November 29, 2014

Pastor Luis' Corner

Although a little late, Happy Thanksgiving! The Thanksgiving Holiday comes around once a year, but we should celebrate it every day, no matter what the circumstances. The Word of God says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18: Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus (NIV). This verse motivates us to be thankful with everything and everyone. Being grateful brings us closer to God, and to our brothers and sisters. For example, husbands, when was the last time you gave your wife a kiss and thanked her for making your meals, or doing your laundry or anything else she might do for you? And wives, when was the last time you thanked your husband for working hard to provide for the family? There are many other examples but the biggest one is:

When was the last time

you got down on your knees

and thanked God

for having sent His son

to die on the cross for your sins?

The Bible says in Psalm 103:2-3: Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases (NIV). I hope that this season teaches

us all to be more thankful. On my behalf and on behalf of the whole Impacto Staff, I want to thank you for your prayers and your support. God Bless you!

The month of November sure has been a month full of gratitude. We are thankful the Lord has protected our staff as it has been a month with lots and lots of traveling. The first week of November we hosted a group from VA, MD, AL, and NC who participated in the VBS of Adonai Church in Guatemala City. This group also helped to hold two afternoons of VBS at an S.O.S village which is an orphanage/foster care center in Guatemala City.

The second week we traveled back to the lake region, with a team from MD, AL, IL and MN. They participated in VBS, held Happy Feet, worked in the construction of one house and of course visited with our Abuelitas and Happy Tummies kids.

The following week we traveled to Zacapa with a team from ME and OH and held a VBS at two different churches. We also held a "mom's VBS" in which we were able to minister to many wonderful ladies.

The fourth week we traveled back to the lake region and hosted two teams, one from NC and one from GA. The team from NC spent a few days ministering in Poacorral, at the very top of the mountains, where they held VBS, built 2 houses and provided haircuts for men. The team from GA built two chicken coops. One was built in the new Happy Tummies location in San Juan and one in the Happy Tummies location in Panyebar. These two chicken coops will be our "experiments" so we can learn how much it takes to be able to run a small business (micro-enterprise). This will help us see if we can provide low-income families to start their on chicken/egg micro-enterprise. Our plan is to provide Happy Tummies with some of the products from these first two chicken coops. The team from NC also made house visits to some of our Happy Tummies families, gave away some water filtration systems and started digging a cistern at Happy Tummies, San Juan. We were overjoyed to have spent Thanksgiving Day with these very giving people. It was great to be able to sit, give thanks ad have a wonderful meal surrounded by many of our sisters and brothers in Christ.

We have so much to be thankful for this year. First and foremost we are thankful for the salvation that our Lord Jesus Christ offers us, for His mercy, love and faithfulness. We also thank Him for His provisions and we are so thankful to have all of you in our lives. We are sure that God has placed each of you in the path of this ministry to glorify His name. Thank you for partnering with us and ministering alongside this God-centered ministry. Praise the Lord for He is good!

Give thanks . . .