| From: [email protected]
Date: Fri, 18 Apr 1997 16:47:12 -0400 (EDT)
Dear Friends:
Lori (Pinney) Nij and her husband Eugene Nij serve as missionaries in
San Raymundo, Guatemala. They have been there for over a decade. With
the help of the New Iberian Mission Association the have built an
orphanage, a Free School and a number of churches to teach and preach
the gospel of Jesus Christ. Last week, two women tried to kidnap a
baby in the town square (kidnapping is very common and out of control).
When they grabbed the baby, some of the merchants heard the mother
screaming and went to her aid. They caught the two women and got the
baby back, but not before the square had filled with women who had seen
what had happened. They formed a mob and were just going to kill these
women (out of frustration for the many babies who were still missing).
When Eugene heard the news he frantically hurried to stop this.
When he got there the town's women were out of control. The police were
trying to figure out what they were going to do with this mob. Eugene
asked that he be allowed to speak to them. He calmed them down, but he
warned the police that they needed to take these women (the kidnappers)
to another town to be jailed for their own protection. Eugene then went
back across town to the Free School to finish his day.
That afternoon, the women were placed in the jail there in San Raymundo,
in spite of Eugene's advice, and when the husbands came in from the
fields, the women of the town incited them to tear down the jail and
kill the women. By the time the police go there one woman was killed
and the other was seriously injured. Today, Eugene has been arrested
ance charged with murder 1.
The government has always sought a way to close the Free School and the
orphanage as well as the churches and this is how they plan to do it.
There are over 300 witnesses, including the police officers that can
testify that Eugene wan't even present, but these voices are not being
heard.
My friends, this is where you come in . . . I believe with all my heart
that Satan and his forces are waging war on Christians world-wide. He
wants to isolate and destroy. Lori said that the worst part was the
lonliness with Eugene in jail and her family clear across the world.
I am pleading that you begin, the minute you receive this, praying. The
kind of prayers that ascended when Peter was imprisoned. The kind of
prayers you have received when you were in a trial. The kind of prayer
that in love can change the world.
I pray that you send this to every person, church and Christian
organization that you can and together we will not only see Eugene
released, but we will form a chain of prayer that will blanket the
globe and no longer will we be alone in our struggles . . . but united,
with almighty God as our King. And when the trumpet shall sound, and time
shall be no more, we shall meet face to face and I shall be honored to
gaze at the sea of Brothers and Sisters who prayed with me and loved me
as their own.
God Bless You.
Tim Worstell
Email: [email protected]
Update
Please forgive the delay, but as you might imagine, we are going around
the clock. I will give you a summation, and If you are interested--I
will mail you a copy of the New Iberian Mission Association
Newsletter--It will go into even more detail. As for the latest news,
When Eugene (Queno) got to prison, he found that he would be put in
general population. That means that he would be put in the same holding
place with murderers, rapists, terrorists, anyone who would be put in a
federal prison for a crime worthy of a death sentence.
He began to pray, within a few minutes, the inmates asked him to pray
for them. He began to preach, much like Paul and Silas did. These men
began to cry out,"What must we do to be saved?" He continued, hours
passed. He affected even the guards. They have been sneaking him up
to the head office late every night to call Lori and pray with her and
to update her on his conversions, even though inmates are not allowed to
make phone calls. On the first day, as he began to preach, a man came to
him. He introduced himself as the devil himself. He obviously ran things
inside the prison, and had now pulled Queno off to the side to stop him
from preaching. Queno told him that the power he was looking for, that he
thought he had found in the Mafia, that he thought he had found here,
was only available in one place. . .Jesus Christ. He prayed with and
taught him all night long. The next day, this man, whose shadow
eclipsed Queno, made an announcement to the whole prison. "Anyone who
messes with the preacher messes with me!"
That day, Lori was held up bringing his food to him (they are allowed
to eat once a day and the family has to bring it or they don't eat at
all) and as it became obvious that he would not get to eat today, one
by one the inmates began to tear off bread from their plates. One said
to him, "you've fed us all day from the plate of God, now let us feed
you from our plate." My friends, what Satan meant for evil, God has
used for good.
Please continue to pray for Queno, the life expectancy in this prison
is very short. My prayer has been that, as Queno has made the front
page of the national newspaper for two weeks in a row now, he is
becoming a national figure. When he is released, he will be able to
draw great crowds anywhere he preaches. This will enable him to have
a much more profound effect on this country. Back in San Raymundo,
there have been lines as far as the eye can see now for 5 days. One
by one the people who knew Queno and were touched by him are lining
up at the Lawyer's office to give their deposition. They have over
a THOUSAND SO FAR! And the line doesn't look like it has moved.
These people whose annual income is equivalent to a hundred dollars or
so, are coming to Lori's house with money they had stored to feed their
families and are offering it to her to pay the legal bills, and to help
feed her family as Queno is in prison. Guatemala is largely a Catholic
Country, and this has been a struggle for the past decade for Queno
and Lori. On the day he was arrested every Catholic church in the state
announced that they were going to fast and pray until Queno was released.
They have been very faithful to that promise.
The country will never be the same. My friends, I cannot express to you
in words what your dedication to this prayer vigil means to me. I may
never know the significance of brothers around the world uniting in
prayer in one voice, with one heart. However, I can attest that when
I am asked how I can know that there is a God, I can only respond,
"Because I have his signature." May God Bless Each Of You in your
faithfullness.
Sincerely,
Dean Pinney
UPDATE
Today the U.S. Ambassador called Lori and insisted that they
meet right away. He told her that his phone is ringing off the
hook. He can't get anything done on his computer for the e-mail
stacking up. He was contacted by 2 U.S. Senators this morning
that told him that they expected an explanation by tomorrow
regarding the imprisonment of Queno. In addition, he has
received E-Mail from "every continent, from Governments around
the world." He asked Lori, "Who are you?!!!! I have received
messages from every continent around the globe over the weekend
and now I have the U.S. Senate breathing down my neck."
Lori told him that they were merely Christians whose family
around the world was concerned. He told her to rest assured that
the U.S. was now involved and they would bring things to an end.
He told her that he has never met anyone in his entire career
that had such influential ties. She said that Queno's
imprisonment was used by God to UNITE THE CHRISTIAN WORLD
(emphasis added), and that there is a new day dawning for those
persecuted for the sake of righteousness. Because there are
millions across the world on their knees seeking counsel with
the Most High God--and He is obviously giving them His attention.
The President of the Evangelical Association in Guatemala
interviewed Lori for two hours yesterday and was astonished at
her reassuring response. He told her that they must be the "Most
protected people in the world". He said that he sent 2 detectives
last week to locate her and tell her that he wanted to meet with
her. When they got to San Raymundo they began asking where they
could find her. No one would tell them where she lived. They
offered money, threatened, and nothing persuaded the people to
tell where she lived. Finally, they resorted to driving the many
miles of road that is made up of the Alto Plano and searching for
her truck.
Finally, the President of the Evangelical Association decided he
would find her himself. He found a Catholic Priest (thinking that
surely this man, a religious enemy, would tell him where to find
them) when he asked him if he knew Queno. (He told Lori that he
had never seen anything like this before.) "Do I know him? My
son, he has changed our lives! Come, let me tell you about my
brother. . . for thirty some minutes he went on about how Queno
has given life to these people. Then he ended with, "May God
forgive me, but I cannot tell you where she lives."
Sunday the church where Queno preaches normally, was packed out
into the streets. There were faces there that had sworn they
wanted nothing to do with religion. "We want to know, What kind
of God turns sadness into singing?" they cried.
Friday, Queno called Lori. "When you come next week, bring extra
food." Lori, worried about why he wasn't getting enough,
asked,"Aren't you getting yours?" "Oh yes, but there are many
here who have no family and they don't have food at all. . I try
to share mine, but I run out before we get to everyone." Lori
assured him that she would find the money to buy more.
She took her last bit of money and went to the market, she began
to fill bags with food. The grocer, a lady that has known Queno
for a long time, asked Lori if she was leaving town. Lori then
told her that Queno had talked about the men in prison who
weren't getting food and that they were going to feed them. The
grocer stood there dumbfounded. "Back your truck up to the door"
she told Lori. "If your husband is in prison and he is more
concerned about the other prisoners than himself, or his own
expense--then I don't want to be left out of what your God is
about to do there." She FILLED Lori's truck with food and told
her to come back if that wasn't enough. It only takes a spark...
A song that I remember learning 25 years ago now takes on a
whole new meaning. "It only takes a spark to get a fire going,
and soon all those around can warm up to its glowing. That's how
it is with God's love, once you've experienced it--you spread his
love to everyone, you want to pass it on."
In a small village in Central America that most of you have
never heard of, there was a man who grew up without a father.
Raised by his mother, very poor, he learned to be a carpenter.
When he was of age, he was converted by his uncle to Christ. His
life was never the same. He vowed to go to bible college and
learn how to bring others to Christ and come back and preach to
this lost village made up primarily of Mayan Indians.
At Colegio Biblico, in Eagle Pass Texas he met and married his
missions professor. To the amazement of his people, he returned
as he had said. (Everyone who got the chance to leave never came
back.) His biggest concern were the thousands of children
orphaned by a century of civil war. As he began building a
church, he also envisioned an orphanage. As he began to work
with the children, he realized that they were not getting a very
good education. So his next challenge was to build a school to
educate them. It would have to be free, because the poverty was
overwhelming. A decade later, the orphanage is mother and father
to many children, the free-school is giving a future to the next
generation of Guatemalans. The church has outgrown its building,
meeting every day of the week to overcrowded audiences starving
for a peace that passes understanding.
And this small Mayan preacher, in love with his people, is lying
tonight on a concrete floor, giving praise to his God that he was
chosen for this ministry. Praying that he can reach "one more"
before his time is up. Tonight, he fed the multitudes--with so
much food from a grocer that normally would put her out of
business. But up in Heaven God is smiling. . . another demon on
the unemployment line. I am reminded of the jar that never
emptied as the prophet asked the widow to make him a cake.
Don't close your Bible yet, God is still keeping jars from going
empty. He's still holding the water back so his servants can
cross on dry land. He still asks, "Whom shall I send, Who will
go for us?" It only took a spark, that small ember of faith
shielded from the wind, that grows into a raging fire that the
wind cannot put out--in fact, the stronger the wind. . the
stronger the fire.
And somewhere tonight, from a desolate prison cell there is one
who is calling to God for the first time as he awaits death for
his crime, saying, "Remember me in paradise." And beside him is
a five-foot tall preacher with a ten-foot tall spirit fuelled by
the prayers of Christians from every land.
Get in, sit down, hang on.
Dean
If you want a Newsletter contact
The New Iberian Mission Association
P.O. Box 668
Organ, NM 88052
505/382-9209.
Send faxes to:
1) President of the Republic
S.E. Alvaro Arzu Irigoyen
[Salutation: Sr. Presidente/Dear President]
Fax: 011-502-221-4537
2) Attorney General
Lic. Hector Hugo Perez Aguilera
[Salutation: Sr. Fiscal General/Dear Attorney General]
Fax: 011-502-231-7066
3) Minister of the Interior
Lic. Rodolfo Mendoza
[Salutation: Sr. Ministro/Dear Minister]
Fax: 011-502-251-5368
4) Guatemalan Ambassador to the United States
Pedro Lamport
[Salutation: Sr. Embajador/Dear Embassador]
Fax: 202-745-1908
Tim Worstell
Summum Christian Church
8888 East Turner Highway
Astoria, IL 61501
309-759-4236 Email: [email protected]
|
| This message comes in the middle of Larry's - after the part of Queno's entry
into the prison, and before the call from the US Ambassador to Guatemala.
****************************************************************************
I apologize that it has taken me so long to give you an update on the
condition of our brother Queno in Guatemala. He is still imprisoned in the
Federal Prison in Guatemala City, Charged with Murder. He is still being
held with no evidence or witnesses. He is still being kept from his ministry
that he has been devoted to for over a decade. He is still being kept from
his family. He is still preaching. He is still praying. He is still
praising God for the opportunity to preach to the lost. He is still
changing lives forever.
Yesterday, was the day set aside for visitors to come to the prison. This
is a rare event, they do not allow visitors often due to the nature of the
crimes of these inmates. Lori stood in line for hours with Tabitha, and
Herbert--waiting to see daddy. They were patiently waiting to tell Queno,
husband. . .daddy, that they loved him.
They were anxious to tell him of the phone calls that they have received from
around the world. They were anxious to tell him that the people in the
village who had never been interested in their ministry were asking what they
could do to help. About how these people, impoverished beyond our
imagination, were taking the grain, the corn that was their meager store of
food to feed their family--and they made food for Lori and the children.
About how these strangers to religion, saw an opportunity to show their love
for a family that had brought hope to the hopelessness of the forgotten
village of San Raymundo. They were anxious to tell Queno that the government
threatened every member of the press to stay away from this situation or they
would be held in contempt by the Federal Government. How that a member of
the press told Lori that he was risking his life to report the story in his
small independent paper. They wanted to tell Queno about the Baptist,
Pentecostal, Disciple and Catholic Churches around the Alto Plano that are
STILL fasting and praying for his safety and release. Tabitha wanted to tell
daddy that today in school she was approached by a reporter that wanted to
tell her that he was trying to find a way to tell their story so that even
the government couldn't stop it. Herbert wanted to tell his daddy that his
friends had told him that their mommies and daddies are selling their
posessions to raise money to get his daddy out of jail. Lori wanted to tell
her beloved husband that she has been faithful to his ministry. . .that she
has been organizing around the clock prayer and fasting for the conversion of
the inmates in the prison that Queno was witnessing to.
But there they were, standing in a line that seemed to string for miles.
Soon, Lori asked a guard why it was taking so long to get in. The guard told
her that it was because the inmates were taking their families to meet the
"preacher". Each one telling his wife and children, "You have to meet this
man who has changed my life! He knows God, and he told His God about ME!
And he said his God will forgive me!" One after another, each one giving up
his time with his family to take them to meet the "preacher". Lori's head
dropped in prayer, "God, I can wait." They didn't get to see Queno until
late that evening, and then for only a few minutes because it was so late. He
glowed with excitement as he tried to tell Lori of each one of these men
whose lives had been changed forever. As they were taken out of the prison,
they looked back to say their last "Good-Byes", and he was already kneeling
down with another inmate and they were praying.
The walls came tumbling down in this place. Walls that separated men from
God, walls that divided families, walls that held men hostage to sin, walls
that divided churches, walls that kept love out and hate in. . .fell. There
were no trumpet blasts, there was no earthquake, just the people of God on
their knees in prayer.
Friends, I need to tell you that today they had another hearing, the Judge is
even more angry that no evidence has been found. Even with the enormous
reward offered for a "witness"--no one will say they saw him do it. The
guard told Lori that he is amazed that they are having so much trouble
"buying" a witness because these people are so poor. But they are not
pursuaded by the dull riches of man, for they have seen the treasures of God.
Thank you for your faithfullness, thank you for your prayers, and may God
change the world through men and women like you. And, as for Dean, I have
seen a glimpse of Heaven in the love of Christians around the Globe. God
Bless you.
|