Iglesia Rios de Agua Viva
September 2020 Update
Greetings sisters and brothers of MONAT! We are excited to share with you an update on the ministries and construction of Rios de Agua Viva.
There has been little progress on the work in these 60 days, due to the fact that construction activities have not been fully resumed yet. The rates of people infected by Covid-19 have increased in our area. Due to this, the biosafety protocols required by local authorities are quite strict until the situation gets back to normal. This has generated a bit of panic in the population to the extent that there is not the necessary labor to obtain significant advances.
In these two months, the following activities were achieved. We finished the installation of the kitchen cover. The concrete casting of the entire internal kitchen area (food handling area, dressing room, and pantry). Lifted the walls and installed grills for kitchen mezzanines.
In the last sixty days, the Church has continued to accompany the families of the children through telephone calls, social networks, and through visits to assist in special situations. The church delivered grocery baskets and personal hygiene kits to 100% of the sponsored children, worked on evangelism activities to beneficiaries and guardians causing a great impact in their lives in these times of world crisis in which they have drawn closer to the Lord. Other activities carried out by the church have been directed towards child protection, strengthening the ties of family unity and collective self-care as a way to protect the integrity and avoid the spread of diseases; especially the Covid-19 virus of which positive cases have increased in our community.
This time, we want to share with you an activity carried out by the Church, called “Knowing Jesus”. This was an evangelistic type activity, which involved the children, parents and guardians. As a family, they had to read the story of Jesus, designed in the form of a cartoon, in which Jesus was shown as a gift of love from God to humanity, who would reconcile man with God so that they could be good friends. In the end, the children had to decorate the cartoon images with colors and, guided by their parents, prayed in thanksgiving to God for His gift of love, Jesus, and invited him to live in their hearts. This activity resulted in the conversion of 130 children and 2 adults, who today recognize Jesus as that friend who reconciled them with their father God!
The church is working diligently to resume construction site activities as the situation caused by the pandemic gets back to normal. In the next 60 days, we plan to continue the work schedule as best as we can and execute a few things. We are hoping to plaster the external walls and internal walls. Construct kitchen counters, Install electrical networks in the office, classrooms, sanitary units, and kitchen. Cut iron for footings and foundation beam for the multipurpose classroom. Excavate footings and foundation beam for the multipurpose classroom and lay concrete casting of footings and foundation beam for the multipurpose classroom.
I thank the Lord for His love and faithfulness to the work team and the families that are part of this ministry. I also thank the donors and all those people who make this possible, for the God of love to reveal himself to every child and family, in these times of crisis that waves the whole world.
Our hearts are filled with the happy faces of parents and children when they receive food aid, or when they receive a call from the caregivers or a church leader, through which we share the gospel of the Kingdom and generate peace in these times of distress.
On behalf of these children and parents, we thank you. There has never been a more favorable time for the church to impact its context, like this time and you are part of this by giving us many tools to reach and reach vulnerable families of our community. As the administrator of this Development Center, by the Grace of God, I thank the Lord Jesus for your lives, for entrusting us with the blessings you have received from heaven, to put them at the service of the most vulnerable. We have learned that a lot can be done with a little, and we pray that the Lord rewards you in blessing, because whoever gives to the poor, lends to the Lord. God bless you greatly, we are praying for you and your families. May the God of peace keep your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. Blessings.
PRAISES
- His faithfulness to donors and their families. He has been the one who, in addition to blessing them, has put a generous heart in favor of those in need.
- The opportunity that has been given to the church through the Childhood Development Center, today it has been possible to cover the lives of many families who did not know Christ.
- The life of each person who in one way or another has been linked to the Lord’s purpose through the Ríos de Agua Viva church.
PRAYER REQUESTS
- The physical and emotional integrity of our children, who are still in confinement.
- The decrease in the contagion rates of Covid-19 in the country, in the church impact area, and for the Lord to heal the sick who are at home and health centers.