Welcome to Westside Pastors

In early August we were able to host Caleb Smagacz and Jonathan Dodd, both pastors from my home church Westside in Omaha, for a few days as they visited our various areas of ministry.  Caleb is the Children’s Pastor, and Jonathan is the Pastor in charge of missions for the church.  They came to learn more about what we are doing here, and discover ways they can more fully support our ministry.

There has been a long-standing connection between Westside and Guatemala which began in 2006 when I made my first trip here with a small group from the church.  This group included Dave Penner, who would later go on to start the Josiah Foundation, which is now my sending organization.  Westside has helped a local pastor friend, Julio Chua Choto, complete the building of their new church in San Juan del Obispo.  And I have been able to bring 3 different teams from Westside to serve here over the years.

Caleb, too, has had an on-going relationship with Guatemala which started with the summer of 2010.  That year the VBX (Vacation Bible eXperience, a.k.a. VBS) raised funds to help send me to Guatemala.  The following two summers, they have raised funds to provide wheelchairs and build houses with Bethel Ministries, completing their first Family Mission eXperience in October of last year.  Another team is coming in March, and the guys wanted to do some planning for the trip while they were here.  (If you’re interested in joining this team, please contact Caleb at csmagacz@wchurch.tv and he’ll give you more information. Commitment deadline is Nov. 11, so hurry if you’re interested!)



Our first stop, of course, was to take the guys to meet our friends at Hermano Pedro.  We were able to show Jonathan around, while Caleb, who had been here before, enjoyed the kids.  In the picture above, Fidel is showing Caleb and Jonathan some of the work he has done on PhotoShop.  Later, we visited the Fulp family at their home in San Antonio Aguas Calientes.  Daryl was in the villages, but Wanda was happy to share with the pastors their vision for a children’s home for those with special needs.  I was especially proud of the boys since they survived my driving in Guatemala without so much as a single scream!

The second day they were with me, I took Caleb and Jonathan up to New Life School in Santa Maria de Jesús where I teach 3 days a week.  The kids were doing a special presentation for Bible Day (which, while not an official holiday, is celebrated nation-wide here in Guatemala).  The kids took advantage of this opportunity to get some extra love and attention from these two young men who are not hesitant to show affection to children.  (Looking at these pictures as I write, I think Jesus must have been pleased as they were his arms this day.)

    

We also made a stop at the feeding center in Santa Maria de Jesús, which is partially sponsored by my church here in Antigua.  This could be a site for possible team involvement in the future.

         

Kids waiting in line to get inside Iglesia Bautista, our partner church in Santa Maria. 

While they were with us, Dick and I were scheduled to be at a wheelchair distribution at the Hope Haven factory.  Jonathan and Caleb were happy to come along with us, and learned a bit about “mechanic-ing” on wheelchairs while they were at it.  I think meeting some of these families gave them both a better understanding of why we feel the need to serve those with disabilities is so urgent here in Guatemala.



Caleb got to stay one day longer than Jonathan, who was headed to Nicaragua to visit another mission project which partners with Westside.  This gave us a chance to take some of the kids from the orphanage out to lunch at Pollo Campero.  I don’t know if Caleb enjoyed it, but the kids we took were tickled to go.













I can’t begin to express what a blessing the visit of these two men were to me, both in terms of ministry and for my personal walk as well.  They stayed across the street at Mari’s so we had ample time to talk about everything from eco-friendly farming practices to theology to missions theory to our families.  Visiting with them especially helped me better define and clarify the community living home for persons with disabilities which we hope to start in the future. 

Thanks, Caleb and Jonathan, for being my friends, mentors, and pastors.  Your visit meant so much.