MISSIONARIES TO THEIR OWN COUNTRY
Alex found himself in a large plot of land surrounded by little mountains. “The land was so huge, and the mountains were small—so small I thought I could be a professional mountain climber. I ran up one of them. In the middle of the land, there were giant pillars. I asked the Lord, ‘What is this place?’ The Lord spoke to me and said, ‘Something will be built here, and the foundations have already been laid.’ ‘Foundations of what?’ I asked. ‘Come here,’ he said. I was dreaming of a place I had never been to.
In his dream, Alex was seeing the land around Poptún without having ever been to that part of the country. The town is set on a flat plain, surrounded by numerous small hills and mountains that peak out of the landscape for miles all around. “As I kept walking in the dream, I saw the construction being built up. It went up and up and up; it was an enormous construction. I said to the Lord, ‘What’s this about?’ He said, ‘There’s going to be another school here.’ I looked, and on the left side, there was a multitude of people lined up, wanting to enter the school. He said to me, ‘Look. These are all the people who will come to this place.’”
Alex had his prophetic dream in December of last year; earlier this year, his wife, Jenny, also had one. “I was walking with my mom, Julianna, in the school. We were talking, and suddenly, she turned to me and said. ‘You guys are going to Poptún.’ I just looked at her, and in my thoughts, I said, ‘No, I’m not going to Poptún.’ Alex was behind me, and I turned to him and said, ‘Alex, my mom told me that we are going to go to Poptún.’ He was so excited, but I didn’t understand what was happening.” What was happening was that God was preparing them to move to Poptún.
In May, our executive director, Julianna, and our head of schools, Karina, visited our Poptún campus to see how it was doing. This was the second year of the school, which has thrived under Jervin and Jasmin’s leadership. They now have ten students and are hoping for even more next year. After starting out of the Ruano’s home, CCAF Poptún now has its own facilities—a rental property with a house we have converted into a two-to-three-classroom school. “It was very grassroots, which is a huge testimony,” said Julianna. “But we thought, ‘Are we putting enough emphasis on the Poptún school? If that’s our focus, and this is where we believe God is taking us, are we putting the resources into it?”
"Look at these children. It’s not about the quantity; it’s about what’s happening in these kids’ lives. These children are the generations."
The result of that trip was a staff meeting. “Some months after my dream, my Mom told me that we were going to have a meeting to talk about Poptún. I thought, ‘No way.’ Could it be that God was speaking to me and that this is what he wants for us?” The purpose of the meeting was simple. With the entire staff team gathered one afternoon, Julianna explained the state of the Poptún school and the dreams we have for it, including the dream to send other teachers there, like the Ruanos and her daughter, Samantha, who is teaching English. “Let’s ask the question,” Julianna said. “Let’s call out our staff and say, ‘Is there anyone?’”
Next year, Alex and Jenny will move to Poptún to teach at our growing new school. Their two children, Jayla (5) and Joash (3), will accompany them, and Jayla will attend the school. But they aren’t the only teachers who answered our call. Johanna has been with us since she started attending as a grade 6 student in 2013. After graduating from our graphic design program in 2018, she was hired as a teacher in 2022. At our staff retreat in January, Pastor Jervin shared about their experience leading the new school around the campfire one night. As he spoke, Johanna looked up at the clear night sky. “I felt like Abraham,” she said. “When God tells Abraham to look at the stars to see what his descendants will be like, for me, it was like, ‘Look at the stars: this is my purpose—with the kids. I felt like one of those stars, and I could see how the vision of God for the school was like the heavens—so expansive and great, and I thought, ‘How can I not give my life to fulfill that purpose.’”
Like Abraham, Alex, Jenny, and Johanna have responded to God’s call and are moving to Poptún as missionaries to their own country. One of our dreams for many years has been to send teachers to other places in the country, something we had started to realize with the creation of our teaching program in 2021. Moving like this is uncommon in Guatemala, and it is very countercultural for people to leave their families and hometowns. Still, for these three teachers, the sacrifice is worth it. “The school’s vision is so different from anything else,” said Johanna. “It’s for the generations; it’s going to remain.”
We know that these young people will be part of a movement that impacts the generations. We sing a song in our devotions that says, “May the lamb receive the reward of his sacrifice.” We believe their obedience and sacrifice will help establish a culture of continual worship that transforms families, communities, and the nation. This is God’s dream for Guatemala, and we, along with Alex, Jenny, and Johanna, are participating in his work and vision. Their faith is the kind that looks beyond themselves into the future. “People might view it as a small thing,” said Alex. “But look at these children. It’s not about the quantity; it’s about what’s happening in these kids’ lives. These children are the generations.”
Your donations will sow a seed of transformation and help us take the next step in Poptún. In addition to our already established Pastores campus with its over 300 students, our Dreams campaign will allow us to keep supporting the Poptún school, including these three staff members. Your donations will help purchase school supplies, including classroom resources, kitchenware, computers, and sound equipment. We will also be able to make some much-needed renovations to the current school building to accommodate the growth. Our campaign goal of $150,000 is only possible with your help. Click here to give today!
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