A special message from our Program Directors in Mexico, Victor and Lety Velasco:
Hola and Feliz Navidad from Forward Edge and our program down here in Oaxaca, Mexico.
We want to tell you a story of the impact you’re making.
One of the first families to join our program 10 years ago was The Santiago Lugo family. The parents had little education, they were very poor, and all six children were going hungry.
We began to provide them all with nutritious food, doctor visits, safe water to drink, spiritual discipleship, and our daily homework club for the children.
We were also able to offer Berenice’s mother a job as a cook to provide more for the family, and help them get the very first earth-block home through our partner ministry Operation Enduring Homes.
Most importantly, they learned about Jesus, and we were so excited as the whole family decided to get baptized!
She is the first in their family to ever go to college!
We praise God for the miracles He has done for this family, and thank Him for people like you who’ve given generously to make it possible. There are many more families like them in Oaxaca and in other Forward Edge programs around the world who still need your help.
For example, we have three children right now hoping to go to university like Berenice, one being her younger sister Audre.
We want to leave you with a quote from a letter Berenice recently wrote:
“Thanks to each of those who made possible one of my biggest dreams, a university career. But I am blessed for the best gift anyone could have ever given me…to know God and my savior Jesus Christ.”
This is what success looks like!
Victor and Lety VelascoCountry Directors – Oaxaca, MexicoForward Edge International
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Nancy, our Director of Development and long-time short-term missionary, shares her experience with the “Women of the Word” program in Kampala, Uganda. These resilient women, who migrated to a new area after facing unimaginable hardships, have come together to build a supportive community and empower one another. Discover how their journey of faith and perseverance is creating lasting change in their lives and in their community.
12 yrs. old
Entered the Program: February 2025
Violeta lives with her mother, stepfather and younger brother, Elias (also in the program) in a three-bedroom concrete house with a concrete roof and concrete and dirt floors. She currently shares a bedroom with her brother. The kitchen is in an adobe room separate from the house and the family cooks with wood. They access water from a hose on their property and the bathroom is outdoors.
Violeta’s mother used to live in Mexico City with father, but he abandoned her when she became pregnant with their second child, who, sadly, died of SIDS. She moved back to her home village where she eventually met Elias’ father. When she got pregnant with Elias, they got married. Violeta’s stepfather has adopted her as his own, and they have a very close relationship. Both of her parents work farming the fields and her mother also cares for the home.
Plus bonus group fundraising ideas!
