COJ Updates
All COJ children have received food baskets this Christmas season thanks to the faithful support of sponsors like you! Their hearts were filled with joy and thanksgiving for they know that their sponsors have labored and given generously. In Proverbs 19:17, the Lord promises to repay those who are gracious to the poor. May 2023 be a year full of God’s joy and blessings!
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy; they rejoice before You according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For You have broken the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.” (Isaiah 9:2-4) The verses above are an amazing prophetic message regarding our Savior Jesus coming to this world as the light to set the captives free from the bondage of sin and darkness. And yet, when Jesus came, He told His followers and believers that “you are the light of the world!” Let us put our hearts and strengths together in 2023 to shine the brightest light to the poor, needy, and struggling children and youth that are dwelling in the darkness and shadow of death. We are very excited about the new door being opened to the needy children of Ecuador. The community of Duran has several thousand children who have never been to school because they have no means of supporting themselves. It’s not only the darkness of poverty or hardship, but the community of Duran also has the highest crime rate in the entire nation of Ecuador and so many children are dwelling under the shadow of death. We want to shine the light of Jesus to this community. At the same time, we want to reach more orphans in 2023. Let us become the channel of His love and mercy to those who are living with the burden of being orphans without someone to take care of them. Our wonderful Lord will give us the joy of great harvest and plunder, taking back what the enemy has stolen from God’s presence. We will witness and testify how our God has used us to bring life more abundant to the least of these! Furthermore, may our Lord be present in your hearts, in your family, and in all that you do, and may He fill you with greater joy in 2023!
Our 2022 annual magazine is now available. Read about all the mighty things God has done through Hanhee Kim World Mission Center over the 2022 year and how you can join us in prayer for 2023!
When Apostle Peter was imprisoned, the church earnestly prayed to God (Acts 12:5). As a result, the prison gate flung open and he was freed. Our pastors are at the forefront of the spiritual battle and Satan will do anything and everything he can to destroy and bring down the pillars in the church. In addition to the spiritual battles, our pastors in Peru are also battling a seemingly endless list of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, Parkinson’s, and etc. Therefore, let us join forces and pray for the health and well-being of our pastors, that they may be strengthened and encouraged to run the race marked out for them.... Join us in more prayer here!
We finished our task in Peru by God’s grace, and we traveled 12 hours by bus to cross the border into Guayaquil, Ecuador.As we headed to our lodging place, we realized that the rich neighborhood of Guayaquil was more advanced than the major cities of U.S. We had to ask, is there anything for us to do here? But reality soon hit as we began to visit the churches in the slum areas. Then, we visited “The Word of Life” church in Duran. We have been visiting slum areas of Latin America for the past 25 years, but from the entrance to the community, things didn’t seem right. After we finished the VBS program at the church, we were inspired by the Holy Spirit to visit individual homes of a few children and we understood why our Lord brought us here. There are two brothers. They are Steven, the older brother, and Alexi, the younger brother. Their dad left a long time ago and they struggle to make ends meet each day. That’s why only Steven attends school since they can’t afford the school supplies and uniforms for both siblings. On the day our team visited their home, mom was nowhere to be found. Of course she had to go find any available work to bring a little food home. Alexi is already 11 years old, but he cannot read since he has never attended a school. He does very little activity and sits at home all day while his brother goes to school. The community of Duran is enormous and no one knows how many hundreds of children like Alexi lives here. We understood why our Lord led us here. We humbly bowed down before the presence of the Lord. “Lord! Use us to shine your light here. Let many of these children grow up to be your beautiful and mighty young people like Ana Christina and glorify you!” Will you please join us in prayer for the children of Duran, Ecuador?
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!
