Happy December, Friends and Family!
How crazy to think that this year is almost coming to a close and a new year is just around the corner. What a year it’s been! Despite so much difficulty and facing the unknown, I do hope that each of you have felt richly blessed by the Lord this year and have had the joy of growing deeper in Him. This year sure has been a huge reminder that we have no control at all over anything, and the only way to truly live in peace is by placing our faith fully in the One who is sovereign over all.
November was a good month for the most part, but it had its challenges. It was a month with a lot of destruction up on the north coast of Honduras, as well as other countries here in Central America. We were hit by two hurricanes, Eta and Iota. In the region where we are, we get quite a bit of flooding and landslides, but nothing like the coast. Many people lost everything they had, including their homes, and a lot of people died. Both hurricanes were devastating. We ask for prayers for each of those people who endured such extreme loss. I can’t fathom what pain they must feel...
Here in La Venta, we have stayed busy with Mario’s sister, Bibian, but thankfully she is back home after a couple of weeks in the hospital and is slowly recovering strength. Please continue to pray for her and the family, it’s been a very long and discouraging process. God has proven Himself faithful time and again as He comes through for us financially to be able to continue to support her and the family. Thank you for being a part of that. It’s also really served as something to unite the family and draw them closer to God. A lot of Mario’s family members are not believers, so it’s been a good opportunity to represent Jesus to them and for Bibian’s testimony to bring God all the glory.
This month was full of fellowship and lots of hosting in our home, which I so love! We’ve had worship nights often, as well as dinners and just nights of rest with our community. For Thanksgiving, we hosted 30 people in our tiny little home. I don’t know how we managed to fit everyone, and it was total chaos, but it was so very good. This next month we anticipate a lot of the same sort of activities and more with the upcoming Christmas and New Years season. We will see exactly how everything plays out though as we are currently looking for somewhere to spend the end of December through the beginning of February as the owner of the house we are currently renting will be here for six weeks. There are not many options in La Venta, so please be praying for us in that. And not just for the six weeks, but for something long-term with more freedom in terms of our ministry and all the activities we want to be doing but don’t get to do to the extent we would like to due to the rules that our current rental has. We also are really wanting to get started with our coffee shop ministry but that’s definitely not an option in this house. So please keep all of that in your prayers!
On a very celebratory note, this month Mario and I had our first anniversary! What a privilege it is to share life with him. For those of you who don’t know him, he is one of the most positive and joyful people you could ever meet, and is so good at loving people well. It truly is a blessing and honor to get to do ministry with him. Thank you to each of you who has supported us, and not just financially, but also spiritually and emotionally. We are so grateful for the community and relationships that the Lord has provided us with. So much love to each of you! May your December be full of family and friendships and joy and, most importantly, rejoicing in the gift of our Savior.
Blessings,
Katie and Mario Velasquez
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