FCC Sponsors Mission Trip to Central America

Inspired by a university sponsored spring break service trip to Guatemala, University of Kentucky student Stephen Sims, wanted to find other ways to return to the area and serve the people of the region. Funded in part by a 2018 Wholeness Ministry Grant from First Christian Church of Louisville, Stephen was able to travel to Central America with Catalyst Resources International this past summer to serve the people of several different countries.

According to their website, “Catalyst Resources International seeks to partner with Guatemalan pastors and other Christian organizations to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the people. CRI hosts work teams and families that come to minister in Guatemala. The scope of the work done through CRI is to build houses and churches, establish feeding programs, conduct VBS, support medical and dental clinics, and provide chicken coops for needy families.

In response to the heart of Jesus Christ towards the "least of these" revealed to us in Matthew 25:34-40, Catalyst Resources International exists as an advocate for the children of Guatemala and serves as a catalyst connecting resources to the needy to clothe the naked, take food to the hungry, and give water to those who are thirsty.” See more about CRI at their website!

Stephen, traveling with several other college and high school student spent the summer of 2018 in service to the people of Guatemala, Belize and El Salvador. In Guatemala, Stephen spent time on Lake Atitlán and in San Pedro la Laguna and San Juan la Laguna getting to know the locals, learning Spanish and learning more about the local culture. Stephen’s group built a home for a family in Santa Maria de Jesús, at the base of Volcán de Agua. Stephen was also really pleased to be able to visit a family he had helped during his first trip to Guatemala in the spring, further deepening his connection to the country and the people.

After completing the house in Santa Maria de Jesús, the group traveled to El Salvador for a few days to hold a vacation bible school for children in a community outside of San Salvador. In Belize, despite some political unrest, the group was able to spend 6 days living and working in Seven Miles, painting a church and getting to know the locals. Finally, the group returned to Guatemala to assist with the finishing of an orphanage being built by CRI.

The wholeness grant used to fund this ministry was made possible through your faithful financial support of our church and its ministries and help fund a variety of efforts to make our world a better place.

You can find more examples of those efforts or apply for a grant to make the world a better place by clicking here.