The Missionary Experience

by elfaro | Aug 16, 2015 | Full Time Staff, Get Involved, Missionaries, Short Term Missions, Volunteer

The Missionary Experience

In 2011 when Luis Pedro first came to El Faro to serve as a missionary God put on his heart to begin a project to prepare missionaries for their work around the world. That same year he designed a 10-day “missionary group experience” program that he was able to present at different churches and missions conferences in Guatemala City. Much to his disappointment there was little response and the project fell through. However, two years later when he least expected a church in Guatemala who remembered the presentation contacted Luis Pedro to bring a group from his church who were interested in missions so they ended up coming for four days. The following year the same church came again for four days but this time brought 80 people with them.

Luis Pedro realized that’s God timing for the project had finally arrived and just a few months later two youth with missionary callings who had come with the church arrived to El Faro to start their missionary experience.

The purpose of the missionary experience is the give a person the experience so that they can be prepared spiritually, intellectually and emotionally for what is ahead by having different scenarios of what the mission field will look like and be able to solve problems that will happen when they are abroad.

“I think God is about to do something with this project because we haven’t done any publicity and He is sending the people.”

What Luis Pedro is most excited about is that Guatemala is sending out their own missionaries to different parts of Latin America for a short period of time to do missionary work and this will open up spiritual doors for them. “I see this project coming alongside churches, colleges, and missionary agencies for them to send us their missionary candidates for 3-6 months so they can prepare themselves not only in a classroom, but in a field where they will encounter situations that they will have to face in their mission field: a different culture, a different language, a spiritual challenge, disciple making opportunities, living in a close community, live with roommates, etc.

Raquel

I went to El Faro because we believed it was wise to have a time of separation from my family before I traveled all the way to Cambodia. I had never left home before and I am very close to my family. I also went to learn from the different missionaries at El Faro through seeing and listening about their experiences, work, troubles, and spiritual life.

During my time that I was at El Faro I was able to help in different ways with my gifts that God had given mi through education (tutoring and library), hospital visits, Crafts, sports, bible clubs, and most important to me being able to share with young girls and encourage them to grow in their faith.

In reality it was an important time for because God prepared my heart, body, soul, and spirit to be able to serve in Cambodia. It was a time of preparation where God equipped me in the areas that I needed help.

Juanito

It was in El Faro in a youth camp where I decided to follow Christ with all my heart and changed the way I was living my life. It was also in El Faro where I had my first experience getting into missions as a volunteer beginning the first stage of becoming a missionary. I was able to take what I learned in El Faro, a place where the presence of God is present and a place where there is opportunity to serve God in the communities . I can’t think of a better place being surrounded by missionaries and people that love Him and encourage you to serve Him.

During my time that I was at El Faro I had the great opportunity and blessing to help the already existing ministries that the missionaries work in. That included being with kids, bringing food to the elderly in the village. It was time of a lot of work and service to the community where you can see normal people reflecting God’s love to people in need. If I could sum up my time in three words they would be love, service, and friendships

I can’t imagine how difficult my transition to Israel would have been without the preparation that I had in El Faro. They opened up their doors for me to be a volunteer and wanted to help my spiritual life as much as much as for the people in the villages. I experienced times of good advice, teachings, and missionary work that have remained with me during my time in Israel.

Who is the right person for the missionary experience?

Someone who has a calling from God to go to the nations and make disciples, that is strong in his/her faith, and that already has a plan to go to a specific mission field even if they don’t have all the details sorted out yet.

If you are interested in coming down to do the missionary experience or have a calling and want to explore more what that means, please contact Luis Pedro at misiones@fundacionephraim.org

Volunteers

Each year God provides amazing individuals who want to come to El Faro to offer their time and gifts to serve the people of the communities. God continued to surprise of this year with volunteers who went far and beyond to build relationships, teach, and also approach their experience with open hearts to learn. Here are some of their adventures over the summer.

Bethany Van Trier Bethany came to El Faro earlier this year with a short-term missions trip and decided to return to use her gift of music to teach children in the villages. Bethany has a heart for children and was able to set up a singing camp to teach kids singing exercises and learn songs to be performed in a recital to family and friends. The daily classes that she gave for two weeks were a struggle at first with the kids being feisty and goofy, but Bethany quickly gained their respect and many of them looked for her out of class to visit with and be friends. The recital was a huge success and the family members of the children in the choir were taken aback by listening to their children perform songs that they learned in only two weeks. We are so thankful for Hannah and the love that she shared with so many. She also was able to visit the children’s hospital, youth group, and children’s bible club and also sang for a wedding at El Faro. Thank you Bethany for your kindness and stepping out of your comfort zone to be used by God.

Hannah Van Trier Hannah came to El Faro for the first time in 2013 with her high school. Hannah came to El Faro for the first time in 2013 with her high school. After beginning at the University of Pennsylvania she came to El Faro to serve in wherever she could be of help. This included being an assistant art teacher, youth leader, Bible Club volunteer, and a large mix of other things. Hannah was lovable and a joy to serve with. She was a willing participant in anything that we needed help with and she left a beautiful mark with her smile and presence.

Jon Keehn Jon is a youth leader who brought down youth from his church in January on a short-term mission trip. When he was out in the local villages with the group he noticed that a large portion of the men were not very active in their families and God began to break his heart about this. When he returned home to Illinois, he couldn’t stop thinking about the families in Punta de Palma and Santa Maria with non-existent or distant fathers. After praying for months, he made a one-month commitment to serve at El Faro. Being a natural youth leader, Jon helped with the Saturday youth group, Sunday Bible Club, and traveling with the team that goes every Monday to the Children’s Hospital in Puerto Barrios.

The Chinn Girls

Mary Chinn

Mary Chinn has been coming to El Faro for six years. Mary came down with a sewing machine and fabric to teach sewing basics to women in the village. On their first day at El Faro they trekked through the village to invite women to the workshop and on the first day three women were in the morning class and four in the afternoon. By the second day word spread and there were 9 women in the morning and seven in the afternoon. Women who had never touched a machine before were making aprons on the first day and by the end of their second and third day had already made shorts and dresses. Learning to sew is a huge blessing and the women were beaming with joy making finished pieces to take home and use. Mary is a wonderful and loving teacher and we hope that she can come back to continue the sewing project and help the women be able to use their new skill to help their families.

Amanda Secor Amanda is Mary’s daughter and has a huge heart for Guatemala and after visiting for the past two years has been wanting to return to serve. She has a beautiful project called Live 6:10 and makes jewelry out of paper to raise money for different projects around the world. During her time at El Faro she was able to teach girls how to make paper bracelets with paper she brought down. The girls went crazy and enjoyed not only making the bracelets, but also visiting with Amanda and encouraging each other. Towards the end of the week the girls were told to bring their own supplies from home so that they could understand that they could use material found anywhere to do the project. The girls brought different paper and cardboard pieces from their homes and made beautiful neck laces and bracelets. We hope this can be a project that the girls can continue and we are so thankful for Amanda and her love for the people.

Isabella and Carli Isabella (10) and Carli (8) were our youngest volunteers yet and were a blessing to so many. While many mothers were sewing, Isabella and Carli kept their children occupied with games, dolls, coloring books, and also holding babies! They were the best helpers and baby sitters with the limited Spanish and can’t wait to see where God leads them and their beautiful servant hearts.

The Jenista Family

This beautiful family have a heart for missions and came to El Faro for two weeks to serve. Janine had been to El Faro on medical missions trips while her husband Todd has visited El Faro with Champions In Action helping coach soccer to kids from Red Zones in Guatemala City. This time they were able to be at El Faro during the same time and also with their two children, Wesley and Sophia.