Village Trip Experience

Leanne SierraUncategorized Leave a Comment

Villa Hortencia Uno – Gail Hall, Chapel Hill Church When I first traveled to Guatemala in 2009 I thought I was going on a beach mission trip – how fun! Instead, I landed on top of a mountain at the end of a road, in an area largely forgotten by the world and their country. Despite the death and destruction all around them from the civil war, the Maya people survived with their faith intact. I fell in love with these people and the land, now coming here 1 to 2 times a year. In fact, I told the villagers once that my husband thinks I have a boyfriend here as I go so often to visit them! The more I came to know the people in this village, the more I realized that despite all our differences we share the same dreams for our children and for their futures. Dreams of health, education and a better life. I now have watched the children of VH1 grow up, from crazy kids running around the fields to well-behaved students excited to be a part of the new future. I am so thankful and excited that through the Nicolás Fund for Education, middle and high school is now a reality for those families willing to take a scary step and encourage their children to be a part of a new future. The villagers of VH1 all give their thanks to us and pray that God will bless us for our help. One of our students summed it up beautifully: “The goal that I have is like a dream, and now I can reach that dream so my goal becomes a reality. ” …

Come and Join Us on Our Next NFE Impact Team Trip: November 10-19

Joshua RystedtBlog, Impact Trips, International Leave a Comment

Help us celebrate the graduation of our 9th and 11th -grade students this November!   Juanita from La Bendición will also be graduating from 11th grade in her distance learning program. This achievement is a miracle! Juanita’s education stopped after 6th grade because her significant physical disabilities made it impossible for her to travel to another village for 7th grade. Juanita is very bright, and she has flourished through the distance learning program. Her stated goals are to help her parents learn to read and write, to write a book about her life and to help the youth in her village. All of these students have achieved an important milestone. Being able to graduate from high school is not common in the Ixil. Many students in other schools drop out to work in the fields or help at home, or because they are unable to afford the cost of uniforms, books, supplies and transportation required for secondary school education in Guatemala. Drop out rates are high, particularly for girls. Many girls get married at age 14-15 and begin raising their own families. Nicolás Fund for Education has been extremely successful in retaining our students year to year. This is evidence of how God, through donations made to NFE, is literally changing the trajectory of these student’s lives. They are completing high school, getting married later, having children later, and are more likely to have children who are immunized, have better nutrition and are read to by their parents. It is considered quite an honor to have North American guests at graduation ceremonies, and isn’t it an important part of our relationship-focused program to celebrate what these hard-working students and their …

Nicolás Fund for Education: Planning for the Future

Joshua RystedtBlog, Partner Leave a Comment

Through your generosity, Nicolás Fund for Education is now able to serve students from five Agros villages: La Esperanza, La Bendición, Belén, Villa Hortencia Uno and now San Nicolás!   NFE is strategically planning for the future. We have a four-year lease on our current school campus. We have three more years on our lease at this location but we can already see that we might outgrow that facility by the end of our lease. We realize that we should allow lots of time to build any infrastructure improvements we would need to make for a different leased property. We are evaluating where that school should be located to serve our students best. The Cotzal area is more central to many of our villages, and having the school closer to our students will reduce NFE transportation costs. However, we also need to be thoughtful about the locations of other Agros villages that might be sending students to our school with the help of donors. By planning now, we hope to have the new school ready to step into when our current lease is up. NFE encourages you to consider whether or not you or your family would like to be one of those future donors and make a five-year commitment to sponsor one student from an Agros village from 7th through 11th grade. We can only add these students to our school as we engage new donors who support them. Might your church small group or business like to sponsor 2-3 students? The cost for a full scholarship for one student is $3000/year. Half scholarships are also available.  

July 2016 NFE Impact Trip

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The July NFE team spent two days with our Nicolás Christian School students, praying for and encouraging them.   Our trips help us to really get to know these students through personal conversations. The students love to perform for teams and have prepared dramas using mime actors. Students also lead us in worship with songs and have recently added instruments such as guitars, keyboard, a trumpet and percussion. The July team was planning to put on the third annual all-day Teacher Professional Development Workshop for local Ixil teachers. This year we’re thrilled to have 80 Ixil teachers attending from a variety of villages! Nicolás Christian School has its own internet capacity, and one of the presenters at the workshop was a Spanish-speaking Seattle Pacific University professor who did a Livestream presentation on the topic of special needs students. The teachers received a certificate from SPU at the end of the day. One of the other real benefits of these workshops is for teachers to network with each other, to promote sharing of resources and information as well as supporting each other in the pursuit of educational excellence. The July team spent time meeting with parents and teachers in La Bendición, La Esperanza and Belén to answer their questions and obtain feedback. The team also spent time with primary school students in these villages. Be on the lookout for the date of the July Team Trip Report for details about how these plans unfolded!

Is an Adventure Calling You? Last call for July 2016 Impact Team Members!

Joshua RystedtBlog, Impact Trips Leave a Comment

Take the opportunity to spend a week with God participating in His work in the Ixil region of Guatemala to lift these students up from poverty through education. Your prayers and encouragement are a vital part of their success story!   Our July Impact Team will be meeting soon to plan trip activities! It is not too late to sign up, but time is running out! This Impact Team will get to visit the new computer and science labs, spend time with our Nicolás Christian School students and participate in a Teacher Professional Development Workshop for local teachers. This popular workshop involves both Guatemalan and US teachers sharing information with a mutual goal to improve teaching skills, build networking and stimulate creativity. Time will be spent in the villages of La Bendición and La Esperanza, as well. Trip dates are July 22-August 1. Average cost is $1800-2000 paid over three installments. To sign up, you can now find our Trip Application and Criminal Background Check forms on our NFE website! Simply print these documents off, fill them out and mail them with your $100 deposit to NFE, 9311 SE 36th Street, #202, Mercer Island, WA 98040. Your deposit check should be made out to “Nicolás Fund for Education” and in the memo line write “July 2016 trip”. Do not put your name on the memo line or it won’t be tax-deductible. Put your name on a Post-It on the check, and don’t forget to include your application and National Criminal Background Check form. If this trip doesn’t work for your schedule, the dates for the November graduation trip will be November 10-18 and the February trip dates are February 17-27, …

Fulfilling A Dream 2016: Impact Trips

Joshua RystedtBlog, Fulfilling A Dream, Impact Trips Leave a Comment

Paul Selvig, February 2016 team member, and his son Josiah shared about their experience as team members. Paul, a multi-trip veteran, described how rewarding it was to introduce his son to his friends in the Ixil that he has made over many years. He strongly encouraged families to consider taking a trip together.