Ronaldo lives in San Juan Cotzal and is a 10th-grade student at Nicolas Christian School. Ronaldo has become one of the top Nicolas Christian School carpentry students and shared with us how his carpentry classes have helped him develop skills that he will use in the future to pursue his dreams. Ronaldo appreciates how the teachers explain the importance of using caution with the tools and machinery. He says, “I thank the teachers who support us when they see that we have difficulty doing something.  I want to be improving day by day. What I have learned most is that it is necessary to cut exact measurements so that we do not have mistakes”.  What he likes about the carpentry program is that they must devise everything before they start to manufacture a piece of furniture. They make their design for different types of furniture, but with the supervision and help of the teachers who explain how each project should be started. “The skills I learn in carpentry I will use in my future life because my mission is to study and know more about carpentry, and my vision is to become a great construction engineer so that I can fulfill my dream, and thus become a great professional in life. Thanks to Nicolas Christian School for providing me with the study I need,” says Ronaldo. Ronaldo realizes how important his math and art classes are. In fact, one of his favorite subjects is mathematics which is useful for his carpentry projects. Other favorite classes are English, project management, and Christian leadership.  “I like math because it helps us solve problems. I like English because I think it is necessary to …

Juana (Juanita) Córdova is 24 years old and lives in the village of La Bendición. She is one of three daughters and was born with spina bifida. She is very bright and attended the village primary school through the sixth grade. Juanita’s parents are poor farmers. In Guatemala only primary school is free to attend. Even if her parents could have afforded to send her to junior high and high school, it would have required traveling to the larger town of Cotzal. Mobility is challenging for Juanita and she gets motion sickness when riding in a vehicle. Juanita runs the tienda (small store) on her family’s property. She made a space in the tienda for a library with the books that she has received from teams that have visited her over the years. She started checking out books to the village children and encouraged them to read. Knowing how much Juanita loves to learn, Nicolás Christian School began its first distance learning effort in 2014. A tutor, Ricardo, came to Juanita’s home and she eagerly began her studies for 7th grade courses. “I did not talk with anyone before and I was always afraid. But Ricardo looked for the way to remove my fear and I was able to conquer it,” says Juanita, looking back. She made a little study space in her tienda. This allowed her the opportunity to study and look after the tienda during the day. She completed 7th-9th grades in just two years. In Guatemala, senior high school is 10th and 11th grade. Juanita completed both grades in one year. She was able to participate in the Nicolás Christian School graduation in 2016 and receive her …

Our Mission Our mission is to equip the future generation of leaders through Christ-centered education to transform their families, villages, and the Ixil Region. Our students who have graduated are becoming leaders in their communities and some are pursuing additional education that will allow them to become teachers and Principals in local schools. This is a REALLY exciting time for NFE as we are seeing our graduates obtaining secure employment that pays a living wage.  Byron Ortiz I’d like to share the story of one of our graduates with you. In Guatemala, it is quite common for university students to go to school on the weekend and work during the week. Byron Ortiz was one of the top 2019 graduates from Nicolás Christian School. After graduation, Byron determined that he wanted to study network and communications engineering at Mariáno Galvez University in Huehuetenángo.  He applied for a scholarship with our Ten Talents program. He told us that he was very eager to find out if he had received that scholarship because the John Maxwell leadership training that he had received at Nicolás Christian School had taught him that he needed to make a plan and set goals for his future. He couldn’t determine his plan until he found out whether he had a scholarship. If he did not get the scholarship, his plan was to work and save enough money to go to university. He did receive a university scholarship through our Ten Talents program and moved to Huehuetenango.   Balancing Work and School Byron got a job at a large supermarket stocking shelves. He now works six days a week and receives a steady paycheck that enables him to pay …