Los Quatro Gringos en Guatemala - Day 7&8

These past two days have once again been filled with some amazing opportunities to experience first-hand some of the rich history of Christianity in Guatemala. One of the cornerstones of the development of the Christian church has been the deep commitment to Christian education.

On Monday we visited La Patria School where Mario Fernandez is the General Director. Mario's strong faith, significant life's experience and long history in education have well equipped him to lead this school. This is the oldest Christian school in Guatemala and was established by North American Presbyterian missionaries in 1912. It was very encouraging to hear this rich history and God's faithfulness in the lives of the founders on to those who lead the school today.




Today (Tuesday) we visited America Latina, which is the Christian school founded by the father Becky (Zapata) Fernandez in 1954. This school has 2 campuses with a total of nearly 1500 students. We were treated to the "executive tour" by Becky and one of the administrative assistants. Besides being inspired by the vision and passion to provide Christian formation and education to Guatemalan children, Dave was especially impressed by a visit with the "ice cream man" ... who has been providing the kids with sweet cold treats for 47 years!! He is the only ice cream man allowed to sell ice cream in the school!



The leaders of this school also have a great vision for future development, even for the establishment of a very unique Christian University ... under the direction of Becky's brother, Virgilio Zapata, Jr. What an inspiring and visionary leader! We are eager to share much of what "Junior" would like to see and how teams of short-term workers of all kind can help accomplish this vision!