November 2016

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD. –
ISAIAH 55:8 

At the start of any venture, it is common to ask, “What is my goal?”, “What is my plan?”, “What is step one, two, etc. . . “, What is Plan A? Do I need a Plan B?”, “What are my resources?” and, “What is my timeline/deadline to accomplish this task?”. These are good questions – GREAT questions often asked by many successful entrepreneurs. However, there are other questions that are  just as great, even greater to ask before starting any venture, and those are, “What is God’s plan?”, “What is God’s timeline”, and “What is my role in carrying out His work?”

These have been the questions we in Kairos Ministries have asked since the beginning. The word, KAIROS was an ancient Greek word meaning “opportunity” or “fitting time”. Not to be confused with another Greek word for time, CHRONOS, which is where our word chronological or sequential, comes from. Where we hear the word “TIME” and think quantitatively, “KAIROS” is more nonlinear and qualitative.  The word kairos can be found at least 86 times in the New Testament as a way of teaching us, the reader, to take full advantage of the opportunities God gives us.

Throughout the course of our ministry, we have had many churches and individuals listen to the heart of Kairos and the plans for the future. We have been blessed with many coming along side of us and being willing to partner with our efforts to serve the people of Guatemala and help move the ministry forward. Though we have been challenged by some to steer off course of where we feel God has been leading us, we have gained strength through many faithful prayers and through witnessing God’s daily provision and faithfulness, to persevere and keep our focus on where God is taking us each and every day. We have always maintained the belief that this is God’s ministry and He will provide and direct us according to His great plan.

This past summer, a “kairos opportunity” presented itself when an individual – whom we as a ministry have grown to love and respect and who has worked closely with us in serving the communities of the poorest of the poor to bring them dignity and healing – came to us with their heart. There had been several conversations over the years about our desire to have a permanent health clinic in the Chiquimula area where we bring our medical teams so that steady health care could be provided between the two or three visits we bring each year with teams. However, our focus has always been the heart of our ministry, which is the Kairos House, and we believed that we needed to keep our focus and energy on securing permanent housing for that part of the ministry before branching out and exploring other ideas and dreams. The “kairos” came when this individual -our friend -asked to accompany Gustavo on an “exploration” trip to scout potential building sites or existing buildings where a clinic could be housed. “Let’s just check things out  . . . “

On November 13, 2016, Gustavo and our friend traveled to Camotan, Chiquimula. A local contact of the ministry had connected them with a house that was available to be rented. On a beautiful Sunday morning, they went to this property first.

Just looking . . .

At noon that same day, Gustavo received a text from his wife, Elizabeth, asking how things were going on this “vision casting” trip. The response was as follows:
-“[Things are going] really good.
-“Oh really? Why? What are you doing?”
-“Well, we agreed to rent a place that [this individual] is going to start paying.”
-“What??????? What is this place?? Where?”
-“I know you will be on board. I asked all the questions I thought you would ask. . . it’s exciting!”Keep Reading About The Clinic