Good morning and Happy Labor Day SE Familia! We hope you are doing well! Since our last email, we have had quite a lot going on, both personally and for the organization. We want to give you updates on what is happening and ways to pray for SE in this newsletter. Wins! If you recall, part of the opportunities we provide are to help students be able to take college admissions exams. We have been in touch with last year's winners and wanted to share some awesome news about their journey. Alejandra and Besy made their way to their college campuses in the USA and are beginning their freshmen year. Alejandra is studying at Moody Bible College and Besy is studying at Calvin University. Our mission is to stay in touch with them throughout their college careers. We plan on sending care packages and even visiting them if we are able to! Another major win, Edin scored a 95 on his TOEFL exam! This is five points above the average score! Edin is ecstatic about his score, as he should be, as it moves him many steps closer to being accepted at the various colleges he is applying to. All three of these students are doing what they are thanks to your support in our scholarship program! In the most recent news, we have a new board member! A dear friend, Brooke Taylor, will support our marketing and social media engagements. She is an answered prayer, as that area has been one of our biggest challenges for Sembrando. We will share more about her, and our other board members, through our social media. Campaign Update Our campaign has been making gains since our last email. We have had four supporters for a total of $2,700. This is a fantastic start! Thank you to those who have donated thus far! If you have been on the fence about whether to donate or not, let us encourage you to take the leap! Even a small donation goes a long way towards completing our goal of providing a safe and up-to-date gym for the students and the resources to compete in the technological world. Check out our latest video on Instagram. We will have a small fundraiser during the last week of September, the 24th through the 30th, consisting of baked goods and t-shirt sales. We also had the opportunity to purchase 250 school chairs and receive boxes of English books to send to schools in need. We are currently working with schools in Honduras, but shipping and logistics have been the biggest challenge to overcome. If we cannot send them to Honduras, we will look towards schools and communities within the US. Mission Statement Amendment At our last board meeting, we approved amending our mission statement to help provide flexibility for our operations and connecting with others. Our previous mission statement was: “The corporation exists for the purpose of providing educational opportunities for people in Central America. The students who are trained are the primary beneficiaries of the corporate activities.” Our amended mission statement is as follows: “The corporation exists to provide educational resources and opportunities to students, teachers, and communities worldwide. The students in the communities are the primary beneficiaries of the corporate activities.” This allows us to continue what we do in Honduras and opens the door for future projects outside of Honduras and Central America. Prayer Requests We want to close with a few prayer requests for Sow Hope: - That God continues to provide financially for our project goal of $30,000. - That God blesses, works in, through, and around, and grants favor to our scholars studying in the US, Honduras, and those finishing high school. - That God guides and directs Sembrando Esperanza to be good stewards of His resources and impact communities for His glory. As we pray for these very things, we pray Philippians 4:19 over SE. -- Blessings, Alejandra + Austin Empowering to empower.