The Lunch Program

WIND provides lunch to 10 of the most needy children at HOREB.  Please watch this video to learn more.

Students in Need of Scholarships

During our last visit to Cotzal, we were able to meet with these four students in their homes.  I have personally taught all of these children off and on for these last three school years.  All four will graduate 6th grade this year from the HOREB school without resources to continue on in Middle School.  If you wish to sponsor one of these children for the 2015 school year, the estimated costs for all their expenses is about $50 per month.  If you wish to support one of these students in their future studies, email us at jordanrrice@gmail.com.


Mayerly has studied at the HOREB school for all six years of her education.  She is one of four siblings who recently has dealt with the loss of her father who died from alcoholism. She wants to continue studying at a Christian school in one of the nearby towns if given the opportunity.  We interviewed her while she was attending to her family's little store, their main source of income.

Dionicio is a bright kid who is near the top of his class at the HOREB school and is always the first to contribute in class discussions.  His favorite subject is English and has the best pronunciation of all the children I taught at HOREB.  He wants to be a judge when he grows up.   

Abigail is a sweet girl who works hard in her studies and has studied all six years at HOREB.  She wants to be a teacher when she grows up.  Through my experiences watching her teach some of the younger children, I can tell she is going to be a great one!  She is the middle of three sisters.

Manael is the middle child of many siblings and he loves to sing.  After not being able to attend HOREB his 5th grade year because of low finances, he received a scholarship for his final 6th grade year.  In this video, he and his mom explain why he attends the HOREB school.  We did not directly interview Manael and hope to get a better interview when we return in October.

Juan's Story

Picture taken during our interview with Juan

“There is something different about him,” I told my wife after interviewing one ten year old boy. We had been interviewing 24 students at HOREB who were receiving scholarships, but this one stood out.  His eyes were full of light as he shared deeper things about himself, demonstrating a maturity different from the other children his age.  He was small in stature but talked with confidence and conviction, sharing how he had changed from an angry boy to one who had become more at peace.  We decided to dig deeper, visiting his family in their home and talking with his teachers.  This is the story of how God changed his life and used HOREB and WIND to facilitate that change.

As in every story, this one begins long before Juan was born.

Tabita

Tabita Juana Toma de la Cruz is the daughter of a Pastor who was shot dead on his way to a nearby village.  She doesn’t know who killed her father, whether it was the army or the guerillas, but it doesn’t matter.  Her father was dead, but he left an imprint on her life; a seed that would grow and one that would carry her to start the first Christian school in her town of San Juan Cotzal.  She worked hard to receive her education, receiving a four year degree from a university in Guatemala City, a very rare feat for an Ixil woman.  Then she did something even rarer, she came back to her town.  A missionary heart had been formed inside her, and the children of her home were on her mind.  The town was in the midst of much gang-related violence, and teenagers were killing each other.  Her concern for her town led her to begin a school where the Word of God would be taught in the classrooms in an environment of love and care.  After a couple years of prayer, Colegio HOREB was founded.

Four years later as Juan entered the first grade, the school was in trouble.  Tabita didn’t have money to pay the teachers and felt a lot of pressure.  She confided in a close friend that she was thinking of closing the school.  Her friend, a missionary from El Salvador asked her, “Whose school is it?  You can’t shut down a project of God.”  It was in this period of great need that God provided for the school in profound ways.  The founders of WIND were on a vision trip when they found themselves in Tabita’s home listening to her story.  After returning home, they sent an email offering a little support to help pay the teachers for that next school year which was the year Juan entered the second grade.  The project of God moved on.

Juan with his third grade teacher, Joel

At that time, Juan was a very angry child.  He explains, “I would throw my books on the floor and yell in the middle of class.  I could not control myself.”  At home his father was battling with alcoholism, a problem that runs rampant in the Ixil.  His family was poor and didn’t have much to eat.  His mom would ask him to help in the home and he would only scream back, “NO!  I don’t want to!”  He was on a path to destruction, but everything changed his third grade year.

One catalyst for this change was a teacher at the school, Joel, who spent a lot of time mentoring Juan.  In particular, he led Juan to Proverbs 14:17 which is a verse he continues to recite to this day.  It reads, “A man of quick temper acts foolishly.”  Juan learned about the Bible and Jesus through his teachers at HOREB.

That same year, his father died from alcoholism.  Juan was sad, but his mom shared with him a dream she had when her mom had died from anemia.  “Don’t be sad that your father died, because that happened to me when my mom died.  I was so sad, but the people in the church prayed in my room and that night when I was sleeping, my mom appeared to me in a beautiful house with a lake that shines like gold and she was fat and better and she said to me, ‘Don’t be sad because I’m better, I am a singer here, you need to accept God in your heart.’  After I woke up, I was not sad for my mom anymore.”

Enma working with a student

A woman named Enma, the acting Principal of the school, saw his change throughout the year.  One day she called him out of class.  Undoubtedly, Juan walked with a little apprehension as he approached his school principal wondering what he had done wrong.  She had a simple question for him.  “Juan, I know how you love God.  Do you want to accept him?”  This question probably took him by surprise as he remembered the dream that his mother had shared with him.  He said yes, and the two prayed together.  Afterward she said, “Since the moment you were born, the name of God has been in your heart.” 

Since that day, he is a changed young man.  He reads a borrowed Bible alone in his room and goes alone to the church every Saturday and Sunday.  His new stepfather is good to him but only makes $4 per day working in the fields.  His uncle buys shoes and clothes for him or gives him a corn drink called atol.  Sometimes that is all he has to eat, but Juan accepts it and doesn’t complain since he has received God.  He also works more in the home, is more obedient to his mom, and doesn’t get angry like he used to.

Juan shows off the family's new stove (with his mom and sister)

His mom is very thankful to HOREB for all they have done for her child as well as to WIND for giving him a scholarship to study there as she can’t afford the $3 per month it costs to attend.  She is also thankful for the stove that was installed this year in their home by Westminster Chapel.  It has helped bring in a small income for the family as the mom is able to cook tamales and sell them. 

During our interview with Juan, we asked him a question we asked all the scholarship students: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”  Without hesitating Juan responded, “A lawyer.”  That seemed like a typical answer.  “Why?” we asked.  He replied, “Because I want to help people.  One day somebody tried to accuse my mom of something she didn’t do, and I stepped in to defend her.  That’s what I want to do, to defend those who are being unfairly accused.”  That is a young heart set on the Kingdom of God and a great hope for the upcoming generation.  But there is still a lot of work to do and a lot of children who are on the wrong path, like Juan was.

It is Tabita’s vision to grow HOREB to include a middle and high school.  There are currently no such Christian schools in San Juan Cotzal.  HOREB also desperately needs a new elementary school building as the rented space they meet in is dilapidated and unsafe, making for a very difficult learning environment for the children.  Tabita is currently trusting God and waiting on His provision of the land for building.  I hope you join us in prayer for the children of the Ixil, praise God for stories like Juan’s, and think about how you can support this ministry.  This is indeed a project of God, and God will provide according to His will.  

Juan with his family and a new Bible provided to him by WIND

Juan enjoys art, here he shows off one of his paintings

September Trip Report

In the last week of September, Maria and I were in the Ixil for another week.  We visited many families associated with Colegio HOREB.  We shot some video of some of the graduating children who are in need of scholarships for the next school year and checked on some of the stoves that were installed in homes.  We talked with two Christian middle schools as we search for a good Christian school in which to give scholarships.  We also interviewed with the Director of HOREB and the kindergarten teacher.  We also took a video of the feeding program which we hope to publish soon, spoke with leadership of the Jorai Bible Institute, and gave a special gift to one student.  Here are some photos from our week:

Director Enma helping the first graders with a project

Buying rainbow looms for Humberto, Elizabeth, and Alicia

Some of the shoe shining boys

Little Juan receiving his own Bible

Maria visiting with Matias at the feeding program

Maria visiting with some of the girls at the feeding program

Jordan visiting the fifth grade class, singing songs

Visiting with Omar who had been in a serious accident

Inside the home of one family, Manael on the right is looking for a scholarship for the next year

September Newsletter

We have finished writing our September Newsletter .  In it we write brief stories about how God is using the programs that WIND supports in the Ixil.  We hope you can check it out.

Tick tock

Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock. The sound of the clock on the wall feels like a jail, each tick a prison bar. I am trapped inside the confines of my body, stifled by the constraints of time. My selfish desires and unwanted thoughts yell loudly like prison guards. They scream in my ear, commanding me to obey their rules. But my spirit knows another way, it has been written on to my soul. Eternity is before, it is now, it is after. I must remember who I am, that I am free, a child of God...

So I sing from the deepest parts of my soul. I am not of this world, I do not belong in a prison. I will not be defined by this temporary holding cell. My home radiates with beauty and my Father is love personified. I will not yield to the commands and oppression of the guards but hold fast to the Spirit that was given to me by my Father. I do not lose hope for I know that the walls are here but for a blink of an eye, swallowed up by the infinite vastness of His eternal kingdom.

August Trip Report

With Enma, the Principle at Colegio HOREB

I am no stranger to the town of Cotzal, having spent two and a half years being involved in the community with short term teams, teaching English at the HOREB Christian school there, and having built relationships in the community. This week though felt entirely different. I came with a different focus and one incredible partner.

We walked out our door in San Cristobal and caught a chicken bus to Quiche and then took a microbus (a van) to Nebaj. I had made that trip so many times before but it was the first time making that journey with my wife by my side. We were able to stay at our friend's rented house who was in the USA.

During our week in Cotzal, we interviewed 24 students at HOREB that are receiving scholarships from WIND with the purpose of making a little profile of each child to share with supporters of the school. We were also looking for stories of transformation for the kids involved in these programs and were pleased to find some major ways in which God is working in these children's lives. I am excited to share one story in particular of which I will be writing this week. We also had longer interviews with six of the teachers at their homes, asking them about their students and learning more about them as we build those relationships.

Maria taking notes in child interview

 We held several meetings during our time there. We learned more about the work of Compassion International, had a wonderful time discussing ideas and future visions for the Jorai Bible Institue, and also spent time talking with the board of Colegio HOREB about their current ideas for buying land in order to build their own school.

 God also put on our heart children in need of scholarships for middle and high school. It is our hope that a good education would be provided for a few of the students who are graduating from HOREB but who don’t have the resources to go to a good school. There are also a few former HOREB students who we see as good candidates for scholarships.

Children in Feeding Program

 We also observed the feeding program WIND has put in place for ten children to receive a lunch who otherwise would not have one. This program has made a tremendous impact in the lives of these children. The teachers have reported that these students come to class happier and of course have gained some needed weight!

We were only able to visit a few families in their homes, but it is always a highlight. I have visited frequently one particular family who is going through a difficult time and it is always special to see the children’s faces light up when we come. We also visited one family for the very first time and as soon as we arrived, a 4 year old girl ran with excitement to her mom, “They’re here! They’re here!” I sometimes put a lot of pressure on myself to be “in the Spirit” on these visits and feel like a failure a lot of the time, but this was a good reminder for us that even if all we do is show up, God is still using us to bring encouragement and light.

We left early Saturday morning to return home and a few long bus rides later, we walked to our home in San Cristobal. It had been a trying week with some difficult spiritual battles but in the end we completed what we set out to do. As we relayed to my dad, the Executive Director of WIND, all that we did that week, I was surprised. I always feel like I don’t do enough but while talking to him I realized that God had indeed used us greatly. We acquired a lot of information this last week and now it is time to organize it and report all that we have learned to the WIND.

Maria with a student during a family visit

Thank you to all who have supported us! We will continue to work as well as we can for His kingdom.