Trust in the LORD with all your heart! Lean not on your own understanding! In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path! – – – Proverbs 3:5-6
The title really says it all! It also reminds me of a great old hymn that I learned as a young boy… Trust and Obey!
- When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.- Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
- Refrain:
- Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey. - Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey. - But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey. - Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.
As we trust in God, pray to Him regularly, and hear of His will for us, we then must obey His guidance and direction. Then we are led in the path that He would have for us. This must be a daily discipline for us, as followers and servants of God; in the good times and in the hard, challenging, and/or urgent times as well!
Have you ever found yourself in urgent times? Have you been in times when there are significant changes and/or needs that seem like the directly depend on you? I find myself there right now, as God has directed my path to be one of journeying to fight for the orphaned and widowed in Latin America!
What is so urgent? Well, thanks for asking! In two weeks, Saturday, October 13th, Abogar Guatemala’s Vidas Nuevas (New Lives) ministry will have the final regular meeting time of the year! After that date, Abogar will no longer have a space available to us for our Vidas Nuevas ministry; as the church that has donated space will be relocating, and the landlord of the current property is not trustworthy nor safe for us to rent from. Our Vidas Nuevas ministry will resume in February, 2019, as Guatemala’s school year is from February through October. Between now and February, 2019, Abogar is needing to find a new location nearby the church and neighborhood where we started our first Vidas Nuevas ministry.
As we have been praying and seeking God for an answer of how and where to continue our ministry, it has been evident that it would be a better option to purchase a property where we can have main offices and a multi-purpose center for Abogar Guatemala; as well as space to continue our Vidas Nuevas ministry, and to grow our impact and outreach within the community. The property would also allow us, in the future, to implement Abogar’s Homes of Hope model, to provide orphaned children with permanent, forever homes and forever families! (The pictures below show a visual concept of our model and plan. For cost-effectiveness we are considering even using shipping containers for the buildings on the property! These visual representations of the model are to express the concept, and are not exact replications of what we hope to create.)
We are sensing that God may be inviting us to dream big and to love and provide for these children in this way! As He directs our path, we desire to obey and be faithful. We would love others to dream with and invest in this great call of God! The cost for a property, with the capacity to provide for this model, ranges between $300,000 and $400,000! We have set our Capital Campaign with a phase 1 goal of $350,000.
Over the last year and a half we have had the privilege and blessing, in our Vidas Nuevas ministry, to distribute ~60 Bibles to children who have never had one, share the Gospel with them all, and watch more than 35 of them come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord! We have weekly fed them, shared Bible lessons with them, and been able to minister to them and their very broken and hurting families and communities. The growth and blessing that we have been able to witness in the lives of these children and communities are great, and we have been so blessed to watch God’s faithfulness in using this ministry!
As we now are at a very urgent juncture, in which we need God’s intervention and provision, we are again reminded of Proverbs 3:5&6. We are trusting God for provision and direction in how to best provide for and bless these precious children. We are acknowledging God’s sovereignty in this process, and we are praying for God to direct our path. Will you join us in trusting, praying, and obeying God? Will you pray for us to receive great clarity and guidance, as we seek to move forward? May God get all the glory, and children’s lives be changed as we trust, pray, and obey together!
***If you would like to make a donation, please visit www.abogarim.org/support and be sure to indicate that your donation is for Capital Campaign.
