When Juan Pablo Noreiga was just a young boy growing up in Guatemala, he already had big dreams. “I want to be a doctor,” he told a team of visiting missionary doctors. And it wasn’t just a pipe dream. Juan Pablo was very bright and had been able to read since the age of 3. His parents, Gilberto and Ruth Noreiga, were very committed to education and had helped Missionary Ventures equip many Christian schools across Guatemala.

One of the doctors on the mission trip encouraged Juan Pablo in his studies and eventually helped him go to medical school, where he graduated at the age of 21.

Then Juan Pablo had a decision to make – should he pursue a medical career in the United States, where he had plenty of opportunities, or in Guatemala? He felt God calling him to the greatest area of need – the mountainous rural area of Nebaj. Missionary Ventures had been assisting a children’s renutrition center in Nebaj caring for malnourished children after the Guatemalan civil war and Juan Pablo was invited to take over leadership of the small “hospitalito.” He his wife, Carolina, have now been serving there for more than 15 years.

There is a great need for a quality hospital in Nebaj. “There are infectious diseases, gastrointestinal issues, and a lack of sanitation,” says Juan Pablo. “People have COPD because they burn fires in the household on dirt floors. They have pneumonia, bronchitis, diabetes, high blood pressure, some have obesity—they are poor, but when they have some money, they buy coke and chips.” For some families, the kids might eat just tortilla and salt and they are malnourished. “They might look ok, but their growth is stunted,” Juan Pablo explained.

The government hospital has 22 doctors and yet sees only 100 patients a day, but Juan Pablo and just one other doctor at the hospitalito are able to see 45 each day.

They have trained every worker to pray as they go. If they see someone looking sad, they ask “what’s wrong?” Maybe the patient would say, “I’m worried waiting for my test results,” and the hosptialito worker would offer to pray with them.

There is also a challenge of caring for the local Ixil people simply because of their language. Juan Pablo knows some of the language, but also needs a translator sometimes. But even with translation, it can be a challenge because there are no Ixil words for some of the pain they might be experiencing. “In Ixil, there is no word for lungs,” Juan Pablo explained, “so pain in heart could actually mean stomach pain.” There are generalizations for many words – for example, a car is simply called “metal.”

“Bad air could be anything,” Juan Pablo shared. “But if you ask about additional symptoms, they will often just respond with ‘yes,’ and they always want all the tests. I’m not sure why.” But Juan Pablo has great patience with everyone who comes to see him and has an excellent reputation. The line is always long to see Juan Pablo.

The hospitalito is also connected to a nursing school Juan Pablo and Carolina began in Nebaj. 

Through the years, the small hospitalito has continued to grow and adapt, and now the Noreiga’s plans are bigger than ever, with a vision (and plan already underway) to develop the hospitalito into a full three-story hospital with a surgical room and ambulance bay.

MVI missionary Ed Lockett began his ministry with regular trips to Haiti in 1986. He partnered with many local pastors, visiting schools to hand out school supplies and share about Jesus. He would take pictures of the kids and have them printed, passing them out to giddy children on his return. For many, it was their only photo. In 2004, Ed visited some friends in Honduras and began the same kind of ministry visiting schools. “The Lord is blessing the work in Honduras and things continue growing and expanding rapidly,” he shares. Haiti has become more unstable with gang activity and kidnappings, but the ministry there continues. “We have an infrastructure of Haitians that keep things going as long as I get the funds to them, which I do every month,” he says. “I was able to get into Haiti last year for a few weeks, and hopefully will be able to return next year.” Whether he is in Haiti or Honduras, his heart is always torn that he can’t visit more schools more often. “It hurts me to say goodbye so much to so many and so often. Even if it’s just see you later, still, I wish I could be in more than one place at the same time.”

The program didn’t start with much of a vision. It was just a desire to bless a young high school student named Catarina Chel de Pozo, called Zoila, who wanted to become a nurse.

MVI missionary Dr. Juan Pablo Noreiga had moved to Zoila’s hometown of Nebaj, Guatemala, to help the community by providing quality, affordable health care and sharing his deep faith in Jesus. Missionary Ventures had already been helping in Nebaj for several years through a small clinic, and Juan Pablo dreamed of turning it into a hospital. As he first began seeing patients, Zoila would assist him with translation from the local Ixil language and would help clean the clinic.

“She was willing to do all that without charging anything,” says Juan Pablo. “As soon as I could, I started paying her a little.” But he also wanted to do more to bless her and help her on her path to becoming a nurse. He hoped to be able to send her to nursing school, but all the programs were very expensive and far away.

“Why can’t you train her?” asked Juan Pablo’s fiancé, now wife, Carolina. He researched the requirements and began with a request to the Department of Health. Their first response was no, but Juan Pablo and Carolina continued to pray and petition them. They eventually granted approval, not just for Juan Pablo to train Zoila, but for an entire auxiliary nursing school.

At first, I was thinking I would just do the school for one year to train Zoila, and then close it,” says Juan Pablo. But God had other plans. There were others interested in becoming auxiliary nurses. Many others!

“I didn’t see all that God was intending to do,” says Juan Pablo. “The Lord wanted to bless this community with health providers who understand the culture and language and who are willing to go to the most rural places. So, without us even planning, we were able to provide health care workers who were unavailable at that time. It has also provided a good income because it’s a decent salary that can support a small family.”

Zoila graduated as an auxiliary nurse and then became a registered nurse. She is now one of the chief nurses at the national hospital in Nebaj. She is married with two daughters and her husband is a staff doctor at Juan Pablo’s hospital. Her dream came true and God did exceedingly abundantly more.

The meeting with the doctor did not go as expected – he did not want to remove the growth on Elvis’ neck. 

The tumor had been growing on Elvis’ neck for years, limiting his life. It was difficult to make friends, some of the kids at school made fun of him, and he couldn’t participate in any sports. He believed God could heal him, but doubts sometimes crept in.

Many others advocated on his behalf. Both his principal, Mr Siankuku, and Pastor Bernard, a long-time friend of Missionary Ventures, connected with MVI missionaries Hugo and Salomie du Toit. Funding was tight with so many requests in this part of the world, but Hugo and Salomie passed the request along to the MVI home office. A record amount of Core Mission funds for the year had already been sent out, yet MVI’s Director of Advancement Brad Staton was moved by Elvis’ story and wanted to help. He asked his men’s Bible study if they could raise the funds to cover the surgery. Soon everything was in place.

But then the doctor wanted to wait.

“This information was different to what Pastor Bernard understood when he himself spoke to the doctor,” shared Hugo. The doctor wanted to try some medication to see if the growth would soften and decrease in size. It took more time for the doctor to finally agree surgery was the best option. The surgery would happen in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, a 4-6 hour drive for Elvis and his mother.

They were already on their way when they were contacted to say there had been an emergency and they would have to reschedule. “Very frustrating and costly,” said Hugo, “but not unexpected as this is a government hospital in Africa; which is always a challenge.”

Finally, finally, Elvis’ surgery date was rescheduled and took place without further issues. He felt immediate relief.

“Elvis always believed God could heal him,” says Hugo, “but his faith has grown during the whole process. He now believes that nothing is impossible with God and that He can make a way when it seems there is no way. This whole process has also brought about a spiritual change in his parents lives, too. Previously both his parents did not believe in Jesus. They now also believe God can heal and bring about change.”

Despite all the suffering Elvis had to endure, he has learned first-hand what Paul writes about in Romans 5:3-4: “… we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame…”

Sometimes we can read the Bible and think those times must have been so different. Does God really heal people the same way? Does the church really grow in exponential ways?

We have received encouraging reports from Thailand that the Lord is moving in a similar way to the early church. Is there a modern-day book of Acts movement happening in Thailand? Here’s a bit of what’s happened in just one church.

Pastor Khuen has been serving the Lord for more than 35 years now. In 2019, he started MV Bang Khan Church among a group of rubber tappers. The church started with just 10 people, and has now grown to 50, with 22 people being baptized in a nearby river recently. This is in a community where most people typically have Buddhist or animist beliefs. “Many have opened their hearts to Jesus after experiencing the love and power of God through this church,” says Pastor Khuen. “Some have received healings, deliverance of bondages, healing of relationship, changed hearts and mind.”

Sister Nooi had been suffering from severe pain on her legs for more than a year. She sought healing from many witch doctors and prayed to Manohara, but her condition remained unchanged. Doctors diagnosed her condition as sciatica, but medication and injections did not help, and they recommended an operation. Her uncle is a believer who attends the church and he brought her to see Ps. Khuen. He prayed for her that night, and the next day the leg pain was gone. Sister Nooi found healing and does not need the operation anymore. Since then, she has come to know the Lord and is now attending church. “All Glory to God!” says Pastor Khuen.

Another woman, Mrs. Juktamani, was having blood discharge for more than six months and was bedridden. A concerned member knew about her and shared with Ps. Khuen. He prayed for her healing and her blood discharge has stopped. She became stronger and is now able to live out her normal day. Praise God for this miracle!

This church growth is not without struggles. Pastor Khuen suffers from diabetes and has been hospitalized several times this year. The church asks for your prayers that he be healed of his diabetes, to be spiritually and physically strong to serve the Lord. They also ask for prayer for God to raise up new leaders and for land to build a church. Their current church is a rented open room with the overflow sitting outside and getting wet when it rains. Will you join us in praying for them?

This is just one small church growing in faith, and we also have reports of many other churches across Thailand and other parts of Asia that are also growing in both size and fervor for the Lord.

They live in the wake of Pablo Escobar, the notorious drug lord who destroyed many lives in Colombia. It’s a community of displaced castoffs – people who are without homes, disabled, unwanted, and mostly made of single mothers with multiple kids. Their street in the village of Macajan is even called Via Escobar, acknowledging his legacy of ruined lives. 

Ana Villalba has a special heart for these people, because she’s one of them. She is a single mother who raised five children alone after she left her abusive and unfaithful husband who got caught up with the wrong people. But she knows and loves God and can speak about His faithfulness in her life. After leaving her husband, she struggled to support her children by selling fruits, vegetables, and other items in the local market. She was fortunate to receive government housing and she was active in her church.

Ana was always outgoing and friendly, and one day met a woman named Albani who told her about the Via Escobar castoffs. Ana was touched to hear about this community of people like her, who needed to hear about God’s love. She began visiting Macajan with Albani. As she shared with them, she grew to love the people, and began to dream with them about a church in their community. They found a plot of land and began to pray. It was a difficult journey for Ana to get to Macajan, but she was committed to regularly mentor and disciple these young believers. 

Pastor Jose Herrera has known Ana for 20 years and seen her passion for the Lord. “Though she has suffered a lot in life, we have never heard any wrong from or about her,” he says. “She has a great testimony. She is a woman of integrity, without malice, and dedicated completely to the Lord’s work.” Pastor Jose has encouraged Ana in her faith and now, through MVI missionaries Don and Mary Wolfram and MVI’s partnership with the Christian Motorcyclists Association, we were able to bless Ana with a motorcycle to further her ministry. She will now be able to visit the community more regularly and easily. “Ana is a small tenacious woman with a huge desire to spread the gospel and show God’s love,” says Don. “The bike will be a huge time saver and will greatly expand her sphere of influence with the gospel.”

MVI and CMA, along with two of our other ministry partners, Jesus Film and Global Christian Relief, were recently in Colombia to present Ana and eight other pastors with motorcycles to expand their ministry. The team visited Via Escobar and Macajan and prayed over Ana and the plot of land that will soon become a church for the community. The foundations for a church roof are already beginning. Join with us in praying for Ana and the other pastors and their ministries in Colombia – God is doing a mighty work!

In South Africa, missionary Cathy Potter watched as days of torrential rains began to flood nearby communities.

While heartbreaking, it also presented many opportunities to respond with the love of Christ. “We were able to provide many, many families with food parcels and warm blankets,” Cathy says. A nearby group of schools wanted to help other affected schools and offered Cathy some supplies. She had assumed it would be a small truckload, but instead she was surprised and grateful when a whole moving van full of supplies showed up. Cathy and her team gave care packages to 50 staff members at the school, a few weeks’ worth of food to 80 families, and a gift to each of the 800 children at the school. “It was wonderful to see the community and church family come together during such a difficult time in our province,” Cathy recalls.

The flooding also left many families homeless, and Cathy was able to help facilitate building new structures made of corrugated iron with cement floors. Her colleague Patrick trained up some of the unemployed young men in the community to help, creating a double blessing of not only providing a family with housing but also teaching job skills to young men.

“We know that God is at work in ways that we are not always aware of,” Cathy reflects. “Despite how overwhelmed I sometimes feel with the needs that are so great and the resources that are so limited, God is faithful.”