Thank You Mama
With you I learned how to love God, love His Word, and love to pray.
With you I learned that is it better to give than to receive, and I learned not to hold a grudge, but to forgive.
With you I learned how to enjoy my life when I have a lot and to be satisfied when I have a little.
Thank you Mama for all you have done for me.
You have taught me to live my life without fear and to not fear when my life ends.
Thank you Mama for the love I have received from you.
You have made me into the person I am today and you have taught me how to laugh.
I learned through you that Heaven is a gift of God and that He sent He Son Jesus so I might be saved.
I learned through you that I can do all things through God and that all things work together for good for those who love Him.
Through you I have learned to love my enemies and be a good friend.
Thank you Mama, thank you Mama, thank you Mama, thank you Mama.
(Originally written in Spanish by Arody Espinales)
Everything in the ministry is going great. The school is well, the feeding center is well, and everyone that is a part of this ministry is doing great. The only concern I have this month is that the men of the village are becoming more and more violent. Because of this concern, we want to begin an evangelism and Bible teaching program with the men in the village, and we need your prayers for this. Jorge Camboseco and Daniel McIntyre are going to lead this program, and we are very excited about it. This next week, Jorge and Daniel will start teaching a Bible class on Wednesdays for the men in the village and start visiting their houses and telling them about the Gospel of Jesus. Please be in prayer for their safety and that the Lord will soften the hearts of the men that they will be speaking with.
This month, Daniel’s family and a friend of his family came to visit and work in the ministry for ten days. I praise the Lord because, not only were they a blessing for the ministry, Daniel and Brandi and the kids has such a good time with them. I know that the grandparents loved seeing their grandchildren as well! This group completed much work for the ministry too. One of the ladies led a Bible class for the women in the village on the first day they were here, and the only man that came with this group is a preacher, and he led a class for the men in the village. Another lady that is a nurse organized all of the medical supplies in the office, and she told the teachers how to care for sores when the children get hurt. One little girl had a very bad sore on her head, and she helped doctor her wound. Also, Kimberly, an elementary teacher, led a Bible class for the children, and they had a lot of fun and learned about the lost sheep and how God looks for us when we wonder. They also started digging the hole for our new septic tank and visited several families and prayed for them. The last day they were here, they gave all the children juice, chips, and cookies, and they had a small party for them. They were a tremendous blessing for the ministry, and we are very thankful they were able to visit.
(The three pictures above are of some of the students at the village. They did a short program for the missionary group when they arrived. It was about the Good Samaritan.)
This month we needed to hire a new teacher because our Kindergarten teacher, Ms. Claudia, left to work at another school. The new teacher is Nely Consuelo Wuelch Leon, and we are very glad to have her and hope she stays at the school for a long time. Before Ms. Claudia left, she wrote a short story about one of our students, and his name if Freddie. Her and another teacher, Ms. Wendy, wanted to share with you a little of what the Lord is doing in this school by telling you a couple of stories about this little boy.
Ms. Claudia writes, “God has given us the privilege to work in this community with these children, and we as teachers have such a big blessing because we can share the Word of the Lord with our students. We are able to plant the seed of God’s Word in our students’ lives which is like a fountain of living water. These students need this fountain so bad because they are an abandoned people, like a ship without a captain. But one day, God touched the hearts of special people and told them to go and share His Word with this community, and they obeyed. Now, as teachers, we also have the opportunity to minister to these kids. God has said that if we train children in the way of God’s Word, that they will not stray from it (Proverbs 22:6), and this is what we want to do each day we teach the students at Lela Obraje. Sometimes, this is not an easy job though. A lot of the children already have hate and bitterness in their hearts, and Freddie is a perfect example of a child like this. Last year when he was in my class, he was a child that only had anger in his heart, and he was only five years old. He did not want to sing or talk about God, and he never obeyed me when I asked him to do something. But after praying for him and encouraging him every day, his heart started to change little by little. Suddenly, when I asked who wanted to pray, he would volunteer and pray. And when I asked who wanted to lead the singing, he would be the first one to jump up and start singing. I praise the Lord for the work He is doing in Freddie’s life, and we ask that you would pray for students like Freddie and for their families. We want everyone in the village of Lela Obraje to come to Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I know the Lord answers prayers, because we have already seen such a big change in this village and in the lives of the students and their families, so please continue to pray.”
Ms. Wendy writes, “A pastor from Guatemala city gave Sarita ten quilts to give away to the children at the village. She gave each class two quilts, and we decided to raffle the quilts off to the children. We passed out sheets of paper, and the children that got the winning tickets won the quilts. Well, when I told my students about this raffle and the prize, Freddie, one of the kids in my class, said that he wanted the quilt really bad and that he was going to pray so he could win the quilt. I had to step out of the room for a minute to go and get the papers, and when I was coming back, I heard Freddie praying. He prayed that he would get the quilt so he could give it to his brothers and sisters because they were always using his t-shirts to cover up at night. I also heard some of the children laughing at him, but Freddie just kept praying. I passed out the papers and asked the children who had the winning tickets, and Freddie jumped up and screamed, ‘I won Ms. Wendy! I prayed for this quilt and the Lord heard me!’ All of the students looked at each other and were amazed that Freddie had won the quilt, and he was so excited and I was too. Freddie is a special little boy, and I ask that you will help me pray for him and his family. Pray that the Lord will give them everything that they need and that stories like these will cause his family to turn to the Lord.”
We are so very thankful for your prayers for this ministry, and we know that we are in your hearts. Also, thank you so much for the offerings you are so faithful to give every month. We pray that the blessings you give will be returned to you tenfold. We pray that the Lord will provide for your every need and that He will show you a side of Himself you have never seen before. You are greatly loved! I also want to specifically thank you for praying for my health. My back is feeling much better. I just need to go on May 15th to Guatemala City to get an MRI so we can see exactly what is wrong. But, thank you so much for your prayers.
In the Name of Jesus,
Sarita Carson
National Director of Global Missions of Mercy
Ms. Claudia writes, “God has given us the privilege to work in this community with these children, and we as teachers have such a big blessing because we can share the Word of the Lord with our students. We are able to plant the seed of God’s Word in our students’ lives which is like a fountain of living water. These students need this fountain so bad because they are an abandoned people, like a ship without a captain. But one day, God touched the hearts of special people and told them to go and share His Word with this community, and they obeyed. Now, as teachers, we also have the opportunity to minister to these kids. God has said that if we train children in the way of God’s Word, that they will not stray from it (Proverbs 22:6), and this is what we want to do each day we teach the students at Lela Obraje. Sometimes, this is not an easy job though. A lot of the children already have hate and bitterness in their hearts, and Freddie is a perfect example of a child like this. Last year when he was in my class, he was a child that only had anger in his heart, and he was only five years old. He did not want to sing or talk about God, and he never obeyed me when I asked him to do something. But after praying for him and encouraging him every day, his heart started to change little by little. Suddenly, when I asked who wanted to pray, he would volunteer and pray. And when I asked who wanted to lead the singing, he would be the first one to jump up and start singing. I praise the Lord for the work He is doing in Freddie’s life, and we ask that you would pray for students like Freddie and for their families. We want everyone in the village of Lela Obraje to come to Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I know the Lord answers prayers, because we have already seen such a big change in this village and in the lives of the students and their families, so please continue to pray.”
Ms. Wendy writes, “A pastor from Guatemala city gave Sarita ten quilts to give away to the children at the village. She gave each class two quilts, and we decided to raffle the quilts off to the children. We passed out sheets of paper, and the children that got the winning tickets won the quilts. Well, when I told my students about this raffle and the prize, Freddie, one of the kids in my class, said that he wanted the quilt really bad and that he was going to pray so he could win the quilt. I had to step out of the room for a minute to go and get the papers, and when I was coming back, I heard Freddie praying. He prayed that he would get the quilt so he could give it to his brothers and sisters because they were always using his t-shirts to cover up at night. I also heard some of the children laughing at him, but Freddie just kept praying. I passed out the papers and asked the children who had the winning tickets, and Freddie jumped up and screamed, ‘I won Ms. Wendy! I prayed for this quilt and the Lord heard me!’ All of the students looked at each other and were amazed that Freddie had won the quilt, and he was so excited and I was too. Freddie is a special little boy, and I ask that you will help me pray for him and his family. Pray that the Lord will give them everything that they need and that stories like these will cause his family to turn to the Lord.”
We are so very thankful for your prayers for this ministry, and we know that we are in your hearts. Also, thank you so much for the offerings you are so faithful to give every month. We pray that the blessings you give will be returned to you tenfold. We pray that the Lord will provide for your every need and that He will show you a side of Himself you have never seen before. You are greatly loved! I also want to specifically thank you for praying for my health. My back is feeling much better. I just need to go on May 15th to Guatemala City to get an MRI so we can see exactly what is wrong. But, thank you so much for your prayers.
In the Name of Jesus,
Sarita Carson
National Director of Global Missions of Mercy
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