It was October 2018 when we sat down with one of the bosses for the state’s Department of Education. She was very gracious to share her time as we told about our desire to open a school in January 2020. She explained that it was not possible to open the school by January 2020 due to deadlines and paperwork.
However, God used people to open the door for us to complete the paperwork before the deadline while simultaneously build a school for kindergarten through twelfth grade. When we received the green light by the Department of Education to proceed with paperwork and construction, we were thrilled. There was only one problem. We had very little money. Construction is not cheap.
In January 2019, we had a few people who took the lead to share our vision for a school to serve the impoverished children in our community. I am very frugal with my money and believe in strict budgets. However, my budget consists of numbers with very low place values. When people start talking about numbers with six digits then I just tune them out. My heart starts racing and my anxiety goes up. Thankfully, God used other people to be some of the strongest advocates for raising funds for the school.
People responded—Churches, individuals, religious, non-religious, wealthy, not wealthy, people who have visited Guatemala, people who have never visited Guatemala. God used all types of people!
One day, I sat in my car and my heart was pounding as I reflected on the fast pace of people giving towards the children. Everything was moving extremely fast and I felt out of control. While I was trying to process everything, God was reminding me that if He is in it then He will see it through from start to finish. The numbers that seemed out of reach on January 1st were becoming a reality.
Four Weeks! In only four weeks, God provided all of the funds for us to build a school for kindergarten through twelfth grade! Was it a God-size miracle? Yes! Will we forever be grateful for God using people to provide? Yes!
In 11 months, the construction of our school was complete. Another Miracle!
Six years later, more than 200 children fill the classrooms. Every day you can hear the laughter and learning echo down the halls. Every day you watch children smile as they enter the classrooms. Every day the children receive nutritious breakfast and lunch. Every day the children receive a quality education and lots of love.
Every day we are grateful that God is allowing us to be a small part of His story!
Shining Light Abroad Ministries 