April 2020 Updates

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MISSIONARY UPDATES DURING COVID:19

 

Juan Pablo & Carolina Noriega
– Nebaj, Guatemala –

Juan Pablo and Carolina’s family are doing well and are staying safe. All non-essential works in Nebaj, Guatemala are asked to stay at home. Both Juan Pablo and Carolina continue to work in the Hospital during this time but are taking precautions when treating patients!

We received an update from an intern who is helping them at this time:

“I am doing well! I am loving it here! Jenny and her family are amazing and have welcomed me in as one of the sisters. I am so so grateful to be living with them! It worked out great to get to serve with the team from Canada, the week they were here. What great people! I had such a blast working with them and getting to know them. And since then, I’ve been training in the hospital as well and loving it. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus, the Government here mandated that they send home anyone who wasn’t a required medical personnel from the hospital, so I’m not training there for now. But, I know that God has a plan even in this and I am happy to get to spend more time with my family – The Molinas. I’ve seen God’s hand at work in all of it!” 

Please continue to pray for Gilberto & Ruth Noriega. They are doing well and are both in good health! They usually assist Juan Pablo & Carolina in hosting teams but all have been postponed or canceled until further notice. Currently, their personal support is insufficient and additional supporters are desperately needed.        You can support Gilberto & Ruth HERE.

 

Rodolfo & Saraid
– Iquitos, Peru –

“Hello Friends! We are doing okay, obeying the curfews here in Iquitos, praying, and loving our family! Iquitos is in a State of Emergency until April 12th. We are seeking the Lord everyday as well as loving on some vulnerable families, bringing them some food and most importantly, the encouragement and hope of the word of God. So please keep praying for us as we all go through this difficult season and for all the families of the beautiful kids and the poor areas that we ministry to. Love you all and God bless you.”

 

 

“Here are two families that we were able to reach and share the word of God with. Because of YOUR DONATIONS, we were able to give them some food during this season of quarantine!
Thank You!”      — Rodolfo R.

 

 

 

Scott & Tracy Blackburn
– Puerto Maldonado, Peru –

“Praise the Lord! His timing was perfect as 5 days after our return to Peru the borders were closed due to the corona virus. The country is on lockdown and only Utilities, Banks, Markets and Pharmacies are permitted to be open, all other public and private business are closed. Fortunately, as child care home workers we have a free pass to get what we need. I reached out to our Pastor so he knows I’m allowed out and can help with any seniors in church that need groceries. They are only allowing one family member at a time out and about to shop. This will cause great stress here as most people depend on a small daily income to get by and now that is gone, with no assistance from the Government yet. Please pray for Peru through this time, all borders are closed to all in and out air, car, bus and truck traffic. We are hearing of some stranded tourists and we have reached out to help where we can. Times like this, allow us to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Don’t miss your opportunity to serve! Thank you all who pray for us and support our work here. We are always working to be faithful stewards of the work that God has given to us, and of the financial resources YOU have entrusted to us! YOU are making a difference!”

Galatians 6:9 reminds us that we will see a great harvest, as we have opportunity let us never tire of doing good to everyone! “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up”.

With love, and a sincere sense of gratitude for your partnership – hugs and love from Peru!

— Scott Tracy Tatiana Caleb Jaxon Matthew Yuri BruceLee Treysi Josue and Misael

 

Ishmael & Molline Ochieng
– Nairobi, Kenya –

“In Kenya, schools are closed. The order is for the whole population to isolate. The Government is doing all that they can to prevent the virus from spreading. We are sad that the Team who was supposed to be here this month had to be postponed. This means that the Women’s conference that this team was supposed to help with has been cancelled. Due to this virus, church/religious buildings are closed for gatherings until further notice. Please continue praying for us here in Kenya! Thank you.”

— Ishmael & Molline

Ellie & Lila Quezada
– British Columbia, Canada –

“Two weeks ago, I (Ellie) was very blessed to accompany a Mission Team from Ontario that went to Nebaj, Guatemala to continue building the Nebaj hospital. It involved a week of hard work mixing mortar for parging the block walls and home visitations, where food and furniture were donated to the poorest of the poor in the area. Nebaj is a town in a mountain area called the Ixil Triangle. This area is where Lila and I were ministering thirty-four years ago. All in all, it was a rewarding and productive trip, and thankfully I got home before the Guatemalan airport and border were shut down!

 

COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on the plans of everyone all around the world, and we are no exception. On March 4th, 250 Guatemalan workers got laid off from their jobs at a marijuana farm in Aldergrove, including the 20 women who arrived just before Christmas that Lila was ministering to.

After a lot of confusion and scrambling on how they would get home, the company booked them a chartered flight scheduled to leave Wednesday, March 18th. But on Tuesday, March 17th, Guatemala shut their borders completely except for their own citizens with a mandatory quarantine. The flight home for the workers was canceled, causing lots of fear and confusion, only to suddenly be rescheduled for March 21st.

Prayer Requests: – Please pray for the migrant workers to stay healthy and, most importantly, not catch COVID-19. They live and work in close quarters so it would spread so quickly if they were exposed. We respect that and will not have direct contact with them, although we are staying in touch via texting and phone calls.  Pray that the gospel seeds planted will lead them to Jesus, and that people all around the world will look to Jesus, our one true HOPE!

God bless you and thank you for your faithful prayers and gifts to us.  We appreciate you now more than ever and are praying for you as well!” — Ellie Quezada

 

Brian & Muriel Windsor
– Lusaka, Zambia –

We made our plans…the Lord determined our steps. COVID-19 is just beginning in Zambia with 36 cases reported today. The government is trying to stay ahead by limiting all meetings of non family members to 5 or less. But this came as our class of 26 students had 3 more days to complete our Old Testament Survey course before we were to closed over virus concerns.
So what to do? We realized that our unique approach to theological education where we use an apprenticeship, practical approach has an additional advantage – it is highly adaptable. Without direction from senior teachers our second year students, who are training as apprentice teachers, each each decided to take their “class” of 2-4 first year students off site and hold classes in churches and homes around the city in order to complete the course book, write their final quiz and complete their final assignment. We will have to wait for the virus to run its course before we can continue classes but with your prayers, continuing financial support and the Lord directing our steps I know we will be stronger as we stand together!        — Brian Windsor

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