming certain scenes. Those involved are asking for God’s wisdom and creativity as they seek to  improve this video.

Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the wisdom you give to your children. Thank you for the gifts you have given the Viña workers and for this special opportunity to rise to an excellent standard. Please give them your wisdom and creativity to revise the Noah video so that it captures the attention of children and adults and teaches them more of your truth.

O Lord my God, You have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all Your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them. Psalm 40:5

Kaqchikel youth make up hand- motions for a memory verse

Please join us in thanking the God for His work in the Kaqchikel workshop last Saturday. More than 20 young prospective teachers came to learn to teach children using the Deditos video “When Sin Entered the World” and the lessons in their language. They enjoyed making up hand motions for the memory verse and doing the accompanying activity for the first lesson. Sarah and Annelies each led part of the workshop and Annelies learned how to work through a Kaqchikel interpreter. Lord willing,  there will be 3 more workshops this month teaching the rest of the lessons that accompany this video.

Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for your wonderful deeds at the Kaqchikel workshop. We thank you for the excitement of the youth as they engaged with Scripture in their language. Please help them to take Your Word to heart and guide them as they learn to teach children in Kaqchikel. We also ask you to guide and strengthen Annelies, Sarah, and the interpreter as they continue the workshops each Saturday of this month. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Teachers coloring a worksheet at a Deditos workshop

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Tomorrow Annelies and Sarah will lead the first of a series of four workshops on the second Deditos video, “When Sin Entered the World” in Kaqchikel. Through an interpreter they will teach a group of Kaqchikel young people to teach children using the Deditos video and lessons that accompany this video. This workshop will be taught in more of a visual and audio form than past workshops in order to fit the learning styles of the participants. Annelies and Sarah are excited for this opportunity and would appreciate your prayers.

Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for the opportunity to speak to your children in Kaqchikel. Please guide Annelies and Sarah as they lead the workshop tomorrow. We ask that you make them sensitive to your Holy Spirit and speak through them and the interpreter in a powerful way. Please touch the hearts of the participants so that they may apply the Scriptures to their lives and be able to communicate it to the children in their church. We ask that you would keep Sarah, Annelies, and the interpreter safe in their travels and bless the Kaqchikel church where this workshop will take place. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Carlos L. gives thanks for God's protection

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Psalm 32:7

We thank God for protecting Carlos L. and his family from getting hurt in a landslide this past weekend! (This Carlos is also a Viña worker but is a different one from the previous post.) They were visiting family members in a nearby town when a landslide fell on part of the house! Fortunately, only the kitchen was damaged and nobody in his family was hurt. Carlos said that the falling rocks and trees could have totally destroyed house but God caused them to move slightly and save the family from death.  This landslide is part of tropical storm that brought much rain across Guatemala. We thank God that all the Viña workers are safe.

Let’s pray:

Heavenly Father, thank you for being in control of your creation. Thank you so much for protecting Carlos L. and his family from injury in the landslide! Please give them your peace and protect his family who will stay in the affected area. We also ask that you would comfort those who have lost loved ones or belongings in this storm and keep them from any further harm. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.