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March Newsletter
March 25, 2024 by Emily and Brennan
Warm greetings from Santa María de Jesús! This December the project will celebrate TEN years of serving the elderly. God is so faithful! Having served the public for nearly a decade, we thought we had seen it all. But, here we are in 2024, and so many curveballs have been...
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July Newsletter
July 03, 2023 by Emily and Brennan
As an organization we have countless things to be grateful for. We have seen God abundantly provided for our needs since the very beginning. One of our greatest blessings has been our dedicated staff and volunteers. The majority of them have been with us since our start. They have unwaveringly...
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March Newsletter
March 09, 2023 by Emily and Brennan
Greetings from Santa María de Jesús! We have now had our dining area reopened for six weeks! It has brought us (and the abuelos) great joy to be together again after a very long three years. We are happy to have welcomed many new faces to the feeding program since...
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One Year Later
April 09, 2021 by Emily and Brennan
How can is possibly be that it is April already? How can it be that we have offically completed one year of not being able to have the abuelos at the project. A whirlwind of a year that seemed to last an instant and an eternity. As for many, it...
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Coronavirus Grocery Aid Update
June 04, 2020 by Emily and Brennan
Dear Supporters, We hope that you are well and healthy amidst all of the chaos that continues to be the pandemic. We want to reach out to you with a specific request, and to share additional information about the current state of affairs in our town of Santa Maria de...
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It Takes a Village
October 02, 2019 by Brennan
They say it takes a village to raise a child, and honestly I think the same could apply to running a non-profit. It takes a village, or at least half….to sort through, organize, and calm the daily chaos. We have been blessed by full tables at each meal at the...
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Empowering Women Using Chickens
August 28, 2019 by Emily and Brennan
One of our newer programs is for single mothers, and mothers with a great need. Home visits are completed to evaluate the need. They receive monthly grocery aid, and attend a monthly educational meeting at our community center. These meetings focus on topics such as health, self-esteem, and teaching them...
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April Newsletter
April 06, 2019 by Emily and Brennan
Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. - 1 John 3:18 As many of you know, for approximately two years now members of the community, and our volunteers have been looking after an elderly man. He never had children, and has outlived all...
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Update: Getting to Know Our Leaders
March 01, 2019 by Emily and Brennan
Warmest greetings from Santa Maria de Jesus. As we had previously mentioned, we now have two full time employees in charge of the daily functioning of the project, and preparing activities for the elderly. We would like to share with you a little bit of their enormous hearts, and show...
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2018 Year In Review
January 12, 2019 by Emily and Brennan
Brothers & Sisters in Christ, Warmest greeting from Santa María de Jesús, and the Cosechando Felicidad family. We give thanks to God for gifting us another year, and simultaneously allowing us reflect on the countless blessings that filled 2018. We were overwhelmed by the pure, and selfless generosity of our...
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Our Newest Additions
September 28, 2018 by Emily and Brennan
The Bible says there is a season for everything. A time for everything under the sun. It talks about mourning and laughing. Destroying and building up. Scattering and gathering. It is beautiful to know we are able to experience and feel all the extremes life has to offer, and all...
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Sustainable Employment: Our Online Store!
August 08, 2018 by Emily and Brennan
At this point you have probably received notice of the opening of our online store! We are so excited to share this new program with you and a little bit of the history behind its creation. From the very beginning, we have sought to create employment opportunities in the community...
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Volcan de Fuego Eruption
June 27, 2018 by Emily and Brennan
A small stream filling the path where the lava traveled. This morning we left at 6 AM with 6 of our volunteers to visit the areas most affected by the recent Volcan de Fuego eruption on June 3 rd . The affected area would usually only be a 30-35 minute...
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It is a Beautiful Thing
April 16, 2018 by Brennan
While I was in high school, I was always so envious of my peers. They seemed so confident in what their calling in life was. They could envision the next thirty years without blinking and eye. I, on the other hand was never able to do that. I only knew,...
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A Time of Growth
April 09, 2018 by Emily and Brennan
Thanks be to God for all the ways in which He has blessed us during the first quarter of 2018! We continue to fundraise in the hopes of purchasing our current project site. We have been able to make monthly payments, as well as some other larger deposits over the...
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Update: Bible Study
January 16, 2018 by Brennan
When working in a location where physical poverty is so evident, it is overwhelmingly easy to focus solely on the body’s present needs. Though we as humans are much more complex than that. As a group, we feel it is important to care for those we serve in a holistic...
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2017 A Year in Review
January 07, 2018 by Emily and Brennan
We give thanks to God and to you for guiding, supporting, and encouraging us in 2017. We are continually astounded by the overwhelming goodness that has been shown to us. We consider 2017 a year of success and growth. As we prayerfully prepare for 2018, we want to take a...
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November Newsletter
November 27, 2017 by Emily and Brennan
Blessings Over the past week here in the village, I have had the opportunity to speak with countless people. The majority, when they have come to the project to receive assistance. It is very common when they are leaving for them to say “Yo no te lo puedo pagar, pero...
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What a Privilege to Serve
July 10, 2017 by Emily and Brennan
It amazes me what people can get used to. I had the privilege of having my dad visit me this past weekend. After he left on Tuesday morning, I went to visit a few families I had been meaning to see. I started with an elderly woman we call Laura....
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A Day in the Life
June 30, 2017 by Emily and Brennan
“Are you having fun?! Do you love it there?” These are the messages I get on a regular basis from friends and acquaintances checking in on how things are going. Honestly, I am loving things here and I am having fun, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t hard. I love...
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A Year in Review
June 16, 2017 by Emily and Brennan
Past year in summary and where we are now We are so excited to write you and tell you all we have been able to accomplish by the grace of God through your donations in this past year. During 2016 we were able to provide over 27,000 meals to the...
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March Newsletter
March 23, 2017 by Emily and Brennan
Wishing you all a joyful start to spring filled with hope and new beginnings. It is refreshing to know that no matter how dreary things may appear, God has the ability to breathe life so radiant everyone stops to admire. The time and patience needed during a season of growth...
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A Volunteer's Experience
March 06, 2017
By Robbin Sicajau Santa Maria is a municipality of Guatemala located 50 km outside of the capital. It is a beautiful, lush place that would be great for your vacations. Vacations where you can experience the life of the locals, a people determined to fight for a better life and...
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The Giving Season
November 21, 2016 by Emily and Brennan
It is hard to believe that it is already November, and soon we will be preparing for our third Christmas together in Santa. Sharing the holidays is one of the most beautiful things I have ever experienced in Guatemala. We are always eager to learn more about their culture and...
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Barks of Hope
October 25, 2016 by Emily and Brennan
You never know the impact your actions will have. When we began our work in Guatemala we had no idea where it would take us. Honestly, we still have no idea where exactly this adventure will lead and who we will be able to help along the way. In previous...
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For I Know the Plans I Have For You
September 19, 2016 by Emily and Brennan
As Emily and I prepared to leave Santa Maria just under a month ago, we were both struggling with the thought of leaving. This time, leaving was different. We knew it would be several months, potentially even a year before we return to Guatemala. As the departure day approached, my...
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A Week in Guatemala
June 27, 2016 by Sam
This last week (June 18 - June 25) I was in Guatemala working with Cosechando Felicidad. I am the web developer, and I had not seen their work first hand. The week was a wonderful opportunity for me to see what is happening as well as the effect it is...
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May Newsletter
May 21, 2016 by Brennan
On behalf of myself and the Cosechando Felicidad family we want to sincerely apologize for the long delay in communication. We having been wanting to reach out for a long time now. The delay was partially due to the hectic schedule over the last month with preparing to come back...
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Jesus Has Overcome
March 19, 2016 by Emily and Brennan
I used to think that because God has overcome the world I don’t have to fear death. Which is true. But I didn’t realize how much it applies to my life; not just my death. Because God has overcome the world we don’t need to fear. Period. We don’t have...
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So Much Better Than Comfort
February 28, 2016 by Emily
There are so many different kinds of comfort: spiritual, emotional and physical. Each day, regardless of what country we are living in, we encounter things that make us feel uncomfortable. In Guatemala, there are all sorts of things that make us feel uncomfortable. Sometimes we are uncomfortable because we are...
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Worth It All
February 03, 2016 by Emily and Brennan
“I can’t find the exit from my suffering.” “This is my last option, I don’t know what to do.” “I just want him to stop drinking.” “I haven’t seen my husband in fifteen day. He left like it is easy. All I want is for him to help me with...
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January Newsletter
January 01, 2016
We want to start out by thanking you all for your support! We are 4 months old as an official IRS non-profit and wouldn’t have made it this far without your help! It is pretty crazy to look back at the past year and see all that has happened in...
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December Newsletter
December 01, 2015
Thanksgiving in Guatemala As Thanksgiving came and went I thought about how truly blessed we have been. God has overwhelmed us with His goodness, and I find myself in awe of how he takes care of even the simplest things. Volunteers, resources, opportunities and even the new locations God perfectly...
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The Sting of Real Life
November 25, 2015 by Brennan
After being here for two weeks, I feel like I never left. The streets and faces are familiar and welcoming. I often find myself referring to Santa as ‘home’ as though my roots were planted here. Each time I come, I find it easier to adjust to Guatemalan life, and...
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November Newsletter
November 01, 2015
Growth Yet another month is upon us and we are excited to share with you more about what we have going on. Last month we set up our online donations system. This was a big step for us as it allows people to donate more easily and allowed us to...
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October Newsletter
October 01, 2015
We Are Called We are continually overwhelmed by the magnitude of God’s goodness he has lavished on us! So many new and truly powerful things are happening. Doors are being opened and lives are forever being changed. So much has happened in the past five months, it would be near...