Friday, January 23, 2015

Homes For Kids With Impact


From schools to homes.  Impact Ministries has spent more than a decade establishing rural schools and agricultural programs, bringing healthcare and planting churches in rural Guatemala.  All the while they have been training and employing Guatemalan teachers, farmers, pastors and administrators.

In recent years they have seen their students graduate and find employment or attend university, some returning to become teachers for the next generation.  Now, after two years of planning, they have the land and resources to address a long-known need, establishing an orphanage to care for abandoned children in poor, rural Guatemala.  The task for our eMi team will be to master plan this new property and design the first facilities, a “baby house”, along with all the required water supply, sanitation and power infrastructure.
Tactic  2
Back to Central America.  This will be my first project lead in Central America and my first project in a Spanish speaking country since serving in Honduras as an eMi volunteer 12 years ago, when Julie joined me for an eMi project experience.  This is eMi Canada’s second project with Impact Ministries (the first was a school exactly 10 years ago) and my home church in Calgary has many ties to Impact Ministries so I’m excited to be serving a ministry that in many ways is both “close to home” and a wonderful example of “walking alongside”; encouraging, enabling and growing the capacity of the local Guatemalan people.

Tactic  1
Added Bonus.  An added element of joy and excitement is that Cameron, my 15 year old son, will join me for an eMi project trip for the first time.  He and I have been looking forward to this since Caitlin (now 17) joined me for a project in Haiti in 2011.  As part of the team Cameron will join the survey crew to document the 40 acre parcel of land.  He will also have a chance to interact with the local children...especially looking forward to playing soccer with them!

To read more about this eMi project click here.  To visit the Impact Ministries website click here.

Please keep us in prayer as we travel in the air and on the ground in rural Guatemala and also remember all team member families while we are away.  Thank you to all our supporters and friends who make it possible for me to do this work!