Wow! Can you believe we’ve reached the end of June?! The Impacto staff is over the moon, we were able to host our first two teams since February 2020! We are tired but our spirits are so full!
We have enjoyed the company of two wonderful teams who came and ministered to our Abuelitos, Happy Tummies kids, Stitches of Blessings women, and a local Youth Group. We also spent a few days at the new Happy Tummies in Faith in Action Nueva Vida Church, in the city; as well as time with their Youth Group.
At Faith in Action Church the team was able to be with the kids and build a swing set for the church and the Happy Tummies kids. Everyone is so excited and we know this will be a great incentive for the kids to continue their good behavior. Most of the kids who attend the church and Happy Tummies come from a squatter community near the church. Many of them have hard home lives full of abuse, alcoholism, drugs, and gangs. The church and Happy Tummies have truly been a saving grace for them.
Swings built at Faith in Action Church
"...Press on toward the goal to win the prize
for which God has called..."
Philippians 3:14 [NIV]
Move Forward towards the Goal
Without a doubt, all of us have a past. In our past there are many beautiful things to remember; at the same time, there may be things in our past that possibly torment us. Maybe something we did or something someone did to us, something that up until today, can make us feel guilty.
There are people that say that they cannot forgive themselves for the things that happened in the past. But Paul says to the Philippians in Chapter 3:13-14: “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (NIV)
For some reason I woke up this morning thinking on these verses, and I want to ask you to remember that the past should not torment you. If there are pleasant and beautiful memories to remember, great! But if there are memories that can torment you, the Bible says that God already forgave our past and placed it in the deepest of the sea to never remember it (Micah 7:19).
I encourage you to move on, going forward to reach the goal, that to which God purposely called you to do on this earth.
Providing training to our teachers
Training
The past couple of days and for the rest of the week we’ve been able to offer some training to the Happy Tummies teachers of Faith in Action Nueva Vida Church (GUAT City), and Ebenezer Nueva Vida Church (Zacapa). We will travel to the lake and offer the same training to the teachers of our two Happy Tummies there (San Juan and Panyebar).
Providing training to our teachers is very important to us. They learn many new things while being encouraged to continue serving the Lord. As our staff helps translate, we are also learning a lot and taking notes to work with the teachers as we better ourselves to glorify God and teach the children to follow His path.
We have learned that while we will not see all the results of a child’s faith walk, we are a part of the process. We are helping to mold them. And, we must remember, we might be the only Jesus some of these children see.
Above - Her first Bible
Below - Youth Meeting at Faith in Action
