After 20 years of serving the LORD here in Guatemala, of all the visions that the LORD has given me, I am the most excited about this next project. After the back-to-back hurricanes flooded the first church we built here in the community a few years ago, I have had building a new one in the back of my mind for some time now. It was not until this past summer when I spent 3 months here in Guatemala that the Holy Spirit began to speak to me about some major changes of the plans I had made.
Through a series of events, experiences, and direction of the Holy Spirit, it has led to this point. We have already outgrown our existing feeding center, kitchen, and Center of Dreams in just a short 6 months. Because this was built above the clinic, which was supposed to be a mission home, this space also was not designed for long term use. I thought we would get a few years out of what we have, but the need is greater than our space allows. With our son Benjamin Varner now here pretty much full time, he has been working with the kids and has made a huge influence on the children becoming a really great mentor who they respect.
As you can see from the photo above, there just is no more room where we can put more children. With the new church building it will serve many purposes. Church, feeding center, school, youth center, emergency disaster prep area, and more. As you can see below, we have 3 huge 20’x26′ classrooms, a huge commercial kitchen and pantry area, and a large church to seat at a minimum 200. We have a large stage area with a door to a classroom which will serve as a staging area for plays and productions by the students (which is a big thing here with the private schools). We have a sound and technology booth elevated above the main entrance. Being my background is in technology; I am excited about this to train students and equip them to serve here and to teach other churches how to expand their reach through technology.
As with all the visions the Holy Spirit has given, this truly excites me the most. As I was designing this, I kept hearing that still small voice telling me to dream bigger. This is the 4th draft which I now have a peace about which utilizes the entire space we have available in this area. As with every vision and project there is a cost, which I really do not worry about, honestly. God gives me the visions; HE has never failed to provide the funding for these visions. He always provides the funding one way or another. We have seen God work enough in this ministry and our lives to have the faith to just leave it in HIS hands to provide.
Having said that, looking at the building costs for other projects the building alone will cost between $60-80K with another $40-60K to finish and furnish the inside. Kitchen equipment, cabinets, shelving, desks, furniture, sound equipment, etc. All in roughly $140K. In the US a building this size would cost well over a million dollars to build and furnish.
There are folks and churches out there that have the ability to fund this entire project, and we welcome that. But what excites me is when the body of Christ really comes together, and we start seeing donations from folks we do not know or who we have never met, all because they listened to that still small voice of the Holy Spirit to give. Those folks are investing in eternity by trusting their talents with us. I guarantee you we will not bury it but will invest it and place it in the Masters hands. Will you make that investment in us with your talents, or bury it and give the Master back a dusty coin?
We are HIS hands, to do HIS work, to bring HIM the glory!
