Dear Friend,
Welcome to Latin American Christian Education Services web site.
Latin American Christian Education Services (LACES) is a United States 501 (c)(3) charity that reaches across denominational
lines in its dedication to improving education in Guatemala, Central America.
Whether for children or for church leaders,
the lack of educational opportunities in Latin America and in Guatemala in particular weakens the church. If we are to make
a difference in the church today we must focus
on education in all its aspects, at all levels.
Why? Why care about education in Guatemala? The last thorough statistical analysis
of Guatemala was done in 2002 by the United Nations. According to the statistics
taken 67% of Guatemalan children ages 7-14 do not attend school. 70 % of Guatemala’s
population according to the United Nations is poor. 15% of that 70% live in extreme
poverty or barely have enough to make it on a daily basis.
How is it exactly that the large population of poor affects so drastically the number
of children in school? All education in Guatemala, whether public or private, is
paid for by individual families. A “public” education costs less, but frequently
is still too expensive for the average family of 5-6 people. Most schools,
public and private, charge an enrollment fee, monthly tuition fees, require full
head-to-toe uniforms, and do not provide any textbooks and/or school supplies without
also charging. So, families that are barely making enough money to support
their children in terms of shelter, food and clothing do not have the disposable
income available to pay the myriad of fees and expenses for one child to go to school.
And if you consider that the average family has 3-5 children, it becomes obvious
why so few children are in school in Guatemala.
So what? So few children are being educated in Guatemala, why does this affect the
church? This situation has been the case in Guatemala for generations.
There are generations of adults that never had the opportunity to go to school and
never had the opportunity to learn to read or write. Or they read at the level
of a small child. If, Christianity is dependent on truth entering the mind,
then shouldn’t the church be concerned about the healthy, full development of the
mind, so that God’s truth can be more readily accepted and applied? Is Christianity
about personal responsibility before God, or is it about corporate responsibility
before a man representing God. The later describes the current situation of
the church in Guatemala. A man, representing God, tells you what to do, to
think and to believe. In many cases this man has also been poorly educated.
The Guatemalan church is weak because its leadership and its members lack the ability
to search scripture and apply it to their daily lives.
Consider these statistics:
- 26% of Guatemalan children ages 7-14 attend public school,
- 7% attend private school but,
- 67% do not attend school at all.
- In urban Guatemala 27.1% of 7-14 year olds start secondary education.
- 7.0% of Guatemala’s urban population receives a college education.
- In rural Guatemala 0.5% of the population receives a college education.
- Approximately 33% of Guatemalan women and 25% of Guatemalan men are illiterate.
Please take a moment to browse our website. It explains in depth
each of these areas in which we are working.
We Trust In God
Everyone has surely seen the economic news (even
as I write this newsletter the DOW has fallen over 500 points). As
most of us see our incomes, savings, and retirement accounts shrink in value, let us all agree together to stay focused on God and His work in our lives.
The financial news and way the news media covers it seems to be stirring
up great fear. Like virtually all churches, missions, and projects, our donations are effected by all of this. A supporter asked me yesterday if we are afraid.
I told them that we are trying NOT to be afraid and asked that prayer be lifted
up to that effect. It seems to me that all of this is totally out of our control
and that, as ‘bad’ as all the economic news is, we should all be grateful -- because
we are forced to rely on God. And really -- we need to rely on Him always,
not just when things are tough. Rebecca and I, along with the
whole team here, ask for your prayers to this end -- that fear will not drive our
emotions and feelings -- but that God will give to each one the “measure of faith”
that each one needs. We just simply cannot be afraid. God’s Word is
true.
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though
the earth give way and the
mountains fall into the heart of the sea Psalm 46:1-2 NIV
SPECIAL PRAYER NEEDS - We live in a time of great evil and
suffering. This fallen world has no pity. Things happen constantly
that reflect this. Two weeks ago, one of the young ladies in the Escuela Integrada
project was abducted and sexually assaulted. It was brutal.
She is only 17 years old. She and her family need your prayers. Our
team, those who are working with her, needs your prayers and the Lord’s wisdom.
This terrible incident demonstrates the WHY of how this mission works and
is set up. This young woman needs help and support -- and she is getting these
things here through the mission. Escuela Integrada’s counselor (a woman child/teen
psychologist) is working with her. Our on-staff doctor (also a woman) is coordinating
her medical exams and tests as well as helping with her counseling. Our Director
(Genda Lopez, whom many of you have met) is helping her to keep up with her work
(she missed over two weeks of school) so that she can pass this year. I (Andrew)
have met with her family and spoken at length with her and making sure as best I
can that she has what she needs in all areas - physical, emotional, and spiritual.
She is getting the support and love that she needs, but she needs your prayers.
This is but one example of what life is like here for these
kids in Guatemala . Just last week, I counseled with three young
people whose families are disintegrating because of the infidelity of their fathers.
We intervened in the case of a young man (15 years old) who was attacked while sleeping
in a homeless shelter. We are having to keep extra young
men in our home every night to help secure the safety of our family. The economic
news in Guatemala is even WORSE than it is in the USA -- and we are trying to keep
families from starving in some cases. That’s life here -- but God is a God
of RESTORATION -- and HE can make all these awful things into good
things -- into these great mission opportunities. Your prayers
and support are part of God’s loving provision for our gigantic extended family
of Guatemalan kids and teenagers.
Keep praying for us, please.
Our sister schools, the semi-public schools in EL RODEO
and EL TESORO both needs more help. We need some special
financial gifts to help El Rodeo recover from the break-in there (where their electrical
system was destroyed when thieves stole all the copper wire, and did so in a manner
that pretty much destroyed all their light fixtures and conduits.) The men
of El Rodeo are
now guarding the school every night -- they take turns sleeping
inside the building so as to prevent more robberies and damage. The kids in
the El Rodeo school (over 600 kids and teenagers) need lights and electricity!!!
In El Tesoro, we are still about $ 2,000 in materials short of finishing
the new classrooms. Most of this is for doors and windows (including the frames
and finishing work).
Keep praying for our missionary partner,
NANCY BRICE (Grace to the World) as she recovers from what can best
be described as a botched wisdom-tooth removal. She has suffered
great pain and discomfort -- but, with prayers and new / different dental-medical
treatment, she is improving. What a great job Nancy does in Escuela
Integrada.
Unless otherwise stated — all statistics taken from:
Republica de Guatemala Instituto Nacional de Estadística Censos Nacionales XI de Población y VI de Habitación 2002.
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