Ready, set, give!
“I can tell you that they gave as much as they were able and even more than they could afford. No one told them to do it.” 2 Cor 8:3
New Year, everything new… well at least the goals and some of the dreams we have now are new. Sometimes I wonder what the purpose of my life is and why God has me where I am now doing what I do and I know for sure the role everyone has in their life can help to build, destroy, motivate, or form the life of someone else.
It is not easy to let things go, things that people have done to you in the past and forgiveness is something God has been helping me to learn how to do it. When I look back in my life and notice how much God has done to make my path, with faith I trust I can enjoy the journey and become a better person.
Doing what you love
Someone (I don’t remember if it was a teacher, a friend or a relative) told me once that your job must be something you love doing it so you’ll have the right motivation to do it the best way possible and enjoy the process.
I remember one of the jobs I truly loved was when I worked at the Kid’s Museum. It has been the only place where I can be myself without worrying about what people would say. I loved every minute I was there and I enjoyed it so much that I think I never called in sick.
In all the places I’ve worked before, I’ve never felt that way before until now with Semillitas because I can again being myself with the kids and they don’t judge. Semillitas has done something in me that even when my body said “no more”, I knew that these kids loved so much to be there with me and my craziness. Of course spending all the time with kids sometimes has its disadvantages and me being a social butterfly, I needed to be around grownups so bad that God being as great as He is, gave us the chance to help with translations in different organizations and truly it’s an honor to be able to help so many people with the talent God has given us with the languages. We’ve helped in medical outreaches, Christmas activities, and other outreaches, and spending time with all the people we’ve met it has been a blessing. We do hope this year will be a full schedule with the translations.
Last month of the year
We were not sure to continue working all December and have a BVS with the kids in Semillitas but this time I did listened to my body and I gave it a time out. The last week of November we did an activity with the kids where they prepared all the material they needed to make an Advent Calendar. It was the first time they’ve done something like it and because I knew we were going to be off all month, we did this so they could know the real meaning of Christmas. In Guatemala most of the families are catholic and they do some processions until Christmas Eve to tell the story of Jesus’ birth. A lot of the kids coming to Semillitas are catholic but we are most focused in teaching them a relationship than a mere religion and with this we do hope we can show them the real meaning of Christmas. You can see the gallery here
The “time off“I as looking wasn’t much of time off because besides translations, we had our cookie sale which was a success. We were able to raise Q1274.72 ($168). It was so great to see people being able to help us and at the same time have something yummy (it’s not because I baked them but they were really delicious)
God has always put people in our way to support the ministry and someone made an unexpected donation and with that we were able to buy some groceries and bless the families in Semillitas. You can see the gallery here
Doors close but others open
Last year we were so happy with the scholarship that was given to Rubí for the next 3 years (7th, 8th, and 9th) which made her dream of having a career closer. We worked so hard during the whole year to have everything they asked for but the general principal from the schools decided (even though we had meetings before and it was settled) to cancel her scholarship for 2023 and 2024, and without any explanation, she gave us the news to us in December and because our school year is from January to October, all schools are closed by this time of the year and in January the enrollment for new students it’s something really difficult to get so we were in a really tight position.
Even though, I searched for options for her to continue with her studies and this option had to be within our budget (which was also tight), but thanks to the unexpected donations, we were able to find a homeschool program within the budget and she will continue her studies. I prayed a lot about this because I see so much potential in these kids that people sometimes don’t notice and giving her this opportunity is what God has put in our heart to create Semillitas and create a future for these kids.
In the translations we’ve been doing, we worked with different organizations that when they heard about Semillitas, they told us they want to join and work with us in different ways. God has allowed a door to close but we know He’ll open way more for us and it’s so calming to see His hand in all the things we do and know we’re not forsaken.
20 of $20
Thank you to all the people who has been supporting us through this year. We still ask for people to partner with us in the 20 of $20 and being able to cover all the expenses so Semillitas can keep running. Everyday we’re tighter in the storefront we have and we pray we can rent the space next door and help more and more kids. If you would like to be part of our support team, you can follow the link www.WorldOutreach.org/775 (using a debit/credit card), send a check to World Outreach Ministries, PO Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 and design it to Oscar & Brenda Quinonez 775. All gifts are tax deductible.
Prayer requests
Your prayers are a key element in our ministry and if you would like you can join us in prayer for:
- Semillitas. A new school year starts and we hope to help more children and have staff.
- Our Family. God knows the desires of our heart and we pray for a miracle.
- 20 of $20. We keep praying for these people so God will touch their heart and join our 20 of $20.
