When the members of Abundant Life Church in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, committed to help transform the village of La Puente, Guatemala, they knew they would see lives changed … but they had no idea they would witness a miracle.
From the moment the church learned about the 200 families living high in the mountains with no access to clean water or medicine, they knew they had to get involved. In just a short time, their overwhelming generosity provided funds to build a new church building, a clean-water project, even a medical clinic — the first clinic built as part of a Village Transformation.
Upon completion of the clinic, a group from Abundant Life traveled to Guatemala so they could dedicate it to the Lord and pray He would do great things there. Little did they know He would use the clinic to heal one man before the ceremonial ribbon was even cut.
It began with a simple worship service held inside the new church building. After the sermon, a small, elderly woman named Augusta walked slowly to the front of the church. “Will you pray for my husband, Filipe?” she asked the local pastor. “He’s very sick.”
During the next week, the believers of La Puente and Abundant Life took turns hiking up the mountain to deliver medicine and food to Filipe and to pray for his healing. He was encouraged by their kindness, but his health remained the same. Some days, he was too weak to sit up or even open his eyes for more than a few minutes.
On the group’s last day in Guatemala — the morning of the clinic dedication — their prayers were miraculously answered. Just before the ceremony began, they looked up to see Felipe coming down the hill!
The congregation was shocked and asked Felipe how he could have possibly walked down the mountain own his own when he was bedridden just days earlier.
This clinic brings hope, he said. I’ve been praying for help to come to our village, and we now have clean water and a clinic that gives me courage and strength to venture out and be a part of this wonderful day with my neighbors.
Filipe’s is only the first of many lives that will be transformed through this project because one group of Christ-followers chose to let their gratitude spill into the lives of those less fortunate.
Before this Village Transformation, many of the individuals in La Puente said they felt they were “a forgotten people way up on the top of the mountain in Chiquimula.” But now they know they are not forgotten, and they are loved!
La Puente was one of 20 villages transformed in 2016, bringing holistic healing to more than 21,000 people in impoverished communities throughout Guatemala … all because of the generosity of churches and donors like you!
Additionally, you helped more than 56,000 people gain access to clean water this year through 62 water projects worldwide. You built seven houses for families struggling to escape poverty and one Home of Hope that gives 25 children orphaned by war and AIDS a safe place to live.
Your giving has done so much more than just transformed communities. It has transformed hearts through your selfless demonstration of Christ’s love. Thank you for being the hands and feet of Jesus throughout the world in 2016.