One of the basic necessities of life is food. Unfortunately, many, if not most, of our COJ children do not receive adequate nutrition at home for proper growth and development due to financial difficulties. However, by God’s provision through our COJ sponsors, our COJ children are receiving a well-balanced meal at church on Sundays. Week after week, volunteers from the church gather together to buy and prepare ingredients and cook a delicious meal for the children. We pray that our children are not only physically nourished, but also spiritually nourished with the Living Word of God. Please pray for the pastors, Sunday school teachers, and children to be filled with Jesus who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Thank you for your partnership in serving the “Least of These”.

News about COVID-19 are slowly ceasing and other news like inflation are becoming the new headlines. We are all aware of how this pandemic has affected the world and continues to affect the cost of living that is increasing everywhere around us. India, like other countries, was drastically affected by the pandemic, especially in June 2020 when it had the third highest COVID-19 cases in the world. Children in the orphanage were not able to attend school for 8-9 months that year. The following year, in 2021, schools tried to cram a yearlong curriculum into just 5 months. And today, India is experiencing the hottest recorded temperature since 122 years ago. Those who live off their harvest are taking a toll, losing about 10-35% of their crops. There have been five heatwaves from March to May as birds have died and fallen from the sky due to the heat. Therefore, please pray for India as many are being affected by these circumstances, especially the poor and needy. Now, in Chinthaluru, some of the orphans have grown up and moved out, but there are still children eagerly waiting for new sponsors. Will you become the channel of God’s love to these children? If the Holy Spirit is tugging at your heart and convicting you to sponsor a child, please feel free to contact our office or visit our website at www.coj.org.

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. -1 Corinthians 3:6 Now all of our COJ children have received the school supplies and have gone back to school in person! Thank you, dear sponsors, for your obedience to God’s command in giving life to the least of these. As you plant the seed in the hearts and lives of our COJ children, God will make it grow and bear much fruit. In fact, the fruits of your obedience is evident in the letters that the COJ children have written to their sponsors. Like this sponsor child, our prayer is that all of our COJ children will become leaders in their churches and communities for there is no greater blessing and reward than to witness the next generation rise up as a mighty army of God.

As King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes Chapter 3, there is a season for everything. There’s a time to plant and a time to harvest. In the beginning of 2022, we welcomed 187 new children to the COJ ministry. Praise the Lord! Our COJ ministry is continually growing, and God’s kingdom is expanding on this earth. Our prayer is that all the children will grow in God’s wisdom, love, and stature and become mighty men and women of God. At the same time, we also recognized 59 graduates from the COJ ministry. Despite the many challenges of the pandemic, by God’s favor, they completed their secondary education. Just as plants need sunlight and water to grow, your humble obedience and generous giving to the Lord has borne many fruits as evidenced by these graduates. Now, as they go out to the world, let’s gather our hearts and pray that they will submit and commit to the Lord. Thank you, sponsors, for being the channels of God’s blessing to our COJ children and graduates! Above all, we thank and praise God for his provision and protection! To God be the glory!

In 2018 we held the very first Abba Ecuador Youth Conference in the city of Guayaquil. But the door to continue the ABBA ministry there was quickly closed. There were only a few churches that desired to continually receive the youth training. Then, the COVID pandemic closed the border between Ecuador and Peru, and we were no longer able to ship the training books there. We asked the Lord why the road was closed for Abba Ecuador. Lord spoke softly and gently to us, “How much do you really love the youth of Ecuador?” We realized that our heart was not in the right place with our God and we begun praying for Ecuador with renewed heart. All of a sudden, the doors to Ecuador reopened and the training for pastors and leaders was held in February 2022. We have been invited back to train more pastors and leaders in the coming days. On the morning of the first day of training, the President of Ecuador made a public announcement that the border between Ecuador and Peru was completely reopened on that morning. Can this be coincidence? We’ve learned the greatest lesson: God’s kingdom expands only through agape love, the unconditional and sacrificial love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our God will bring many youth of Ecuador into His kingdom! Thank you for your partnership to share this amazing love of our God to our next generation!