OUR PROGRAMS
Bible and Reading Program
Each Monday and Wednesday afternoon, we hold an after-school program from 2:00 to 5:00 pm. Between 80 to 100 preschool through 6th grade kids come to hear the Word of God in our Bible class. Our program is open to all kids of the community, meaning some are Christian, but others have Catholic or Mayan beliefs. Our Bible class gives them a safe space to come twice a week to hear about Jesus in fun ways they won't receive in their local churches.
The other half of our program time is split into reading groups. The education system in Guatemala is very broken and with school only in session half of the day, there are lots of areas in which their studies are lacking. We believe by strengthening reading skills, students will be able to apply themselves and understand better in all other subjects. Our reading program focuses in expanding the student's minds through books, brainstorming, critical thinking, grammar and looking deeper in the text.
Extracurricular Program
On Tuesday afternoons from 2:00 to 5:00 pm, we offer a wide array of extracurricular courses. They courses are broken up into session ranging from 4 weeks to 8 weeks long. These courses are free and open to any interested student between the age of preschool and 6th grade. Students get to vote on what course they would like to be a part of and the courses then get filled-up by a first come, first serve basis. A few examples of the courses we offered in 2022 are: Decorating for Parties (crafts), Baking Desserts (cooking), Frozen Treats (cooking), Traditional Games (sports + games), Painting (art), Strategic Games (sports + games)...
We saw great success with this new program in 2022! The kids had such a great time learning new trades and experiencing types of classes they never have before. We will continue to add new course offerings and also ask students and parents for suggestions. Our hope is to also offer similar courses to middle school students, high school students and adults in 2023.
Básico Breakfast and Devotional
The majority of our middle school and high school students attend school classes in the afternoons, so on Friday mornings we hold a breakfast and devotional time with them. Our staff shares the Gospel with them through devotionals and expands the text to apply the teaching to their lives. It opens up a time to talk about some topics that are somewhat taboo to talk in public about in the Mayan culture; depression, teen pregnancy, emotional intelligence, the importance of education, woman equality, current events, politics, etc. It's fun to watch as they grow and mature throughout the year in their thinking and behavior.
Due to the demand in 2022, we also opened up a second session on Fridays in the afternoons. The program is a duplicate of the morning program, except we serve snacks instead of breakfast!
These middle school, high school and college students that attend are part of our Scholarship Program which you can read more about under the "Scholarships" tab above!
Family Visits through Relational Ministry
We focus ourselves in relational ministry. We value the relationships with the kids and families in our programs and enjoy watching them grow. Each family faces good times and also bad times, and we want them to always know we are there for them to pray for them and assist in any way that we can. Every other Friday, we go visit families to catch-up, pray and bring them a bag of food. This little blessing goes a long way and shows the love of Jesus through the simple act of showing up and truly caring.
