Author: Trish Vandop, Assistant Director of Grad, SEALS Team Teacher
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always kind of secretly questioned the value of short term mission trips. Do they really make a lasting difference in the communities that are visited? Do students truly experience God in new and real ways? I will admit to being somewhat doubtful – but I was also very excited to see how God could use our 2024 team in Tactic, Guatemala last May.
Our SEAL Outreach team met throughout the school year to consider 4 specific areas of personal development: Serving Others, Exploring Faith, Advancing the Gospel, and Leading with Integrity. During our time in Guatemala, we put these focus areas into action and practiced them in new and exciting ways.
Our team of 8 students and 2 teachers worked alongside the Impact Ministries team and Vida schools in the community of Tactic. It’s hard to describe all of the different experiences in one blog post so we’ve made this a 2-part series.
During our time in Tactic, our team participated in school devotional assemblies at 5 different schools. The Vida schools run by Impact Ministries collectively represent 1900 students across 11 schools, and those students gather to worship and pray every day as teachers mentor them in their personal walk with Jesus. It was one of the highlights of each day – our students were welcomed with confetti, flowers, balloons and even firecrackers on one occasion. As we arrived, our team members were quickly taken by the hand to sit with students of all ages during devotions and so many students held hands with or hugged our team members for the whole duration of the assembly. Our HCOS students were the literal hands and feet of Jesus, showing God’s unconditional love to these students even when they didn’t speak the same language. Knowing many of these students go home to challenging and desperate home situations made these moments so much more poignant. It was our privilege to be able to line up and send every single child off with a hug as they left for their classrooms.
Our team worked closely with Vida Nuevo school staff as well as a grade 9/10 class of students from Vida Mocohán to run a Vacation Bible School program for 3 consecutive afternoons. Our team was responsible for the games and craft stations – which provided some new and challenging situations like working with a translator, helping students of all ages (including school staff), and supporting those leading the activities with helpful and enthusiastic participation. These afternoons also allowed our students to form friendships with the Guatemalan children (some who don’t attend a Vida school) over a number of days and consistently show them love and acceptance as Jesus does.
As I reflect on our trip, I don’t think I had considered the greater impact that providing good, Christian education to a generation of students would have on the community of Tactic. Of course, no one would argue that the goal of educating children is admirable and worthwhile, and when you add in the spiritual teaching and mentoring, I think anyone would agree that the efforts of the Vida school staff are very honourable and good. But what I slowly started to realize was that the impact didn’t end with the students in the schools.
As we were interacting with adults during our time in Guatemala, we heard testimonies of individuals who had come up through the Vida schools themselves and now serve as teachers and principals in this thriving ministry. They are training up their own generation of godly leaders to have an ongoing impact on students and families in Tactic. Additionally, other adults we spoke with shared how they came to have a personal relationship with Jesus because their children attended a Vida school. We heard so many examples of how a student came home and prayed to Jesus about something, and Jesus answered, or a student made a conscious and noticeable effort to follow Jesus’ teaching which made parents curious to know more. So many of the habits and beliefs being taught in the schools are being lived out at home as students come to know Jesus.
This greater impact on the community and families of Tactic was not something I had expected and was further illustrated by the growing evangelical church in Tactic. Currently the Rio de Vida church (which has grown out of the Vida school work) has 3 congregations that meet in various parts of Tactic each sunday morning. As with their school staff, many of their church leaders have come to know Jesus through the Vida schools. These thriving congregations meet for collective worship regularly to remain connected and encourage one another. They are also working with other local congregations and denominations to support the spread of the gospel in the mountain communities around Tactic.
So, while I have so many stories and good memories from our time in Guatemala, being able to witness firsthand that our God is active and working in the community of Tactic was probably the most impactful aspect for me and, I think, for our team. I have felt personally challenged to look around my own life and ask what could God be prompting me to do here and now. HCOS has already begun making meaningful connections with the Impact team in Guatemala above and beyond our SEAL teams… so stay tuned to see how you might support the work God is doing in Guatemala!
