Newsletter - April, 2011
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April, 2011 Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." Matt. 25:40 Published by the Society of the Good Shepherd, P. O. Box 122, Amberson, PA 17210. (717) 349-7033 |
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Over the past seven or eight years, the Society of the Good Shepherd has found that neighborhood mini-marts have been one of our most successful business models. Most of our loan recipients operate them out of their living rooms, so they require very little overhead. These neighborhood mini-marts, called pulperias in Honduras, work well for mothers at home and for widows who don’t have any particular trade skills. One of our recent loan recipients, Marta Moradel, is a widow who has worked very hard throughout her life to take care of and provide for her family. She has three children, all of whom are now married and have children of their own.
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For about ten years, Marta has operated a small neighborhood mini-mart out of her home. However, in the last few years, the competition has increased considerably, and she was struggling to make ends meet with her diminished income. So she requested a small business loan from the Society, which we granted her. She invested her entire loan on increasing her inventory of products.
We recently visited her and, besides talking about her business—which is already doing better, we talked about spiritual things. That is when she shared with us the story of how she came to know Christ. Here is her testimony:
I was born in a Roman Catholic home. During all of my childhood and youth, no one ever told me that such a thing as a spiritual life existed, or that God could be found outside a church. It was not until my oldest son, Fran, became an evangelical Christian that I started to hear from him that God loved me.
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My son invited me to his church all the time, and he tried so hard to talk to me about Christ and what He did for us. However, every time I answered, “Son, I don’t have time for this. I have a church I go to, and I already believe in God.” Yet, he never got tired of talking to me about Christ. And when I dismissed him, he just smiled and said, “God loves you, Mother.”
He also started to take his sister to church, and a few months later they were both baptized. I started to feel curious about that new life of theirs. They were constantly reading the Bible and going to church. Their lives had changed dramatically, and I was intrigued by that. Eventually, my son’s words and attitudes started to have an effect on me until one day (about 8 years ago) I agreed to go with him to church.
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Soon after that, I was ready to give my life to Christ. Everything changed for me too. My life in Christ is so different and I am so happy!
Thank you for helping sister Marta and please pray for her business. God bless you! Nancy Barahona . Nancy Barahona.
Click on the following link if you would care to make a donation to the work in Honduras: Donations
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