When I started drilling wells, I was told: “Do the easy ones first, and you can spend the rest of your life doing the easy ones.” For the past 20 years, I have been trying to follow that advice. With that having been said, God called me to drill water wells for the people of Guatemala. Early, in the year 2000, I met with the Commanding Officer of the US Southern Command as he was preparing to leave Peten Guatemala, after having shut down a well drilling project. He looked me in the eyes and said, “Good luck with your efforts; this is one of the hardest places in the World to drill a water well.” Here in Guatemala even the easy ones are hard. Up till now I have only had small trailer-mounted drill rigs to drill with in Guatemala. Using them to drill in this region is like using a spoon to dig a hole in concrete. With persistence and faith, eventually you will get there, but it is not the appropriate technology. With the help of the Lord Jesus, we have had a level of success, and to date, with our trailer rig program AguaGuate has completed 65 wells as of September 2019.

                                           

For almost 20 years, I have been praying and believing God for real commercial “big rig” drilling equipment for Guatemala. Isaiah 41:17–18 says, (amp) “The poor and needy are seeking water when there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.’  ‘I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.’ God is so concerned with His people having safe water to drink He says He Himself will open rivers, make pools, and fountains for them. He also sends His Chosen People like us to go and fulfill His will

Millions of Guatemalan’s are drinking contaminated, unsafe water every day. The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention said in a recent report that more than a billion people in the world are suffering from Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD’s). The report goes on to say most of the suffering are poor people in developing countries, like Guatemala. In a recent statement, the UN said 83% of the Guatemalan population lives in extreme poverty! I can name 5 NTD’s that I, my drill crew, or someone I know have contracted in the last year. The CDC says some 50 diseases and illnesses are transmitted through drinking and using unclean water. According to Worldometers, the population of Guatemala is 17,647,556 (09-11-2019, 1:00pm). The current estimate is 50% of Guatemala’s population do not have access to long term, safe drinking water. That is almost 9,000,000 people in a country the size of Tennessee.

I am extremely pleased to announce that the Lord Jesus has answered our prayers and touched the heart of our donors to give us new “big rig” drilling equipment. We now have a PRD Speed star rig with mud and air drilling capability. It is one of the biggest drilling rigs in the country, and the absolute biggest of any water well drilling ministry. We call the rig “Papi.” We were also blessed with a Flatbed, 3000-gallon service truck (we call this one Big Red), and a 12-ton flatbed Hino equipment truck (we call this one Burro or donkey). Papi can drill a maximum 12.5” diameter hole, and a maximum depth of 1200 feet deep. We have been blessed with the perfect well drilling equipment for this country. We can now drill a well anywhere within the borders of Guatemala. We have a lot to learn, and it is a slow process. We have already drilled 15 boreholes, for a total of 1234 drilled feet. Of those 15, 8 are producing water wells with an average depth of 233 ft, in just 7 months. We have a total of 15 producing wells for the year so far. We have a goal of at least 25 producing water wells by the end of this year. My personal goal is to be producing 100 wells by the year 2021. We will do the easy and the hard ones, and let the Lord be in control!

                     

Please consider becoming one of my financial partners to help me continue directing this fine work. I am a faith support missionary, and my income and financial support come from your donations. God bless you, and I would love to hear from you. My Facebook and messenger account is Jeremy D. Israel, and Whatsapp 502-5937-2997 (also my Guatemala cell phone). You can also call me any time on my Magic Jack number (904) 435-4470.

 

Isaiah 41:18 “I will open rivers on the barren heights and springs in the midst of the valleys;……and the dry land springs of water”.  With the guidance of the Lords hand, April 2017, I took a position as Well Drilling Director for AguaGuate, the well drilling division of a mission organization called Chosen People International.  I am still with Commission To Every Nation, and will still be receiving your donations through the CTEN system. AguaGuate is less than a year old and I truly believe the Lord has answered my prayers, and opened the door to an amazing opportunity.

When I started working with AguaGuate, their drill rig was designed to drill less than 100 feet, which is totally inadequate for Guatemala.  We fabricated a new pump system, re-tooled parts, and fitted pieces from my drill rig to the AguaGuate rig and it can now drill an 8½-inch hole almost 500 feet deep.  We have drilled three wells together since April.  The last well we drilled was at New Life Full Gospel Church, located in Dolores, Petén.  Petén is one of the most challenging places in the world to drill water wells.  While we were there working, the local government did an analysis of the town water source and issued a red alert not to drink the water.  Two people within two miles of where we were drilling died due to illness contacted drinking that water.  One of those people lived in the house directly across the street from our drill site.  We drilled an 8-inch diameter hole, 445 feet deep and it took us almost 4 months.  I cannot begin to tell you all of the problems, challenges, mechanical failures, spiritual warfare, and issues we had drilling this well.  One thing is for sure, our crew has learned a lot and experienced a trial by fire.  We have been blessed to be able to provide a great water source for the Dolores project that will benefit a Compassion International school with 315 students, and the community of Dolores as a whole.  This project, just like everything we do, was paid for with donations.  For all of you who gave donations over the past few months, and are part of my financial partner team, I want to say a huge heart felt thank you!

The main ministry of Chosen People International is training pastors.  Over the years, Chosen People and their ministry partners have planted eight churches across Guatemala.  For the rest of 2017 and the beginning of 2018, we will be drilling wells at those churches.

Our long-term goal is to drill 24 wells annually. We have targeted 16 of the most needy departmentos, or states to drill wells for.  The total population in those states according to the government is around eight million people.  Statistically 80% or 6.4 million of those people have no access to safe, clean water to drink, and somewhere around 50% or 4.1 million are in need of Evangelic spiritual leadership.  Through our pastoral training program and other ministry contacts, we will be looking for strategic locations to drill water wells that will advance the Kingdom of God in the target areas.  Well drilling is a very expensive ministry and we need your financial partnership and donations to continue this great work.  Our ministry partners and we have already invested more than a quarter of a million dollars into AguaGuate and we are passionate about making a difference.  We have put together a package that includes; salaries for our 6 man team, all the costs and expenses to drill an average depth of 200 feet, install a half horsepower submersible pump and all of the necessary electronics, within a 200 kilometer radios of our home base in Guatemala City.  Your donation of $10,000 will completely cover the cost of one of those wells.  Whether you can donate all or a portion of that cost, your donations are vital to the continued success of this ministry and my ability to continue directing this very vital work.  We ask you to pray, search your heart, and ask the Lord if He would have you be a part of this great ministry.  You can give donations directly from this web site.  Thank you and blessings on you!

As many of you may already know, I got married January 21, 2017 to Ileana Patricia Almengor.  Patty and I met at church and dated for almost two years before getting married.  We share many common interests like hiking, climbing, helping the people of Guatemala, and our love for the Lord.  Patty is a attorney and is serving her country through her profession.  She is a wonderful woman and I am blessed to have her as my wife, and to be her husband.  She has made a house a home and I love our family and life together.

We have more big news!!!  Tuesday October 10, 2017 our baby girl Emma Isabella Israel Almengor was welcomed into this world.  Here in Guatemala they use both the last name of the father and mother.  She is perfectly healthy, beautiful baby.  We are very excited to have our baby girl, she is so sweet and a tremendous blessing for our whole family.

We have had a few challenges and trials during the pregnancy.  At 26 weeks, Patty began to have a lot of unexplained pain.  At first, her doctors thought it was normal intestine and colon pain due to the baby growing and putting pressure on her organs.  I was 10 hours away drilling the Dolores Petén well.  When I spoke to Patty that Friday night, I could hear fear and concern in her voice.  I immediately  left to come home Saturday morning.  At 3 AM Sunday, we were in the emergency room.  There was much uncertainty and confusion among the doctors.  One said irritated colon, and another said appendicitis. The second of which was very, very serious at 6 months pregnant.  The doctors gave us a few options. 1. Wait in observation for a few hours and continue to analyze the situation, or 2. Go immediately into exploratory surgery and inspect her appendix.  Here is where it got scary!  Both scenarios had tremendous risk to Emma.  If we waited and Patty’s appendix burst, the doctors would immediately have to remove Emma from Patty’s womb and she would have to spend the rest of her development in incubation in the hospital.  If we opted for the exploratory surgery, Patty would have to go under anesthesia and this was a tremendous risk for Emma.  If Patty started having contractions, a common occurrence for pregnant women under anesthesia, they would have to deliver Emma.  All the while, she did not have a definite diagnosis of appendicitis.  We really did not know what to do so we consulted our Obstetrician.  She said have the surgery.  So, my beautiful wife and unborn baby were rushed immediately into surgery.  Needless to say, we were all on pins and needles waiting to hear from the doctors.  Praise the Lord everything turned out fine, and Patty indeed had a very inflamed appendix and was hours away from a full-blown appendicitis.  Praise God we listened to the voice of the Lord, got Patty and Emma to the hospital quickly, and were able to take care of the situation with no harm to Patty or our baby girl.

Due to the appendicitis the birth had to be a C-section.  The birth went very smooth, and the doctors all did their jobs with precision and professionalism.  I was in the delivery room and took video and pictures of the whole process.  I also cut the umbilical cord. Emma Isabella weighed six pounds, six ounces and is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen.  She is a sweet, beautiful, and docile baby.  Her doctor said “Emma even cries with style”.

 

     

 

     

They don’t care what you know till they know that you care.  Jesus gave us a very clear example that we need to meet physical and spiritual needs of the people we are called to minister to.  We have now installed efficient wood burning stoves, solar light kits, and drinking water filters in many of the homes of both Niagara and Navajoa villagers.  Both villages now have a church and a pastor living and ministering full time.  As a result we have seen many people give their hearts and lives to the Lord Jesus.  There is still a lot of work yet to be done, and we need your financial support to get-r-done! Thank you to all of you who have already donated, and we ask those of you reading this who have not yet given to search your hearts and ask the Lord if He would have you become a financial partner with this ministry.  We operate 100% from faith support donations.  We have all of the pieces in place here in Guatemala, and just need your financial push to finish the task.  God bless you big!

     

God’s word never returns void, and there is nothing in your life He can not use for His good purpose.  I love the privilege to minister to the young men of Valentines.  Through my testimony the Lord was able to soften the hearts and get some of the hardest boys to open up and let Jesus in.  This year we had 50 young men sponsored for the retreat.  The Lord truly worked miracles in their lives.

Thank you to all of you who gave donations to this great adventure!

     

The retreat was a huge success and the Lord showed up big.  We had 55 young ladies sponsored.  They received personal ministry and laid their hearts at the Cross of Jesus!

Thank you to every one who donated to help touch the lives of the Princesses!

 

The Trailblazer is busy “about my father’s business” here in Guatemala.  August 20 & 21 we will hold our 3rd annual Valientes retreat for high risk adolescent Boys, and September 24th and 25th we will host the Princess retreat.  This year we will be partnering with Link Guatemala, and AMG Guatemala ( www.amgguatemala.org ), to serve 140 young men and ladies, selected from AMG’s “At Risk No More” program working in some of the worst areas of the city.  Every adolescent who will attend one of these retreats has lost a family member or a close relative to violent crime.  We are literary fighting for their souls.  These young men and ladies desperately need an encounter with a true and living Lord.   Valienties and Princess retreat is a sponsorship program and we need your partnership to make this much needed ministry available to these young men and ladies.  Click on the “Donate online” link on this page and help forever change the direction of these future leaders lives.  Your donation of $60 will guarantee the participation of one young man or young lady.  If you wish to help on a larger scale, our operational budget for each 2 day event is $7500.  That includes everything not covered by sponsoring one of the kids.   We need your help and support to make this event a reality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The Food Machine”

Have you ever seen the cartoon movie “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs?”  In the movie, Flint Lockwood, the main character invents a machine that rains food.  Any and every kind of food you can imagine, the machine rains it down on the town.  Could you imagine having any and every kind of food just fall out of the sky, and eat until you could not move?

Well I know many people across Guatemala who just wishes they had some food to eat.  They live off just a few tortillas, and a few spoons of beans each day.  They have learned to live with the pain of hunger and malnutrition.  It is a normal, everyday part of life for them.  The World Bank says the population of Guatemala in 2015 was 16,342,897 souls.  They say 59% of the population lives below the poverty line, and 13% below the extreme poverty line. Deutsch Welle a German broadcaster wrote in an article published in 2014, “Guatemala is the only country in Latin America where the poor are getting poorer.”  40% of the population lives on $1.50 or less per day! That is 6,342,897 people starving to death every single day!

What if I told you we have the technology to change this deplorable situation, and you could be a part of making that change happen. Well we have a solution! I like to call it “The Food Machine”.  The food machine is a 2000 gallon, 400 sq. foot of growing space, totally organic, self-sustained, aquaponic farm.  The system is made of all locally accessible materials and can be transported anywhere in the country in the back of a pickup truck.  In a matter of just a few days, it can be assembled and functioning.  When the system is fully mature and running at full capacity it will produce hundreds of pounds of organic, nutritious fish and vegetables to eat and sell each month.  We set up and install the system, and provide technical support to the families.  Then, when the system is mature and the families are producing an income, we require they make 12 monthly payments for the system.  We then use that money to re-invest in new systems and for administrative costs to operate the program.  Your investment into this project will continue to grow food for the poor for a long, long time.

We partner with pastors, struggling to survive in the harsh climates of rural Guatemala, who are serving as spiritual leaders to the poorest of the poor.  These pastors and their families make the sacrifice to move into the very communities that have been identified as the “extremely poor” to share the Gospel of a loving Savior.  The Food Machine will be a tool that these pastors can use to provide for their families and the families of their communities.  We have several pastors and their families waiting for your donation to this project so we can provide a Food Machine system to them.

The complete Food Machine system cost $5000.  That includes all the infrastructure, setup and assembly, fish, plants, fish food, transportation, follow up visits and training, and a totally self sustaining wind power generator to power the whole system.  We also have a Gofundme page set up for this project if you would like to give your donation that way.  https://funds.gofundme.com/2c6gpbcx  With just a few thousand dollars, the Love of the Savior, and a little effort we can change the quality of life and standard of living of these people forever. 

 

 

 

This is the actual piece of land where we will build our next aquaponics system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bio-Sand Filters and Family Kits

There are two things I believe every person on Earth has a God given right to; salvation, and fresh water.  I have dedicated the last 17 years of my life to helping as many people, as I can, on Earth have access to both.  For several years now I have been a member of a Guatemalan church called Vida Real.  I volunteer with a ministry of Vida Real called I58.  We have a project called Family Kits.  The Family Kit consists of a energy efficient wood burning stove, a water filter, and a solar light kit.  We install these kits in the homes of the poorest families in the country.  Over 500 kits have been installed so far.  On August 19-21 we will be installing kits in the homes of the 16 poorest families of the village of Navajoa, Izbal.

 I have been friends and working with Pastor Miestalai Gonzales (Pastor Miesta), who lives and pastors a church in Navajoa since 2006.  Pastor Mista and I will also be kicking off our next Bio-sand filter project on this same date.  We are offering bio-sand filters to each of the 250 families in the community.  This will be a community based and staffed project where we will build the filters together.  This will be the largest filter project I have done to date.  We are excited about getting started.    This filter will provide clean water for up to 16 users, and will last virtually forever.  It is a completely organic filtering process, and has no moving parts to break or replace.  The filter requires very little maintenance, and when used properly will filter water between 95-100% clean.  Your donation of $70 will provide a bio-sand filter for one of these families.

 

 

2016 we are turning a new page in the life of the Trailblazer.  For the past 2+ years my sending agency and spiritual covering has been FROM Ministries.  It has been a a great ride with Eugen & Nancy Strickland at the helm leading our efforts.  I want to give a huge thank you to the Strickland’s for their service and dedication to this ministry and to the work of the Lord.  However, we have decided to part ways.  We will forever be friends and I love and respect the Strickland, but the Lord has led us in a new direction.
As of January 1, 2016 Commission To Every Nation will be my sending agency and spiritual covering.  CTEN will now be administering your financial contributions.  With each financial gift you send you will receive a tax deductible receipt letter with a detachable return label for your next donation.  You can check out CTEN at www.cten.org  CTEN has had a mission presence in Guatemala for many years and I have a long time relationship with Regional Care Pastor Missionaries Dave & Janice Ewing.
As far as my ministry and work in Guatemala nothing is changing.  I will continue with all the projects and ministries we have done for so many years in Guatemala.  Community development with an emphasis on clean water projects will be my main ministry push.  Bio sand filters, spring boxes, and drilled wells are just a few of our projects.  I will also continue to work with Vida Real Church and I58.  I will be helping with the implementation of Family Kits, and evangelism.  Each Family Kit includes a water filter, an efficient wood burning stove with a chimney, and 4 bulb solar light kit.  We have about 700 kits to install all over Guatemala.
I will continue ministering to high risk adolescents through Valientes retreat for boys and Princesses retreat for girls.  The retreats will be held at two different times per year.  You can scroll down and read more about both outreaches.
I will also continue to work with The Perfect Gift Christmas box project.  Over the past few years we have shared the true Gospel message of the love of Jesus with more than 15,000 children and their parents all over Guatemala.  We start ramping up the first week of October, and usually finish some time in January.

I cannot do any of these projects without your prayers and financial partnership.  The Gospel message is a free gift paid for by the blood of Jesus, however, the road it travels down takes a lot of financial resources and equipment.  Your tax deductible contributions can be made by clicking the “Online Donation” button above or by mail to:

Commission To Every Nation
P.O. Box 291307
Kerrville, TX 78029-1307

*Include a note that your donation is designated for Jeremy Israel.

Together we are improving the quality of life and standard of living with the love of Jesus Christ!

 

We will be busing about 70 boys from the ages of 13 – 17  from 3 different foundations around Guatemala City to a 2 day retreat where we will show them the love of Jesus in a way they have never experienced in their lives before.  We will give each their own Bible and teaching materials, food, lodging, and good clean fun!  We will address healing past hurts, acceptance from Father God, and becoming Brave Men of God.  Your donation of $60 can forever change the life of one of these future Christian leaders of Guatemala!

For the past five months I have been involved with a very big project in collaboration with my church here in Guatemala, Vida Real , I58 or Initiative 58 a community development ministry from Vida Real, and FROMM.  The project is called “A Healthy Home- Family Kits”.  Last year Vida Real partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build almost 300 homes, and we are continuing with this theme.  “A healthy home-Family Kits” is a compliment to last year’s project.  The Family Kit includes the basic necessities of life people living in undeveloped areas need to begin to break the cycle of poverty plaguing their lives.  Each kit includes a Bio-sand filter, Eco Stove, Dry compost latrine, and a solar light kit.  Each kit cost (US) $1000, and our church body donated over 200 kits! The families that will be receiving these kits are living in extreme poverty.  By definition that means they live on less than $1 a day, and presently do not have any of the services the Family Kit provided.  I58 is partnering with 6 international organizations and FROMM to implement the Family Kits.  Each organization has been given 34 Family Kits to install in villages where they have existing and continuing works.  FROMM will be fabricating all 200(+) bio-sand filters, and implementing the kits in the village of Navajoa, Izabal, and Niagara, Santa Rosa.  Each organization will be hosting teams of volunteers from Vida Real Church to help implement the kits and evangelize the villagers.

Here is where we need your help and participation.  As a ministry, FROMM will be responsible for transporting the kits, installing them in the communities, caring for the volunteers, and all follow up trips to supervise the proper use of the kit.  Last week we trained almost 90 volunteers from our church how to install the four parts of the family kit.  Our villages are very remote, and the transportation expense is considerable.  We also need funds to feed and care for our volunteer teams.

I have been a career missionary for 15 years now and I have never seen a local church take the initiative and participate in investing into their own people the way Vida Real is.  This is truly a movement, and God responding to our prayers for this country.  Please search your heart and ask the Lord how you can partner with us to accelerate the end of poverty in Guatemala.  You can send your tax deductible donations to FROM Ministries P.O. Box 2434 Lakeland, FL 33806.  In the memo section of your check write #007.