Since our first short term missions trip to Guatemala in February of 2011, we have had a burning desire to return there and serve. Since then, God has shown us how He used our entire lives to prepare us for the mission He is calling us to fulfill. As our desire to return to Guatemala grew, we started to realize that he was calling us to spend more time there. After much prayer and discussion, we asked God to show us His will. Since then we have been preparing our minds and hearts for God’s purpose for our lives. We’ve held various roles within our church to prepare us spiritually.
Training
As graduates of the Celebrate Recovery (CR) small group step study program, we worked as facilitators in our church’s CR ministry. Dylan has been a sponsor and leader of the CR connection group. Missy has been a group leader in the CR children’s program. We both were involved in York Christian Church’s (now CCC) 5th and 6th grade Sunday school class and led one of the church’s connection groups in the spring of 2012. In November of 2012 we completed New Life Advance International’s School of Mission to prepare for our work abroad and spent the first 6 months of 2013 attending Spanish language training during which time we lived with a Guatemalan host family to obtain full language and cultural immersion.
Then we hit the ground running!
Strengthening the local church
We immediately got involved with City of Refuge church in Villa Nueva, where they asked us to help with their core leadership. We helped them redesign their strategic plan, start Celebrate Recovery, and discover ways to better serve their community. We continue our ongoing relationship with them to this day.
Serving At Risk Families
We started the SARF ministry with a focus on coming alongside families at risk of falling apart to help them know and realize their God given potential. We learned A LOT in those 8 years, both with successes and failures, but ultimately how to best serve the families.
Launching Uniting 2 Serve
In 2022 we launched out from Servants, Inc. (our sending organization since 2012) in order to better serve the ministry in Guatemala. God has revealed to us that our 8+ years immersed in Guatemalan culture was only preparation for what is to come. We continue to work with the indigenous team in a support and mentoring role to guide them in serving their own community.
Want to see what we do in Guatemala?
Get to know the families we serve and the team we support.
2 Responses
Wonderful to see the work you are doing to help those who can’t help themselves.
Blessings to you.
Thank you Gregory! How did you hear about us?