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What a great year it has been! God’s many blessings have been very wonderful. Impacto has seen many souls won for the Kingdom and we give praises to God for each one. This year many houses have been built, shoes distributed, medicines given to the sick, preaching revivals, disciple training, church construction, and Bible studies shared by many seeking to learn more about God.
Several congregations have received special blessings this year. T’zucobol Church now has bathrooms and class-rooms. Santa Clara Church has a new building, including bathrooms. Panabar Church has its first sanctuary building, classroom building, and restrooms. San Juan Church has a classroom building. Through a dad’s honoring the memory of his children and his love for God, San Jorge Church has a well and is sharing water with the community. These churches are growing and the people are still thanking God for the blessings they have received. Many thanks to all who came to work on these projects and to the ones who funded them; you have touched many hearts and lives through your generosity.
One of the most exciting things to see is how the leaders from Iglesia Adonai are young adults that we have known since they were children. Through discipling and equipping them with the Good News while they were growing up, they now know how to teach and share that same Good News with others. It was a joy and blessing to see the more than 50 workers leading the children in Guatemala City and around 20 of these same workers traveled with us to the lake churches and Zacapa. We give thanks to God for allowing us to see the results of investing in these lives as they bear fruit for eternity! It is great to see these disciples in action for God.
November VBS was a particularly wonderful time. Here’s the praise report for the three weeks!
-- Guatemala City: Daily attendance was 1,350 kids and 90 ladies with a weekly total of 354 souls won for to Christ!
-- Lake Churches: Daily attendance was 848 with a weekly total of 700 kids and 29 ladies won for Christ!
-- Zacapa Churches: Daily attendance was 287 kids and 33 ladies with a weekly total of 60 souls won for Christ!
-- To God be the glory: Over 2,600 people were ministered to and 1,143 souls won to Christ during the three-week timeframe!
During this season of giving, please consider one of the priorities set by the Guatemalan Board and Impacto. Please consider being one of Impacto’s partners with your prayers and financial support. You can designate one of the projects on the memo line of your check or allow us to put your gift to work where it is most needed.
IMPACTO Priorities
--Pastors’ Fund [most of the pastors do not get a salary]
--Purchase land for San Pablo Church [out-grown current building]
--Purchase land for Coban Church
--Purchase land for San Nicolas Church
--Dig well in El Morro
--Raise funds to sponsor crusades and find teams willing to help with music for the crusades
--Raise funds for 2010 November VBS
--Raise funds to train more disciples
This year has seen changes in my own family. In August, we celebrated the marriage of our daughter Andrea to Tony Mendez. We thank God that they are now working full-time with Impacto. Please pray with us that God will provide their support.
Our daughter Ana is busy studying to become a full-time missionary. She already is helping us with ideas about discipleship and cell groups. We thank God for her.
Again, my family and I pray that God will grant you and all your family a wonderful and blessed Holiday season. We hope to see you and serve with you in 2010.
Feliz Navidad!
Luis & Dinora Martinez
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September 27, 2009 Update
Teams: 32 teams have served this year; 12 more are scheduled
Conferences: 13 missions/revival events in State-side churches; 3 more scheduled
Construction Projects:
-- 29 houses
-- classrooms for San Juan Church
-- bathroom and classroom for T’zucobol Church
-- church building and bathrooms for Santa Clara Church
-- church building and bathrooms for Panabar Church
Oct. 2-8 a team will build a classroom building and installing electricity for both the new sanctuary building and the classroom building.
Medical Clinics have been held in T’zucobol, Santa Clara, Santa Maria, Panabar, Pocorral, San Juan, San Marcos,
Growth in the church in Guatemala City that we have been working with … attendance was 12 the first Sunday we were there back in June and now attendance is usually 90-120 people each week.
Work at the Promised Land is progressing. Hopefully we will have some pictures for you in the very near future.
God has blessed us with over 100 souls won for the Kingdom in the past 4 months!
Many people received shoes through Happy Feet this year. Tony, Andrea, Dinora and I delivered shoes to El Morro and Coban, along with some anti-worm meds.
Commitments are being made for teams to come serve with us in 2010 and for missions conferences/revivals.
We have a very exciting, huge praise: The well at San Jorge Church in Zacapa struck water this week! Once the water pump is installed, people will be able to get water more than just the one time a week it is delivered! Pastor Abdulio also hopes to be able to make water delivery to El Morro at least once a week.
Planning is still underway for a well in El Morro. It is more difficult there because it is located on a mountain and drilling is so very expensive. Please keep praying for a way to be found and funds to come in to provide this village with a water source.
November VBS is just around the corner! We have teams coming to lead crafts in Guatemala City, the Lake Churches and Zacapa. Also during VBS weeks, teams will be building a widow’s house, doing odd jobs at some of the churches, distributing shoes through Happy Feet, and other evangelistic activities.
Coban Church’s very first VBS will be held the first week in December. A small team from Iglesia Adonai will travel to Coban to lead, along with Impacto staff.
On Thursday, Sept. 24, a bus from San Pedro was involved in an accident. The driver, who has often driven for Impacto, and his helper were killed and several from San Juan were injured. One of the children, Luis Felipe from San Juan Church, was seriously injured. He has 81 stitches in his head and his face is so swollen he cannot open his eyes. He is in the hospital in Guatemala City and his mom, Manuela, is staying at Kiros House to be near him. Doctors are giving him anti-inflammatory meds. There is water mixed with blood coming from his eyes but until the swelling goes down, doctors are not able to determine the cause but have told Manuela they think it could be glass fragments and dirt. Luis Felipe is in a lot of pain so please keep him lifted in your prayers. Also keep the families affected by the tragic accident in your prayers. I was able to visit with the widows of the driver and his helper and offer financial assistance from Impacto so they could purchase caskets. One of the front tires on the bus blew out causing the bus to cross into the oncoming lane and it collided head-on with another bus. I heard that at least six lives were lost, possibly more. Tony and Andrea are visiting Manuela and Luis Felipe and ministering to them.
Dinora and I thank you for your prayers and support. We pray thank God for each of you and pray that He will bless you and keep you safe.
Serving Christ with you,
Pastor Luis and Dinora
May 27, 2009 -- Warm greetings to everyone!
I hope that everything is well with each of you and your families. God has been blessing our ministry efforts and I wanted to take a few minutes to share some of the highlights.
For the first time in several new ministry areas, medical clinics, children’s ministries, and shoe distributions in these villages have opened the doors for introducing the Gospel! Communities see that the Church does care about their quality of life and they are more open to hearing about the Good News of Jesus Christ. Please continue to pray with us that God will open even more doors.
I am very excited to announce that Impacto is beginning a new Spiritual Growth effort. We will be asking teams to minister to a different village each week with activities that will enhance and emphasize spiritual growth. Some of the activities will be prayer times with moms to pray for their children to be protected and to grow in Christ; showing the Jesus Film and other Christian films, evening worship services that teams will lead music, preach, share testimonies; youth-specific events for teens; Bible studies, etc. We feel God leading us to really make a concerted effort to help the churches to grow spiritually, and to reach out in more evangelistic ways to their communities. We ask for your prayers and are open to suggestions that you may have to help with this effort.
God also is leading us towards opening ministry efforts in Coban (approximately 3 hours north of Guatemala City) by taking teams there. We are planning to take the week of December 5-12 and hold the very first in that church VBS. The pastor and congregation are very excited about the possibility of having teams come to minister with them. They are looking for land to purchase for building their church. One piece of land that is perfect was available earlier this month but it was $37,000 USD and they simply do not have that kind of money. Please pray with us that God will provide resources for this new growing congregation. They are already making a huge impact on their community and the pastor is a great leader. Expect to hear wonderful things happening as God moves in this area. If you’d like to be one of the first teams to go, please let us know and we will make every effort possible to see that it happens!
The work in Zacapa continues to prosper and grow. The San Jorge Church is really reaching out and ministering to the community and they are really growing. The effort to put wells in El Morro and San Jorge are moving along and progressing. Pastor Abdulio now has a vehicle to use in his ministry and he is very excited about that! His health has improved and God is blessing his efforts. The churches are really looking forward to VBS in November! It has become on of the highlights of the year for them!
There have been ten teams who have come to serve so far this year in Guatemala and they have all worked very hard and done wonderful work. Fifteen houses have been built; pastor training sessions; Happy Feet events; FLET classes; sewing machines and classes for beginners; advanced sewing classes with ladies who received machines last year; mixers given and cake decorating classes; hand-crank ice cream freezers given and classes held for making ice cream; carpentry tools and classes with students completing small construction and painting projects at Iglesia Adonai; Promised Land multipurpose building foundation dug, rocks moved and cut, sand moved and bagged; lake front at Promised Land improved to prevent erosion; medical team clinics; new ministry points started; and many souls won for Christ!
We are really looking forward to the months ahead and ministering with teams that will be coming to serve with us. In June, one of the teams will be working all week in Santa Clara building the new church and restrooms for Pastor Diego’s congregation. This is very exciting and the men of the church have already been working hard to prepare the land for the new building. Another team will be constructing bathrooms for the church in T’zucobol…this is going to be a tremendous blessing to the congregation and they are very excited! Other teams will be reaching out to the other villages around the lake area, ministering in various ways. In August, another congregation will get a church building -- Panabar! A team will be spending the week hard at work to build on the land purchased!
God also has blessed us with the gift of a beautiful used four-wheel drive pick-up truck! It will be delivered in mid-June and will be a tremendous help to Impacto’s ministry efforts. We are so excited and thankful for this special gift.
Remember that November is fast-approaching … if you can come minister with us for one or more of the weeks of VBS, please let Sarah Poythress know at spoythress@newlifelaplata.org. You also can find information about November 2009 VBS by clicking on the link along the top left-hand side of this page.
Yes, God is really moving in Guatemala and He has blessed our ministry efforts in mighty ways. We give Him all the praise and glory and look forward to what He has in store for us. Thank you for all that you have done to make all of this possible. Without your prayers, financial, and physical support, it would not be possible. Please continue to pray and work with us to spread the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ.
With a heart full of thanks,
Pastor Luis
When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ~Matthew 9:36
April 2009 -- Update
5 teams already this year; 29 scheduled; November VBS commitments due by August 15
5 mission conferences completed; 8 more commitments
Work has begun on Promised Land Multipurpose Building
Pastor Training Sessions are held monthly
Ongoing work to dig wells in El Morro and San Jorge
Commitments to build 2 churches; working on possibility of building another
Other accomplishments completed so far this year: 5 widow’s houses; sewing machines & classes for beginners; advanced sewing classes with ladies who got machines last year; mixers & cake decorating classes; hand-crank ice cream freezers and lessons; carpentry tools & classes, then students completed small construction and painting projects at Iglesia Adonai
Many who have come, have shared that though they came to serve they ended up receiving more of a blessing than what they gave. This is how God works when we obey His command and share the message of salvation with others through acts of kindness and service; He does bless us.
November VBS is fast-approaching and your help is really needed. Teams are still needed to help by planning, providing materials for and leading crafts, and games. These three VBS weeks are the largest children's evangelistic outreach of the year. The opportunity to reach young souls for Christ is tremendous. $8,000 needed to provide meals, teaching supplies, and publicity for the three weeks. Remember over 1,500 children are expected the first week alone! Donations are needed as well as teams. Please pray and consider if you can come to help share the love and light of Jesus with the children.
If you would like to give to IMPACTO, please consider one of these priorities. You can return your contribution (tax free), made out to IMPACTO, in the enclosed envelope. Please feel free to designate one of the projects on the memo line of your check.
Impacto Priorities
--Finish the Zacapa Church building project
--Build Promised Land multipurpose building (building underway!)
--Pastors’ Fund [most of the pastors do not get a salary]
--Iglesia Adonai: [1] build 2 bathrooms for boys; 2 bathrooms for girls; [2] remove the old classroom building and construct new 2 or 3-story building; the need for church classrooms is great and the Government has granted the church a license to have a Christian Private School, but more rooms are needed
--Build Santa Clara Church (building set for June!)
--Build bathrooms, showers and kitchen at Tz'ucobol Church (bathrooms being built in June!)
--Purchase land for San Pablo Church [out-grown current building]
--Purchase land for Coban Church
--Purchase land for San Nicolas Church
--Add ceiling to Iglesia Adonai sanctuary
--Raise funds to sponsor crusades and find teams willing to help with music for the crusades.
--A 4-wheel drive pickup truck (one on the way!)
--Drill a well at the San Jorge Church. This well would provide water for San Jorge and El Morro.
Yes, we do serve an awesome God! I hope that you will continue to keep our ministry lifted in your prayers. If you would like to bring a team
to serve please let us know. Also, I would love to come and share with yoru church what God is doing in Guatemala. If this would be possible, please let us know and we will work out dates and times.
Once again, thank you for opening your hearts to share through hands-on missions. Our prayer is that God will richly bless you for your obedience to His command to go and serve. My family and I send you our love.
Serving Christ with you,
Pastor Luis
2008 Summary
45 teams served and ministered with us
12 mission conferences/revivals at churches in States
Crusades: Wheaton, Maryland, USA; Comolapa, San Juan, and Guatemala City, Guatemala
Several special meetings in U.S: discussion of projects, fund raisers, pastors want to start Hispanic churches,
Construction Projects: 1 church; 1 pregnancy clinic; 43 widows houses; 2 classroom buildings; 3 kitchens
Women’s Ministries: sewing machines and classes; Bible studies; crafts; luncheon
Special Events for Guatemala Pastors: full day dedicated to pastors and their families in March; Christmas Special Meal and Gift Baskets
Children’s Events: mini-VBS sessions; game days; one-on-one time at building sites
Happy Feet: 28 events with over 15,000 shoes distributed
Medical Clinics: 3 full weeks with different teams leading; several smaller 2-day clinics; This year we started bringing in local doctors from Guatemala to work with teams.
Pastor Training Classes
FLET – funding and classes started with 52 students
November VBS: radio stations proclaimed it the largest in Latin America over 1,600 children in Guatemala City; 35 people from 7 US churches; over 1,200 children in lake churches; 64 people from 9 US churches; over 600 children in Zacapa churches; 28 people from 2 US and 2 Canadian churches
Kairos House: funding and gifts from teams
2 Summer Interns
Project begun to raise funding to dig wells in El Morro and San Jorge
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