April 2019 Newsletter
A couple of weeks ago, I was part of a team of six adults and 18 teenagers that spent our Spring Break in Honduras with Forgotten Children’s Ministries. We had a wonderful week! We did art projects with the girls in the ministry and talked to them about what it means to be made in the image of Christ. We made fun projects with the boys at the farm, and one of our teenagers shared his testimony with the boys the night of their Youth Group. It truly is wonderful to see these children who come into the ministry, with very little hope as it pertains to their future, gain skills, an education, a grasp of the English language (which is a valuable commodity in Honduras), and an awareness of a God who created them and loves them. The children in the ministry do not all know Jesus as their Savior, but there are a group of people loving these children and faithfully sharing the gospel with them through their words and their deeds. www.fcmhonduras.org
One of the things we did while we were in Honduras is go door to door in poor communities giving out rice and beans and offering hope through sharing the gospel message with the people in the community. Most of the homes that we went into were filled with women and children. The women may have been a mom, or a grandmother, or an aunt. As we went door to door, I found myself being filled with compassion and an urgency to share the love of Christ with these precious ladies. Many of these families had very little power or none at all. Some had very small, old stoves while others had a box that contained a wood fire they cooked over. Some had concrete floors. Some had dirt floors. Some had running water. Some had an outside water spigot they shared with their neighbors. But in so many ways, these women are just like us.
They are loving their families just like we are. They are training their children just like we are. They are feeding and clothing their children. They are dealing with sick kids, hurt feelings, bullying, in-laws, just like we are. It is hard here, and it is hard there.
To be able to look in the eyes of the women in those homes, to look and to see them and the battle they are fighting every day, was a gift from God. God gave me words to say, “It is hard! What you are doing in caring for these children is hard. Jesus sees you. He loves you. He has not forgotten you.” These words led to conversations that ended in tears many times. As women, as mothers, we were able to connect despite our many differences. I was able to hand them a Bible in their language and turn down the page that starts the book of John and say to these women, “Read this chapter. This is the story of Jesus’s life. This book tells you about Jesus’s birth, his life, his ministry, his death, and his resurrection. He loves you! Read this. Read it to yourself. Read it to your children. There is hope in these words.”
What a privilege it is to share the truth of our Savior and the life we have in him with others. Thank you for your prayers and for your financial support. The purchase of t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, stickers, socks goes to funding mission trips like this. It also helps pay for scholarships for girls participating in Created for a Purpose here in the states. We will have 20 churches hosting Created for a Purpose this summer, and we encourage our churches to offer scholarships to girls in their communities that could not come otherwise. Your donations and the proceeds from the sale of our merchandise also goes to help cover the costs of those girls.
We are looking forward to a great summer at Covenant Presbyterian and at the many other churches that will be offering Created for a Purpose. Your prayers are appreciated as well as your financial support.
Also, for anyone who is looking for a place to worship this Holy Week and on Easter Sunday, we would love to have you join us at Covenant Presbyterian for any or all of our services! Holy Week Schedule
Many thanks,
Ingram Link
Director, Created for a Purpose
One of the things we did while we were in Honduras is go door to door in poor communities giving out rice and beans and offering hope through sharing the gospel message with the people in the community. Most of the homes that we went into were filled with women and children. The women may have been a mom, or a grandmother, or an aunt. As we went door to door, I found myself being filled with compassion and an urgency to share the love of Christ with these precious ladies. Many of these families had very little power or none at all. Some had very small, old stoves while others had a box that contained a wood fire they cooked over. Some had concrete floors. Some had dirt floors. Some had running water. Some had an outside water spigot they shared with their neighbors. But in so many ways, these women are just like us.
They are loving their families just like we are. They are training their children just like we are. They are feeding and clothing their children. They are dealing with sick kids, hurt feelings, bullying, in-laws, just like we are. It is hard here, and it is hard there.
To be able to look in the eyes of the women in those homes, to look and to see them and the battle they are fighting every day, was a gift from God. God gave me words to say, “It is hard! What you are doing in caring for these children is hard. Jesus sees you. He loves you. He has not forgotten you.” These words led to conversations that ended in tears many times. As women, as mothers, we were able to connect despite our many differences. I was able to hand them a Bible in their language and turn down the page that starts the book of John and say to these women, “Read this chapter. This is the story of Jesus’s life. This book tells you about Jesus’s birth, his life, his ministry, his death, and his resurrection. He loves you! Read this. Read it to yourself. Read it to your children. There is hope in these words.”
What a privilege it is to share the truth of our Savior and the life we have in him with others. Thank you for your prayers and for your financial support. The purchase of t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, stickers, socks goes to funding mission trips like this. It also helps pay for scholarships for girls participating in Created for a Purpose here in the states. We will have 20 churches hosting Created for a Purpose this summer, and we encourage our churches to offer scholarships to girls in their communities that could not come otherwise. Your donations and the proceeds from the sale of our merchandise also goes to help cover the costs of those girls.
We are looking forward to a great summer at Covenant Presbyterian and at the many other churches that will be offering Created for a Purpose. Your prayers are appreciated as well as your financial support.
Also, for anyone who is looking for a place to worship this Holy Week and on Easter Sunday, we would love to have you join us at Covenant Presbyterian for any or all of our services! Holy Week Schedule
Many thanks,
Ingram Link
Director, Created for a Purpose
