It’s hard to believe we are at the end of July. Time is such a peculiar concept. We’re not sure how something can fly by yet seem so far away in our memories. This is how July has felt. We’ve enjoyed it as we’ve been able to see many friends we had not seen in years! We have also seen many new souls come to Christ!
This month we were able to meet with our Nueva Vida Churches in a General Assembly. We fellowshipped, talked ‘business’, prayed for each other, and rejoiced over answered prayers! It was so encouraging to hear from them, all that they had accomplished, and to see how much each church is growing. Things have not been the easiest during the pandemic, but to see the love and passion each of these pastors emanate is truly encouraging to us.
Impacto has many great things coming up and we would like to ask or your prayers as we plan and put into action our upcoming ministries, such as the Pastor’s Congress, VBS, Christmas Festival, and Zona Cero. We know God has huge plans for each of these ministries.
Pictures in this e-letter are of teens and kids receiving Bibles; children in public schools asking Jesus Christ to come into their hearts as their Savior; and one of our Abueitas smiling after having fun in an activity during Abuelitos.
Pursue a righteous life—a life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life,
the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced
in the presence of so many witnesses.
1 Timothy 6:11b-12 [The Message]
THE CHRISTIAN RACE
As you can read in this very newsletter, we are asking for your help to build a soccer field at Xejuyu. Paul used a sports analogy to speak about the race of a Christian. It’s a race that Paul said we had to run correctly, following the rules put in place to not be disqualified.
And in 2 Timothy 4:7-8 Paul says “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
Therefore, there is a crown in store for us, for all of us that fight the good fight against sin, against temptation. And that we may finish our fight while keeping our faith in only our Lord Jesus Christ. I encourage you to race legitimately, to fight against sin legitimately, and to know that we have a trophy in store for us, which is the crown of justice.
May God bless you,
Pastor Luis
SOCCER!
Did you know that soccer, or as we call it here football, is a huge deal in Guatemala? Everyone watches it on the weekends and plays it daily. We’ve noticed while spending time at Xejuyu that it’s a great place to play. We’ve also noticed many games happening, and we’ve had the opportunity to evangelize and invite many to our newest church, How Great Thou Art, through these pick-up soccer games.
Did you also know that Pastor Luis is full of ideas? Well, here is the latest one. We want to make a soccer field at Xejuyu and use it for many different ministries. A brand-new ministry we would like to start is a soccer academy for children and teens! We know some kids that tried joining one of the community teams but sadly they didn’t last too long. One of the biggest reasons they shared with us was that the kids, teens, and adults involved used a lot of profanity. Can you imagine? These kids felt uncomfortable enough with the words being used that they decided to leave something they loved!
At our Academy we will nurture a love for the game, but more importantly a love for God. This will be a place where many boys and girls will be ministered to, many will find a mentor, many will get to know the love of God, many will know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, all the while doing something that they love. Something they are passionate about, something that will get them moving.
We are very excited about this new ministry and we are hoping that with your help we can get this done soon. Our rainy season has been gracious so far and the rain is more prominent in the evenings. The rain will cease in the next few months and so will school. It will be the perfect time for us to get many involved.
We are working on training and working with some very skilled soccer players to be a part of this. But we need your help. It will cost about $20,000 to get the entire field done, including bleachers. We know this idea has huge potential and we know we’ll see many come to Christ. We know this could ensure a ripple effect that will reach many families. We know there are many of you who have a special place in your heart for sports and we know you know the benefits a Christian Soccer Academy could have in a village like San Juan.
To donate you can do so to Happy Tummies (as this will be an extension of that ministry) or you can specify with HT Soccer.
