Dear Friends and Family,
Before anything else, let me just say that God is GOOD and He is FAITHFUL and He is KIND. I pray that each of you may know that on a deep, personal level and that nothing can rob you of that truth. We are in a broken world that is at war, not only on a physical level in terms of cultural tensions and serious, heart-breaking issues that plague each and every nation, but also on a spiritual level in which everyone is under attack, whether we recognize it or not. And in this war, the devil wants to convince us of anything but the truth that God is good, so hold on tightly to that truth and don’t let the “father of lies” make you believe otherwise.
I meant to write this update a week ago, but these days have been busy and full to the brim! Since I wrote last month, a lot has happened...
-Mario and I have a new friend— a German Shepherd puppy, Apollo, who brightens our lives and the lives of everyone who meets him. He is a joy!
-We have been working on the plans for a team that comes the end of March to work on finishing the kitchen in the church. What is currently the “kitchen” consists of a small gas stove and that’s basically it. To finish that project will be such a blessing to the women who cook there for different events and for the teams, so we are looking forward to that group. Please keep it in your prayers!
-We have had the honor of taking on leadership roles within the youth ministry at church, as well as being in charge of the organization and distribution of food, clothes, and other necessities that the church receives as support from another ministry based in the city.
-In January, Mario and I got to receive a barista course through a cafe here in Tegucigalpa, and it was fantastic! We want to use coffee as a form of ministry and the barista classes were a step towards achieving that. For more in-depth information about what we hope for in that, read my previous blog post “Coffee and Jesus”. We weren’t planning on starting our cafe quite yet, but God is opening doors and throwing us right in, between people showing up to our house to buy coffee and other people asking us to go to their own houses to make it. We are still in our awkward housing situation, so once again we ask for prayers in that area and that God would provide a home for us, especially so that we may continue to take steps towards starting our coffee shop officially. I am so very excited to see what He does through it!
-The end of January, I (sadly Mario couldn’t go due to visa stuff— another huge prayer request: that we can get him a visa soon!) headed back to Cody for a week due to paperwork and still not having my residency in Honduras. It honestly was such a treat to be back there with my community there. While in Wyoming, thanks to my family, I had a coffee event to raise money that will go towards our coffee ministry. God provided above and beyond what I could’ve hoped for or anticipated. What an encouragement it was! Thank you to everyone who was a part of it.
-Since getting back from the States, and aside from all the other updates previously mentioned, Mario and I have been busy with worship nights, church events, and fundraising for the upcoming kitchen project to get some work done on it before the team comes. Prayers are always needed in all of it!
Thank you all for your support, whether through prayers, words of encouragement, or financially. We do still need to raise more money on a monthly basis, especially as we pursue different areas of ministry that we want to incorporate, such as hosting more, inviting children and youth to help them with homework or just for game nights or movie nights, and as we hope to have more evenings of Bible studies and worship nights. Through your support, God has provided for each of our own basic needs and for blessing those around us, but in order to be able to continue to do so, especially in buying materials such as games and extra Bibles and books and extra food for hosting, we do ask for you each to talk to the Lord about if this is something He would have you support. A small amount on a monthly basis can go a long way for us here, so please consider partnering with us in our ministry. If that's something you'd like to do, here is a link to our Friendship Sport's page where we can receive donations:
https://www.friendshipsports.net/fsihonduras. Thank you so much for being a part of it.
Blessings,
Katie and Mario Velasquez
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