Hola, amigos! The blog is getting a new look because from now on, Chepe (José) and I’s updates will merge. So, for those of you new to my blog, welcome!
Abriga tu ciudad: Youth Event
On November 24th, about 40 youth from our churches all made the trip to our Children’s Development Center (CDI) in the Volcano to spend the afternoon serving the families in the area. For weeks, we had all been collecting clothing and food donations, which our small group organized the week before the event. Over 40 families were able to choose about 30 items of clothing each to take home along with several bags of rice! In addition to that, the youth visited some local families to encourage them and pray with them, as well as share the gospel.
We had also received a donation for five more beds to build (God’s timing is awesome), so we took advantage of the extra help to get most of that construction done during the youth event as well! Please enjoy the pics below from organizing the clothes and the day of the event. Also, if you’d like to see a short recap video from the day, you can click HERE.
Small Group Christmas Dinner
On December 14th, Chepe and I hosted the first big dinner party in our home to close out the year with our youth small group. It was an amazing time full of too much food, lots of laughter and, I think, grateful hearts. Thank you, God, for allowing us to be a part of leading this group!
CDIs Update
Please join our staff in prayer for all of the kids and families we serve as the CDIs go on their annual break over the holiday season. Regular classes finished up about a week ago, and we will begin registration for the 2020 program mid-January. This break coincides partly with the schools’ schedules, but also with the yearly coffee harvesting season. Many of the parents and kids in our program work very hard during this season, so please pray for safety and a fruitful harvest. Thankfully, we are able to send the families on break with a stash of food and supplies, and we will see the kids a couple times when the CDI hosts its Christmas parties in December!
PRAISE! We are so excited about the completion of the first phase of construction on our new Recreational Center at the Volcano CDI, which began in June. Chepe and Pastor Victor have worked a lot on fundraising for this project and getting the word out, so it’s amazing to see God making this dream a reality. The kids have wasted no time in playing with this new space, and we’re excited to utilize the space for numerous events and parties in the years to come!
Enjoy pictures below from this week’s CDI Christmas parties:
End of Year Giving
We are endlessly grateful for all of your love and support over the years. It’s your generosity that makes our work here in El Salvador possible. Our God has never let Chepe or I down in His provision—He is good! Now, we are trusting in Him to bring in the additional support needed to close our current financial gap.
Right now, we need to raise $600 of monthly support to avoid this gap affecting us financially within the next couple of months. We would like to ask you to prayerfully consider contributing to this financial need. If you or someone you know is interested in doing so, please visit reliant.org/ali.howard.
PRAISE
- For our small group – 15 incredible youth seeking Jesus and hoping to make a positive impact on those around them
- Joyful times of celebration at our CDIs
PLEASE PRAY
- For our gap in monthly financial support to be filled in God’s timing
- For us to be close to God, creative and wise as we plan our goals for 2020 in the coming weeks
Thank you for your continued support and encouragement, it means more to us than we could express in words!
alihoward.co 