Meet Jaquelyn. She’s 19 years old and one of the smartest young ladies I’ve ever met. Her mom, Cata, has been working for Purse & Clutch for over 2 years. Jaquelyn is the 3rd oldest of 6 children. About 3 years ago, her father left illegally to go to the States in search of work. Her parents had acquired so…
Beyond the Fog
We recently spent a few days in Ixchiguan (pronounced “eeshy-wan”) to meet with a pastor and spend time at our Training Center there. We also met with the group of pastors in Sibinal that I’ll begin training at the end of March. Before going, we heard a lot about the mountains and volcanoes in the area, and about how beautiful…
First Training of the New Year
The beginning of a new year always makes me excited, getting to look forward to the year to come! I start making plans and dreaming of the future. This time last year, David and I had a long discussion about where we saw ourselves 5 years from now. What did we want to see in our ministry? Where did we…
Happy 2017
Happy New Year! Remember during this season of “newness” and “goals”, that Jesus is the only one who truly makes us new. We can search and search for something that will finally change our circumstances in 2017…but we’ll still find ourselves weary and tired this time next year. The freedom that Jesus gives when we rest in Him is…
2016 Trip/Support Update
I want to introduce you to Pastor Carlos and his wife Rosa. Before Carlos went through our training, he was humbly serving in his church. He felt that the Lord had called him to pastor, but he knew that he didn’t have the knowledge and understanding of the Word that he needed to do so. He had no clue where…
We’re Not Going to Make It
Last December, David and I came to a crossroads. We were sitting in one of our favorite coffee shops, not making eye contact with each other as we muttered the words we thought would never escape our lips. “If something doesn’t change, we’re not gonna make it another year.” You see, we’ve been in Guatemala for almost 5…
New Ministry Training Local Pastors
In March, we transitioned away from the boys academy. Before moving forward in ministry, I (David) wanted to make sure that my love relationship with God was as healthy as possible. Since then, I’ve been seeking the Lord and intentionally waiting on Him to reveal where He is already at work and what He’ll have me do next. It’s been…
Welcome Cooper
We are so excited to share that Friday morning, April 15th at 6am, Cooper Chess Owens was born! He’s beautiful and perfect! He weighed 8 pounds and 3 ounces and was 20.5 inches long! Around 11:00pm on Thursday night, we headed to the hospital. Thinking it might be a false alarm, we were shocked when Lindsey went from 2…
No Longer Her Teacher
For the past 3 years, Wendy and I have met weekly to study the bible and walk through life together. At our very first meeting, she barely said a word. She was 15 years old and was closed off due to hard experiences in her childhood. I remember thinking these meetings were going to be a challenge. Over time, God…
Transitioning Away from the VBA (A New Focus)
Lindsey and I are very excited to share some changes that God has put on our hearts in regards to our ministry here in Guatemala. After a lot of prayer and consideration, We have decided to transition away from the Vencedor Boys Academy to focus more fully on creating sustainable job opportunities and to minister more intentionally to the high…