Touching Lives Forever

-Angela Baker
Guatemala Trip Team Member

1 Peter 4:10  As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.

Some say that to teach is to touch a life forever, and nowhere is this more evident than at The Learning Center in Los Verdes.

Through these past couple days we’ve witnessed how the teachers at the Learning Center are the foundation for the tremendous work being done, and most importantly in pouring out God’s love to these children who hunger for it.

We arrived the first day to the all too familiar sounds of a scared toddler crying on his first day away from mom, and at the center to find his teacher Vilsen gently swinging him until he calmed and was him in able to join the rest of the class for their daily lesson. The next day he was playing and learning and laughing right along his classmates.

Later Vilsen would display that same speak up passionately to a group of young women of 10-11 year olds in a health class sharing with them about self respect and waiting for a loving relationship for physical closeness. In a culture where the legal age of marriage for women changed from age 14 to 18 years just recently, building self esteem and the guiding role models of these teachers can make an incredible difference for these young ladies.

In Elizabeth’s classroom we again marveled at the pure love, energy and patience shown to each and every child all at varying ability levels and age from customizing the days lesson plan to each skill level to knowing when one child just needed some extra love and attention. Then later that evening she would go on to amaze her students with some impressive soccer play scoring key goals in the Gringos versus Locals soccer match that draws the community together.

While just a couple of examples these are everyday miracles happening in Los Verdes thanks to Vilsen, Elizabeth, Mariela, Andrea, Dara, Rachel and Ana.

Each with incredible gifts of seemingly boundless energy, love and compassion, helping these children not just learn but truly thrive and grow spiritually.  

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