The Miracle of Almolonga
Mark 7:37
for they were overcome with utter amazement.
Again and again they said, “Everything he does is wonderful;
he even corrects deafness and stammering!”
now I always have a picture of this in my heart
all these years after hearing a message from a pastor …
and I would like to share this picture with you ...
may our cities and our lives be like Almolonga!
MIRACLE
Guatemala: ‘The Miracle of Almolonga’
By Sarah Pollak
CWNews
June 10, 2005
CBN.com – Imagine a town where there are so few crimes the jails have been closed, and the food crops are so big and luscious they could have come from the Garden of Eden.
It’s a miracle happening in a small town in Central America where spiritual revival led to a remarkable transformation.
Almolonga is a small town nestled high in the western mountains of Guatemala . Here, both people and economic conditions are proving a remarkable exception to the national norm.
The majority of Almolonga's 18,000 residents are farmers. Much of the work is still done by hand, including cultivation and irrigation.
What sets Almolonga apart from other Guatemalan farming villages is the incredible volume of its agricultural production.
On a typical market day, during one of the 8 harvests per year, tons and tons of fresh vegetables are gathered in the town center for export. Here they are loaded onto large tractor-trailers. An average of 40 of these tractor-trailers a day leave Almolonga, loaded with some of the finest produce grown in the Western Hemisphere .
It's no wonder Almolonga is called " America 's Vegetable Patch"!
But something else distinguishes Almolonga besides its vegetables. The villagers like to speak about that on signs leading into town. Signs saying: "Jesus is Lord of Almolonga". And that has made all the difference!
Juan Riscajche is an Almolongan farmer.
Juan attested, “Definitely, all this is a blessing directly from God. Because we know that He is the owner of the whole earth. And He also is the one who provides us with the seed. So the only thing that we do is to follow His instructions. And you can see the results we have! We know it is a direct blessing from God to us.”
Juan is a typical Almolongan. His strong Christian faith is as real to him as the vegetables he lovingly tends by hand.
His son, Mariano Riscajche, pastors one of the town's largest congregations, El Calvario ( Calvary ) Church.
Pastor Mariano vividly remembers the day God first got his attention. He told me, “It was in 1974, I was then a real drunk, walking the streets. I heard a voice, ‘Mariano’, the first time. ‘Mariano’ the second time. And the third time: ‘Mariano, I've chosen you to come with Me!’”
And, indeed, in the 1970’s, Mariano was one of the first in a wave of supernatural conversions that swept through Almolonga.
A call to repentance and holiness was followed by a period of intense spiritual warfare. Mariano, now a believer, also became a Pastor. He told us about a particular incident, when he felt God’s leading to cast a demon out of a drunken man.
Mariano described the event this way, “And suddenly from that man's throat came a hoarse voice saying ‘No! No! This is mine and you cannot take it away from me. I am powerful and all this town is my domain and nobody can come and intrude in here!’” That demon told Pastor Mariano his name was Maximon.
Effigies of Maximon had long been venerated and worshipped in Guatemala . We found one in the neighboring village of Zunil . Candles are burned in front of it and hard liquor and cigarettes are sacrificed to the idol, who's said to be a combination of Judas Iscariot, Conquistador Pedro Alvarado and the Mayan deity Ry Laj Man.
Now Pastor Mariano knew exactly who he was dealing with—and how to respond. Mariano said he told the demon, “ Be quiet! The time has come to take authority over you, and this town.” At this moment, the Spirit of God came over me! I said, “Loose him!” Instantly that drunken man was free!
Even the town became free! Since then, it's been estimated that over 90% of Almolonga’s people are now born again Christians. The usual form of address has become “Hermano” (Brother).
A generation ago, there were only 4 churches here. Today there are 23! The last jail closed down in 1988, because there's virtually no crime in this town.
Once there was rampant alcoholism, now bars have been closed or torn down and rebuilt into church halls. The lot where Calvary Church was built was formerly occupied by Almolonga's largest saloon.
Everywhere in Almolonga, blessing and prosperity are evident. People who used to pinch pennies (centavos) to buy a donkey are now driving Toyota pickups! Plus, the trailers that haul away vegetables are most often pulled by Mercedes Benz trucks!
Pastor Harold Caballeros of El Shaddai Church in Guatemala City says repentance and revival have completely transformed Almolonga!
Pastor Harold explained, “The mentality, and the way of thinking and the patterns of thinking of the people has changed so drastically! Changed from a culture of death, a culture of alcoholism, idolatry and witchcraft, to a culture today where they think only about expanding the kingdom of God—prosperity, blessing, healing—and everything related to Revival!”
Pastor Mariano Riscajche says the Miracle of Almolonga shouldn't be unique, not at all! “Just as God did it here, it can happen everywhere in the world!”
Pastor Mariano added, “What the Lord wants to do—in anyplace—is to show that, through His power, He can lead people to freedom and a better life!”
Jesus is still in the business showing forth His love for His beloved children today!
Cheers
