July 2024 Newsletter
Greetings to all our dear friends!
I hope you all are doing well and keeping your eyes fixed upon our Lord Jesus Christ!
I invite you to explore our newly updated website, larocaministries.org. Now with new pictures and updates on our organization!
We are also getting ready for our 2024 Gala, this October 4th. We would love to have you join us to celebrate this special event. It will be held at the same place as last year, but better! La Roca Ministries is on the move so come and become part of what the Lord is doing!
This month I have two stories from Casa de Gracia, our orphanage. First I would like to introduce a wonderful young lady to you. Her name is Lupita, and she recently graduated from high school! It was a wonderful celebration and a well-earned achievement. Lupita, like so many others, has been with us since she was four years old! She, like all our children, has had to work very hard to overcome the many obstacles that have tried to prevent them from reaching their full potential. And who can blame someone who grew up knowing that their mother was a drug addict or prostitute and was not able to take care of them? Or hearing their parents say time after time we will come for you next year, and year after year goes by and they are still absent.
In our children's lives disappointment after disappointment comes and goes, not leaving much room for motivation or confidence in their worth! And yet Lupita did it, overcoming all those things! Now that she has graduated, her dream is to attend college and get a degree in the Culinary Arts, starting in August. I love it, this is a big dream, perfect for an overcomer! Unfortunately, the cost of her schooling is not within our budget, we still need to raise the $6000 for her first year, but together we can make this happen for such a wonderful young woman! Would you please consider helping us with Lupita’s dream? To support her directly you can go to larocaministries.org/lupita.
On the flip side, Nicole, one of our other teens is having a harder time. She joined us to celebrate Lupita's accomplishment and found herself in a situation she was not expecting or prepared for. As we were taking pictures with Lupita, I saw Nicole taking pictures of her own with a family that looked like her. Afterward, Nicole came over to where we were standing, and I asked her if those were her Mom or relatives, since they shared similar facial features. "Yes", she responded. I then asked if she could introduce me. But she looked down and responded, "No, I’m feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable". I quickly said, "It’s ok, I understand". So, I embraced her and told her how much we all loved her! She smiled, but my heart was broken, asking myself how situations like this happen. Why must our children have to go through so much pain and hurt? Why are they at such a disadvantage even before they become adults? I was frustrated and upset, but I didn't want to do anything to make Nicole feel more uncomfortable. So, we just kept encouraging Nicole, saying you're next, keep focusing on the goal. We then asked her, "What would you like to become"? To our surprise, she said a lawyer. I thought she would make an excellent lawyer, defending other people, with passion and zeal, especially given her less-than-ideal background!
So please keep our youth in your prayers, as they share similar experiences. Again, would you consider helping us help them through the many trials and challenges they all face? And also, please pray for wisdom and discernment for us as a ministry, as we help them get ahead and become overcomers through Christ Jesus.
In His Love and Truth,
Carlos and Rossy Montoya and the rest of our wonderful La Roca team.
