Many of you who have been on mission trips with Impacto have heard Pastor Luis talking about the "ripple effect." He talks about how one Christ-like deed, one Christ-like action can cause a ripple of many Christ-like deeds and actions. We see it almost daily in the ministry. We see how kids who were ministered to through a team at a VBS in a church are now young adult leaders in their church!
We see the ripple effect in the kids at Happy Tummies and their families. We see parents seek God after their children come home knowing and sharing Bible verses. We disciple families who want to know more about God, who want to follow in His footsteps after their children have come home talking about God and how He sent Jesus to save us, to save them!
Many of you have visited Happy Tummies and know how it operates. For those of you who haven’t, here is a brief explanation. We have four Happy Tummies locations, two of which operate after school. The children come at noon and receive a nutritious, warm meal. Afterward they brush their teeth, we bring them together for Bible Story/Devotional. They then have time to do their homework and we have certified teachers to tutor them. Right before going home they have a nutritious, vitamin-filled drink. What the children delight in the most is the love of God that is shown to them through the staff and teams that come minister alongside us.
Lately God has put in our hearts to open a new Happy Tummies in Zacapa, located on the eastern side of Guatemala. It is a very poor area; it’s very hot and dry. It's a place where adults and kids are in dire need of hearing the Gospel! Through our years of ministry we have learned to take leaps of faith and we’ve also learned we need to be good stewards with what God has given us. Funds are low in two out of four Happy Tummies’ here in the lake area. God always provides and is faithful; however, we know that we cannot open and manage a new Happy Tummies if the ones already running are not fully funded.
Some of the reasons our funds are low are because: people who've made a commitment don't renew their commitment; people get involved in other churches and ministry efforts separate from Impacto; people go home excited with every intention of sending financial support but get back into their routine and forget; we raised funds for HT Public School II but did not ask for reoccurring commitments so after this year, that HT will need monthly supporters.
So today we are asking that you partner with us. Help raise all needed funds for the Happy Tummies we already have and your help will ultimately lead to opening a new Happy Tummies. The children, families, and community of Zacapa need to hear the Good News. Tummies need to be fed, but even more, souls need to be spiritually fed.
Please prayerfully consider partnering with us to fully fund our existing Happy Tummies so that we may open a new one in Zacapa.
