Good morning, Everyone,
I am so amazed at all that God has and is doing here at Destino del Reino. All of you that are praying and giving to us are part of this team and God will bless you mightily for being a part of what is HIS ministry and only HIS!!! Thank you for your faithfulness through the past 23 years since the beginning of God’s work here.
We are now preparing for our new school year which will begin on February 5. We have been so blessed to have hired all of our new teachers for this upcoming year and they are solid believers who love children and God’s ministry to the poor. We have a new 11th grade teacher, a new Social Studies (Jr./High School), a new 4th grade teacher, an additional kindergarten teacher, a new assistant, and my daughter Emily is the new first and second grade teacher for English, German and Kenneth (graduates of Destino) will also be working in the school, and returning to us is our high school science teacher, as well. I am so excited for the new year. I have been prompted by the Holy Spirit to increase our Bible classes from one period to two periods each week and we have also hired a new Bible teacher/school counselor to help with that. Our pastor Dalis is coming two mornings a week to teach all the Bible classes for 7th through high school as well as a class on doctrines to 9th and 11th graders once a week. I have realized that we have been weak in teaching our students where we got the Bible and why it is the authority of God as well as what the Bible teaches us about our beliefs. He will also be dealing with false doctrines and cults, etc. to establish the students more in their faith and learn how to defend their faith with the Word of God.
We now have about 370 students this year and we have found sponsors for all but 12 of them. If you know of anyone willing to become a sponsor for one of these 12 kindergarten students, please let me know. We have a discipleship program where our older students meet with younger students to help them walk in their faith, and we have a big brother/big sister program where all the older students (5th through high school) have smaller children to meet with once a month to pray for them and spend a little time getting to encourage them. It is going to be an exciting year. Please always be praying for the finances and provision from the Lord for all the school materials, meals, uniforms, teachers’ salaries, gas for buses, repairs for buses, etc. He is forever faithful and we have been amazed at His provision through every day of every year at Destino del Reino.
My college kids were home for the Christmas break and I am so blessed to have had time with them. They have become incredible young adults with a heart to serve Jesus in the world and we are praying for clear direction for each of them. Five will graduate in May 2025 which is coming up quickly. I cannot even comprehend how God has paid for all of this – but of course, if it is His plan, He covers the expenses!! Please be praying for them. I think I have mentioned before that we are starting to send them into missions at least on a temporary basis for now. Blanca, Franklin and Carlos will be going to the southern tip of Spain in May through July to work with Shaun and Abby Suitt, developing a new ministry there through soccer among the 100,000 north African immigrants living there working in greenhouses which provide 80% of all vegetables for Europe. The people have not heard the name of Christ and my kids will be in on the beginning of a new ministry working with the teens in soccer. Please be praying for Shaun and Abby as they have just recently moved there and are following the Lord into an undeveloped area — and pray for my kids as they go to support them in this new area of ministry. I know God will do much in my kids’ hearts during this time in further leading them into what He wants to do with their lives. Each summer we will send some others to work there in Spain as well.
Pastors Wade and Kevin will be returning to teach another discipleship training course to Honduran paThe Bryan College soccer teams are preparing to return to us during Spring Break in March. They are such a great help to us and this year they will concentrate more on our five Lions soccer teams in training them for the upcoming season. Coach Jeremy will also be meeting and training our Honduran coaches while he is here. Our Lions teams at Destino del Reino have been such a positive influence in the city where they represent Christ as they compete against many city teams. I am so proud of them and thankful for their coaches. We are in the process of putting together a soccer devotional book with the help of Pastor Wade to be used by coaches for their devotional times at practices. Please pray for this to come together. Coach Jeremy and my 7 college kids as well as other players at Bryan are submitting the devotionals and Pastor Wade will be editing and adding scripture references before getting it published for sale
Thanks so much for all the shoes and school supplies you have provided. John Turner will be sending about 10 wardrobe boxes to us next week. We will be able to make sure all of our students have the shoes they need because of your generosity.
Thank you most of all for your faithfulness in prayer for us here at Destino. I especially need much wisdom right now. I have had to send one of my girls back to her father as bad as that situation is. I have another girl who may have to leave as well. I am heart broken when I have to make these hard decisions. If one of these girls was my own child and I was living with just her, I would fight in every way to help them and be patient on God to change them, but when they negatively affect all the other children in the home, sometimes a very hard decision has to be made. As I said — please pray for wisdom for me. Thanks.
In His grace,
Rhonda
