Spring 2000

Week eight

What's inside:

UPG information; project list; an opportunity for your college minister; and God’s Heart for the Nations Bible study by Jeff Lewis

Unreached People Group (UPG) focus:

This week’s people group focus is a little different. We are going to visit the nationals living in and around the Huehuetenango. This is not one specific people group, but it is definitely an area of need.

Huehuetenango is located in the northwest part of Guatemala. The region, or department, is nestled in the rugged mountains known as “Los Cuchumatanes.” Huehuetenango borders Mexico and the departments of El Quiche, San Marcos and Totonicapan. Spectacular waterfalls, deep chasms, and majestic forests embellish their rich heritage. Huehuetenango is comprised of 31 municipios. Each one has its own culture and a mixture of languages. These people are independent and hardworking, living by subsistence farming and sheep herding.

The department of Huehuetenango has a population of 962,000. The city itself has a population of 78,000, 9 percent of which are Christians. Christianity first came to the region with the Spanish conquistadors. The Spanish slaughtered and enslaved the nationals and used Catholicism to appease and control them. Since then, some legitimately interested in the salvation of the nationals have attempted to share the hope in Jesus. Unfortunately, these attempts have been hindered by years of mixing of Catholicism with Mayan practices. The result of this integration is a religion that is neither Christian nor Mayan.

Today, the people have a strong desire for spiritual things. They are eagerly searching for answers to problems with family and everyday life.

Prayer Points:

• Pray for vision and action amongst national believers.
• Pray that the people of Huehuetenango will desire to know the living God through a personal relationship with Christ.
• Pray that human needs projects like health promoters, water projects and latrine builders will provide physical and spiritual hope.
• Pray that churches will be planted in the region.

For more information contact: Drachiq@bigfoot.com

Project List for Latin America and Spain

*any 10 days in this month

Check out project descriptions for these and other projects at www.thetask.org/students on the Mission projects link.

Mobilize your college minister!

Tell your college minister about Discovery Trips—once-in-a—lifetime international mission opportunities for college ministers and lay leadership (i.e. your college Sunday School teachers) to go on mission in some unreached parts of the world. You could change the course of your entire college ministry by encouraging your college minister to be on a Discovery Trip!

This June we are sending college ministers, campus directors and lay leaders in collegiate ministry overseas to meet the missionaries and discover opportunities to take students on missions. The cost to the minister is only $700, but the deadline is March 30! Pass on the word. (Cut and paste the following information into an e-mail and send it to your college minister and the college lay leadership!)

Discovery Projects with the IMB Collegiate Mobilization Team:

• meet and talk with our missionaries on the field
• find opportunities for you and your students to get involved

For more information and an application, e-mail Jason Smith at jsmith@imb.org. 

Bible study:

GOD’S HEART FOR THE NATIONS