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How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things!” Romans 10:14-15

Few places is this more true than the Amazon jungle of Peru. Here indigenous peoples live in remote villages whose only connection to the outside world is by canoe-like boats that move up and down the network of rivers. While the rest of the world has forgotten these people, Jorge Alvarez has not. He established Asociacion Ministerios Fuentes de Agua (AMFA) to bring fresh drinking water and the Living Water of the Gospel to these people. Over the years AMFA has installed hundreds of water wells and hand pumps, some of which were funded by MCC.

One of our desires for partnering with AMFA was to help extend their evangelistic reach into the jungle. We did this by supporting Pastor Victor to travel along with the AMFA team and focus on evangelism. Specifically, Pastor Victor preaches each evening, performs Gospel-oriented hygiene training, and organizes activities with the youth. Pastor Victor also spends a week each month cruising the rivers and visiting communities where AMFA has previously drilled. In this role, Pastor Victor is able to encourage the remote churches and pastors, as well as help build a sense of community among these scattered Christians. Pastor Victor’s effectiveness is clear, as now his trips are largely scheduled according to the request of villages throughout the jungle. On top of this, Pastor Victor finds time to pastor his home church. MCC was recently able to bless Pastor Victor and his church by providing funds to rebuild their church building when the roof collapsed during a storm.

Three years ago, MCC began supporting two men to attend seminary. These men were from communities where AMFA had previously drilled. Over this time, the men and their families have traveled back and forth from the community to the school. In this way they spent half their time at school and half their time at home applying their new skills. This fall they both graduated—Pastor Fernando and Pastor Edgar. Over this time both men have seeded new churches in their communities. Additionally, Pastor Edgar has been assisting Pastor Victor with his duties. Now, Pastor Fernando is not only pastoring his home community, but has also seeded churches in 10 other local villages. As the only means of travel is by boat, MCC has purchased Pastor Fernando a boat, motor and projector so he is able to spend more time evangelizing than paddling.

Indeed, God is orchestrating Romans 10. Through God’s blessing on our church, we are able to send Jorge, Victor, Fernando, and Edgar to the mission field. They are being equipped as preachers through jungle seminaries focused on the unique needs of these communities. Together we are answering the call—How will they believe if they have not heard, and how shall they call on the one they have not believed. We are in the process of identifying the next families to answer God’s call. Please pray for this process.

“It has been hard for my family because my little sister died. Receiving the shoebox was a sign that God had not forgotten me.”
Ernesto, 10, Mexico

It’s time for Operation Christmas Child (OCC)! We will start thinking about packing boxes full of fun items for children all over the world – children suffering from poverty, war, famine, or natural disasters. We imagine their delight as they open their boxes – screeching with excitement at that soccer ball or stuffed animal. It’s fun to pack the box – selecting each item and perhaps leaving a special note. Did you know that a child will only receive one box in their lifetime? How much more precious is your box knowing it is the one shoebox gift they will receive!
Your shoebox is delivered with a gospel lesson taught by a local and an option to attend a 12-week bible study.

OCC has been delivering boxes to children for more than 30 years now. We’ve had a chance to hear the impact of the boxes – from those children who are now grown.

Vanessa grew up in Honduras. Her father was paralyzed in a car accident and lost everything. She could remember her mother expanding her school uniform waistband to make it fit as she grew. She remembered being embarrassed because she had holes in her socks. She cried when the girls made fun of her – thinking how she wanted new socks but was afraid to ask because she knew they had no money. She was given a shoebox at a local church. In her box was a new pair of pink socks! She was ecstatic – they smelled ‘new’. She laid out everything in her box and counted – 17 presents!!!!

She thought about what she heard – about a God who loved her. She went back to the church and gave her life to Jesus. Her parents thought she was foolish. She asked her father if she could pray over him. He refused. One night he woke up in unbearable pain. She asked if she could pray again, and he finally accepted. They took him to the hospital where the doctors found nothing wrong with him – his paralysis of years was gone! Vanessa brought her family to Christ. Her father is now a pastor of a church in Honduras. She remembers the box with the socks but most especially learning of the love of God.

Remember as we pack our boxes this year that God will use your gift. There are so many stories of God making sure the right gift miraculously gets to the child who needs it. Be sure to pray over your box and know that God reaches the hearts of children and their friends/family through your faith and gift. The real gift in an OCC shoebox is God’s love! What a wonderful way to reach the ends of the earth!

MCC will be collecting shoeboxes – pack yours and bring it to the church by Nov. 17th! We’d like each family to pack at least one box and include a personal note to the child. You may receive a letter or email like we did from Ernesto above! Look for more info coming out in the (L)ink or go to Operation Christmas Child | Shoebox Outreach of Samaritan’s Purse.

Acts 1:8 “…and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Dulce (30) is a mother of four — Gregory (18), Scarlet (15), Steisy (8), and Jesús (7). Gregory and Scarlet are both sponsored children. Through child sponsorship, Dulce participated in a parenting school led by Food for the Hungry, which empowered her to change the trajectory of her children’s future.

Dulce and her husband Juan are raising their four children in the community of Solares de Villa in the Dominican Republic.

In Solares de Villa, Dominican Republic, high school dropout rates and teen pregnancies plague the community. Dulce’s family was no exception. Her children couldn’t read and they struggled emotionally and academically.

Before her involvement with FH, Dulce’s home life was chaotic. The children were unmotivated to do household chores and were not doing well emotionally, physically, or in school. Most notably, the older children couldn’t read.

Although she gained solace through seeking the Lord and learning about salvation, Dulce felt powerless to help her children. She felt that her life lacked purpose, and she didn’t know what she could do to change it.

Dulce joined the parent school, which was established through the partnership between child sponsors and FH. The parent school equips and empowers parents and caregivers with training to improve their daily interactions with their children. This training also promotes children’s critical thinking and problem-solving skills which has a positive ripple effect in all areas of their life – academic, social, and interpersonal. Additionally, the parent school prepares children to become future leaders. This shows how child sponsorship can positively impact whole families and entire communities.

Dulce’s perspective on education and development notably changed from her training at the parent school. She eagerly applied what she learned at home and has witnessed an impactful change in her children’s academic and social development. She was able to apply this in her children’s reading skills through the “art of storytelling” and use of colorful illustrations. Remarkably, in a short time, Dulce’s children have made progress in their schoolwork and her teenage children have greatly improved their reading skills. And, her husband, Juan, and children now regularly do household chores and share more responsibility.

Dulce has also found a new purpose in life — she eagerly participates in a group for leaders who are mothers and is also a volunteer in a local mental health group.

Dulce hopes for a better future for her family. She dreams of her children becoming exemplary individuals who strive to please God. Now, she is eager to participate in more workshops and wants to see her family continue to learn and grow.

She has the dream for the Solares de Villa community to improve their youth engagement. She also hopes to see the community grow, offer technical courses, create job opportunities, and make new recreation spaces.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 states, “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children.”

Dulce’s story is a powerful example of how child sponsors help FH partner with local communities so parents have the skills to raise their children to reach their full potential. Child sponsorship opens doors to a better future for children, extending to their families and communities challenged by poverty.

FH. Child Sponsorship Opens Doors to a Better Future for Families. July 26, 2024.

https://www.fh.org/blog/child-sponsorship-opens-doors-to-a-better-future-for-families/

“I have learned so much from my daughter. I am embarrassed to say that I should be the example of how to grow with the Lord, but she is the one who is showing me.”

This statement was made, through tears, by a grateful (and proud!) mother at our intern celebration. She was referring to the fact that her high school daughter has made time alone with the Lord a daily habit, is practicing Bible study methods and is arranging to spiritually mentor younger children in their church. This young lady, who started with us at Juntos when she was six years old, also led one of our Kids Club classes and has become an example to her peers of what it looks like to enjoy a relationship with Jesus and share Him with others.

A second mom shared how her daughter has become a completely different person after participating in the internship the last two summers, part of which included one-on-one discipleship from a Juntos staff. “She has come out of her shell and been encouraged to try new things. She was really dealing with anxiety and depression. Knowing she could be honest and that her mentor would love her no matter what has given her confidence she never had before.”

Mid-July marked the completion of our second Juntos internship in recent years. We had three young leaders (aged 17-19) commit to an eight-week paid internship. They not only helped us with programming and spent time with kids, but they received extra training in basic spiritual disciplines. It was surprising to us that all three mentioned that learning to study the Bible independently was the highlight of the internship for them. They were surprised that they could learn so much from God’s Word on their own and the practical tools they received has made Scripture much more exciting and accessible to them.

One of our main goals at Juntos is “spiritual generations.” By this we mean that we not only want to lead kids to Christ and disciple them, but we want them to be able to do the same. You can imagine our joy when one of the interns told us that she had offered to start meeting with a middle schooler from her church to mentor her and show her how to read the Bible. As we praised God together, we were reminded that the plan for spiritual generations that Jesus laid out for His disciples takes a long time, but it really works!

We are grateful for this current season at Juntos. While God has always been at work, it appears that the “harvest” is more plentiful than ever! After many years of sowing and watering, He is proving his faithfulness to us in the form of these young people who have caught the vision to make disciples. He promises us that our labor is never in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58) and we are seeing, once again, that our God is a promise keeper!

Laura Jenkins has been involved with Juntos since 2005 and currently serves as the director. Juntos offers weekly meetings, summer programs, leader training, small group Bible studies, tutoring, and mentoring for kids in the International District of Albuquerque. If you’d like more information about serving with Juntos, call the Mountain Christian Church office.

In January, I embarked on a month-long trip to South Africa with the Fellows program by Impact 360 Institution. Fellows is a nine-month experience in which I learned about worldview, defending my faith, and what it means to be a Christian in modern-day culture, among other topics.

One aspect of Fellows is going international for one month in Brazil or South Africa. The purpose and title of this trip was not a typical mission trip; it was referred to as an international immersion trip. A journey in which the purpose is to see God's creation and people elsewhere. Through this, I got to work with a nonprofit called Living Hope.

My team worked with Living Hope the whole time we were in the country and got to experience and see how the kingdom of God works in different cultures. Living Hope nonprofit has many developed programs in which my team got to work together and dive into the work Living Hope does every week.

One of my favorite programs we worked with was the rehab center. The rehab center is where addicts, murderers, and alcoholics come and hear the Word of God and get to hear from their brothers and sisters who are going through similar trials. The rehab center was a very impactful experience. I sat next to a murderer and talked to a recovering alcoholic, and shook hands with a drug dealer. I heard their stories and how God brought them out of darkness. I learned that what they had done was not their identity, for that was now in Christ.

The other parts of Living Hope are farming, elderly care, nursing in close communities, and working with kids. Every part of Living Hope was so unique to see. I got to experience so much in the short time I was there. The Lord grew me significantly, and I loved serving the people there. I learned a lot in Cape Town and would love to return at some point in my life. I learned about abiding in and with Christ through the people in South Africa, and on my team, I learned how to rest and lean on Him.

I loved my time there and learned so much. I am so lucky to have been able to go, and I cannot wait for God's next thing for me.