Inasmuch Exported to Guatemala

One of David Crocker’s favorite lines (he often uses it in training churches to conduct Inasmuch events) is “When you do what God tells you to do, He always has more in mind.”

Again and again, this truth has shown up in the Inasmuch ministry.  God opens a door and invites Inasmuch to go through it, and, lo and behold, fresh, unforeseen opportunities are revealed!

Such has been the case with Inasmuch’s experiences in Guatemala.  In 2014 the ministry shipped a full shipping container of more than 252,000 meals to Guatemala which were distributed by mission teams visiting there throughout the summer of that year.  David Crocker and Board member Corky Corcoran were among those who went with a mission team from Central Baptist Church of Johnson City, TN.  A video showing the distribution of these meals may be seen by clicking here.

The next year Inasmuch shipped 144,000 meals to Guatemala, again through the Knoxville-based ministry Clubhouse Guatemala.  Once again these meals were distributed by various mission teams over a period of about 6 months.

This year, instead of shipping meals, Inasmuch shipped food packing equipment and some supplies to Guatemala.  Again Crocker and Corcoran went with the Johnson City team in early June.  But this time meals were packed “on site” using Guatemalan volunteers!  Ten thousand meals were packed with more than 1,000 of them being given out during that week.

That’s not all.  This year, Crocker was provided two opportunities to train Guatemalan pastors and church leaders how to plan and conduct an Inasmuch Day.  Says Crocker:  “Our ugateamunited.com/online/lamisil/ prayer is that these Guatemalan churches will do what they can to minister to their fellow Guatemalans rather than relying on Americans to come to their aid.”  Eight churches were trained with the Inasmuch model of community ministry.

The rural churches are especially challenged to initiate compassion ministry not because there is not much need but because there is so much.  In fact most of their members are as needy as anyone in their village.  Even to think about looking outside their fellowship to meet the needs of others is a novel idea.  What they can do to meet those needs is an even greater challenge because of the limitations of the churches’ resources.  “I simplified by a lot everything about the training,” says Crocker, “in hopes that they will simply try to obey the call of Jesus in Matthew 25 to minister to hurting and hungry people as best they can and trust the Father to bless their efforts.”

The Pastor of Sembradores de Vida in Guatemala City responded to the training by promising the church would do their first Inasmuch in late July or early August!  Stay tuned for more information about that at a later date.

“When we were asked to put together food for Guatemala two years ago,” says Crocker, “we did not anticipate that we would have the chance to train Guatemalan churches to use Inasmuch to minister to their neighbors!  We just did what we felt God wanted us to do, but He had much more in mind.” 

What has He asked you to do that might lead to more than you can imagine?