Sunday, November 3, 2013

Guatemala City VBS Week

The first week of VBS, held in Guatemala City, will be underway tomorrow morning and the excitement is great! Everyone arrived safely from the States and they are filled with energy and ready to begin. Today’s service at Iglesia Adonai was wonderful. The teams enjoyed seeing friends from past years and worshipping was a blessing to all. Pastor Luis was missed, but he traveled to Esquintla on the Pacific Coast to preach in Gethsemane Church and returned to Guatemala City this afternoon. Please keep this week’s activities lifted in your prayers.

Friday, September 6, 2013

Emilio

Earlier this morning we received a report that Emilio from "Happy Tummies" fell at school and broke his arm. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance and we are awaiting an update. Emilio lives with his grandmother. He was abandon by his father when his mother passed away from cancer. Please be in prayer for this young boy and his family.

Friday, August 23, 2013

Dia de la Biblia


This Sunday,  August 25, the town of San Juan La Laguna will celebrate "Dia de la Biblia". We are very excited that the children from "Happy Tummies" will be marching in the parade that will be held. The children will carry a large banner that identifies them as being form Impacto Ministry "Happy Tummies". They will also wear uniforms that say the same. Pastor Luis will be speaking at one of the two parade stops about the importance of the Bible. Please be in prayer for this opportunity for Pastor Luis to be able to share in this open public forum and for the public to see how God is using Impacto in the lives of these little ones and many others through the "ripple effect" of the ministry.

Friday, August 9, 2013

This is how the ripple effect looks in action!

This email came in today from one of our Impacto Friends. The entire Impacto staff was so moved by it that we thought that you would be to...

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Dear Impacto:

I just wanted to let you know I am sending a $10 check to the Impacto address for the Happy Tummies program. There is a young man (Anthony) in our local prison. I don't know exactly what he did, but he is in prison for quite a length of time. While in prison, he confessed his sins to God and asked to have God in his heart. We were given his name and address back a few years ago so our church could pray for him and send him notes of encouragement. The Lord laid it on the heart of one of our church members to try to visit him. She had to go through quite a lengthy process to get permission to be able to visit him on a regular basis. She has been visiting Anthony for quite awhile now and she has shared lots of information about him including his writings. He has an amazing gift for writing and ministering to other prisoners. Also a couple of other people have gone through the process to be able to visit him and so we have three or four people now who visit Anthony on a regular basis. We send him our weekly Bulletins and our monthly Newsletter so he keeps abreast of what's going on at our church. Plus on a monthly basis he provides us with an article for our Newsletter. The last several Newsletters have included information about our church going to Guatemala and donations we were taking to raise money for various aspects of the trip - including Happy Tummies.

Yesterday I received a note and a check from Anthony asking if he was too late to provide money for the Happy Tummies program. I told him that it's never too late and that I am able to send the money to IMPACTO. For him to be able to send money it has to be a state issued check and it's made out to our church, so it will be converted into a check from our church and we will get it in the mail to IMPACTO as soon as possible. 


It's not a huge amount of money, but I just think it's so amazing how the Lord has touched Anthony and how he now ministers to others. Our God is good!

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Summer Season Begins

The daily rain showers have begun here in Guatemala and thus marks the beginning of the Summer mission teams. Today we will welcome a team from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. This is the first of about twenty teams consisting of over 375 people that will serve here between now and the middle of August. The individuals that come here represent an even larger team of Churches, supporters and prayer partners that are being obedient to the Word in making disciples in all nations.

We are blessed this year to be able to house most of these teams at the Promised Land. There are a couple of weeks that we will have nearly 80 people here and will have to use hotels also. Construction is still continuing, but the end is in sight. Upon a visit to the Promised Land today we saw a lot of progress in the kitchen area. The team visiting this week will be doing work in the kitchen to complete the cabinets and shelves. We would ask that you pray for the completion of this project, for Gods provision where cost have exceeded the estimates, and for the continued safety of the men that work here everyday. Many teams, Churches, and individuals have given of their time,talents, and finances to see his project completed for the glory of God. We pray that many souls will be saved and many disciples will be made because of the events, training, activities, and other opportunities that this property provides
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Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.

Luis, Dinora, Tony, Andrea, Sarah, Fredy, Bryce, Fred, Dusty and Tyler




Saturday, March 2, 2013

February 2013 Ministry Update

The February update is a few days late, but praise God it has been very busy here with some very exciting ministry. February saw visits by a team of engineering students that came to evaluate the water quality in different villages, determining if any illnesses were related to the drinking water and identify some sustainable, affordable solutions. While they were here they conducted field test and did find many quality issues with the water and also visited clinics to speak to health care providers. The team will continue testing and submit some suggestions for improving the water quality for the people here.

The team from Gateway Church conducted two days of medical clinics in San Pedro and 3 days of training for the teachers in Happy Tummies. Happy Tummies was a major benefactor of this teams visit, in addition to the training offered some of the men on the team built shelves and the team provided a fully set up classroom. Even the families of the children of Happy Tummies were blessed as the medical team provided check ups for the children and families of the program. The area Pastors received some greatly needed encouragement and training from the leaders on this team also.

The end of February saw a team of 23 from Hillside Church constructing one house in Santa Maria and another in Santa Clara. One afternoon was spent in San Marcos with VBS and "Happy Feet". There were many smiling faces as new shoes were received by so many. Of course a trip to the Lake is never complete without a visit to Happy Tummies, and it only takes a moment to fall in love with the children there. This group received a special treat when we all visited with the elderly of San Juan. They were older as far as the calendar goes but were young in spirit as they sang songs with the team and showed off some of the crafts they had made.

It is always hard to say goodbye, but we pray that these groups will find the words to share their experiences in Guatemala with others back home.

As this is being written we are awaiting the arrival of the speakers for this weeks Pastors Congress. We ask you to be in prayer this week that God will be in control and the disciples will be equipped to share Jesus among the people of Central America.

Reading suggestions from the Impacto Staff:

Considering short or long term missions, or are you a leader preparing a team? This is some suggested reading from the staff of Impacto:

Cross-Cultural Servanthood: Serving the World in Christlike Humility, by Duane Elmer (Mar 16, 2006)

When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself, by Steve Corbett, Brian Fikkert and David Platt (Apr 20, 2012)

Follow Me: A Call to Die. A Call to Live, by David Platt and Francis Chan (Feb 5, 2013)

Finish the Mission: Bringing the Gospel to the Unreached and Unengaged, by John Piper, David Mathis, David Platt and Ed Stetzer (Sep 5, 2012)

Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Reverse It), by Robert D. Lupton (Oct 2, 2012)


Serving with Eyes Wide Open: Doing Short-Term Missions with Cultural Intelligence, by David A. Livermore (Apr 1, 2006)

The Hole in Our Gospel: What Does God Expect of Us? The Answer That Changed My Life and Might Just Change the World, by Richard Stearns (May 4, 2010)



You need to know, friends, that thanking God over and over for you is not only a pleasure; it's a must. We have to do it. Your faith is growing phenomenally; your love for each other is developing wonderfully. Why, it's only right that we give thanks. We're so proud of you; you're so steady and determined in your faith despite all the hard times that have come down on you. We tell everyone we meet in the churches all about you.
(2 Thessalonians 1:3, 4 MSG)


With much love from Guatemala,
Pastor Luis, Dinora, Sarah, Tony, Andrea, Fredy, Bryce, Fred, Dusty & Tyler (Impacto Staff)