It is our honor to share with you the latest progress at your church plant, Iglesia Cristiana Cuadrangular in Villa Cielo, Colombia, where five more adults have started attending church in the last 60 days, four of whom have chosen to dedicate their lives to Christ.
Construction progress
- On the first floor, we:
- installed the protectors of the multi-purpose room and kitchen;
- installed the doors of the main entrance, kitchen and bathrooms;
- plastered the wall of the stairway, multi-purpose room and the front area of the church;
- installed the counter and glass window in the kitchen
- On the second floor, we installed the electrical network, classroom protectors, and glass window in the office.
Child Development Center Activities
- The beneficiaries receive on-site tutoring on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in two shifts – morning and afternoon. We have 99 percent attendance from the children.
- To help with their wellbeing and education, we have given beneficiaries school and hygiene kits, a child development center uniform, and meals prepared at the center when they attend their tutoring.
- We assisted with a tour for visiting pastors: The children sang, danced, and one of the children shared a message.
- We started a workshop for parents, who have responded in a positive manner by attending and participating at an 80 percent rate.
- Parents also attend Sunday school and have shown their support during construction.
Challenges
Our main challenges are obtaining resources to finish construction on time. We are able to obtain the materials, but not in sufficient quantities, so we have to go get more quite often.
Another challenge is the legal process for the deed to the property and the construction license. This process has not advanced much as the Council of Monteria seldom gets together, around once per month, and this has not allowed them to talk about the transfer of the deed to the Foursquare denomination. We are still waiting for the legal deed and the signature of the mayor.
Next Steps
- We conducted a church bazaar fundraising event to help fund construction and the program.
- We continue working on getting resources from suppliers to finish the construction. This includes:
- plaster for inside walls of classrooms and some small spaces that still need to be detailed
- electrical installations of the first floor
- tiling of bathrooms and kitchen
- a short beam for the second floor
- installation of bannisters
- internal kitchen protector for food distribution
Pastor Activities in the Community
- The pastor and the community have been selling food and pens to raise funds for the progress of the construction.
- We organized and adapted a recreational area for the community and the beneficiaries of the center. The pastor, community and the Community Action Board worked together for it.
- We have an excellent relationship with other nearby child development centers, as we have worked together to finish the construction. It has been a blessing that each of them is supporting us in this time.
- The other centers in the city supported us by painting the classrooms, which was meaningful and a great blessing for the church. They also sent staff members who supported us with their creativity by decorating appealing classrooms for the children.
Testimony of Impact
I’m happy as I have a place where I can play, praise Jesus, and hang out with my mom and friends, and they give us a tasty meal.
– Isaac David Sena Martinez, registered child
Praises and Prayer Requests
We are thankful for the support given to our church family and for all your prayers. We want to tell you that we are very excited as we will soon finish this great construction, which is for the benefit of the families around us.
This help fills us with satisfaction, and there aren’t enough words to thank you. We are amazed to see your love for the work of the Lord, for which – from the deepest of our hearts – we desire that 3 John 1:2 becomes a reality in your lives.
Please join us in prayer …
- so we can successfully finish the construction of the church and the program;
- for new believers and new baptisms;
- for the entities in charge of the process of the deeds, so we can get them as soon as possible;
- for the support of the church in all the spiritual and fundraising activities;
- for the unity of the families in church;
- so the children keep learning the word of God.
Photos of Progress