MAY 23, 2020 update
Hello Northstar Fellowship church family!!!
Rita and I have such good memories of our times visiting you in Quesnel. It was so refreshing to be given such a warm welcome in your church services. We thoroughly loved the hospitality we experienced. Will, Wes & Margi and Don & Heather certainly also went the second mile to bless us.
During this time of COVID19 Rita and I often have you in our thoughts and prayers. We are so appreciative of your ongoing encouragement and your continued financial support. Above all, we are grateful for your prayers for us, for our staff and the thousands of people touched by this ministry.
Our plan was to be in Canada in June, but with the airport and borders in Guatemala completely closed, we are unable to travel. In fact, we are not even permitted to travel within the country from one department (province) to another and there is a curfew from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays. Then, on weekends, no vehicle or foot traffic of any kind is allowed. We are "locked down"... but we do look forward to the day we will again be able to see you all in person.
We have such good memories of your short-term mission team that came to work with us. We are also grateful for the time Don & Heather served with us as Guesthouse hosts at the beginning of this year. Don helped us immensely with our electrical issues and they are still talking about how Heather ministered to the people by playing the harp. Your congregation has blessed us and the people of Tactic in many ways!!!
Since the COVID19 outbreak, our ministry here has "morphed" into some new directions. Although the lock-down has limited us, we are seeing the hand of the Lord working in some surprising and new ways. We are hearing reports of our cell group leaders praying with people to rededicate their lives to the Lord as a result of these challenging times. And, through the live Facebook broadcasts we are reaching into homes with some amazing results. (one live transmission had over 5,000 views). The gospel is being shared.....and people are listening and responding!
Our heart is to redeem the time we have. Thank you so much for your prayers and support. It means SO MUCH to us. We prepared a short video as a means of thanking you and the Northstar Fellowship family in a bit more personal manner. Here is the LINK. If you have trouble opening it, please let me know.
May the Lord Bless you richly as we together make each day count for the kingdom.
Blessings, Les Peters Founder / Field Director
IMPACT MINISTRIES
Les and Rita were called from Kamloops to Guatemala in 2000. They work predominantly with the Q’eqchí and Poqomchí people in and around Tactic. Guatemala has a population of over 16 million people, which includes 23 indigenous people groups that inhabit rural Guatemala. Since their arrival, they have built 10 Christian schools, started a medical and dental clinic for the children who attend the schools and built an orphanage that is about to open soon. Les and Rita have also started an outstanding agricultural program. Each week, 8000 meals are made for the school children. Short-term mission teams participate in furthering Impact Ministries 19+ years of community involvement. Years of hardship have prepared the hearts of the Guatemalan people and they are hungry for the truth of Jesus Christ and as a result, what began as a small house church in Les and Rita’s living room has now grown to three congregations.