The following was written by Neely McLoed, Communications Associate at UNUM International.
Something I’ve been thinking about recently is how the precursor to every miracle is need. Not one person who has experienced a miracle has done so without first experiencing or having need. And while so many of us long to see the miraculous, it’s not common we’re bursting at the seams to seek out situations that force us to have need.
A few weeks ago our UNUM team had the opportunity to visit a family in Chivoc alongside Natalie, a missionary UNUM partners with in that community. A dirt pathway lined with trees and wooden fence posts led to their house, where two smiling faces greeted us. Several miles from their home, the family rents a plot of land where they grow and harvest corn, providing them with almost a year’s worth of sustenance. It was recently harvest season and their porch was full of drying cobs of corn, which would soon be de-kernelled, ground, and used to make dough for tortillas, among other things. The matriarch of the family invited us in, made sure we were all comfortable and felt welcome in her home, and began to share a bit of her story. As a single mom, she works hard to make sure her family has enough to eat; she only had the opportunity to go to elementary school for a few years and was determined that her son would go at least through sixth grade. When it came time for him to enroll in middle school, despite not knowing where the funds would come from to pay for school supplies and other expenses, she had the faith that somehow the Lord would provide.
We got to share with her about the sponsorship program that is beginning this year in Chivoc (stay tuned for how you can be part of this!), and how through sponsorship we’re able to support the school in a holistic way and offset school costs for families. Not only that, but her son will have the opportunity to be mentored and be connected with an individual or family that is praying for and rooting for him. At hearing this, the mom welled up with tears and began to praise God, and all of us did too- we were bearing witness to an answered prayer! We left the home shortly after, but I couldn’t stop thinking about her faith and determination, her hope and trust in God as a provider. While she understood the reality of her family’s situation, she didn’t waver in her understanding of who God is; despite what she saw, she knew He would come through, and be exactly who He says He is.
Where have you seen your needs be met miraculously? Where do you see resources that could be used to meet someone else’s need? Join us in giving thanks this week for the Lord’s faithfulness, and in praying that each one of us, from you reading this to those of us here in Guatemala, would all have eyes to see and acknowledge our need and the Lord’s ability to provide, as well as where we have resources and how we might be called to meet someone else’s need. Are you interested in sponsoring a student in Chivoc? Click here to learn more!
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Every few weeks we send out a newsletter to our prayer team, sharing not only organizational updates and prayer requests, but updates, prayer requests and praises from our staff as well. The work we do isn’t possible without our team of people praying for us, our local staff in each community, and Guatemala. If you want to receive these updates, click here to get added to the prayer team!
