Staying in Touch, September 2009

Dear friends of the CCCS. We give thanks for all of you and your part in making this
work in the Lord possible.
It’s been an exciting month since the second reports of the year come by the 15th of August. Then Nury de Milian, the CCCS Director in Guatemala had a speaking engagement in Michigan and stopped for a few days in Kansas delivering the CCCS reports from Guatemala in person..
How encouraging it was to learn of her visits to almost all of the 14 CCCS sites
and see in person the lives being changed in so many children and their families. Because of her visit I am writing this time all about Guatemala, our first CCCS country.
It’s humbling so see the growth which has happened since the first CCCS project of a boarding home, The Lutheran Home for Students was built in 1968.
Carlos Figueroa, the director of the Boarding Home in Zacapa begins his reports always with a Bible Passage: Isaiah 66: 18 We give thanks for Carlos, a former scholarship student as he has faithfully guided the students for now 17 years. Carlos gives thanks for their Chaplain, Andre Wandscheer who quotes Isaiah 55:11 and gives thanks for the new gifts of Bibles, which are hard to keep in stock and quickly disappear. The 60+ students at the boarding school, although they all come from difficult situations and different places, will be leaders someday in their church and country. Carlos writes they can see differences in the students behaviors, being made through the influences of the daily Word of God and the Christian surroundings. Carlos continues ”although our work is challenging, with the help of all in the church and the staff at the home, plus the daily love of God shown them they are encouraged” One student was even named “Mayor of the Day” in Zacapa.

Fifty four years ago the first Lutheran School , El Divino Salvador in Zacapa, was created with the help of the LWML. It is a well-respected school with as many as 600 students. The CCCS provides scholarships to over 60 of the students who otherwise could not attend school. Orlando Canales is the director and has received many awards, including a Kellogg Fellowship to visit schools in the US for training.

Retalhuleu: Director Hector Rene Donis: We received handwritten thank you letters from each child of this new project. Retalhuleu is in an incredibly poor area. Especially was it heart warming to receive letters from some of the parents. . One student wrote: “The scholarship is opening my future and I don’t want to disappoint you”.
Gualan: Since 1978 the CCCS has provided scholarships to children in their community. Two pastors have graduated from this scholarship program: Rev. Tiburcio Giron, and Rev. Luis Jasinto who is the present pastor. The dream of Pastor Jasinto is to have a Lutheran School in Gualan and this is finally happening. They dedicated the school in July of this year with a big celebration and it will open in January . All of the teachers are former scholarship students. . They ask for prayers
La Union: This newest project started after the landslide last year, when most of the homes were destroyed. Many of the students at the Zacapa boarding home have come from La Union and the churches in Zacapa, Gualan and Puerto Barrios gave much assistance after this disaster. For years they have wanted a church in La Union and one of the former boarding school students who is now a teacher in LaUnion with the mentorship of Rev. Jasinto has begun the first Lutheran Church. Celbin Rudy Carbajal Estevez , a former student is helping with the scholarship program.

Guatemala City: Exciting news comes from A Mighty Fortress Lutheran Church, which has started a new church in Amatitlan; Holy Cross Lutheran Church and a new scholarship program. This area is one of the poorest and most of the work being done with the students comes from the teenagers at A Mighty Fortress. Under the leadership of Rev. Abdiel Orozco most of the young people from A Mighty Fortress attend a Bible Study on Thursday PM and on the weekend work with the children at Holy Cross. Rev. Orozco reports that these young people are responsible in their studies, one even received a national award for his art. Many are growing in music ability and provide the music for the church services. Arecelli Bonilla is the Director of the Scholarship Program.

Two other churches in Guatemala City have CCCS projects: Linaje de Dios and Cristo Rey. Beatriz Catalan and Claudia Sosa are the directors of the two projects and meet for Bible Study weekly with the students. The students are chosen first from the members of the church, the greatest need, and those who apply themselves most to their studies.
Puerto Barrios: This report came on a CD ad well as a thank you from each child. Christ the Savior Lutheran School began in 2002with 55 students. The director is Rev. Byron Paz a former student at the Zacapa Boarding School. The CD has pictures of all 290 students and many activities. One picture shows students each holding an article of food they gathered for the La Union landslide victims.

Other sites include the over 200 student Mayan School, Dr.Martin Luther in Chajabal, and the 90 student school Redeemer of the World Lutheran School, in Santiago Zamora and another project in Chiquimula, led by the former CCCS student Rev. Tiburcio Jiron, . The project at San Marcos, El Buen Samaritano, has added a project for deaf children this year, which is meeting a great need.

To read these reports, see pictures of the children and read their letters is emotional . How exciting to see what the Lord has done in these past forty years since the beginning of the CCCS. As of last year, Guatemala has no US missionaries and all is done by nationals. God’s Word is reaching children in almost every part of the country, as the boarding school has students from 20 parts of the country.
.
The CCCS now has projects in 18 countries . Just today we received a new request from a Lutheran Church in El Salvador. We have requests now from Cambodia, Kenya, Haiti, some of the poorest children in the world. Cambodia especially has little Christian influence. If any of you would like to help us reach a new country, sponsor a classroom or a child through your church, an LWML, or Sunday School, just call the CCCS office, 785 357 7768. to get information on how you can help. We have thousands of thank you letters we would be so happy to send you one.
Edie Jorns, Director of Projects CCCS.