NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2023

 

October 2023

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We hope you and your dear ones are doing well. It is a blessing to continue sharing with you the updates of the ministry.

While I am writing this letter, some demonstrations and protests are taking place in front of the rehab center. This is the ninth day of demonstrations throughout the country due to the corruption within the government. No one can leave their city because they have blocked the streets and the situation is getting more and more difficult because the supermarkets and markets have been closed due to lack of products and lack of transportation. All the prices are getting high and it is impossible to buy vegetables and grains. Please keep Guatemala in your prayers because many sick people are suffering due to the situation.

The rehab center is doing well. We currently have 30 men; and it is a blessing to have about 15 of the men that are growing in their faith. This week, three men finished the program and another two accepted another commitment as assistant counselors. It is the first time in three years that we have two full counselors and three assistant counselors. We have been praying for the Lord to touch their hearts and now we can see His response and it is a joy to our hearts! Every day is a spiritual struggle but we know that God is the One who fights for the souls of these men so that they can be the light and the salt of this country.

As the church of Christ, let's keep our faith firm in him and pray for each other because the times in which we are living are dangerous and definitely end times. As the Bible says in Hebrews 12:2 Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

God bless you and thanks for your love and support.

Sincerely,

Victor Barbella

written by Sandra Morales

NLPM

If you are interested in supporting us financially, please make your checks to:

“Calvary Chapel

of Marlton”.

Include: “NLPM” in the MEMO line so the funds will be directed to us.

Please send all donations to:

Calvary Chapel of Marlton

55 E Main St

Marlton, NJ 08053 

 La rehabilitacion es un proceso largo y dificil que puede hacerse solo con la ayuda de Dios y permitiendo que el cambie completamente nuestro corazon y sometiendo nuestra voluntad para que puedan darse cambios profundos. Gracias a Dios que hay algunos muchachos que si quieren un cambio y estan poniendo su confianza en Dios. Sabemos que la gracia de Dios es suficiente para cambiarnos y darnos esperanza en un mundo tan confundido y perdido.

La Biblia dice en Filipenses 4:13 Todo lo puedo en Cristo que me fortalecee.

Only Jesus can give us hope

 

Every day there is more lack of hope in many hearts that put their trust in other people or in themselves and that has made them seek relief in drug and alcohol use, but they really only find temporary relief but not the cure for the real problem, but the real problem is the lack of union with God.

Throughout the history of humanity men have believed that the more knowledge and science increase we will be better people, but in reality that is not true, the human being can only change when they recognize that the heart can only be changed through a relationship with Jesus Christ our Savior. In John 8:30-36 It says that only Jesus can set us completely free.

We are very thankful with God that this morning five men came in into the rehab center.

NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2022

 Dear Brothers and Sisters,

God bless you all. It is really a joy to share with you what the Lord is

doing here in New Life & Peace Ministries. We really appreciate your patience and support during the whole year! All your support made a difference in the lives of a lot of men. So far, 150 men have entered in the rehab this year. While not all of them completed their program, all of them did receive the Word of God. And, as the Bible says in 1Corinthians 3:6, I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.

As you can read, it you and us who are working together in the lives ofthese men, but it is God who is making them to grow. When I read this verse I have hope for all the men that have entered this rehab over many years.

We are already in November and it means that we need to start getting ready for Christmas. For us, it is very important for the men at the rehab to understand the real meaning of Christmas, but it is also important to share with them special food and some gifts that are going to make them to feel loved and part of the Christian community. As some of you know here in Guatemala we celebrate Christmas Eve with a service and then, after the service, we eat tamales, bread and hot chocolate. This is the typical food for Christmas here! After that, we give the presents and a

bag of candies. It is something small, but it makes a big difference in the hearts of these men. It is one thing to give something to somebody on the streets, but far more meaningful is allowing them to be in this home, providing them everything and also sharing Christmas Eve with them.

We need to make plans to celebrate Christmas with 30 men and start thinking about the special lunch for the 25th of December.

It is our desire that this Christmas is going to be special for the men that God is going to allow to be here and it is also our desire for them to see that it is the Lord Jesus who is doing an enormous work in their lives through the body of Christ. If you want to help us to bless these men this Christmas, please feel free to send your offerings. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

You can send your dontations to: Calvary Chapel of Marlton. 55 Main St. Marlton, NJ 08053 or if you are in Guatemala you can make your deposit to: Banco G&T No. 030-0618243-4 name: Asociacion Nueva Vida y Paz.

Victor Barbella.

Updating

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy New Year to all of you! We want to encourage you to start this year with this verse:Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass.   Psalms 37:5
 Our lives are secure in God alone, but it is our duty to commit ourselves to Him.

Christmas Eve, the men at the rehab

The girls happy opening their presents

 Due to your support at Christmas time, everybody at the ministries had a great holiday! The children, the men at the rehab center, and all the staff received a nice present and enjoyed a very delicious dinner on December 25th . We had a great time on Christmas Eve at church. We sang beautiful Christmas songs to glorify God and it was also very good to hear a service about the precious life of our Lord Jesus. After church, the children were very excited about going back home to open their presents. It was so good to see their happy faces opening their gifts. For five of the children, it was their first Christmas here at the home. They couldn’t believe that the presents were for them! On the 25th, we all had a great time as a family sharing the dinner that God provided for everybody. It was also a great opportunity to thank God for all of His blessings during the year.

On New Year, we had the visit of two good friends, Joel Newkirk and Dr. Green from Give Joy 2 One ministries. It was good to have them here sharing with us and especially with the children. On New Year’s Eve the children were treated to a day of shopping, including a movie. They had never had such a special New Year’s Eve before so they were very excited! Unfortunately for the children, the vacation time is over and two weeks ago they started the new school year. Four of the teenagers started high school and they are very excited because they finally are going to study with other kids the same age. The children are attending four different schools in town because of their learning problems. We are working on the school enrollments and buying all of the school supplies and uniforms and we are realizing that the expenses have increased incredibly this year. If some of you are interested in supporting our children in their education, please feel free to help us with the expenses, knowing that this is the inheritance that we are going to leave the children for their future.

We have also seen a large influx of people coming to the rehab center for spiritual help in looking to God for answers to life’s problems with addiction. During the holidays and up to this present time, we have had an average of 40 staff and residents in the center. Many people are desperate and we know that the problem is a spiritual one. We need to return to God our Father through the cross and blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ Please pray with us so that we never miss God’s presence in our lives and we can continue to develop the lives of other people according to the call that God has given us. May God bless you with His presence in your life; thank you for all of your help and prayers. Please continue to keep Chici in prayer for her health. God’s blessings to all, Victor & Chici Barbella, and Sandra Morales

Updating

No more garden

A long time that we don't shared the last news at New Life and Peace Ministries. But many things have been happening.

Starting to build the wall

The first week of September we had a lot of raining and the river that runs behind our property overflowed its banks and crossed the property that is next to our house. Both our wall and also our main gate were demolished. Flooding like this has never happened before. Usually, the river runs high every year during the rainy season destroying the street, but never up to our wall. Although we are not sure what the reason was, likely the river’s retaining wall gave way allowing it to cross our property and destroy our wall and gate.

The new wall

It took almost three months to rebuild the new wall and fix the gate, this time we built a retaining wall that is not going to be destroy by the river. We appreciate all the help that we received from several supporters to do this work. This week the wall was  finished  and we praise God for this and his protection.

We are also very happy to have all the children

Pretty girl

  at home because the school year is over and the children are very exciting enjoying their free time. All of the finish school with excellent grades and good reports from the teachers. Last week four of our children had a little ceremony to celebrate that they complete sixth grade. Marleny is one of them and she received a reward because she was the best student in English class and she very proud and happy. We also are very proud of them because we know that is not easy for them to be still in primary school being teenagers.  After the ceremony we took them out for dinner to celebrate their achievement.

No more children now teenagers

Visiting the zoo

We have 19 children and they are very happy waiting for Christmas, they know that is the time for presents, every day they ask for their presents and every morning they want something different for a present. Christmas is a wonderful time to share with them the love of our Lord Jesus.

Sharing what is happening at New Life and Peace Ministries

Dear Brothers and Sisters
God is always faithful with all of us and He is always doing something in the hearts of the children and also in the men and women that are at the rehab center. It is always a blessing to see how He changes their hearts and gives them hope.

Rehab Center

We have two new children. They are brothers, ages 5 and 7 years old. We don’t know much about them, but they are going to have their first court hearing at the end of November. We do know that God has plans for them and we pray that God is going to heal their hearts. We also have Paula back with us. Paula is a girl that was here last year, but in January, the court decided to send her back with her family. However, last month she ran away from her house because she said that her relatives are not taking care of her and she asked the judge to be able to come back to our home. He granted her permission and she is back and very happy. We, too, are very happy to have her back with us!

We have been working on maintaining some areas of the children’s home. Two weeks ago we replaced the roof of the laundry area. We are so thankful for the help that was provided to do the work. We are now in the process of replacing two other roofs at the boys’ home and the rehab center. We want to thank all of our supporters for your faithfulness and special help that makes all of these things possible. We hope that these ministries will be serving the purpose of the Lord Jesus Christ for years to come.

Roof needs to be replace

The group, Give Joy 2 One, came to spend time with the children. The children really enjoy this opportunity to go out to Antigua with them for lunch and shopping in the market for clothing and shoes. They all had a great time sharing with the group.

 This past May, Sam, a member of Christ Chapel in Alabama also came to visit. He helped us to make a new video for the ministry. It is such a blessing to see how the Lord Jesus touches the hearts of different people to help this ministry in so many different areas!

Give Joy 2 One group

 The rehab center is doing well. We have 36 men and one woman. It is always harder for women to accept that they have a problem and need rehabilitation. It is our hope that both men and women are going to allow Jesus to enter into their hearts and change their disposition as it says in Romans 12:2: And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 

We appreciate the love and support that all of you give to our ministry. Please keep everybody in your prayers. Love in Christ, Victor, Chici and Sandra