Still giving hope and changing lives...

 We are grateful for the work the Lord allows to continue to be a part of at Love Guatemala...here are a few stories of lives being changed.

Meet Miguel who studies in our Middle School. In the picture he has made a display celebrating the 200th anniversary of Guatemala's independence. He had to leave studying as a boy to support his family but has a dream to finish his schooling so he can help his family out more. He has not yet missed a class this year and his goal is to not miss any all year. Join us in praying for Miguel and his studies.

 

Meet Rosa who is 11 and attends our feeding center. She lives in a town called Buena Vista. She along with her siblings are going through a tough time since their father lost his job during the pandemic. But because of the feeding center they have still had food.

(Sorry about the bad pictures)

Visit from Pastor Aaron

 

We had a great visit from a long-time friend, Pastor and mentor over labor-day weekend. He came down to help us celebrate Carlos installation and commission as pastor.

He also came to visit and see a young lady that he has supported and served since his first trip to Guatemala more than 10 years ago. She recently had a baby and he was able to spend time with her as well.

We were also able to honor him for his years of service to Love Guatemala. He served as the founder and board president for many years. Here is a fun video we made for him too.

We had some fun going to Antigua to eat dinner and climb the mountain above Magdalena as well.

Thanks for the visit Pastor Aaron!

New Pastor at Iglesia Nueva Vida

Yesterday was a very special day! We commissioned and installed Carlos Lopez as the Pastor of New Life Church Guatemala! It was a great celebration of God's work in the life of Carlos and Telma and also of God's work at New Life Church. We started NLC in January 2018 and it has grown to about 70-80 on Sundays and more importantly 50-60 in discipleship groups learning to reproduce themselves as disciples. 

It was a great day. We were able to have some special people that have had influence in Carlos life such as Aaron Story and another Pastor here in Guatemala. Several others sent videos and greetings. Thanks to all of you who have had influence in mine or Carlos life.

Carlos and Telma with Aaron Story

Pre-service Prayer time

This is a very special couple that the Lord has transformed and is using mightily here in Guatemala. Please join me in praying for them in this new phase of life and ministry.

Our family will now be able to focus on building a network of churches in Guatemala in partnership with New Life Network. Please pray that God will give us favor to build a network of churches that multiply disciples and churches.

Thanks for continuing to pray and support our family in this work of making disciples of all nations.

Transition Update for the Kunkel Family

 

It seems as if our family is always in some sort of transitions, such is life huh? But these days are bringing some pretty big changes to us as a family. My goal is to share major changes we are in the midst of or going to be entering soon so that you can pray for us more specifically. Thanks for partnering with us in prayer in this season!

Here are some of the big changes happening for us:

• New Baby - Yes we are having another baby girl. Jennifer is due September 23rd. Please pray for safe rest of pregnancy, healthy baby, safe delivery. Pray for strength and wisdom as we guide our older kids and take care of 3 younger ones at the same time.

• Transition from Love Guatemala to New Life Network - I hope you have already seen one of our communications here or a video here about this. But if not we announced about a month ago that we are transitioning out of Love Guatemala to focus more on developing a network of churches here in Guatemala. We are not leaving Guatemala just switching focus. We will still support Katy as she takes over the leadership but from the background to give way for her to lead. Please pray for all the details in this transition. Pray for Ben, Carlos and Katy. We are very excited about this but there are still a lot of details to be worked out for this transition.

• Transition to a new home - Another transition that we will be making later this year or early next year is to move out of the Love Guatemala facilities where we have been living for almost 7 years. Please pray that we can find just the right place for our family at the right price. Also pray for additional funds that need to be raised for this move.

• Transition of New Life Church to Carlos - We have come to an exciting place in our first church plant to transition our church to be led by Carlos Lopez. On September 5th we are installing and commissioning Carlos as Pastor who along with his wife Thelma and the leadership team we have formed will be leading our first church in the New Life Network, Guatemala. Pray for Carlos, Telma and the team in this transition.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support for our family!

Jennifer's Birthday

 This past weekend we celebrated Jennifer's birthday. We are grateful for her life and ministry. She is a big blessing to many. Please pray for her in her last few months of her pregnancy that she would have strength. We are excited about all the Lord has in store for our growing family. 

Happy Birthday Jennifer!!

Escuelita de Misiones

 I shared a while back that one area in which the Lord has burdening me is Missionary Mobilization. Mobilizing the Latino Church into missions especially missions to the least reached peoples of the world. This work has begun in a few ways. One we have a series focused on global missions happening right now at Iglesia Nueva Vida. We are beginning 21 days of prayer today.

Another big step towards mobilizing Guatemalans towards global missions is a 8 week course on missions we are teaching. This is a course developed by Center for Mission Mobilization.  We have 20 students and hope to do this a few times a year to help people see their role in the Great Commission. We are excited about how the Lord is going to use this to mobilize not just a few missionaries but our church here and eventually many other churches and networks of churches. Please pray about this.

Here is a cool mural we did recently in the church to help us stay focused on Missions.

Visit from Levi

 We had a visit from Levi and his girlfriend Alanna earlier this month. It was good to have them here and have a few adventures together. Check out a few pics below.

We took a trip to the zoo. Our three youngest!

Family pic...almost impossible to get everyone to smile ;-)

We didn't all fit at the table for meals.

Pray for this momma. Its hard to have your son so far away!

Thanks for continuing to pray with Levi. It is hard to be so far away from kids!