Dear Friends and Family,
I’m a bit late, but finally getting around to this quarter’s newsletter! I was just reading over the one I wrote in January to remember exactly what has happened since then, so first I want to start by addressing a couple of the prayer requests that I had written in the last one, the first one being Mario’s mom, Rosa…
For those of you who don’t already know, Rosa went home to Jesus on March 26th. Since November of 2022, we were doing everything possible for her to be healed from cancer, but in the end, the healing God gave her was to take her into His presence. She is now stronger and healthier than any of us! It was a heartbreaking loss, but we are thankful that she is no longer in pain, and we really did see the hand of God as He went before us and opened doors in the whole process, as well as the ways He provided so abundantly for each and every need that arose. Thank you for praying for her in that process, and for us.
The next prayer request I want to address is that of Mario’s visa. Just this morning I got an email from the National Visa Center saying that he has been documentarily qualified, yay! So now we are just waiting for the NVC to schedule an interview at the US embassy here in Tegucigalpa. We’re not holding our breath, though, as it tends to be a long process to even get the interview scheduled. I can’t wait to take him up to the States and for him to meet all my people and get to experience “my world”! However, I am so grateful now looking back at the ways that God didn’t make it happen as fast as I had wanted it to– we needed to take advantage of all the time we could with Rosa. How good is God!
Since my last newsletter, I also have started a YouTube channel! I have used it so far to share some more about our home, to show a couple of projects, and to share some financial support petitions. My latest video includes the story of our church and some specific needs we have as a church. Here’s a link to that specific video: The story of our church— Iglesia Bíblica Rey de Gracia
Because I go into detail about the way it all started in the video, I won’t do that here, but I will say that I am SO excited about what God is doing in this small fellowship and I just love being a part of it. It has been such a blessing to us and it’s so fun to see the ways God is coming through for us. We are currently in the process of getting a loan to purchase a piece of property here in La Venta to hopefully be able to get going on a church building sometime soon! I’ve loved getting to open our home to have church here, but it’s getting to the point that we simply don’t fit! What a good problem to have. Please consider partnering with us in this next step– first in prayer for the whole process: that we would keep our gaze on the Lord, that we would stay focused on our mission to share Christ and see people transformed, and that we won’t become preoccupied with unnecessary material things. Second, if you would like to help us financially as we move forward, what a blessing that would be! As I say in the video, I’m excited to get to work as a church and see the process over time of paying off the loan and building the church and seeing how God provides. However, I know that it would be such an encouragement to us as a church to receive support to pay off the loan sooner or get at least a basic structure built to have somewhere to meet soon. If that is something you feel led to do, thank you! You can get a hold of me and we’ll figure out what the best way will be to get that support. Another opportunity for support for our church is directly to the pastoral family– as a church, we aren’t able to meet all their monthly needs, and even with some outside support, they don’t have enough. Our goal is to raise at least $400 a month for them, at least in this season. Eventually, of course, we want that to be coming directly from the church.
Another note on our church: we have finally gotten going with youth group! We’re only a couple weeks in, but it has been so great so far! We have about 15 people coming and a lot of them are not believers, so it’s really exciting to have this ministry going. We can’t wait to see what God will do!
The last update is our cafe, Taza de Gozo. We are still opening almost every week and have increased to two or three days a week. We are currently working on ideas for how to grow the business (this is a hard culture to be an entrepreneur in!), as well as what to do to improve our space and create something that people want to be a part of and feel invited into. I really do love having this outlet and am hopeful to see it grow.
To wrap up on prayer requests:
God’s timing with Mario’s visa.
Provision for our church in terms of property, building, and our pastoral family.
Our church leadership to keep our gaze unwaveringly placed on the Lord, and in doing so that we would not be distracted from the main thing even as we take on these projects.
Our youth group– that there would be a hunger in the youth and that those who don’t know Jesus would accept Him as their Lord and Savior!
Taza de Gozo– that it would be a place of life and light for the community and that through it people would encounter Christ.
Thank you all for being a part of this with us– for making it possible, for supporting us, for praying for us. What a gift! God has been so good to us and that is often through the ways that we have been encouraged and supported and loved by you. Thank you!
Katie
And of course, Vienne. She is just the best. Wild, curious, crazy smart, and seriously just so much fun. We're crazy about her!
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