Dear Friends and Family,
Happy 2020! I pray that this year is full of the goodness of the Lord in each of your lives. I’m excited to see what God has in mind for this new year, and this new decade.
This last month has been quite busy, between moving and having a team and celebrating Christmas and the New Year, it’s been full of activities. Within 10 days of writing my last newsletter, Mario and I moved to a different house here in La Venta. It’s a temporary situation, and in regards to it I ask for your prayers. In my last letter, I mentioned a house that Mario and I have been waiting for for quite a while, but there still doesn’t seem to be any movement being made by the family that currently lives there. We have prayed about it a lot and feel sure that that is the house that God has for us, but it’s rather discouraging feeling like we’re in somewhat of a stand-still. So much of what our ministry ideas revolve around is having a home where we can invite people in and share life the way that Jesus did, but where we are right now is less than ideal for many reasons. Please help us pray for God’s provision with the house we’re waiting on, and also please pray that we will be patient in the waiting with the knowledge that God’s timing is perfect.
In the middle of December, FSI partnered with Cornerstone University in Michigan to bring down a men’s soccer team. My dad also came down with that team, which made it even better! It was an outstanding team and a fantastic, full week with them here. On Friday, we met them at the airport, headed to the hotel for lunch and dropping off luggage, then headed to a special needs orphanage just outside of Tegucigalpa to meet and play with the kids. It was really impactful. After that, we spent the rest of the evening at a boy’s home in the city that is part of a ministry that’s called Point. (For those of you who don’t know, Point is a ministry based in Tegucigalpa with four different locations where they help at-risk kids. Each of the locations offers tutoring and Bible classes, has a medical clinic, and feeds two meals a day to each of the kids in the ministry.) With the team over the weekend, we did some cement projects on the church here in La Venta (where Mario and I live) and played soccer with men, women, children, and even soldiers from a nearby army base. After each match playing with different people, the guys on the team from Michigan would take turns sharing their testimonies and the Gospel. Monday was the team’s free day for getting to see some more sites near Tegucigalpa and rest, then Tuesday and Wednesday were back to being busy with soccer and ministry. Tuesday and Wednesday we were in Tegucigalpa partnering with Point, going to their different centers around the city to meet the kids they help and to share with them, and playing soccer with a few small teams and sharing the Good News with them. Then on Thursday, the team headed back to the States. A short week, but a good one. I always love being a part of the different teams. If ever anyone would be interested in putting together a team of any kind, please let me or my dad know!
After the team left, all of the activities around Christmas and New Years kicked in and the rest of December and this first week of January have been pretty much full of celebrations, events related to the church, and, as always, a whole lot of social gatherings. Almost every day we’ve had something on our social agenda in terms of fellowship and community and we love it! We look forward to another year full of family, friends, ministry, and, most of all, Jesus. May the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious towards you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)
Katie and Mario Velasquez
Comments