It has been such a blessing to spend these few weeks home visiting with grandchildren and family. Those times are treasured and precious. We also spent a week at the North Okanagan Gleaners volunteering. Wonderful to connect with so many that we don’t see often. Around a million servings of soup were bagged that week, destined for North Korea. Inscribed in the cement going into the plant are the words “To God be the glory”. So apt as each volunteer enters that building every day to give of their time to help feed the hungry around the world. We will be arriving back in Guatemala Nov. 1, to complete the distribution of relief supplies to the victims of Fuego. Initially there was a great response to the tragedy caused by the eruption of Fuego. Many humanitarian teams from around the world arrived to help, and even many Guatemalans stepped up to the plate. Eventually the teams go home, within a few weeks or even a couple of months, but for many Guatemalans affected, the needs continue. We thank God that His timing is always perfect. The release of the container and our availability to distribute is at a time when other help has begun to dwindle. We are preparing to send another container, to leave late December and arrive in January, 2019. We are looking ahead to the school feeding programs and the villages where the food is helping the most vulnerable. We want the supply of nutrition provided by the Gleaners soup to continue, and so we put out an appeal for funds now. We are trusting God that the funds to send a container will be in place before we send. To date we have around $4,000 in our Seeds to Harvest Ministry fund that will be used towards the next container. We need about $10,000 more, as our container costs have been around $14,000, which includes the cost of the container itself, which we sell in Guatemala and put that money back towards the costs of the next container. To put the costs into perspective, we usually have around 1.4 million servings of food on a container. This means that we can feed many children in school feeding programs and so many others for around a penny a serving, of good nutritious food that they would not have otherwise. This does not include all the other items that we can fit onto the container such as wheelchairs, walkers, canes, crutches, blankets etc. Did you know that there are over 22 official languages spoken in Guatemala. The language spoken in the people group we work most is called Q’ekchi’, although at times we are in Pokomchi and Achi villages. Statistics from the World Health Organization state that chronic malnutrition in children in Guatemala is among the highest in the world. In the region that we are providing Gleaners food the Guatemalan newspaper recently reported that chronic malnutrition was around 78%. These statistics are staggering, and God has allowed us to see some hard things, things that drive us to press on, not just with the food, but with the Gospel. We love visiting these villages. They are welcoming and gracious. They always want us to try the Gleaners soup that they have prepared and they always feed us with their customary special dishes, their best, usually something called Kakic, a broth with a piece of chicken in it, sometimes with rice and always with corn tortillas. It is humbling because we know in many cases it is a sacrifice for them to feed us this way. We show either the Jesus Film, the Jesus Film for Children or The Hope in their village, in Q’ekchi’ and their gratitude to be able to hear the film in their heart language is always apparent. We try to have a local Pastor present. Sometimes they come from a neighbouring village. After the film presentation, the Pastors often ask us if we have access to Bibles in the language Q’ekchi’. The Bibles are like gold for them and we try to provide as we have extra funds. Other news is that we will be receiving our first team from Shiloh Church in March 2019, a Church group from Alabama. We are excited to share our ministry with them. The focus will be to build a maternity house and children’s ministry, both will be such a huge blessing. OUR BIGGEST NEWS is that our daughter and son in law, Leah and Chris, and their three children (our three grandchildren) have made the decision to join us on the mission field in Guatemala. They expect to be there before the end of the year. Thank you for partnering with us with your prayers and your financial support. We couldn’t do this without you. Denis & Eileen Please consider partnering with us on a monthly basis, or one time Donations are always appreciated also. Donation options: - Online at Commission to Every Nation click: http://www.cten.org/denisnogue - Cheque's can be made out to: Commission To Every Nation Canada PO Box 22017 11500 Tecumseh Rd. E. Windsor, Ontario N8N 5G6 (indicate "Nogue" in the memo line) - United States residents: Commission To Every Nation P.O. Box 291307 Kerrville, TX 78029-1307 (indicate "Nogue" in the memo line) Like us on Facebook! Facebook at Seeds to Harvest Ministries/Denis & Eileen Nogue |
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