How have the lives of the sponsored children been changed since the intervention’s completion?

This church had a large impact on this area. The community and the Santa Maria area has no other Christian churches, we are the first church to reach the area and share the gospel. The intervention is of great impact for families, as we are teaching biblical principles to children and their families and they recognize that there is a supreme and sovereign God, who is above all things, from creation to the present day. The church is focused on promoting a comprehensive discipleship and watching over their well-being. The families are very encouraged to continue in the program, which were reflected with their participation in the different activities that the children actively participated in.

How has this intervention benefitted the church or community?

The church has had a positive impact on the community, we consider that being the first Christian church in the community we have the responsibility to be a testimony of our heavenly father. Through our discipleship program, the families have been integrated, the community has accepted the challenge proposed by the church to be protectors of the integrity of the children of the community. The authorities of the community recognize and support all the work done by the church, which is why it is part of the organizational meetings and decision making regarding the planning of activities. Also the church is promoting the development of the area to have basic services.

How has this intervention affected your ability to minister to the beneficiaries?

The church has first assumed the responsibility of the importance of developing the ministry with children and their families, took on the challenge of being light and salt for a whole community through the teaching of the Word of God, through the implementation of curricular topics that teach biblical principles starting from Evangelism and Discipleship since the beneficiaries are being part of the ministry of tambourines to praise and worship God, without neglecting the area of health, teaching about health care, for this we gave hygiene kits and we also considered the food, so we delivered the family basket to strengthen their nutrition.

What would you like to say to those who provided the financial support for this intervention?

We are infinitely grateful for your unconditional support, your contributions were a great blessing, the children and their families now have an adequate space to continue learning about biblical principles. Thanks to your support the children and their families have a welcoming environment, with the highest expectations of being able to serve more children and their families. Dear funders feel very happy, because you sowed in a good place, we will continue praying for your lives.

What was your life like before the intervention was implemented?

Before I was part of the program, I knew almost nothing about God, I would just go to school, then come back. Sometimes my parents would leave me at home, and they would go to parties or something, they were almost always busy with their activities. They never talked to me about God or the Bible, many times I felt lonely and sad because my parents did not spend much time with my siblings and me. In our days we helped my parents in their work, and even so many times we did not have food and we only had tea for dinner, they almost never took me to the doctor, we were just at home without going out.

How has your life changed now that this intervention is complete?

Now my life changed completely, before I did not understand almost anything and much less, I did not know anything about God. Almost nothing my parents had mentioned to me about creation, the Bible I did not know, one day my mom told me that she will enroll me to a Christian Church, and I said: What is that? I thought it was a school that would teach me more things to read. A few days later my father took me for the first time and I met my first teacher, she began to talk to us about God, and also taught us to pray, and read the Word of God in the Bible. I also learned to sing praise, from that moment my life changed, now I am very happy to know our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. I just go to church a lot, we have a good time there.

What will this change mean for your future or the future of your family?

The change that I experience now is very important, because I feel very loved, I want to learn more about God, studying the Bible, I want to learn to play an instrument, with this I want to praise God with all my heart. The sisters and brothers taught me a lot about the infinite love of God for my life and my family and thanks to God my parents also attend the services organized by the brothers of the church and now as a family we can attend the Sunday services. My parents changed, now I feel that they care more about me and my siblings, we can spend a lot of time as a family, we play, eat and have fun.

What lessons have you learned from this intervention?

Since the church came to my area I learned many things but the most important thing is that God’s love is great and he never looks at your mistakes or defects. God will never abandon us; he came for us to be saved and he gave us a place where we can praise him and thank him for everything. I also learned that my life was not by chance, God created me with a special purpose to serve him and support my family so they no longer have to work so much and one day they can rest and we with my brothers can take care of my parents.

What would you like to say to those who provided the financial support for this intervention?

Dear friends, thank you very much for your unconditional support, your contribution was a great blessing, we want to tell you that God will always bless you. if it were not for you maybe now, we would spend our classes in the tents or outdoors. You did a lot for us, now we will learn a lot from the Bible, and we will study to be great like you. May God always take care of you, we love you very much.