Today we were able to visit Caneyville Christian Church to share about how God has led us to pursue full-time mission work and about the work we plan to do in Guatemala. Of course we are always a little nervous about speaking in front of a large group of people, but this church was so welcoming and God gave us the strength to share the dreams He has placed on our hearts.
Before we spoke this morning, we prayed that God would give us the words to say. At the end of the service a love offering was collected and we were blown by the generosity of this church. We know that this is not the result of our speaking abilities, but because the Holy Spirit was at work and the church responded. Thank you, Caneyville Christian, for letting us come and share!
Please continue to keep us in your prayers -- specifically that our financial support will come together within the next few months. We are still waiting to hear how our home church will be involved in our ministry, so please pray for those at our church who are making this decision. We will also be meeting with a pastor of another church here in town this Wednesday. On the 26th, we are excited about returning to Williamstown Christian Church! God has been so faithful in the past and we know that He will get us to Guatemala in His timing.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Volcanoes, Earthquakes, & Mudslides
We wanted to share a little about what is currently going on in Guatemala. Although we do not know all the details, we have been hearing from missionaries currently working in Guatemala and reading the Guatemalan newspaper online for updates.
Last Thursday Pacaya, an active volcano, erupted causing thousands of people in nearby villages to evacuate from their homes. Although volcanic eruptions are common in Guatemala, many people have described this eruption as the most violent they have experienced. Several inches of ash has mixed with the rain causing a huge mess over the regions surrounding Pacaya.
Along with the eruption, the people of Guatemala also experienced a small earthquake and received news that Cyclone Agatha was on its way. Agatha brought 21 inches of rain during the first 24 hours causing major mudslides and more than 18 bridges to collapse.
In a country where people are already struggling to survive, these disasters have caused much devastation -- many people lost their homes, what little they had, and the means to provide for their families. Please join us in praying for the families affected by these disasters!
Huge blessing from another Green family
We will be working with the Greene family (Fontaine & Paula) in Guatemala, but have just received a huge blessing from another Green family. The Green family has graciously allowed us to live in their home in Louisville while they are away. This has allowed us to sell our remaining furniture and save money for our work in Guatemala.
We know that this is all part of God’s plan – we received an email from the Green’s just days before we were going to sign a lease on a short-term apartment. Although selling our furniture and other things was a bit scary, we know that God wanted us to step out in faith and trust that He would take care of us. The Green family explained that something just kept telling them to check on us to see if we had moved to Guatemala yet, and we are so thankful for their support in this way!
Update on our support
We have now raised 100% of our start-up costs and over 40% of our on-going monthly support. Thank you so much for partnering with us! Knowing that there are so many people in our lives praying for our family and joining us in this work has been a huge encouragement to us. We are continuing to meet with churches and individuals to finish raising our support.
Encouraging verse for us this month
“Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
Remember catalyst’s new address
Catalyst Resources International
P.O. Box 1594
Lake Wales, FL 33859
Memo: Wheeler Family
Last Thursday Pacaya, an active volcano, erupted causing thousands of people in nearby villages to evacuate from their homes. Although volcanic eruptions are common in Guatemala, many people have described this eruption as the most violent they have experienced. Several inches of ash has mixed with the rain causing a huge mess over the regions surrounding Pacaya.
Along with the eruption, the people of Guatemala also experienced a small earthquake and received news that Cyclone Agatha was on its way. Agatha brought 21 inches of rain during the first 24 hours causing major mudslides and more than 18 bridges to collapse.
In a country where people are already struggling to survive, these disasters have caused much devastation -- many people lost their homes, what little they had, and the means to provide for their families. Please join us in praying for the families affected by these disasters!
Huge blessing from another Green family
We will be working with the Greene family (Fontaine & Paula) in Guatemala, but have just received a huge blessing from another Green family. The Green family has graciously allowed us to live in their home in Louisville while they are away. This has allowed us to sell our remaining furniture and save money for our work in Guatemala.
We know that this is all part of God’s plan – we received an email from the Green’s just days before we were going to sign a lease on a short-term apartment. Although selling our furniture and other things was a bit scary, we know that God wanted us to step out in faith and trust that He would take care of us. The Green family explained that something just kept telling them to check on us to see if we had moved to Guatemala yet, and we are so thankful for their support in this way!
Update on our support
We have now raised 100% of our start-up costs and over 40% of our on-going monthly support. Thank you so much for partnering with us! Knowing that there are so many people in our lives praying for our family and joining us in this work has been a huge encouragement to us. We are continuing to meet with churches and individuals to finish raising our support.
Encouraging verse for us this month
“Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
Remember catalyst’s new address
Catalyst Resources International
P.O. Box 1594
Lake Wales, FL 33859
Memo: Wheeler Family
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Big news!!!
We are excited to share that we have a contract on our house and should close by the end of May. This is a huge weight lifted from our shoulders, knowing that we could not move to Guatemala until our house has sold. We love seeing how God works things out… The family buying our house is a single mom with two daughters and one of her daughters was adopted from Guatemala.
We want to let everyone know that the address for Catalyst is changing. The new address is:
Catalyst Resources International
P.O. Box 1594
Lake Wales, FL 33859
If you have sent a support check to the other address, it will be forwarded to the new address. We just want to make everyone aware of the new address. Remember to write “Wheeler Family” in the memo of your check.
At this point, we have raised approximately 30% of our financial support. We hope to hear good news very soon about financial support from several churches that we have been meeting with. We are praying that since we have a contract on our house that the remaining funds will come in quickly.
We are so thankful for all of you who are generously supporting our work in Guatemala through your prayers and financial support. We do not take this responsibility lightly. We are excited about how we will be working together to share God’s love with the people of Guatemala.
As we write this, we do not have an exact moving date. While we know that we might need to step out in faith and move before we have raised 100% of our funds, we are also wanting to make wise decisions for our family. If you are planning to partner with us through monthly financial support but have not yet started sending in your contributions, could you help us plan by filling in the response card below and sending it to the Catalyst address? We realize that many people might want to help as soon as we move, and it would be a huge help if you could send your response card in soon. Please know that even if you feel like the amount you are able to give is small, it will be a huge blessing to our family and to the people we will be working with.
Response card (Just copy and paste to a Word document and print.)
Yes! I will partner with the Wheeler family through monthly financial support and prayer.
Mail support to:
Catalyst Resources International
P.O. Box 1594
Lake Wales, FL 33859
Memo: The Wheeler Family
_____ $25 per month Name: _____________________
_____ $50 per month e-mail address: ________________
_____ Other home church: _________________
Encouraging verse for us this month:
“Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions. It is by our actions that we know we are living in the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before the Lord.”
1 John 3:18-19
We want to let everyone know that the address for Catalyst is changing. The new address is:
Catalyst Resources International
P.O. Box 1594
Lake Wales, FL 33859
If you have sent a support check to the other address, it will be forwarded to the new address. We just want to make everyone aware of the new address. Remember to write “Wheeler Family” in the memo of your check.
At this point, we have raised approximately 30% of our financial support. We hope to hear good news very soon about financial support from several churches that we have been meeting with. We are praying that since we have a contract on our house that the remaining funds will come in quickly.
We are so thankful for all of you who are generously supporting our work in Guatemala through your prayers and financial support. We do not take this responsibility lightly. We are excited about how we will be working together to share God’s love with the people of Guatemala.
As we write this, we do not have an exact moving date. While we know that we might need to step out in faith and move before we have raised 100% of our funds, we are also wanting to make wise decisions for our family. If you are planning to partner with us through monthly financial support but have not yet started sending in your contributions, could you help us plan by filling in the response card below and sending it to the Catalyst address? We realize that many people might want to help as soon as we move, and it would be a huge help if you could send your response card in soon. Please know that even if you feel like the amount you are able to give is small, it will be a huge blessing to our family and to the people we will be working with.
Response card (Just copy and paste to a Word document and print.)
Yes! I will partner with the Wheeler family through monthly financial support and prayer.
Mail support to:
Catalyst Resources International
P.O. Box 1594
Lake Wales, FL 33859
Memo: The Wheeler Family
_____ $25 per month Name: _____________________
_____ $50 per month e-mail address: ________________
_____ Other home church: _________________
Encouraging verse for us this month:
“Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions. It is by our actions that we know we are living in the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before the Lord.”
1 John 3:18-19
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Thank you, Calvary Christian & Williamstown Christian!
This past Sunday we visited Calvary Christian Church in Winchester, Kentucky. Robby and I met with their missions committee a few months ago and were thrilled to hear that they wanted to partner with us through on-going monthly support and possibly send teams to work with us in the future. They welcomed us like family and it was great to meet more of their congregation. We were able to share our story and more about the work that we will be doing in Guatemala with a Sunday School class as well as a group of their elders and members of the missions committee. Their pastor, Brian, introduced our family (Leah really wanted to dance on the stage!) to the congregration during both services and prayed for us as we continue on this journey. It was such an encouraging time for us, so thank you Calvary Christian for making us feel so at home with you!
We also heard great news from the missions committee at Williamstown Christian Church. They have committed to helping us with some of our start-up expenses, which will allow us to purchase a laptop to take to Guatemala. Their support will also cover language classes once we get to Guatemala. We loved meeting with their missions committee and look forward to sharing with the entire congregation very soon!
We also heard great news from the missions committee at Williamstown Christian Church. They have committed to helping us with some of our start-up expenses, which will allow us to purchase a laptop to take to Guatemala. Their support will also cover language classes once we get to Guatemala. We loved meeting with their missions committee and look forward to sharing with the entire congregation very soon!
Friday, February 26, 2010
A few steps back...
This week we feel as though we have taken a few steps back. Before the snow hit, we were excited about meeting with several of the leaders from church and sharing our story. We have been meeting with leaders on staff for quite some time, but this meeting was hopefully going to get everyone who will be making the decision of how our home church will be supporting us together in one room. The snow delayed that meeting and this week we found out that the leaders are not ready to meet with us. Instead they will be meeting and working on long-range mission plans and *hopefully* will know something in two weeks.
Although this news from our church has been very disappointing, we are continuing to talk with other churches about partnering with us. We are confident that God has called us to serve Him in Guatemala and are trusting that He will make a way for us to do that. Will you continue to pray for us as we work to raise our financial support?
A team from Kentucky just returned home from Guatemala and I am sharing one of their pictures below. The girl on the far right is Herminia -- she is living at Mimi's House as a house parent. We are so thankful for her and for all the love and attention she is giving the girls right now. Please pray for Herminia as she works very long days -- taking the girls to school, helping them with their homework, preparing meals, cleaning the house, washing the never-ending loads of laundry, and leading the girls in daily devotionals.
Although this news from our church has been very disappointing, we are continuing to talk with other churches about partnering with us. We are confident that God has called us to serve Him in Guatemala and are trusting that He will make a way for us to do that. Will you continue to pray for us as we work to raise our financial support?
A team from Kentucky just returned home from Guatemala and I am sharing one of their pictures below. The girl on the far right is Herminia -- she is living at Mimi's House as a house parent. We are so thankful for her and for all the love and attention she is giving the girls right now. Please pray for Herminia as she works very long days -- taking the girls to school, helping them with their homework, preparing meals, cleaning the house, washing the never-ending loads of laundry, and leading the girls in daily devotionals.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Snow Delay...
Because of the snow, we were unable to have the meeting with our church leaders today. Our serve pastor said that he will call us tomorrow to set up an exact meeting time, hopefully either Thursday or Friday.
We did get some good news today -- Calvary Christian Church in Winchester, Kentucky has committed to monthly financial support bringing our support percentage to 19%. We will be visiting Calvary again soon for a commissioning service and we are anxious to meet more of their congregation. Thank you, Calvary Christian!
We are also continuing to meet with small groups and individuals who are interested in partnering with us in some way. Last week I shared with a group of moms who meet at Crestwood Baptist Church. Thank you girls for letting me share with you!
This weekend we will be meeting with three more small groups. You know I always get nervous right before we share with a group. It is still a difficult thing having to rely entirely on God though the generosity of others to provide the support for our work in Guatemala. But I can think of five good reasons to keep going...
Julissa
Paola
Evelia
Lesly
Lupita
Thank you for keeping us in your prayers! We will update as soon as we have more news!
We did get some good news today -- Calvary Christian Church in Winchester, Kentucky has committed to monthly financial support bringing our support percentage to 19%. We will be visiting Calvary again soon for a commissioning service and we are anxious to meet more of their congregation. Thank you, Calvary Christian!
We are also continuing to meet with small groups and individuals who are interested in partnering with us in some way. Last week I shared with a group of moms who meet at Crestwood Baptist Church. Thank you girls for letting me share with you!
This weekend we will be meeting with three more small groups. You know I always get nervous right before we share with a group. It is still a difficult thing having to rely entirely on God though the generosity of others to provide the support for our work in Guatemala. But I can think of five good reasons to keep going...
Julissa
Paola
Evelia
Lesly
Lupita
Thank you for keeping us in your prayers! We will update as soon as we have more news!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Please Pray!!!
Leaders at our home church will be meeting to discuss how our church will be able to support our work in Guatemala this coming Tuesday. Today we were told that up until this past Tuesday they didn’t think they would be able to support us at all due to the costs of the church’s new building fund. Something happened on Tuesday that made the leadership reconsider. Thinking back, I realized that this past Tuesday was the morning that my Bible study leader had called to check in with me. I shared with her that we had expected to hear how our home church would be able to support us by the end of November and we still haven’t gotten an answer, so she prayed very specifically with me over the phone that God would work to release the funds that we need.
God has shown us in amazing ways how powerful prayer can be. Remember how He answered our prayer of being able to be with Cohen in Guatemala until his adoption was complete?
Will you join us in praying very specifically these next six days?
•We are praying that God would soften the hearts of those at our church who are making these decisions.
•We are praying that they will either “find” money from other areas of the budget or that they will step out in faith and trust that God will bless our church through their giving to missions.
•We are praying that God will use this situation to bring glory to Him remembering Ephesians 3:19-21:
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
Thank you in advance for your prayers and support! We will keep you posted on any news when we receive it!
God has shown us in amazing ways how powerful prayer can be. Remember how He answered our prayer of being able to be with Cohen in Guatemala until his adoption was complete?
Will you join us in praying very specifically these next six days?
•We are praying that God would soften the hearts of those at our church who are making these decisions.
•We are praying that they will either “find” money from other areas of the budget or that they will step out in faith and trust that God will bless our church through their giving to missions.
•We are praying that God will use this situation to bring glory to Him remembering Ephesians 3:19-21:
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
Thank you in advance for your prayers and support! We will keep you posted on any news when we receive it!
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