Posted by Thanks to everyone for your interest and support of us and the people in Guatemala
At the end of February, I have the opportunity to travel to Guatemala with my oldest daughter, Jessica, for 8 days. It’s a school trip with Heritage Christian School which has been in the making for a couple of years. It was originally planned for Nicaragua, but recent turmoil there created the need to change destinations.
We will be leaving Tuesday, Feb. 26 and returning Tuesday, March 5.
For many years I’d hoped to travel to other countries for the purpose of serving the poor there, and sharing Jesus Christ. I had the opportunity to travel to Scandinavia and Russia right out of high school for a basketball tour. It challenged my faith and broadened my perspective. I’m glad to see an opportunity like this for these students to be challenged as well.
I’m also excited to be able to share a similar trip with my oldest daughter. The chance to watch the impact of this trip on her and her classmates, as well as the local community, is truly exceptional.
I would ask for prayer. Specifically, that
1) those of us who know Christ will be trusting Him as we travel, since only this will produce anything worthwhile,
2) that those who don’t know Him will come to trust Him. We realize that sharing the message that Jesus gave usually comes with challenges in new places. Please pray for wisdom for each of us in the decisions we’ll make while traveling.
Support Options
If you’d like to help support this trip, the cost for me is $1600. We’re excited that Jessica was able to completely cover all of her expenses through school fundraisers! Anything additional we raise above that amount will be used for supplies to help the local missionaries that we’re meeting with, or to help support future trips by the school.
Checks can be sent to: Lonnie Bos, 10240 Gooch HIll Rd, Gallatin Gateway, MT 59730
You can also use Venmo if you prefer to transfer funds directly. Simply email me at lonnie@reflectinc.net or message me in Facebook, and I can forward you the scan code for Venmo. Unlike other fundraising sites, Venmo doesn’t deduct expensive fees from the transaction. It’s a free app that can be downloaded to a smartphone.
We also accept sheep, cattle and chocolate as donations😉
I look forward to sharing our experience with you when we return. I hope you’re well in Christ today!
Sincerely,
Lonnie Bos
Interesting Facts about Guatemala:
- The people are open to the message of Jesus Christ like never before, but illiterate pastors who need training, language diversity (18 dialects), and a shortage of Bibles in native languages present challenges for the growing church. Many children & families are so poor they are literally starving.
- Religion: Roman Catholic, Protestant, indigenous Mayan belief
- Life Expectancy: 70 years
- Literacy Percent: 71%
- GDP per Capita: $36 per family per month in the villages
- Guatemala City is the largest city in Central America. The city of Cuilapa, where we’ll be serving, is a city of about 20,000 and is surrounded by 40-60 remote villages which have no church, no Gospel, and no Bibles.
- Nearly 80% of the population lives below the poverty line. The country consists of three main regions—the cool highlands with the heaviest population, the tropical area along the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, and the tropical jungle in the northern lowlands (known as the Petén).
- Guatemala is the size of Tennessee. Its neighbors are Mexico on the north and west, and Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador on the east.
