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PHOTO SUBMITTED Matthew and Bonnie Cain, of Bogue Chitto, operate a Christian ministry in Guatemala that focuses on helping widows.

PHOTO SUBMITTED Matthew and Bonnie Cain, of Bogue Chitto, operate a Christian ministry in Guatemala that focuses on helping widows. One of their ministries is a sewing class and Bible study, open to anyone who wants to learn.

PHOTO SUBMITTED Matthew and Bonnie Cain, of Bogue Chitto, operate a Christian ministry in Guatemala that focuses on helping widows.

PHOTO SUBMITTED Matthew and Bonnie Cain, of Bogue Chitto, operate a Christian ministry in Guatemala that focuses on helping widows.

PHOTO SUBMITTED Matthew and Bonnie Cain, of Bogue Chitto, operate a Christian ministry in Guatemala that focuses on helping widows.

Relationship and discipleship — these two words can be used to sum up the goals of Hands and Feet Ministries.

Matthew and Bonnie Cain serve as missionaries in Chimaltenango, Guatemala, sharing the gospel of Jesus through feeding widows, teaching women to sew and make jewelry, and Bible studies.

They have lived in Central American country for more than two years. The first year, they lived with an established missionary family, and have been “on our own” since.

Bonnie went on a mission trip to the country in May 2019 with a group headed up by a visiting preacher at her home church, Topisaw Baptist.

“I immediately fell in love with Guatemala,” she said. “When I got back home, I told Matthew, ‘I think we should sell our farm and move to Guatemala.’”

Matthew wasn’t sold on the idea until he also took a trip to the county in September that year. By the time he got home, he was in agreement that this was what God was calling them and their four children to do. They put their Bogue Chitto farm up for sale in October. It sold in December 2020, and they moved south in January 2021.

Their older sons — Elih, 16, and Gunner, 13 — are still getting used to living in another country. Their 8-year-old son Grafton and 6-year-old daughter Madi Kate both consider Guatemala their home. The family of six works primarily with people who don’t have families of their own.

“We focus on widows. Our funding is only enough to take a hot meal to them one time each month, and visit and pray with them,” Bonnie said. “We’ll start a Bible study next month, in a church that is going to let us meet there.”

They also have a sewing ministry, teaching women and children — and the occasional man — to make clothing and other items, giving them a way to provide for their families from their own homes. They also have Bible study as they sew.

“They think they’re coming just to learn to sew, but we use that time to also share the Gospel with them as they learn,” Bonnie said.

The Cains’ main focus has been widowed women.

“The call of the Church is to care for widows and orphans,” she said. “When they are no longer able to work in the fields, they are useless to their families.”

Hands and Feet Ministries teaches them skills to provide for themselves, teaches them about a God who loves them, and lets them be involved with others and have a sense of belonging. The ministry is growing as a result of the outreach.

“We stared with 10, now we’re at 45,” said Bonnie. “We’d love to minister to the widows weekly instead of monthly, to reach more and more often.”

But funding limits their ability to provide materials and food. So now they are back home for a little while, asking for financial support to continue their ministry.

On Saturday, April 15, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., Hands & Feet will host a fundraiser at The Reading Nook Academy on Industrial Park Road in Brookhaven. A gospel singing will feature local artists Andi Cotton, Trystan Beeson, Dogwood Cross and Montana Beeson. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.

There will be jump houses ($5 armband), a silent auction, a cake auction, spring mini photo sessions for $40 each, and a concession stand. Items made by the women in the sewing ministry in Guatemala will also be available for purchase.

All proceeds from the event will go directly to continue the ministry in Guatemala. Their goal while in the States is to raise $40,000, which will provide for their ministry and living expenses for one year.

For more information or to make a donation, visit http://handsandfeetministries.org or the 6cainsonamission Facebook page. Donations can also be sent to 467 Mallalieu Drive SE, Brookhaven MS 39601.

“Our primary reason for being there is the people’s lack of personal knowledge of God,” Bonnie said. “They know who God is, who Jesus is, but they don’t have a relationship. Relationship and discipleship are our driving force.”

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