The discipleship training base in Guatemala celebrated its one year anniversary in February! The first year was a year of laying the foundation. Now we are starting to build the walls! I like to think of it as a piece of beautiful artwork that was painted during the first year – a vision of what was going to be – and now we are framing in that beautiful piece of artwork. The artwork is the higher vision and the frame is how we are going to carry it out.
A few weeks ago Seth Barnes (Executive Director of AIM) and Clint Bokelman (Director of Short/Long Term Missions at AIM) came and spent a few days with us in Guatemala. During their visit they brought higher vision for the second year of the base. Seth asked us this question: “How many orphans can you let into your heart?”
Very few of us (if any of us) here at the base are in a position to adopt a child. But Seth’s questions challenged us to think outside of the box.
How many orphans could we adopt into our hearts?
“Train up a child in the way they should go; even when they are old they will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6
I think the answer is an infinite amount if we just open up our hearts and let them in.
And that’s exactly what we are doing here in Guatemala.
We are going after the orphans.
We have started connecting with orphanages around Guatemala and we are currently working with two on a regular basis.
(Check them out! Hand of Compassion: www.guatemalaministry.com & Casa Aleluya:www.casaaleluya.org)
As a base, we have been praying about what part we play in orphan care. So far, we have found that the biggest need at the orphanages we’ve been working at is a discipleship program – a perfect fit considering we live as a discipleship training base. The caretakers at the orphanages are already charged with feeding, bathing, clothing, educating, and caring for the children in their care (and they do a fantastic job). If you were to add a discipleship program on top of all of that there just aren’t enough hours in the day. This is where we come in! We have the time and the resources to do just that.
Since we’ve caught this vision as a base it’s been hard to keep us away from the orphanages. We have hit the ground running and we are constantly running ideas past each other – curriculums, outreaches, and ways to enable these wonderful people who have devoted their life to orphan care.
It’s a beautiful thing. What the Lord is doing in Guatemala is exciting and divine and we are blessed to be a part of it.
Stay tuned for more blogs as this vision and calling develops further.
In closing, I leave you with the same question:
How many orphans can you let into your heart?
