Pastor's Blog

Prayer for Dennis, Birgitta and family. July 16, 2008


Dear Reader, Please join us in this prayer.

Dear Father in Heaven, for your promises sake, we draw near to you this morning in behalf of our dear friends in Christ..

Lord, as they are justified by faith, may they continually experience that peace that they possess with you through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also they have access by faith into this grace wherein they stand, and rejoice in hope of your glory.

You are their shepherd; They shall not want. Please make them to lie down in green pastures: Lead them beside the still waters. Restore their souls continually with your Presence, Lead them in the paths of righteousness for your name's sake. Yea, though now they are walking through the valley of the shadow of death, give them your perfect peace that will fear no evil: for you are with them; your rod and your staff comfort them. As you prepare a table before them in the presence of the enemy of death, that enemy which Jesus has triumphed over, please anoint their heads with oil; so that their cup of joy in your salvation will run over. May they see your goodness and mercy that has followed them all their lives, may the live in that peace and promise today and may they continually and always rejoice in the hope of glory of dwelling in your house forever.

In the assurance of our victory in Christ, we leave you.

Orval and Beth Wirkkala with the Kingston Congregation.

Report of Guatemala Mission Trip June 23-July 2, 2008

As the plane settled down on the runway of the airport in Guatemala City, Guatemala on June 25th, it was with a great sense of thankfulness that I looked forward to the upcoming week’s time in the Zacapa area. Due to my lost passport, the group of which I was a part of had arrived in Zacapa a couple of days earlier than I as I had to stay behind to get a new passport. (which I did in only three days) Our group consisted of 4 adults and 4 young people: Sven and Mia Johansson with their daughter Jennie from Cokato MN, my wife and I, Michael Rahkola from Cokato, Megan Seppala from Rindge, NH and Jody Olin from Rindge, NH.

The painting of the church in Piedras Azules was the specific project which had been arranged ahead of time, and with the help of funds from The Master’s Mission and the collective efforts of both the group from America and the local people, all the work was done in three days time. The church has been painted on the inside as well as on the outside, (blue=azul) and a new sidewalk has been built alongside of the church. A couple of young women were instrumental in bringing this refurbishing./renewal of the church building in this village of Piedras Azules. And now there is the sense of excitement in this congregation, a kind of expectancy for the blessing of the Lord to be showered upon them through the preaching and the teaching of the Word of God. Ernesto and Alberto, along with Rony, a young pastor from Juan Ponce who is now supported by the Foreign Mission, regularly pray, preach and hold lessons for the adults and children in this church. We had much opportunity to visit with Rony as well as to hear him share the Word of God with the children. He is a fruit of the ministry that the Foreign Mission has done in the Juan Ponce area, and in my estimation, he is well grounded in the doctrines of Jesus Christ, spends much time in the study of the Word, has a very humble and teachable spirit and has a heart for children, especially the children of his community of Juan Ponce.

We also spent time in the Zacapa area, holding a Sunday Service with the congregation there. It was well attended by a mix of elderly people and young people, with women and children being the bulk of the attendance. We did not spend too much time there as the focus of the trip was mainly on the church painting in Piedras Azules and also the future church building in Juan Ponce.

In Juan Ponce, since they are in the process of looking to build a church there, I was asked to present an overview of the formation of a church organization. I did so, but unfortunately many of the villagers who have expressed a commitment to be involved in the construction and support of a church building were not able to attend due to their being busy in the fields. I left the outline which I had put together for the presentation with Pastor Rony, asking him to prayerfully study the various scriptures which form the foundation of the workings of a church body, so that he would be able to biblically lead his people in the formation of a congregation. After this session , we went to the plot of land on which they hope to build their church and as all of stood in a circle holding hands, we prayed together for the direction and for the blessing of the Lord on the efforts of the local people toward the building of their church. At this time there is only one other church building in the area, but it is far on the other side of the village. We prayed also that as this village is ready for a harvest of souls to the Lord, that boldness would be given to the small local congregation to go forth into the village in order to share the love of Christ, even before the church is built.

We also visited some other villages to which Ryan Ruotsala, Lynn and Jay Wirkkala visit and had opportunity to pray for and with some of the sick, the grieving, and for those who desired to receive encouragement from the Lord. We spent half a day at Agua Fria, a remote mountain village where The Master’s Mission donated funds for the remodeling of a school building in that area. A group from America under the leadership of Ryan had provided the labor for the project.

There are certainly many needs in these villages and opportunities to minister in such situations seems limitless. I observed Ryan, Lynn and Jay, as they ministered the love of Jesus to those who came running up to them as they walked down the streets of the villages. It was not too difficult to see that a relationship of love and trust has been built between the children and those three, as evidenced by the willingness of the children to approach the missionaries.

In conclusion, I would like to point out that during this trip we visited three congregations, with all three of them being at various stages of growth or focus. Here is what I mean by this: The Zacapa church has been in existence for over 40 years and has had consistent and regular visits by missionaries from America, is well established with regular services on Sunday as well as regular Sunday School teaching. An established church …

I contrast this with the next church we visited in Piedras Azules, where recently there has come into the hearts of some that there would be a renewing within the congregation. Maybe at first it will be the outside painting of the church as well as the inside, but there seemed to me to be a sense of desiring to be renewed in a greater way than merely in an external manner. The two elderly pastors of the congregation continue to faithfully labor together within that congregation, but there seems to be with them an awareness of the importance of passing on the baton to the next generation, namely to young Rony. As the Word of God continues to go forth in this congregation from both old and young, may the Spirit of the Lord illuminate into the hearts of the hearers both the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

The third church, which now meets in a home, which we speak of was in Juan Ponce. There we saw the vision into the future, which concerned not only themselves, but also the people of the village and their souls.

As I thought of these three churches and of the different perspectives thatwere presented by the current situation as well as focus, I could not help but think that in general these three churches represented three stages/focus of a church life in the following ways: When we are concerned mostly about inward matters of the church, we are in need of a revitalization/renewal so that we are able to love beyond ourselves even to those who are not able to find themselves. I saw pictures of this in the three churches mentioned.

Ryan would like for Rony to be supplied with some study materials in the Spanish language, of course, for his training to be a pastor. There is also a request for a large print Spanish Bible in Tajaral for a relative of the man who lives down the steep hill, Scott. There is need for one of us ( as a pastor) to live in Guatemala for 2 or 3 months in order to work alongside Rony, both to give him some training as well as for us to receive some training and education in ministering the gospel in a different culture.

The is a lot of mission work being done in the Zacapa area, the young people from America are very busy, but they need encouragement and support from us in America. They love what they are doing and would not trade what they are doing for anything at this point. Because they have been blessed, they desire to be a blessing to others, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us support them in prayer, in encouragement, in providing for their needs, (which are small) and let us encourage others to be involved in missions such as this one.

In Christ,

Pastor Orval Wirkkala