His love to the world: July 2010

Dear Friends,

We hope that you all are enjoying a wonderful summer! Things here in Guatemala have had their ups and downs but we are continuously amazed at what we see around us. Sometimes when you are in a place with so much need, it makes you more aware of God's provision and help and answers to prayer. You also are left with so many questions of why things are the way they are. Why some of us are blessed materially and why others are not. Why some of us are met with circumstances in life that seem more difficult than we can handle. We really do not have answers to these questions but I can say that I am amazed day by day as I live and work here. As I teach, as I coach, as I talk to other missionaries, as I take cover in my home as natural disasters occur, as I watch people coming together to clean up and recover.

One thing that really stood out to me this year was hearing a story of a man who had lost everything he owned, which was very little, in a mud slide. Literally his house was completely buried in mud. As he stood on the roof, he said that he was so thankful to God because while he had lost things, they can be replaced. Those you love on the other hand, cannot be. Here we cannot rely on insurance or loans or the government but sometimes that is better. That is when we learn to rely on God and each other, where our true confidence should be anyhow.

I have been working in Guatemala for six years not and sometimes I look around and wonder, what good am I really doing? The majority of the country still lives in poverty; there are still large amounts of violence and injustice. I work hard to educate and yet there is still failure and illiteracy. But then I realize that it is really not up to me to change things anyhow. I am just supposed to do my part. To do what I have been called to do, just like the rest of us, wherever we are. Then we leave it up to God to take what little we have done and multiply it exponentially beyond our wildest dreams.

This realization makes us understand how much we want to continue with this mission that God has given us. Unfortunately, as we look ahead, we realize that we do not have sufficient funding to continue doing all that we are. After much prayer, we are looking for people who are willing to commit to supporting us over the next two year period. We are excited to see how God is going to take whatever great or little you have and use it to meet our needs here.
If you would like to talk about, see or experience more about what our mission is in Guatemala, please contact us or if you have the opportunity, come visit! You never know what doors might be opened. Thank you so much and God bless!

Laura, Edgar and Nathan Cojon