Life in Santa Marta
Maria and I celebrated 25 months of marriage this month and Maria experienced her first Mother’s Day as a mother! She is already an awesome mom! We are getting more and more excited for the birth of our daughter Mia Joy Snyder. We have been blessed with several gifts such as a high chair, stroller, and other things for baby. We are also thankful that it has started to rain here after a 5/6-month drought! We were also blessed with the opportunity to teach about the Great Commission in our church’s Sunday school class for teens! Maria has also been busily planning her baby shower that will be held July 6 and is very excited.

Maria and I have been challenged to spend more time together in prayer and to focus completely on God’s Kingdom! Everything we do here in this life will be reflected in heaven, and we don’t want to just settle for heaven, but go after heavenly awards and treasures. Jonathan has been challenged to put more of his trust in God and not in people as well as challenged to truly love people and make them more important. He is also learning patience, choosing to give thanks in every situation, and to truly surrender and not do things in his own strength. Maria is learning to be more patient and understanding in each situation and is learning new skills and abilities. She is also growing in her love for God and others. AND…she finally has finished her college classes and will be graduating in the ceremony on September 20.

Enciende El Fuego
Things this past month in the ministry have been challenging and also exciting. We are excited to be doing “missions months” from June-August. Everything we will be doing will be dedicated to teaching the kids all about missions – evangelism, stories/testimonies from famous missionaries, praying for countries, talking about persecution in different parts of the world, etc. We are declaring that many kids will receive and answer the call to missions and develop a missions perspective on life!

We have some exciting things planned in June for the ministry in addition to the missions months. On Monday, June 3, three of us will be giving a teacher training to a group of 8 teachers from Iglesia Salvador. It will be the 2nd teacher training opportunity for Enciende El Fuego and the first that Maria and I will be leading. Also, on June 3, we will be doing an evangelistic event and activities for kids in Cuidad Equidad. There could be close to 100 kids attending! The most exciting opportunity that we have is our second missions trip, this time to Barranquilla, a major city about two hours from Santa Marta from June 24-27. We are still working on details, but Maria and I will be taking a team to do a VBS for kids in a low-income area and doing other ministry activities.

We are praying that God brings more committed volunteers as we have seen a decline in commitment from several teachers. At the beginning of May, Valeria from Bogotá decided to move back and is no longer with us. We were thinking about leaving her in charge of things when we go the States. We are declaring and praying for God to bring us a missionary (American/Latino) couple to work with us and eventually take over things here in Santa Marta. We give glory to God because in spite of the changes and challenges, we have seen several of our volunteers really grow and have more opportunities! We know that the Lord has even greater things for this ministry, the volunteers, and the kids!

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Mt. 6:33

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9

In Christ,
Maria and Jonathan

The month of April for Maria and I was a month full of love, celebration, ministry, craziness, and blessing! We were blessed to be able to celebrate our two-year anniversary on April 13! On April 23, we also officially “found out” we are having a girl even though we already knew! Mia Joy Snyder is due on August 29. We hope to visit the States again in October as a family of three!

Maria and baby continue doing super well and are very healthy. Maria has just a few weeks left to finally, officially graduate. She also received a special award from the university a few weeks ago. Maria has been attending weekly classes (taught by her mom) for pregnant woman to know how to take care of babies. God continues to strengthen her faith and use her to bless others. She went on her first mission trip, and God used her in great ways! She hasn’t let her pregnancy keep her from doing ministry or other things!

Jonathan continues doing well and is learning the importance of being a father before the baby comes out, to talk to baby, pray over her, and spend time with her and momma. He is blessed to have led his first mission trip and continues to learn and grow as a leader and director. He is looking forward to all God has in store for his family and ministry!

Enciende El Fuego
The month of April has been a busy month of ministry. We did activities for a Kids’ Club event at a church on April 6, prepared for mission trip, went on mission trip, and did four activities in four different places for National Kids Day April 26-27! We are seeing a greater excitement for ministry among our volunteer staff. Jake from the U.S. left us on April 27, and we are happy for all God did in him and through him during his time here. We have a few interested persons who may come to volunteer with us in the next month or two. We are praying for God to send us more committed persons as well as a married couple that will be able to take over the ministry here in the future.

Mission Trip Recap
On April 17-21, Maria and I took a team of six on a mission trip to Disciplina, Magdalena – about a five-hour bus ride from Santa Marta. During our time there we did a three-day VBS in the mornings, evangelism with the kids, a soccer tournament, and three evening services. The heat and lack of electricity at times was uncomfortable, but it was a huge blessing to be there to teach the kids and lift up the church. For four of our mission team members, it was their first time on a mission trip, and it was interesting seeing God work in and process them.

God used us in more ways than we had thought or planned. After just a few days we saw a passion for God and evangelism among the kids and the church, the pastor, and its leaders were astounded to learn from us. At the end of the last evening service, we heard testimonies of healings and all that God did. We pray that the tiny church in the middle of nowhere (Roca Viva Church) continues faithfully with the church and implements the things they learned from us. Maria and I feel that God will keep expanding Enciende El Fuego’s ministry and that our overseas opportunity is coming soon.

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” – Ephesians 3:20-21
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In Christ,
Maria and Jonathan

Personal Update
We are thankful for all God is doing in our lives, marriage, and ministry! Maria and baby are doing very well and we are excited to officially find out if it’s a boy or girl within the next few weeks (we feel strongly that it’s a girl). Maria is currently finishing up her last few college classes, serving in the foundation, participating in baby classes, and is becoming more beautiful each day. She is growing a lot in missions and her passion for ministry and fulfilling the Great Commission! Jonathan continues working hard in the ministry and is preparing himself as a father. He is learning to just be with God and enjoy His presence rather than asking for so many things. We will be celebrating two years of marriage this month on the 13th!

Enciende El Fuego Update
God is doing so much through our ministry and is growing it even more and is giving us more partnerships, funds, and connections! We are seeing changes and growth in many of the kids. Although we don’t measure our success by numbers, we generally serve 70-100 kids each Saturday. We are thankful to have a building to use, but we are still praying for our own space. God is also raising up donors from Colombia to support the foundation, which is super exciting! Our team is now at 15 persons and we hope to add two short-term volunteers this summer, both from Bogotá.

We are currently 17 days away from our first mission trip as a ministry! We will be partnering with a church to work with the kids in a community outside Plato, Colombia from April 17-21. We are taking a team of six and will be doing VBS in the mornings, evangelism with the kids, a soccer tournament, and preaching/healing services in the evenings. We have been fasting, praying, and meeting together once a week as a team to prepare ourselves spiritually. We are pumped for all that God will do! The month of April we have several invitations and activities that we will do, including in a Christian school and in a neighborhood, as well as activities for Kids Day on April 26 and 27.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” – 2 Corinthians 5:7

​En Cristo,
María y Jonathan

Enciende El Fuego Ministry        
The Lord continues to grow this ministry mightily. We give thanks that we have been able to use our new building for two weeks now. On our first Saturday in the new house, 100+ kids participated and already the new place is too small - a good problem to have! We continue to go through the Samaritan’s Purse discipleship program with the kids and have started a new dance ministry that we are praying grows greatly. We did evangelism this past Saturday with about 40 kids!
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We are a month and a half away from embarking on our first mission trip to Plato, Colombia on April 18-21. We are currently at about 40% of our fundraising goal. We know God has a great purpose for us on the trip and are expecting big things from God! We are planning on doing a three-day VBS, evangelism, a soccer tournament, and services at night there. Please be praying for our team: Jonathan, Jake, Nubia, Valeria, and Mario (and possibly Maria) and for those who we will be ministering to.

We also give thanks to God for an expanded ministry this year. We have been able to visit three different Christian schools in different parts of the city. We were able to do devotionals, worship, games, crafts, and gospel presentations! In our Divino Niño location, we are heavily focusing on teaching the kids how to evangelize and practicing it. We also feel the need to start fundraising/saving for our own building as our current building is already small and shared by a family living there.

A Personal Update
Maria and the baby continue to be healthy and well. The official due date is August 29, and we are deciding when we will visit the States next. As of now, we are planning on having the baby here due to the fact that we don’t have medical insurance in the United States. We know God has a great purpose for our child and that His hand of favor is upon him/her.

About two weeks ago we were visited by two guys from First Love International, our mission sending organization, to get to know us, know how to support us, and see what God is doing in Santa Marta. We had a good four days with them and now feel better connected with First Love.

God is teaching us to take action and let Him guide us. He has been teaching us wisdom and patience, and is increasing our faith and trust in Him. We are beginning to pray more specific prayers for what we want and need. It is a great privilege to chosen by the Lord to do what He has chosen for us to do in Santa Marta and beyond!

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” – 2 Corinthians 5:7

In Christ,
Maria and Jonathan