by elfaro | Dec 10, 2013 | Bitácora, Blog, Sin Categoría
The kids in the villages keep busy by going to school in the mornings and taking part in many of our programs at El Faro in the afternoons. Once school lets out for the year in October, many of the kids have little to do to occupy their time. El Faro had noticed this problem last year and responded by creating a Vacaction Summer School. This year we had our second school and again it was a huge success. Children came three times a week from 8am-11am and kept busy with games, a snack, an art project, and mental games to keep their minds active and challenged.
This year was different from last because instead of everyone working on one art project at the same time, they had stations where each day they would pick a different craft to do. The projects included learning how to braid hair and make a headband, making silly putty to take home, decorating rock turtles and creating a storybook about them, water painting, and kite building. The last week of vacation school they also made paper mache piggy banks. On the last day of Vacaction School all the kids had a chance to go to the soccer field and fly their kites that they had made.
Each day we had a total of 50 kids from three villages. The majority are kids that we work with on a weekly basis whether it is through Physical Education, Tutoring, Special Education, or Soccer. We have a strong bond with all of these kids and we care about their physical and mental development. This vacation school is a perfect opportunity for us to continue our relationship with them and also to challenge them creatively through the art projects and mentally through our different “mental games”. We know that these kids are becoming the change in their communities and we feel honored to be a part of it.
To see more photos click HERE
by elfaro | Nov 20, 2013 | Bitácora, Blog
In 2011 the Baumann family, (Debbie, Naomi, and Lenny), traveled to El Faro with their church, Cornerstone, in Illinois. That week-long missions trip left the Baumann’s with an imprint on their hearts and a calling that they couldn’t avoid. In the summer of 2012 they spent a whole month at El Faro to discover and experience more about the calling. After going back home and praying, the Baumann’s knew what needed to be done and needed a confirmation from God in the form of selling their house by a certain date. One day before their personal deadline, they miraculous got a call from a buyer, sold their house, and began to plan their year abroad serving in El Faro.
They have been here in Guatemala since July learning Spanish, serving in many areas at El Faro, and growing in their faith as a family. Here are some testimonies from there time so far.
Debbie Baumann
It’s hard to believe that we have been in Guatemala for 4 months. We have been at El Faro for 3 months, and our friends here have truly made it home! We feel like one big family.The Lord continues to provide new experiences and opportunities to serve. Most of my day consists of teaching English. Rather than teach large classes, I teach one to four students at a time. This allows me to adjust the classes to students’ needs. It is so exciting for me to see their progress! On a few occasions, God has opened the door for me to share more than English. I have been able to talk about what Jesus has done for me and my family. My prayer is that these opportunities will occur more and more. In addition to teaching, we have the privilege of being part of the Bible club which meets every Friday at the public beach and Exploridores which meets every Sunday in a local village. I love seeing the children’s excitement when they see the El Faro truck pull up!
Naomi Baumann
My schedule changes depending on what day it is. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I do my schoolwork in the morning. After lunch, I help Wendy, the dentist, with her patients until about 4:00. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are a little busier. In the mornings I do some schoolwork until 8:30. Then, I go to help at the soccer practice with the younger kids. Gavin and Brittany are the coaches. I finish at 12:00. After lunch I do more schoolwork and help Wendy at 2:00 (except for Friday, because this is the day we have Bible club at the beach). Saturday is kind of a day off, until I help teach/learn sign language with Mayra and Evelyn at 3:00. There are 3 deaf children and their families who come to learn sign language. On Sunday mornings we also have sign language class for the workers of El Faro. Later at 2:30 we go to Santa Maria to help teach Exploridores. After dinner we have church in the chapel. My favorite part of the week is Exploradores.
Lenny Baumann
When we first started talking about coming to El Faro, I didn’t want to come. After we left and got here, it wasn’t such a hard thing to do. Right now the main thing I do is schoolwork. When David talked with us last year about coming, he said that would be my main priority. Until I finish all of my work, that’s what it’s going to be. Monday thru Friday, I wake up at 6:00 and do TRX, a strength training workout.. Then, after breakfast (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) I help with soccer practice. I spend the rest of the morning doing schoolwork. If I don’t finish before lunch, I finish in the afternoon. Most afternoons I study some Spanish and run. On Friday afternoons I help with Bible club at the beach. On Saturdays in the morning, I relax. After lunch I go to youth group from 3:00 to 5:00. On Sundays I help with Exploridores. My favorite thing is helping with soccer.
by elfaro | Oct 21, 2013 | Bitácora, Blog
Throughout the year El Faro has teams travel from the United States to serve in different villages that El Faro has an active presence in. One of the goals of hosting these teams is not only to help the villages and to meet their needs, but also to influence the team members to return home to influence their own communities.
A beautiful example of a person who has come to El Faro and went home changed to continue to impact people is Amanda Secor.
My name is Amanda Secor. I am 24 years old. I grew up in Valparaiso, IN around cornfields & straight roads… boring! I’ve lived here all my life. I grew up in church, accepted Jesus when I was 9, but have felt a life change and spiritual growth mature the most over the last year. I went on my first out-of-country mission trip (to the Dominican Republic) my Sophomore year in high school where God broke my heart for people living in poverty & began to stir a love within me for Central America. Since then I graduated college within a minor in missions & a heart to reach the nations. I am married to my college best friend, Tyler, & have been for 2 years. You can find me as a special needs assistant during the day & a blogger at night. My blog is called “my love for Lyla” and can be found at www.myloveforLyla.blogspot.com
My mom went on several trips to Guatemala and I sat home envious that I wasn’t going as well. After going to the Dominican Republic in 2006 & Honduras in 2009 my heart ached to be back on the foreign mission field. She came home from one of her trips and told us all about this beautiful country and how it was impacting her heart. I knew that I too needed to experience this place. God called Tyler & I on a trip in June 2012. I immediately fell in love with the people, culture, El Faro, & ministry. I knew it was a place I would return over & over. It’s easy to come home from a mission trip & hurt for a few days but quickly fall back into that similar way of living. I came home from Guatemala in 2012 with a broken heart & a renewed spirit for missions and helping the less fortunate. Unfortunately I fell back into my comfort zone, but God rocked my spirit again when He called me back to Guatemala this past July. I came home changed, renewed, & broken.
As our group in June 2012 rode away on the boat my heart was broken. I longed for the day I would return again. When God called me back in July I was absolutely ecstatic and couldn’t wait to return. After returning it felt like I was coming home. Riding in on that same boat was overwhelming and brought me to tears. God was finally bringing me back to the place He had branded on my heart 13 months before. The missionaries, kitchen crew, grounds people, & staff of El Faro welcomed me with open arms and cheerful smiles. The work of the missionaries is beautiful and challenging. Each of them are answering God’s call on their lives & it has challenged me to search for my call and live it out. And that is exactly what I’ve been doing since returning to the states 3 months ago.
On my trip in July we visited the dump in Puerto Barrios. I had heard about it before & seen several pictures, but those things didn’t do justice to what I would experience for myself. I will never forget what it was like pulling into the dump & seeing mounds of garbage surrounding me. Amidst the garbage were beautiful children running without shoes & strong adults sifting through trash to find treasures to mend and sell. In those first moments my heart broke & was shattered for life. I had never seen anything like what I was seeing before me. I had the most incredible, heart & life-changing experience. I met a beautiful little girl named Mirna who will forever be imbedded on my heart & mind. Her joyful spirit and infectious smile warmed my heart and changed my heart. Upon leaving the dump my heart broke over and over. I felt like no matter how long I stayed it would never be enough time. I came back to the states and KNEW I had to do something about what I had seen. There was no way for me to see what I saw & do nothing. To me, that would be like looking at the face of God & saying no to His Voice. I had seen paper beads before and thought they were beautiful but didn’t feel a need to learn to make them. That was until I watched a video & realized that something as small as a bead made of paper can change the life of someone who is living in poverty and brokenness. I told my husband about the idea to start making jewelry & selling it to make money for the people in the dump. A few days later I watched a how-to video & began rolling beads. I haven’t looked back since.
When I decided to start making beads & had the idea to make jewelry I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But it’s a beautiful concept really. God is using these beads to mend my broken spirit & bring hope to my life. I’m so excited to see what they do for others.. both here & abroad. I am in the process of turning this idea into a small business & then into a non-profit. I want these beads to bring hope, healing, & love. I have a name picked out, based upon a beautiful verse in the Bible, & a piece of Scripture lined up to support my vision. Eventually I want to raise enough money to go to Guatemala and teach the women in the dump & whoever is willing to learn, how to make paper beads & jewelry and use the resources they have (cereal boxes, juice cartons, magazines, etc) to make a living. My vision is to see the people of the dump live prosperous, purposeful lives that involve hope & healing; because Jesus sees them where they are & desires for them to know His love for them. I also intend to use the raised money as a means to support those who are adopting abroad as well as other mission fields God places in my path. I am SO EXCITED to see where God takes this ministry and look forward to sharing more as it unfolds.
To see all about what Amanda is doing and learn more about her beads, follow her on her blog at: www.myloveforLyla.blogspot.com
by elfaro | Jul 3, 2013 | Bitácora, Blog, Sin Categoría
Jessica Roberts is a volunteer who arrived to El Faro on June 19th. A native of Oklahoma, she studies at Missouri State University where in December she will graduate in Exercise and Movement Science. She is a joy and blessing to be around and even in her short time here at El Faro she has done so much. We thank God for her life and what plans He has for the rest of her time at El Faro.
Today marks my first two weeks here at El Faro and what an incredible two weeks it has been. I arrived in Guatemala not really knowing what to expect but as soon as I met the El Faro staff I felt completely at home. I wasn’t sure how much I could contribute since I know very little spanish but by God’s grace he has given me opportunities to use my talents for His glory.
Right now with the help of a translator I am coaching four soccer teams, teaching PE classes, and leading a fitness class for the women of El Faro. I absolutely love the kids here and working with them has been a joy. Everyday no matter how exhausting it may be I feel so blessed to be here and little by little my spanish is getting better haha Day by day I see God at work in this place and day by day he proves His faithfulness. I can not wait to see what more God will do these next four weeks I am here. It’s going to be awesome! 🙂
by elfaro | Jun 12, 2013 | Bitácora, Blog
Anita Vasquez is an amazing young girl. She came to El Faro at only nine months old when her parents, David and Zita, became directors in 2005. At eight years-old she is a person all of us at El Faro learn from. It isn’t easy for a young girl to live so far from Guatemala City, but Anita has adjusted herself and she will definitely make her mark in the World through what she is learning at El Faro.
Q. What do you do at El Faro on a weekly basis?
A. Every morning I go to homeschool with teacher Karlita. I am in second grade and right now I am learning about multiplication and all the volcanoes that are in Guatemala. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I go to soccer practice with my friends with our coach Gavin. I also attend Bible Club every Sunday in the village of Santa Maria. In the afternoons I stay home and play with my two little brothers and my dog Jack.
Q. Do you like living at El Faro?
A. Yes. I like to swim in the Ocean and also be with my best friend Delmi who lives right up the road.
Q. What does El Faro do?
A. El Faro helps people that don’t feel good by bringing medicine and also by putting stitches to people who get hurt. El Faro also goes to schools to paint with teams that come from the USA. El Faro helps many people in villages that are very far.
Q. What do you want to be when you grow up?
A. I want to be a Veterinarian. I like being at El Faro because there are lots of animals for me to learn from.
by elfaro | Jun 2, 2013 | Bitácora, Blog
Today El Faro is having the combined Bible Club in the afternoon. ‘El Club Conjunto’’, as it is called in Spanish, is when all three clubs from the area come together to have a special day with special guests. It is a time to do something different from what is done each week in Club all the while still focusing on the Bible. Past ‘Club Conjunto’s’ have included a fair, a puppet and song show, magicians, and dance companies.
The Chldren’s Club has come along way and it makes us reflect on where it all started. David and Zita Vasquez had recently arrived to El Faro to serve as directors in 2006 when they had a desire to do a vacation bible school. It was a huge success and after the school ended they knew they needed to do something to help the kids grow spiritually.
We chatted with Zita Vasquez to know more about the Club.
Q. What is the mission of the club?
A. The mission of the club is that the children know more about the Word of God. That they know that God loves them and responds to their prayers.
Q. How has the club changed since it began in 2007?
A. One of the big changes is that it now has an official name-Exploradores. ‘Exploradores’ means Exploreres and each week the children are guided to explore the Bible and apply it to their lives through the different Bible characters and lessons. The club has also worked with different materials and we have created a year-long lesson plan that has to do with values. We have been able to share our material with other ministries and we are in the process of creating a new one.
Q. What are your dreams and plans for the Club?
A. Our dream for the club is to see the children become adults who transform their communities through lives filled with the presence of God and that this raises up a healthy community, one with many opportunites to grow. We also hope that families will be transfored through the power of the Word. The Club is growing and we pray that it can go to many more villages and that the children can know the Word of God in a nice and fun way.
Q. What have you learned through being a leader of the Club?
A. I have learned that many times you don’t see a fast change in the children, but the person who see the changes and growth is the Lord . He knows each one of them and knows when each one will shine. Sometimes it is hard for people to understand this, but with patience and prayer the children grow have come so far and we believe that they will be the transformers of their communities.
Club Exploradores meets every Sunday from 3-5 pm and we would love for you to pray for this growing ministry.
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