Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. ~Proverbs 22:6
Thank you for investing in what God is doing in Guatemala!
Your gifts have impacted the lives of young men and women who are growing into godly leaders and are being used by God to further His kingdom.
From our preschoolers who simply pour out their love to God, to our high schoolers who are learning what it means to trust God with their future, and even to our young teachers, clinic staff, and church leaders who are taking the next steps to lead in their own communities, we see God’s hand at work in Guatemala.
2018 has seen a new school opened, and parts of our original school rebuilt. Both will allow us to reach more children and families with the hope of Jesus Christ.
2018 has seen teams of Canadians come to Guatemala to change lives – to return home with their own lives changed.
2018 has seen relationships strengthened between Guatemalan believers and Canadian believers and faith strengthened all around.
Our hearts are brimming with joy & anticipation as we continue to watch God at work in 2019.
Les Peters
CEO, Impact Ministries Canada
Prefer a printable pdf version of this report? Click here.
Thank you for Growing Godly Leaders!
Vida Schools
1426 students attended a Vida School in 2018. We provided 7 elementary school programs, 3 junior high programs, and 1 high school program (our teacher training graduation program) running out of 6 school facilities in and around the municipality of Tactic.
55 students graduated from Grade 10, and 18 students graduated from our Teacher Training program. Of our teaching staff, over 45% are former Vida students who serve as certified teachers in our schools.
Our newest school, Agua de Vida Chijulhá, opened in January and served 50 students from Kindergarten to Grade 2. The fourth classroom was completed in time for the 2019 school year.
Our original school, Vida Chamché, received significant renovations to improve student safety and to provide additional classrooms so that we can accept more children.
Our meal program served over 7500 meals/week. The Impact Ministries greenhouse was used to propagate seedlings to grow vegetables to serve in our schools.
Vida Churches
We have seen leadership growth in all three Vida congregations, with leaders stepping up in areas such as discipleship, marriage ministry, worship teams and home visits. We were especially excited to bring Pastor Hector Beb to Western Canada to share his story.
Medical & Dental Clinics
The Impact Ministries Medical Clinic served about 4000 patients in 2018, and Impact Ministries Canada sent 6 medical/dental teams to provide medical and dental clinics in the area.
Orphan Care
Impact Ministries continues to face red tape in receiving official approval for the Vida Children’s Home. We have retained a lawyer who is now handling our application, and we continue to pray for favour!
Sponsorship
About 1300 of our 1426 students had a Canadian sponsor in 2018. Our Sponsorsoft system was launched to provide better connections between sponsor children and their sponsors. Our Support a Class program was at about 60% capacity in 2018. 276 Canadians sponsored one or more classes.
Short-Term Mission Teams
29 Canadian teams travelled to Guatemala, including churches, schools, and special groups such as the Chijulhá celebration team, a music camp team, a mechanics team, and various medical teams. Four couples also served as guest house/team hosts.
Rebuilding Chamché
A hundred and four years is a long time for a mud structure to last . . . but that’s how long the original part of Vida Chamché school had been around! Built as a home for a family, then turned into “Colegio Beerseba” – the forerunner to the Vida Schools – this building had served as classrooms for almost a quarter of a century.
In 2018, it became clear that the original part of Vida Chamché has reached the end of its life cycle, and that the safety of our students was at stake. We immediately went ahead with the demolition of the original building, and began a 2-phase rebuild for Vida Chamché.
If you’ve ever been to Guatemala, you’ll be amazed at the transformation! The newly-rebuilt Vida Chamché allows us to better utilize the limited space on the Chamché property. The three-storey building includes 7 new classrooms and office space (replacing 4 classes and offices) and new washrooms, including a “Health in Action” station to implement a teethbrushing and
handwashing program.
Principal Aydee Beb talks about seeing the new building for the first time: “I was so amazed and very impressed that I cried and just said thank you, thank you, Lord for your faithfulness . . . . Bless the lives of all the brothers and sisters who have contributed so that we can enjoy these new classes. May the grace of the Lord continue being poured on each of you and may the Lord repay every sacrifice that you make out of love for us!”
Child Sponsorship Update
In 2018, our sponsorship program transitioned to the Sponsorsoft Online System. We’re excited that this system makes it easier for sponsors to build relationships with their sponsor child(ren).
“Just wanted to write a quick note to say how impressed I’ve been with the new method of communication with sponsor kids – I feel much more connected already. ”
If you’re a sponsor, and haven’t checked out sponsorsoft yet, see www.impactministries.ca/sponsorsoftinstructions for instructions to log on.
An increase in student numbers in 2018 means for the first time in many years, we have children available for sponsorship. If you know anyone who might want to sponsor a child, you can view available sponsor children at www.impactministries.ca/child.
20 Years in 2020
In 2020, Impact Ministries will be celebrating 20 years of ministry in Guatemala. Interested in coming to Tactic for the celebration? Contact teams@impactministries.ca to express your interest!
Mission Statement
To train Guatemalans for leadership by teaching biblical principles in such a way that they become integrated in their lives and effect spiritual change in their society, and to impact North American Christians for world missions.
Impact Ministries Canada Board
Dale Brown
Jonathan Loewen
Les & Rita Peters
Larry Schmidt
Dr. Stephen Wat
Volunteer from Home!
Translation: Do you know Spanish and enjoy fostering relationships? We need your help in translation between the child sponsors and the class supporters and their students.
Graphic Design: Do you have experience with InDesign? We need a few volunteers for design updates and occasional projects.
These are just a few of our volunteer positions. You can visit www.impactministries.ca/volunteer to find more opportunities, or email volunteer@impactministries.ca.
