May 9

Weekend Bulletin
Learn more about Love is the Mission
*Love is the Mission is supported entirely by St Michael Parish & Parishioners.

Abide In My Love 
Simply put, to abide in the love of Christ means to love Jesus and to be loved by Him. 
The Mission Statement of our Love is the Mission in Guatemala comes from 1 John 4:19 “We love because He first loved us.” Covid-19 has kept us from being able to travel to and be physically present in Playa de Oro, but it did not keep us from loving and serving our friends in the village. Because of our partnerships with Healing Waters and some amazing in-country Praying Pelican missionaries we were able to complete our water project! 
Many of the villagers have been greatly affected by the loss of work due to the Corona Virus. Fortunately with some ongoing generous funding from Parishioners here at St Michael our PPM missionaries, were also able to deliver groceries in the village quarterly to help. 
School in Guatemala has been virtual since March 2020. For the village of Playa de Oro, this is not possible. Families do not have access to computers or internet-the two things you need for virtual schooling. Unfortunately again for the village, the Guatemala government does not have the funding needed to open schools and pay teachers. 
This is where you come in and our Love is the Mission dream of having a Saint Michael (San Miguel) Learning center needs to be pursued. 
In July a few of us will be going to Playa de Oro for a medical mission. We want to see how clean water has helped with the health of the villagers. We will also be taking school books that have been donated from our Spanish Immersion school here in Sioux Falls. Our short-term goal is to hire two teachers for tutoring students with these books until we can work out the details with the Ministry of Education in Guatemala to open fully. 
We will also need to hire someone to manage and oversee the tutoring. Julio who is a good friend of all who has been to Playa de Oro with us, and was very helpful in the water project, will be the one to do this for us when we are ready. His wife Ruth who does this for another nonprofit, Orphan Outreach, has been instrumental in helping us get the groundwork started. 
OUR students, OUR ministry NEEDS YOU! For we know well the plans the Lord has for us. HE has a plan and a future full of hope for OUR students in Playa de Oro. A plan for them to prosper with a quality education. 
This project will be impossible without your support and your prayers. 
If you would like to help us click here...and donate or sign up for a monthly donation to help us make this a reality. 
One of the most important things is for our St Michael Parishioners is to come and see. Come to Guatemala with us. Come meet the families and children. SEE the school, SEE the need, and SEE where your financial donations go. 
I can tell you, but I would rather show you what God is doing in Playa de Oro, what God is doing in the hearts of us who love this place and our friends. As soon as we can travel freely and keep, not only ourselves healthy, but those we go to serve, Come SEE and EXPERIENCE it first-hand.

Abiding with you, Rhonda