Chicabracan
About two years ago,
Favian was severely depressed. Vicente,
his friend heard about the clinic in Lemoa so he brought Favian to see if there
was help available. Since that consult, many lives have been altered and the
story continues to be written, as you read this today.
Before Favian visited
the clinic in Lemoa, his life was the extreme of highs and lows. He associated with
and was well known in several of the evangelical churches called, Principal de
Paz. He had purchased expensive
instruments for worship and when the bills came due, this is when things
started coming down.
Favian sold his land,
left his family and traveled to The States to find enough money to pay his
debts. During the time in The States, his
wife and children left him. He eventually returned to Guatemala but his
previous circle of friends did not welcome him. He found he had nothing left.
He had hit the bottom.
His situation
overwhelmed him and he could not eat or sleep.
He was barely surviving. At Clinica Caris, he had a consult with Dr.
Lisa and then met with Gaspar Chan, who is the evangelist in the
Chichicastenango area for Health Talents.
Gaspar talked and prayed with Favian and made plans to visit him in
Chicabracan.
Gaspar visited Favian
from 9am to 6pm, for three consecutive Wednesdays. After the third visit,
Favian decided to become a Christian and to be baptized. He wanted to let the past struggles disappear
and make a fresh start. While all of
this was transforming, the instruments that Favian had purchased were stolen…….Favian’s
response to this was, “They were stolen because at that time, I was not doing
God’s will. Because of that, God has
allowed them to be taken.”
Favian was baptized
in Lake Atitlan. He and Gaspar continued to have a close relationship and have
planted a Church of Christ in Chicabracan. They continue to study with people
and look to the Bible for the answers. Currently, there are twenty-two baptized
members, with 14 children also attending the worship services.
Another lady in the
community, is Marta, who also was associated with the Principal de Paz. She and
her husband had alcohol problems so the community went to the authorities over what
was happening in their home. Their two
children were removed due to violence and were placed in an orphanage.
Marta was a
self-proclaimed prophetess in the community, so Favian went to talk with her. He told her that what she was claiming, was
not God’s Will and could not be found in the Bible. They studied the scriptures
together and about three weeks ago, she was baptized. She stopped drinking, presented her baptism
certificate to the authorities and now has her children back home with
her. She and her husband continue with
their temporary separation.
In Febuary of 2018,
Favian is moving to Guatemala City to attend BICA. BICA is a Bible Institute
and he plans to study there for two years.
He and Gaspar still
have plans in the future to meet and continue to spread the gospel is
Chicabracan.
When talking to
Gaspar, you know that he loves the work that he does. He has been working in the area of
Chichicastenango since 2006. He was the
first health care promoter with Health Talents, working with Kemmel and Lisa
Dunham. He now spends the majority of his time evangelizing and visiting people
in their homes. He often councils couples who are having marital problems. When
asked how many people he has baptized during these last four years, he could
roughly name forty but there is no way to number the lives that he has impacted
with his Christian example.
Below, Juana, Gaspar's wife gives encouragement to Marta's two children.
1 comment:
Such a beautiful story, Sheri!!!!! It's wonderful to see what God does for people when they turn their lives over to Him!!!!!!
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