Growing Godly Leaders

Have you ever seen photos of friends hugging kids on a mission trip – or even hugged some kids yourself – and then wondered if it really makes a difference? Is short-term missions really worth it? Delmi thinks so. Delmi attended our schools as a child. She remembers receiving some of those hugs! We shared her story in our Fall Newsletter, and it made me cry. I thought you might want to hear Teacher Delmi share her story in her own words – of a childhood with no hugs, and of how God used her teachers, her sponsors, and teams who visited to…

Marco quit school this year. It’s not that the 12-year-old didn’t like school. In fact, he’d been doing reasonably well in his sixth grade class. But Marco couldn’t concentrate. His mom was sick and he was worried. She was having trouble doing the washing she takes in and collecting firewood – their only income, since his father had abandoned them last year. So Marco came up with a solution. He went to the principal to tell him he wasn’t going to continue studying. He wanted to help his mother work to help her earn a little money. Yes, in Guatemala,…

María and Olga are not your typical Vida elementary school students. “When I was young, women were only kept at home to do household chores,” says María. “I’ve never gone to school before. It was not a priority for women to study.” Olga agrees. As a child, she didn’t learn how to read or write either. María and Olga are cooks at Vida Purulhá School. They feel blessed to prepare meals for children who are getting the educational opportunities that they never had growing up. But María and Olga are now also Vida students. The Vida Extension Program offers an accelerated…