Romans 10:13-15; "For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good news!"
The story begins more than 10 years ago when Luis & Eva Villatoro began pastoring a very small church, on the outskirts of Guatemala City in a small village called Santa Lucia Los Ocotes. The church at the time met in a tin shack about the size of a one-car garage and had no more than 9 members. Today that CHURCH HAS GROWN TO WELL OVER 300 MEMBERS in a town that 10 years ago was hostile to the gospel message. Some of the village people would throw rocks at the church and when Pastor Luis would walk down the dirt roads in the village they would spit at his feet to show their disapproval. Yet, despite the trials and struggles Luis & Eva persisted in the work of the ministry in that church and now, 10 years later they are loved and accepted by the community. The people of Santa Lucia Los Ocotes have had a heart change, so much so that they have even asked Pastor Luis to become their mayor! It is amazing to see how the genuine love of Christ being expressed can change a community. You see it was in the fall of 1999 that Charlie's Lunch inaugurated its very first feeding center in this village, at this church, with this wonderful God loving and visionary couple.
A few years ago in the midst of the ministry Eva, Pastor Luis' wife awoke with a vision and heavy burden at 4:00 a.m. She woke Luis up and told him "Luis, we have to pray about India, the people need us to go to India." The heaviness they felt for the people of India and what God might have them do brought them to a place of full surrender, that if He was calling them as missionaries to India that God confirm it in their hearts and allow them to test that calling by making a trip at some time. As the burden persisted, Sam Stewart hearing of their burden invited Luis to go with him for a 3 week trip in 2005. During this time, Luis was praying fervently to God that if it was His will for them to go that he see, feel and hear some things that would confirm to him that the burden he and his wife felt was of God. During that trip Luis felt God speak to him that he needed to take back to his church of over 320 members the need that they as a church, even being a people in poverty and having a Charlie's Lunch Feeding Center needed to support a feeding center in India! It was a step of faith for sure!
This they did as soon as LUIS arrived back to his homeland of Guatemala and as he announced to his church that God had spoken to him that not only was God calling he and his family to India but God was calling all of them as a church community to Go to India by way of sending a monthly missionary offering to Charlie's lunch to fund a new feeding center that would operate out of a local church in Visakhapatnam India. For 2 years Luis and EVA faithfully took up that missions offering and at least half of it came from young people who had already graduated out of the FEEDING Program themselves and going to work would bring a faith promise missions offering. This work in India was established by Luis and Eva's burden, teaching and vision with the children and families of Charlie's lunch in their poverty stricken community of Los Ocotes Guatemala. Luis hoped in one sense that such an outreach to India would take care of the burden and be sufficient for their involvement in India. But not before long they began awaking in the middle of the night again and crying and praying for the people of India to know God. While this brought uncertainties they could not negate any more that indeed God was preparing them as a couple and as a family to leave their families and their roots in Guatemala and the community they had faithfully served and ministered to for over 10 years and GO to India and live and die if need be in the country of India to fulfill a deep calling that had gripped their hearts and their souls and would never let them go until they obeyed the still small voice of the Holy Spirit as He bade them GO.......And GO they are attempting to do.
Luis and Eva made another exploratory missions trip in Jan. of 2008 for 1 month and traversed the country from North to South. While they were there, God spoke to them clearly while they were ministering for several days in the city of Lucknow, in the state of Uiduur in the Northeastern region of the country. While there they had taken a $600 dollar offering to provide food in 2 orphanages as well as provide brand new beds for an orphanage for 15 children in one of the difficult impoverished slums. Luis and Eva have been preparing themselves to teach English to the Indian People, nursing to treat them with medical helps, and anyone who knows anything about Luis know that he was a shoe maker and literally made shoes and indeed taught young people in the Charlie's lunch family in his particular community how to make shoes. Only God knows what and how He wants to use Luis and Eva who have been powerful and effective in their work for Him in Guatemala, no telling how much more effective He will make them in the place in India that He; the MASTER OF THE HARVEST" is now calling them to. Their children are ready to go as well. The whole family will be going into a region of India not far from where extreme persecution of Christians has taken place by Hindu extremists in recent months. In India they will hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, they will see Christ's work and many will come to know of a Saviour if we can send this preaching family as they carry the message of Jesus Christ in their hearts and lives.
Dear friend please, lets join in helping send this wonderfully prepared couple and family to the land God is now calling them to. They will go under the auspices of the Guatemalan church of which they are a part. It is a missionary church. We at Charlie's Lunch also want to send them. We are praying that if it be God's will that indeed we can be a part of them as they do the work of God and even establish multiple feeding centers as new church sites in the villages and towns to which they go taking the gospel of CHRIST. They have so much talent and knowledge to share to literally see the transformation of Hindu communities in coming to know the message of Christ's salvation. THE TIME IS NOW. WILL YOU HELP BE A PART OF THE MIRACLE? Luis & Eva plan on leaving for India by January of 2011. They still need to raise $5,000 to move and travel. When they arrive to India they need a vehicle to transport people to the church they will start. For the vehicle we would love to help them obtain they need $15,000. They will also need a sound system and dvd projector to show the "JESUS" movie all over the region of Lackenow and beyond. Value of these systems are $2,000.00 Thank you for your God Speed help and consideration to get them to the Harvest Field God has prepared for them to cultivate and harvest in establishing His Kingdom. Join us in praying and believing God for this miracle that we know God would have them be blessed with so they have the tools they need to be effective and adequate to the task that God has called them to. Will you join with us?
You can send your donation or missions pledge per month to Charlie's Lunch and at the memo line mark: "India missions Luis and Eva Villatoro". We will make sure every cent that is sent gets to them. Thank you very much for PRAYING FOR, BELIEVING IN and SENDING NOW one of the finest missionary couples that could be sent to the extremely difficult places of what are to you and I the "ENDS OF THE EARTH."
TOGETHER IN THE HARVEST FOR THE HEARTS OF ALL,
Sam & Janey Stewart
