The testimony of a regular guy living his life for Jesus and how his family sold everything to become missionaries in Guatemala

I grew up Catholic.  I can’t say that I ever had a relationship with God as a kid.  I knew God and I feared God but I never had a relationship with Him.

I attended Colorado State University for four years, really just living to enjoy life.  All I cared about was myself.  I didn’t care about my neighbor, I didn’t care about the girls I dated, not really and I didn’t care about God. 

During my senior year I found out that my girlfriend at the time was pregnant.  Twenty two years ago I married my girlfriend and became a daddy.  It was an amazing time of my life.  It was a very hard time of my life. 

A few years into our marriage we were invited by a friend to go to church where I was inspired to give my life to Jesus.  I didn’t know at the time but it was just the seed of my future relationship with God.  Asking God into my life, declaring that He is the one and only God, repenting of my sins was just the very beginning.  I had so much to learn.  I had some very hard roads ahead of me.  But the seed was planted and Jesus wanted me.

At the end of the day we were married too young.  We didn’t love each other.  We fought.  We were in very bad financial shape.  We were broken.  Five years into my marriage I found out that my wife had been seeing someone else.  It was and is to this day, the most crushing feeling I have ever felt. We divorced in 1995.

Upon our divorce I began getting very involved with Timberline church.  I was determined to raise my now 5 year old daughter and be the best dad possible.  I know I have failed in so many ways but I always did the best I could with the information I had.  I realized that a lot of the pain I had felt from the divorce was because I was so concerned for my daughter Demar.  We shared custody and my daughter spent every other week with me. 

Demar and I having lunch together in Antigua, Guatemala 2013

Now that I had been brought to my knees, now that I felt I was starting from the very bottom rung, now I really wanted a relationship with God.  I needed God.  At that point in my life I think I was just going through the “Christian” motions.  I’m sad to say that. 

I recommitted to God in 1995 and began a walk that I would not turn away from.  I have re-married and have been with my wife for almost 15 years!  We have 3 little ones ages 9, 11 and 12.  My now 22 year old daughter is attending UCCS and she is AMAZING.  We are a family who is on fire for God.  I love God like crazy and I love that I get to experience Him with my amazing family beside me.

My wife grew up with Jesus in her home for most of her life.  When we married she told me all about the amazing mission trips she was a part of.  We have talked about becoming missionaries but “life” always seemed to get in the way.  My mission field has been right inside the four walls of my house for the last 13 years.  I have been raising my kids in a healthy, loving, Christian home.  I don’t regret it.  It has taken me this long to feel prepared to take this step.

My wife and I were living a pretty incredible life.  She was a stay at home mom and I was a successful business owner.  Our kids were doing well in school and everything seemed to be perfect.  From the outside.  On the inside, I was feeling suffocated.  We had SO MUCH STUFF in our life and it never seemed to be enough.  There was a hole of dissatisfaction that could not be filled.  There was nothing we could buy and nothing we could do on our own to feel complete.

I made a commitment to stop praying.  Sort of.  I stopped praying for God to “take care of me and my family”.  I stopped praying for “healing” and for “safety” and for “success”.  I stopped praying for everything I had ever prayed for.  I traded all those prayers for one prayer…I prayed that I would fall deeply in love with Jesus Christ.  That I would know how passionately He loved me.  That’s it.  Don’t get me wrong…I pray with my kids at night before bed and in the morning before school and when friends and family ask for prayer I absolutely pray.  But when it’s just me and God, I desperately seek God’s love.

During this period the Holy Spirit began to stir.  Maybe for the first time ever.   “God, show me how I can love you completely.”

“Will a man rob God?  Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offering.’  Malachi 3:8

WHAT???  THAT’S the scripture God gave me?  That’s not what I was expecting.  But, sadly, it was true. 

My wife and I took a very close look at our finances and decided on four things that day.

1. Tithe.  First.  Not what we can. 10%.
2. Honor the Sabbath.
3. No spending other than consumables like food and things we use around the house.  For one year.
4. No restaurants.  For one year.

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.  Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” Malichi 3:10

It’s the only place in the bible that God asks you to test him.  It inspired me.  I wanted to show God how much I loved Him.  As I was getting to know God, I began to fall in love with God.

In October of 2011 I decided to go on a short term mission trip.  There was no booming voice from above.  It was just me and God and the Holy Spirit. 

The trip to Guatemala was to help at an orphanage that Timberline church wanted to work with more closely in the future and to help at a feeding center run by Pastor Areceli, a 63 year old woman with more energy than most teens I know.  No, seriously.  I’m not kidding.

Two days into our mission trip I woke up wondering WHAT AM I DOING HERE???  The kids at the orphanage were healthy, being fed and being cared for.  I felt a little arrogant swooping in, spending time with them, and then leaving back to my perfect little life in Windsor, Colorado. I just felt that I could have sent the money I spent on the trip instead. 

Again, I prayed, “God, how can I love you more deeply?”

I shared my feelings with my wife and 11 year old daughter that morning over a cup of coffee over the internet.  My daughter Cecilia told me, “Daddy, I think God is so proud of you for loving on those kids for Him.” 

The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:40

The day we went to the feeding center I began to see God’s plan more clearly.  There were almost 200 hungry kids praising God.  Thanking God.  Loving God.  And they had nothing.  Some kids ate one meal that day.  The meal we were serving them.  My heart broke.  I had been praying every day for over a year that God would show me how deeply He loved me.  I had been praying that I would fall deeply in love with Jesus Christ.  That day, I did.  The Holy Spirit was ALIVE in those kids.  God’s love was so absolutely crystal clear and my heart WAS FULL. 

My family climbing Volcan Pakaya - Guatemala 2013

So, yes, on the outside it may seem like I went on a 6 day mission trip to Guatemala, came back and made a crazy decision to sell everything and move out of our little town of 13,000 to a city of more than a million.  But that wouldn’t be the whole story.  God has been preparing us for over a year and he making our path clear.  We can’t wait to get to Guatemala to love and serve Jesus. 

If you would like to support what God is doing through us in Guatemala, click here.

If you have questions and would like to Skype or talk on the phone, do not hesitate to contact me directly.  You can email me at georgesisneros@gmail.com or call 970-449-9449 any time, (it's a local call for you.)  We would love to tell you about how God is using us in Guatemala.

Follow our Journey and read Vonda's blog at www.GodCalledUs.com.

Guest blog post by Rene Marroquin ~ "What if…we love her…"

It’s seven in the morning and we’re getting ready to be in the place that God sends us to, a little village in the mountains of Guatemala called El Rosario.

Every time we get there it’s an adventure.  We never really know what’s going to happen, and what I mean is, WE REALLY DON’T KNOW!   We have so many, so many, crazy stories to tell about the great love of God for His people and how He takes care of them in this little village.

But let me just share about the lady at the well.  Yea, you probably have heard about this in the bible, in John 4, when Jesus approached the village of Sichar in Samaria.  But this time the actors have changed a little. 

Artist Hyatt Moore

The cast is made up of four missionaries, three friends and me.  This story starts at the house of Francisca.  She has four daughters.  One of them, Nohelia is 17 years old, has problems walking.  She limps and her hands have deformed with time because she has some kind of disease that I can’t explain.  Nohelia has a tumor in her head and has grown up malnourished.

We became friends with Nohelia.  She is smart.  She is beautiful. It seems like I’m quoting the movie “The Help” but this little girl didn’t know these things and God sent us there to remind her how important she is and how loved she is.

In the middle of our conversation we noticed that Francisca’s daughters were filling buckets of water from a well that is close to their house (they don’t have running water in their house). They were pouring water into a large blue barrel that they have at home.

When I saw Nohelia carrying buckets of water I immediately saw George and David like…“ok guys let’s do this” and we helped carry water to the big barrel.  When we were almost done filling the barrel, Nohelia approached the well to fill her bucket. I was there filling mine when another lady who was really angry, started to rebuke Nohelia in front of me (she thought I was American).  She started to tell her “Now you’re asking for help.  Ha!! You’re asking these gringos to help you??  Shame on you!!!”

I don’t know how to explain this. I was speechless. This girl, even limping and sick was working so hard to get some water.  And instead of helping, this lady came and started to rebuke her.

At this point I was so mad and angry with this lady, so I came to George and explained the whole situation and we both were like “What the heck!!!!”

We finished filling the barrel but the thought of this lady didn’t go out from our hearts.  George approached me and asked me… “What if…we love her…” 

“Who?”  I asked. 

“The lady that makes you so mad.”

I immediately felt the Holy Spirit doing something inside of me. For some reason that day we had bags of food that a TV channel in Guatemala gave us to share with people in need.

George asked me to get a bag of food and go to her house, pray for her and ask her if there is something she needs or something we can do for her.

“Of course,” I said.

 I asked Nohelia, “Would you like to go with us to share some food with this lady who rebuked you?”

She answers yes!!!

         

My missionary friend Lindsey Owens went with me to her house, and Nohelias neighbor came too!  Elvira, is a woman of God.  I’m so glad she came with me. The four of us didn’t have time to think.  Before you knew it we were knocking at her door.

I don’t know what she could have been thinking when she opened the door and I told her “BUENOS DIAS”.  She went out of this world because she heard me speaking in English earlier but she didn’t know I was Guatemalan.  She replied “Buenos dias.  Pase adelante” (come inside).

I told her, “We are here because we love you and God loves you and we just want to ask if we can pray for you?”  We gave her the bag of food which gave us the chance to love her.

She didn’t answer so I asked again, “Is there is something we can pray for?”  As soon as I ask the 2^nd time, she lost it. She started to cry.  But this time she wasn’t alone.  We were there to cry with her. 

She said, “Mi cania” which is a vulgar way to say “my leg”. I bent down in front of her to see her leg.  She rolled her jeans up and showed a terrible scar. She was alone, tired and broken hearted.  She had a lot of pain in her leg because a big piece of wood fell on her when she was getting wood to cook. We prayed for her and we even sang with her!  This is the song that Elvira started to sing as soon as we finished praying. The song says this:

“Everything is possible if you can believe.  Everything is possible if you can believe.  Faith moves the hand of God through his living word.  Everything is possible if you can believe”.

I found myself in this ladies house, with my hands up in heaven, worshiping a God of love.  A God, who instead of giving us what we deserve, loves us and saves us from our sins.  A God who provides for our needs, in the right time. That is my God.

John 4  You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest.  The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike!  You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. ³⁸ I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.”

We are going to adopt in the next few months!

Adoptions have been closed in Guatemala since 2007!  There was so much corruption going on that the government shut it all down.  Babies were being sold.  Babies were being stolen. 

My family and I recently applied for our Guatemalan residency.  Not necessarily because we are going to live here forever but rather because we want to be ready to adopt if God calls us.  As a resident of Guatemala, we will be able to adopt!  That is amazing!  The process could take up to a year and we submitted the final documents last Thursday. 

During our early visits to El Rosario we learned of an orphan who lost his parents at a very young age.  Martin lives alone and almost never has enough to eat.  My family and I have prayed about it and are hoping to adopt him in the next few months. 

We can’t legally adopt him but if he accepts us as family we will make sure he always has food and love.  We will make sure that if he has medical needs, we will be there for him.  We will pray with him and help him in any way we can, as we would any of our family.  We will celebrate with him and cry with him.

Here’s the thing.  Martin is 76 years old.  He’s never been married and has lived alone for most of his life.  He loves Jesus and always carries a bible with him.  On the first day I met Martin I gave him a hug as we left.  I wondered how many hugs he has gotten in the last 50 years.  I make it a point to hug him any time I visit. 

Martin is about 5ft. tall and is always smiling.  I have sat with him, shared bread with him and belly laughed with him.  I’m smiling right now as I think of him.  I recently asked Don Martin how he was and he replied, “I am happy and content because I have Jesus in my heart.” 

I absolutely believe God has put it on our hearts to ask Don Martin to be a part of our family.  Please pray that God will continue to use us to spread the love of Jesus Christ to not just Don Martin but to the friends we have not yet met in El Rosario.  Praise God for His blessings on my family here in Guatemala.

We are still looking for a few people who would be willing to pray about supporting our mission monthly.  If you would like to support what God is doing through us in Guatemala, click here.

If you have questions and would like to Skype or talk on the phone, do not hesitate to contact me directly.  You can email me at georgesisneros@gmail.com or call 970-449-9449 any time, (it's a local call for you.)  We would love to tell you about how God is using us in Guatemala.

Follow our Journey and read Vonda's blog atGodCalledUs.com.

The Cost Of Blood.

As usual, we had another busy day planned for El Rosario. As much as we try to slow down and spend more time with each person we visit, it never seems long enough. But on this day, something weird was happening. On our first visit we dropped off 175 pairs of shoes to a pastor to distribute to outlaying villages. As we were talking to him, the couple we were going to visit next happened to be walking by. We invited them in and before you knew it, our schedule opened up. In the 7 months I have been visiting, this just doesn’t happen.

My good friend and fellow missionary David and I looked at each other. We were thinking the same thing. “Oh man…what does God have planned for us today?” It was a little bit of excitement and a little bit of fear of the unknown.

We then stopped by to visit a single mom, Elvira (pronounced el-vee-duh), to check her new water filter. We helped her set it up a few days ago and this would be the very first day her family would be able to drink purified water. Ever. I have no doubt it will make a significant difference in their health.

As we were leaving, Elvira asked us if we had time to go with her to pray for a friend. As a matter of fact, we did! “Of course!” we answered.

She introduced us to Bernarda, who was also a single mom with 2 boys and a girl. Her older boy was at school and Edie was just hanging out. Her 16 year old daughter was getting water from the well and no longer goes to school. Most kids in El Rosario stop going after the 6th grade. Public school isn’t offered and private school is just too expensive.

“Why aren’t you in school?” I asked Edie.

“I could only afford to send one to school this year. He will go next year.” Bernarda answered for him. (Public school tuition and supplies is about $35.)

I just can’t imagine having to make that decision.  We helped more than a dozen kids get to school this year.  We asked around.  “Are there any other children who are not at school?”  It’s so frustrating.  If we would have known.  

Bernarda looked tired.  She was clearly in bed when we stopped by. 

“How are you?”  I asked.

“Good.” Her answer was more out of politeness than truth.

“Elvira asked if we could pray for you.  Is there anything specific we can pray about?”  I asked.

“Please pray for my children and pray that I will be able to pay for blood so I can have an operation.”

I’m sure my face must have shriveled up when she said that.

“WHAT?”  I had no idea what she was talking about.  What did she mean “pay for blood”?

She explained that not only did she have to find a blood donor that matched her blood type but the donor had to be tested and cleared AND THEN they would have to agree on a price for their blood.  As it turns out, she had two donors and had already paid one.  She was now praying that she would be able to pay for the second. 

Bernarda is so sick right now, she can’t work.  Her daughter, who lives nearby, helps her with food but the truth is, her daughter doesn’t have enough to feed her own family. 

“Bernarda.”  My mind was spinning and I couldn’t get the right words out.  “We love you.  Jesus loves you.  God called us here today to pay for your blood.”  And as I spoke those words, I couldn’t help but think of the blood of Jesus, covering our sins.  And even though we continue to sin, He still loves us.  When we repent, our slate is clean.  We are forgiven.

^“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”  1 John 1:7

“We are not only going to pay for your blood but we will pay for both of your boys to go to school next year.”  David explained.  If she had any worry or concern, we wanted to give her a tiny bit of peace.

My 9 year old son Samuel took the day off school to be with me on Friday and so I took a few minutes to catch him up on what had just happened.  That Bernarda was a single mom, that she could not send one of her sons to school this year, that she had to have an operation, that she had to find TWO people with the same type of blood, THEN she had to pay for the blood and that she was too sick to work to pay for the blood.  It was a lot to take in.  I can’t imagine what Samuel was thinking.

“Samuel, we’re all going to pray for Bernarda right now.  Would you pray first?”  He looked up at me, with very sad and concerned 9 year old eyes and nodded yes.  Samuel is our prayer warrior at home and he prayed from the very depth of his loving heart.  

Before we left the States, we had more than one person share their concern for our kids.  How could we take them from the comforts they were used to in the U.S. and subject them to the poverty of a 3^rd world country?  On this day, my answer would be, “How could we not?”

Update: I spoke with Elvira tonight and she said that Bernarda had paid for the needed blood, Q150, which is $20 US.  She is going in on Thursday to set her appointment at the National hospital which is free.  But free comes at a price.  She will have to wait and she will probably be squeezed into an already bursting hospital. 

Please pray for that she gets the care she needs and that her operation goes smoothly.  Please pray that she will recover and be able to continue to care for her children.  Praise God that He cleared our schedule that day, that He was able to show Bernarda that He loves her, that He cares for her and that He hears her prayers. 

I doubted God. And then...the mighty power of God healed a man at the edge of death.

What an amazing day! I am so tired right now I can barely type. I've got dinner dishes to do and then it's a shower and to bed! BUT...I wanted to update you one my day.

Last Friday we stopped by to visit a single mom of FOUR daughters. With the help of some very generous friends we were able to get 3 of her girls in school and are looking for a tutor for her oldest daughter. God has put her family on our hearts and we try to visit her at least once a week.

Anyway, as we were leaving the area after our visit we were waived down by a neighbor. Julia explained that her mother and husband were both bedridden and not doing well. She asked us if we would mind praying for them?

"Of course!" we answered.

Honestly, I wasn't prepared for this visit. Her mother is 86 years old and can't see. She is laying in bed and complaining about pain in her body.

"Where is the pain?" I asked.

"Everywhere."

We prayed over her and asked God to take away the pain. We asked God to give her peace. We asked God to shower her with His love.

She then took us to a different room, separate from the house. This is where her husband was laying.

I sat down on the bed next to him and told him good morning. I asked him how he was feeling and he said "bad, estoy moriendo." "I'm dying."

My heart sank. As I talked with his wife she said he had not eaten in 6 days and that he looked bad.

Julia was tired. You could see it in her eyes. She was desperate.

"Can we pray with you?" we asked him?

"I don't know how to pray." He said.

"Do you know Jesus?"

"Yes."

"Do you WANT to pray to Him?"

"Yes."

Before we prayed with him, he professed Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He said that he believed He died on the cross for our sins. And through his tears, he thanked Him.

We put our hands on his shoulders and prayed for God to reverse his illness. We prayed that his body would be healed. We prayed that he would eat and grow strong. We prayed for a miracle.

I left thinking to myself, that IT WOULD TAKE a miracle. Someone who has not eaten in 6 days, who was saying they were dying, who could barely open their eyes and was clearly waiting for the shadow of death, needed a miracle.

Fast forward 4 days. Honestly, I was worried. I was worried Julias husband wouldn't last much longer. I doubted God. And then...the mighty power of God healed a man at the edge of death. Julia said that the day after we left he started eating and then he got out of bed to go outside into the sunshine...into the light...into the waiting arms of our Father.

God's message for me today;

"I am enough. I am alive today and yesterday. Do not doubt me. Stand firm in my promises and in my Word."

I am humbled to be a witness to miracles of a living God. Some may say that it was coincidence. Some may continue to doubt. But today, I have no doubt. God is good. 

If you would like to support what God is doing through us in Guatemala, click here.  Follow our journey at www.GodCalledUs.com.

If you have questions or just want to catch up, do not hesitate to contact me directly.  You can email me at georgesisneros@gmail.com or call our Magic Jack number in Guatemala, 970-449-9449 (local call for you).  I would love to hear from you!