We have moved!
Be the Light’s NEW MAILING ADDRESS* is
101 N. Pinetta Drive #35811
North Chesterfield, VA 23235
If you are a donor who gives through online banking, please change the address in your bank’s bill pay system so that your donations will be properly addressed and arrive without delays caused by mail forwarding.
*This address is for Be the Light only; if you need our family’s mailing address, please inbox or email us to request it.
A Blanket in Jesus’ Name
“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me…” -Jesus
Summer is here, but winter has fallen heavily on the Andes mountains of Peru with temperatures expected to reach -10 degrees Celsius this week. In February our medical team offered free clinics for three days in Huillcapata, a community of about 70 families situated at just over 13,000 feet above sea level. This is where our partners, Pastors Jessica and Wilfredo Mont had just planted a church. There were many healings and salvations during those days and we came to love the people dearly. As a gesture of thanks, on our final day there, they brought food and flowers they had grown to share with us. We left and the next week Covid19 arrived. The economy froze as businesses all over Peru were closed and people were ordered to stay in their homes. In Huillcapata, that meant isolation and lack. There was no way to obtain supplies as they are far from the city and communication is limited. While our partners have been hosting online church services, most of the folks in this community are without access to video streaming…so no more church for them either.
About two months into quarantine the pastors took supplies to the community from the city and these beautiful people sent food from their crops back to the city to help people there. To make matters worse, due to the halt of the economy, approximately 25 families who had relocated to Cusco for work were forced to return to Huillcapata because lack of work made them unable to sustain themselves in the city. So a community of 70 families grew to 95 families almost overnight. With resources already scarce, this added strain has been a challenge. Enter winter. Last year 38 children died in that region of causes related to the extreme cold during just the first half of the winter season. The pandemic affects people in different ways. While much has changed for us, most of us are able to eat and stay cool during the heat. Many of these families have no heat in their homes and they layer on clothes and try to keep warm with blankets at night. But if you don’t have enough blankets and you cannot buy them…what do you do?
Enter you. The pastors contacted us and asked if we might be able to provide 1 or 2 blankets per family. They said the situation was desperate with the cold fast approaching and our beloved friends were facing the dead of winter during a pandemic without adequate warmth. So we reached out to our friends and supporters via social media and we looked at our budget to see how we could allocate funds to make this happen. People responded. Some sent checks from as far away as Montana, some donated on our website, some gave on Facebook, and some pledged to make up the difference of whatever we needed to be able to do it. And our board decided that we wouldn’t just give one or two blankets per family; our goal would be to give FOUR. And in just four days so it was: we were able to provide four blankets to each of 93 families!
The blankets were delivered to the community by the Peruvian Army on Saturday and to each family on Sunday by the community leaders, the same leaders who worked as interpreters in our clinics in February. These are our friends and they are being introduced to Jesus through Pastors Jessica and Wilfredo, through our medical team, and now through you. Thank you to everyone who gave for blankets in the middle of our summer so our friends can make it through their winter. You are being the light!
Local Outreaches During the Pandemic
While moving our family and our office for Be the Light has been especially time and energy intense during this season, we have continued to pursue opportunities to be the light locally during the pandemic. At the beginning we did grocery shopping and errands for the elderly and healthcare workers. We have been able to provide food assistance for local families affected by the economic results of the pandemic. Most of them either lost their jobs and were unable to access unemployment or are small business owners whose businesses were not allowed to operate for months. Much of this was done anonymously and was funded by the birthday fundraiser that we did on Facebook for our birthdays this year. We are thankful to everyone who gave so that we could give to those in need in our community! Additionally, we were able to bless the staff of Canterbury Health and Rehab, a facility right in our neighborhood which was severely impacted by COVID19, with almost 500 individual drinks and with flowers for all staff during Nurse’s Week. We deeply appreciate ALL that our healthcare workers have done and continue to do to care for the most vulnerable among us during this time!
She did it! Despite the challenges presented by having to finish her high school education online, Lucía persevered and we congratulate her on her high school graduation from Mills E. Godwin High School.
Lucía plans to travel to Mexico in September to begin her YWAM Discipleship Training School with an emphasis on Photo Storytelling. To that end, she has increased her part-time job to full-time post-graduation to help fund this amazing opportunity. Our last newsletter contained an interview with her about her hopes to participate in this program and we would like to update you on her progress toward the total cost of the program. Between what she has earned, and the funds received by our generous supporters, she is currently within $1500 of the goal! This is wonderful progress, especially given the trials and hardships so many people are currently experiencing. We know that God provides for our every need and He always makes a way. This is no exception.
If you would like to help her reach her goal you can donate by check made out to Lucia Eubanks or to YWAM. Donations made out to YWAM should NOT include her name on the check but will be sent with a letter indicating they are for her program tuition. Please note that YWAM nor Be the Light is able to provide tax deductible donation receipts for this program as she will receive college credit for it. Lucía excited about this new adventure and we pray that God uses it mightily in her life!
Small Group Mission Opportunity: Can You Help?
The pandemic has required that we postpone two of our planned missions but we are still going! Our Kenya outreach which was to have been in July has been postponed to October and our India outreach planned for the fall is now slated for spring of 2021. As we look forward to a unique opportunity to meet with ministry leaders from several African countries in Kenya we are excited to also be able to provide feminine hygiene kits and education to school-aged girls. Be the Light will take 50-100 kits and World Gospel Mission will provide approximately 100 kits. The kits from WGM are partial kits which were left there by nursing students and that is where we need your help. Each of those kits needs 2 wooden hinged clothespins, 2 large safety pins, 1 washcloth, and 2 gallon-sized Ziploc bags. If you or your church can help by providing any of these items please contact us at stacy@bethelightnow.org for further details. Donations to our Hygiene Kit fund can also be made at www.bethelightnow.org/donate. A kit for a girl can keep her in school for up to four years and that translates to dignity, empowerment, and freedom!
We are GROWING!
2020 brought an unexpected opportunity to expand our home and ministry space and we have just completed our move. We are busy unpacking ourselves as well as Be the Light and continuing with all that God has called us to in the midst of the pandemic. In addition to expanding our physical space, we have also enlarged our board by adding two new members. We welcomed Anne Van Wart and Dr. Don Yeatts to our board this year and they have hit the ground running. Click here to read their bios on our website:
https://www.bethelightnow.org/our-team/
Now Available on Your Phone!
AmazonSmile customers can now support Be the Light in the Amazon shopping app on iOS and Android mobile phones! Simply follow these instructions to turn on AmazonSmile and start generating donations.
- Open the Amazon Shopping app on your device
- Go into the main menu of the Amazon Shopping app and tap into ‘Settings’
- Tap ‘AmazonSmile’ and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process
If you do not have the latest version of the Amazon Shopping app, update your app. Click here for instructions.
OUR MISSION:
Be the Light is a 501(c)3 humanitarian organization that offers hope and healing to the hopeless and hurting in Jesus’ name through practical assistance, prevention, presence, protection, and provision. Visit our website to learn more at https://bethelightnow.org.