TEAM STORIES FROM ZACAPA, GUATEMALA ISP TRIP # 936, FEB. 25-MARCH 7, 2010

From Amy Smith, Elementary Track
“When I asked my group what they expected from this conference, many stated ‘how to incorporate morals and values’ in their classroom. One teacher (in her 2nd year of teaching) said she was expecting to learn about what morals and values are, and once she understood this, she would try to put them in her classroom. Through attending the conference, she now sees that God is the basis of all morals and values; if you want your students to live properly then you will teach them about God, not about rules or by giving definitions. This teacher is very excited about how the curriculum, along with her new realizations, will change her classroom. Through this conference the teachers are becoming aware that they need God and values in their own lives before they can expect it from their students.”

From Janell Morris, Elementary Track
“Andre, my interpreter, came to the conference as an attendee, but agreed to serve as an interpreter when asked. I learned that Andre is from Brazil and has studied history and theology. He wanted to teach students about God and the Bible, but all schools in Brazil became public schools that did not teach these things. Andre asked his pastor where he could go to teach about God. His pastor suggested Guatemala, so he left home and friends and came here. He is now chaplain and teacher of Christian Morals at a school of 400 teenagers. This school even has a dormitory to house over 60 students who live too far away to permit daily travel from home to school. Andre impressed me as a young man with a heart for God, who also is a natural leader.”

From Audre Hunn, Elementary Track
“My interpreter met me before the conference began on Day 2, and we discussed the previous day. She said ‘they’ (meaning the teachers in our group) ‘really liked it.’ Then she said, ‘They have heard that you might be giving us Bibles and they want me to ask you if it is true!’ I said, ‘Yes, it is true….but not today.’ Her eyes lit up and with so much excitement she said ‘Oh, they will be so happy---but I will keep it a secret for now!’

From Alex White, Elementary Track
“Milton is a second year teacher at a one room school house of 7 children, ages ranging from 7 to 14 years of age. He shared with me all of the responsibilities and obstacles he faces in his village: the lack of teaching materials or the encouragement of the students’ families. He said he begins his day very early in the morning despite his role as a husband and father of a 6 month old baby girl. He believes that educating the children of his small village is very important for the improvment of the next generation. Everyone should be given that opportunity to learn how to read and write. He begins his role as teacher by going to each child’s home, helping to get them dressed if needed. Then they all walk to their schoolhouse. He begins the lesson or lessons, since his students’ ages range. He cooks lunch for them at lunchtime and as the day ends he walks each student home, making sure that if they are in need of extra help with their assignments, he makes home visits after school. Milton shared that he has yet to grant a promise he promised his students one year ago: building a lunch room with an indoor working stove and a roof as shelter.

“Milton was very appreciative and his smiles said it all as he received a new, wrapped Bible as one of the teaching materials. He said he was going to present the Bible to his students as a new teaching book. He will allow his students to unwrap it and take ownership of this new book that they will now be learning from.

“The most significant thing I’m taking away with me is the great memories of the teachers that have the desire to share the tools they’ve learned and applying them to their classroom and the transformation that has been taking place in their hearts to be the key role model of the students. Only they, the teachers, can make the difference in changing the lives of the students and the families.”

From Peggy Smith, Elementary Track
“I was talking with a teacher during the break and asked her what she enjoyed most about the conference so far. She stated that she really enjoyed Ray Albrektson’s sessions because she knows she believes in the Bible, but if someone asked why she believed it was true she couldn’t explain in an intelligent way why it was true. She feels she now has the tools to do that and welcomes that challenge now.

“One of the teachers in my group came to the conference expecting to just get educational information. She said she got her soul fed instead, and didn’t even know how hungry she was! She was telling us how much better she felt after coming and was so grateful.

“I am awed that 50 or so people who don’t know each other can gather together to present the Gospel and everyone can get along, love each other, and love the people we came to help. Only through God’s power is it possible!”

From Dave Wiley, Admin Track
“It was hard to get my group to come together. Their interaction rarely went very deep, yet by the end of the conference they were expressing genuine enthusiasm about using the curriculum and encouraging other teachers to use it as well.

“The most significant things for me were: seeing God quickly bring a group of mostly strangers together into an effective team; and seeing God bring about a MAJOR impact in the lives of so many in such a short period of time!”

From Marisa Waye, Elementary Track
”I had a difficult week with my group and really struggled to find something positive about the experience. My group was not cooperative but I was able to have one conversation with Mario (one of my bigger troublemakers) about forgiveness. He believed people cannot forgive each other, only God can forgive someone. I asked him why he thought this and, he said, ‘When people say they are sorry they don’t mean it and God can only forgive because He means it.’ I said. ‘I believe that people use the word sorry too often and don’t mean it, much like the word love.’ But I also said, ‘I do know that I wouldn’t be able to forgive if Jesus hadn’t first forgiven me.’ (I shared my life map earlier in the lesson.) Later, Mario shared his life map. A few years ago while he was married and had two children, he had an affair and as a result the other woman became pregnant. I asked him if his wife forgave him. He said she must have because she told him he could claim the child if he wanted. I asked him if he ever asked forgiveness of the woman he got pregnant and then left to have a child on her own? I also asked him about the child….did he need to ask for forgiveness of the child?

“We weren’t able to talk about this anymore but I came to realize as difficult as my group was, I pray that some seeds were planted. I pray that they would remember the things we talked about and maybe change for the better. You know, someone has to plant the seeds, and I hope for my group, I was able to do that.”

From Sharon Bedier, Admin Track
“One of the men in the Admin track has 23 teachers under him with whom he plans to share what he has learned at the convocation. He expects these 23 whom he trains will train the 430 teachers under them.

“I was impressed by the willingness and openness of the principals and administrators to embrace new methods of teaching; also their passion to share the training with other teachers as well as use the curriculum with their students.”

From Sherry Rutkoskie, Elementary Track
“After viewing the The Story of JESUS for Children, I asked the group what they thought about it. One young man said ‘I don’t know anything about God or Jesus – the film was wonderful!’ He was excited to get his own Bible and DVD of the film.

“After the final closing meeting, I asked my interpreter to stay and talk with him. I asked if he would like to have Jesus with him and in him and he said ‘YES’….he was going to do that. I told him I could pray with him right then and he agreed to do that. Hallelujah! A new brother in Christ!

“I feel ISP is playing an integral part in the development of youth. Being a part of that is exciting! Using the Bible as a ‘tool’ to teach young people to lead moral lives….what a concept!”

From Maria Serapiglia, Elementary Track
“One of the teachers in my group brought ten other teachers. She said she went on a crusade to make sure the young, new teachers would attend the conference so that they would have a longer opportunity to impact the lives of others. She said, ‘I am old and out the door; but these young people can teach for many years!’ She was a strong advocate for the curriculum and has a strong personality.

“The harvest is plentiful. Teachers appeared to have a hunger for material that will teach about morals and is structured. The teachers have knowledge of God and Christ and I feel this curriculum will assist in teaching the truth. Also, the five steps or parts of the learning cycle was ‘caught’ by every teacher.”

Marilyn McCann, Secondary Track
“On the 4th day of the convocation, during lunch, a teacher from elementary was at my table. During a conversation with my interpreter, this teacher shared that at the morning break, she left her curriculum on her seat and when she came back, the curriculum was gone. She believed it had been stolen. I shared this event with Anibal and he said to give her another curriculum which I was able to do.

“Then in the afternoon sessions, one of the teachers in my small group gave me a curriculum, explaining she found it and wanted to return it to the person whose name was written in it. So at the closing ceremony, I searched until I found the teacher (from lunch) and returned the original book to her, and encouraged her to share the additional curriculums with other teachers who had not been able to come to the conference. I also told her that the teacher who returned the book was an honest and ethical teacher!”






From Nick Heath, Admin Track
“The most significant thing I am taking away from this experience is that I was able to do this at all! I’m not a teacher!

“One person told me that this is the best conference he has ever attended.

“The Life Map is a great tool to open up the people.”

From Donna Dungan, Elementary Track
“A 25 year old young woman in my group was the first to speak up on the second day to say she did not understand the activity they were to do. No one else would admit they were lost until she spoke up. This teacher had to leave early two days in a row to care for her infant. She came back each day with her homework completed….eager to learn. On her action plan she indicated she would read her Bible more herself and develop the curriculum at her school even though there would be no one there to help her do that. In addition to the curriculum, the only tools she will need are copies, a Bible, and her own research.

“All of the teachers in my group said they would use this curriculum in their classrooms. One said the principal at her school required them to show him the curriculums they planned to use. Usually, they have to make their own.

“One teacher works at a rural school where they do not have desks for the students. She has 30 students in two different grades in her class and teaches them with no help.

“I learned that caring for people and having an excellent curriculum is more important than being an expert in the field of education. I also feel like this was a time of healing for me. I had a death in the family in January, followed by three very stressful weeks. What a blessing to be helping these beautiful people.”

From Sandy Williams, Secondary Track
“On the last day, one of my very quiet ladies who rarely spoke, broke down [she had not shared her life map previously] saying she wanted to tell us something. Apparently her father and uncle had a falling out years ago. Her uncle is a teacher and so she saw him at the conference. She explained that because of the conference, she forgave him….she spoke to him and told him that! What an amazing thing this was to hear!”

From Audre Hunn, Elementary Track
“When my group received the DVD of THE STORY OF JESUS FOR CHILDREN they were so happy. They were telling me how much they loved the conference, how much they had learned, how they could use the curriculum. Bit when Johanna received the DVD of the film she immediately said, ‘OH, I’m going to show this to all my community! I will show it one time for the adults and one time for the children. And I’m going to do it THIS Sunday!!!”

From Lynn Maynard, Secondary Track
”So many needs came up this week, but someone was always there to share and help out. Just one example: our Secondary Track leader, Nancy Pryor, had some infected insect bits and went to the hospital. Our Guatemalan track leader jumped in and finished us out on Day 4. I had trouble making my group understand our assignment for that day, so she (Hilda, the track leader) spent an extra 10-15 minutes to make sure they understood.”
From Christy Scott, Elementary Track
I Samuel 16:7: “For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

“On Day 1, I had a gentleman named Fernando in my group who sat slightly outside the circle and did not participate. I did not even think he was listening. At the end of our lesson on promises, I asked the group to learn their homework verse and challenged them to memorize all 4 verses if they could. I said that I would do the same and bring treats for those who did their homework. For the first time Fernando spoke up and said ‘How do I know you will keep your promise?’ He was listening! I told him that I haven’t always kept my promises, but that this one I would keep. So I made sure to have all four verses memorized and I even learned two of them in Spanish.

“On Day 2, Fernando stuck around after the morning session and helped set up our group circle. He seemed to be curious why these Americans & Canadians would come and help them. When our small group started after lunch I recited two verses in Spanish and the other two in English, and rewarded ALL my teachers with candy for saying them also. Fernando was still outside the group, but at least he shared his verse. At break time he came to talk to me privately and asked if I was a Christian. He said that he was a Christian who needed prayer for his family because his sister-in-law just lost her baby at 7 months. I said we would pray and I now understood the real reason for his disconnection. After the break that afternoon he joined the group a little more, and I was trying to be sensitive to his circumstance. Later that afternoon, several of us [on the ISP team] prayed for his family and a hopeful recovery of his sister-in-law.

“The next morning, Day 3, during the break, I saw Fernando on the phone and he did not look well. Diego came with me and I asked him if everything was o.k.? It turns out his sister-in-law had just passed away from complications and she was only 18 years old. He had to leave to be with his family but he was torn because he did not want to miss my group. Linda and Nancy helped me gather all the materials that he would be missing and I gave those to him. Sussy [my interpreter] met me out front with him and we prayed with him and gave him the Bible and the DVD of THE STORY OF JESUS FOR CHILDREN, and other materials. He was very grateful and we were all sad to part. Our group was not the same without him that afternoon.

“On Day 4 he called for me on someone’s phone. This other teacher came and handed me her phone and told me it was Fernando. He wanted to thank me again on behalf of his family for what I had done for them. He also wanted to know if I would be staying in Zacapa for a few days because they wanted to meet me, and he wanted to show me his school where he teaches. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to do that, but I was so touched that this man would be calling me in the midst of what his family was dealing with.

“Thank you Lord for using me to be an encouragement to him during this time, and through him to a family I have never met. It shows me that first impressions are not necessarily accurate, and I think Fernando learned the same thing about me.”







From Steve Truitt, Admin Track
“As a missions pastor, I have enjoyed the interaction with other church leaders, the dialogue has been good as a reflective tool for my own ministry. I also have been encouraged by the commitment to integrity and excellence from every level of leadership. I will be recommending ISP to our member staff.

“I enjoyed the interaction with my small group and interpreter and found it satisfying.

“The leadership training has reinforced the need to use the same Biblical model in Church Team Leadership.”

From Dick Aced, Admin Track
“For the first time I saw how vulnerable people can be when sharing their life-maps. Then to see the life-map experience carry over to the forgiveness exercise was humbling. I marvel each time I take an ISP trip to Guatemala how receptive the people are. How many places in the world will open their doors to outsiders and then say that they are incorporating ISP curriculum throughout the Department of Education….. And the country?”

From Brenda Heath, Elementary Track
“Being able to share my life story with my teachers was a tool that brought all of us together. There is no doubt that they all came to an understanding of the Gospel. Maybe not all have a personal relationship, but they all knew about Jesus, except one who only attended Tues. & Thursday. All said they would use the curriculum in their classroom. So in that we know they clearly were here and experience (hopefully) the joy we have in Christ! My testimony was ‘For such a time as this.’”

From Linda Sheffield, Elementary Track
“When asked what one thing impressed you the most about the conference Karla replied, ‘I learned not to judge other people based on what I think about them. I learned many people have things in their lives that make them the way they are that I don’t know. I will not judge my students anymore because I don’t know everything about their lives. I learned this from doing the life maps.’

“Marleny said she did not know anything about the Bible and was so glad to find out about what it said.”

From Janell Morris, Elementary Track
“When Zulma shared her Life Map, she told how she had married and had two children. She found out her husband had another woman, so she divorced him. The church helped her find God. Later she met and fell in love with another man. Two years later he was killed in an accident. With tears in her eyes, she said she was okay because she had her two children and God.

“Victor shared how he had lived a worldly life until he met God and read the Bible. Now God has changed him and his life is different.

“After interpreters shared how thankful they were that ISP had come to Zacapa and how they would try to train other teachers, just as we had trained them, so more students could benefit from the curriculum, my interpreter, Andre, said that now many teachers could reach many students with the message of God’s love, while he could only reach students in one school. (He is a chaplain at his school.”

From Rebecca Dyck, Elementary Track
“From various teachers in my group: ‘We need this! Here, we put on a happy face but on the inside we are in a lot of pain.’ From another: ‘Our children really need this!’

“My group seemed to change a little each day as we grew closer. By the last day, they said they came knowing no one but now they had new friends to have as a resource for ideas. The Good News was shared with everyone and they were receptive.

“The biggest change was in my interpreter. The first day he was nice, but didn’t really seem excited about this. After I shared my life map, he said, ‘I never would have thought that about you.’ He became very receptive to what we covered in the Greatest Promise Booklet. After than, in our down times, he began to share some personal times in his life. He said the curriculum was really good and he was going to use it. Last year he gave it to his brother. He wanted the DVD of the film for his students. As we said our goodbyes and exchanged gifts, he gave me his book bag or one just like it, just because I had admired it so much! “

From Pat Mossman, Elementary Track
“In my group was a young man who teaches sixth grade (39 students!) He and I seemed to ‘click’, and when it was time to say goodbye, he put his hands on my shoulders so that I would look him in the eyes, and said, (in English) ‘When you come back, I will speak better English.’ (Notice he said ‘when’ not ‘if’.)

“One lady was somewhat older than the others. She came in the first day with a sour look on her face, and I thought, ‘This one is going to be a challenge!’ She became my best friend! One day she brought in a big collection of pictures for me to look at, so that I could see ALL her family.

“One of the young ones had such a servant’s heart. If I dropped something she hurried to pick it up. If she could tell I needed something (i.e. for the group to quiet down) she took care of it for me. She was always trying to anticipate needs and meet them. Even thought she didn’t speak English, she had great observance and sensitivity skills.

“I could write something about each one [in my group.] They are all wonderful people! The most significant thing I am taking away from this conference is love for those in my group. I was told this would happen, but wasn’t really prepared for what I now feel for them. The word ‘love’ is inadequate for that. They are a part of me. Another thing is gratitude for the way ISP operates. The tremendous amount of planning and work done before, during, and I’m sure after the convocation, resulted in the smoothest running conference I have ever experienced.”

From Russ Williams, Admin Track
“The most significant thing I am taking away with me from this conference is the genuine and continuing desire of the Guatemalan people to embrace the ISP mission. They sincerely wish to instill the values and morals taught in the Bible and exemplified in Jesus Christ. It is an inspiration and a blessing to work with these wonderful people.”






From Jeanette Mossman, Elementary Track
“The day after we did our Life Maps and discussed forgiveness, one of my teachers shared with us that he had gone home, gone to the internet, and looked up ‘forgiveness’. He told us a quote he had found:
‘The lack of forgiveness is like a small shot of poison; soon you are infected all over.’

“Maria struggled with her life map because she said she knew she should forgive, she wanted to forgive, but was having such a hard time doing it. She even said that the person forgave her for something big. I think she was encouraged by our stories.

“Then, on the last day, she read from her Bible and was so happy to have one. She said that sometimes she reads but doesn’t understand. I talked to her about the Holy Spirit who helps us understand. I will pray for her.

“I also had a woman named Vilma. She was most concerned for two of her students who struggle with stuttering. I was amazed and impressed at how so many people worked together to help her. Another team member (Linda S.) wrote out what she did to help her son. Edgar translated it for her. I also e-mailed my step-sister, a speech therapist who emailed me back loads of helpful information, which I copied down. I gave it to Deborah, my interpreter, who is translating it and will e-mail it to Vilma. I am amazed and humbled at the servant’s hearts of all these people.

“I had a woman who missed the afternoon we handed out the music CD. I had saved one for her and gave it to her. Evidently Cheryl also gave one to her. The next day she told my interpreter that she had been given two, and she gave one to a teacher friend, but her conscience bothered her. She asked me if it was o.k. I told her ‘not really’ because her friend didn’t attend the conference so she won’t understand the concepts…..so SHE will have to talk to her friend about it! She said she tucked the 2nd CD in her pocket and now she was confessing. I smiled and said at first she was deceitful, then she showed her values by being honest. I told her I was pleased!

“I loved day 2 and the sharing of life maps. Seeing my small group get the concepts being taught, and I loved interacting with the teachers in my group.”

From Soheir (Sue) Girgis, Secondary Track
“Many of my small group members were already believers. Their greatest excitement and delight was that brothers and sisters in Christ had come to Guatemala to encourage and equip them to become better teachers and evangelists in their own schools. To them, this was an incredible gift of love.

“God has moved the hearts of those in authority in the Guatemalan educational echelons to open the doors to ISP. They gave official sanction at high levels; this is God’s doing, and as long as He gives ISP favor, ISP must move fast and furiously to reach the whole country. We do not know how long the door will be open. But the seeds planted will be watered by the Holy Spirit to produce an abundant crop.

“What is the most significant thing I am taking away from this conference? The richness of the vision ISP has….to change the face of an entire country for Christ….what a challenge….what a vision!!! To impact an entire generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Go ISP GO! And God go before you!”