Community Development – Page 2

Evidence of Hope- #1

April 7, 2016/0 Comments/in Community Development, Missions Teams/by Nathan

Each day this week, as the team of students from Watkinsville FBC arrived to work on Paraíso’s first community playground, they experienced evidences of #hope within the community located in Guatemala City’s northern slums. Upon arriving to the central playground, the team encountered mothers with their children playing together on the unfinished structures. Mothers who no longer felt it necessary to stay indoors for their children’s safety. Mothers who deemed this playground a GOOD and SAFE place for their children to play. Mothers who see this playground as a beacon of #hope, a change for the better, within their community.

This hope, through Christ’s love, is what Engadi is all about.

#engadi

Watkinsville’s Workweek in Paraíso

April 6, 2016/0 Comments/in Community Development, Missions Teams/by Nathan

The team of high school students from Watkinsville FBC have been hard at work this week in Paraíso continuing progress on a playground for local children. The play area is the first of it’s kind in the community and is strategically located only 1-2 blocks from four nearby elementary schools. Several families in the area have expressed their gratitude, excitement, and #hope at the idea of their children having a place to play at such a central area in their community, and local children have formed a #brotherhood working with teams from the States to help construct the area. Watkinsville has done a great job at continuing the plans for the playground, and we can’t wait to update you with their finished progress at the end of the week!

#engadi

Playground in Paraíso

March 17, 2016/1 Comment/in Community Development, Missions Teams/by Nathan

The team of youth from Asbury United Methodist Church has been hard at work in Paraíso this entire week working on a very special project- a playground for children in the community! The play area is strategically located at the top of the soccer stadium in Paraíso, and is about 1-2 blocks from four different local elementary schools.

The playground site is strategically located at the top of the soccer stadium in Paraíso, only about a block from four local elementary schools.

The playground site is strategically located at the top of the soccer stadium in Paraíso, only about 1-2 blocks from four local elementary schools.

Monday, the team worked to paint tires and level the play area which is located atop one of Guatemala City’s former landfills, so the ground was full of all sorts of debris. They followed up Tuesday by finishing painting tires, including two giant tractor tires, and beginning to set the tires into the ground. They were joined by numerous local children who were excited to finally have a playground in their very own community. Several of the boys within the Derek Program also joined the work to lend a hand to improve their neighborhood. Wednesday, the team finished up by constructing a jungle gym/mountain of stacked and secured tires.

Tires were then secured into the ground with help from local children, including many of the young men in the Derek Program.

Throughout the week, many residents expressed their gratitude and renewed #hope in their community that the new play area had brought. While most other neighborhoods in Guatemala City have a communal play area for children, residents of Paraíso conveyed that this was a wish that they had simply never been able to afford within their own neighborhood, and the government had never bothered to offer to Paraíso. Parents became emotional at the sight of the new play area slowly coming together, and children expressed their excitement at finally having a designated place in their community where they could play.

The playground still lacks a few more structures that will be finished in the coming weeks, but so far it is looking great! Thank you, Asbury youth for your hard work and determination this week to bring #restoration and leave a lasting #legacy of Christ’s love in Paraíso by bringing #hope and #brotherhood through creating one of very few safe places for children to play in Paraíso.

#engadi

The team from Asbury partnered up with local children and families to work on the playground, bringing #hope and #brotherhood to Paraíso.

Spring Family Festival

March 14, 2016/0 Comments/in Community Development, Missions Teams/by Nathan

Yesterday, with the help of students from Asbury, Engadi hosted its largest family festival in Paraíso to date. The festival drew people of all ages from all over Paraíso to see the fun and games. The festivities included music, bounce houses, games (such as soccer, jump rope, and parachute games), crafts, face painting, and nail painting for the women and girls. Several hundred residents were in attendance, and popsicles were provided as a refreshing treat to all who stayed until the end as well as a brief presentation of the Gospel message.

The team from Asbury will be partnering with us through the end of the week. We can’t wait to update you on the outcome of their project with recycled tires that we alluded to at the end of last week! We are thankful for their partnering efforts to bring #hope and #brotherhood to the community of Paraíso.

#engadi

Derek Group Prepares for Asbury Team

March 9, 2016/0 Comments/in Community Development/by Nathan

With our largest team of the year only days away, the Engadi staff is hurriedly preparing the final details for their arrival this weekend. Meanwhile, the #brotherhood of boys in Engadi’s Derek Program are also hard at work cleaning their community and preparing for the special project that Asbury’s youth team will be working on in Paraíso. They are taking the first steps of hauling out all the trash in one of their community’s common areas and are beginning the groundwork for when the Asbury team arrives this weekend. Check out their strides forward since the beginning of the month!

Before:

During:

After:

The Derek Boys did a great job clearing this part of their community a a way to bring restoration and leave a legacy in Paraíso! We can’t wait to share with you the finished project with the help of the Asbury team!

We love the #hope that these boys carry for their community, and are looking forward to having a few helping hands to aid them next week in bringing restoration and legacy to Paraíso!

#engadi #hope #brotherhood

First Classes in the Engadi Transformation Center

January 19, 2016/0 Comments/in Community Development, Education/by Nathan

Last week, Engadi Ministries held our first classes within the recently acquired and renovated Engadi Transformation Center in Paraíso. As a way to earn school supplies for their children, families are able to attend Biblically-based values classes, which are now held at the Engadi Transformation Center, a safe and neutral location within their community.

Residents of Paraíso attending Family Values Classes within the Engadi Transformation Center

The classes held last week were taught by Engadi’s Director of Discipleship, David Medina, and covered a Biblical the topics of “Love vs. Hate”, a message which is extremely relevant in Paraíso’s gang-ridden streets. Classes aim to unite, educate, and share hope through the Gospel of Christ within the community. Young men within the Derek Program have also begun using the building for weekly Bible studies and discipleship groups. We are excited to be a part of how God is able to use the Center to ultimately draw the community of Paraíso closer to Him.

#engadi

Transforming the Transformation Center

January 14, 2016/0 Comments/in Community Development, Missions Teams/by Nathan

The new roof looks great!

Over the past week, the all-men’s team from Avenue Church has transformed the Engadi Transformation Center in Paraíso. The team has replaced the roof, rewired the building, leveled and poured new concrete on the floor, begun to tile the upstairs, and dried-in one of the downstairs bathrooms. We are so thankful for their know-how, flexibility, and willingness to get the job done this week.

Beginning their last full day of work in Paraíso

Finishing up the wiring within the building.

Avenue Church helping to lay tile and rewire the building.

Rewiring the building was more complex than first thought, but Robert was able to get the job done!

Laying tile on the newly poured floors.

Pouring and leveling the floors.

Drywalling the downstairs bathroom.

The Engadi Transformation Center will allow Engadi to have a continual secure presence within the community of Paraíso. It is designed to be a beacon of hope for the neighborhood, and a place where Bible studies, community classes, and events can be held to bring a sense of brotherhood and togetherness to the community. Thank you Avenue Church for investing your time, money and talents into sharing Christ’s love with the community.

#engadi #hope #brotherhood

Raising the Roof

January 12, 2016/0 Comments/in Community Development, Missions Teams/by Nathan

Yesterday, the all-men’s team from Avenue Church in Texas put in a long day’s work in Paraíso at Engadi’s newly acquired Engadi Transformation Center. The team removed the building’s original roof which was in disrepair and replaced it with new metal roofing. They also finished framing on one of the building’s bathrooms and began drywall work on the room. In addition, they initiated rewiring the electrical system in the building and leveling and pouring new concrete flooring upstairs. Great work guys! Your efforts will help Engadi bring hope and brotherhood to countess children and families in Paraíso

The team is back in Paraíso as of this morning continuing progress on the building. We can’t wait to see the progress that they are able to make in the next three days that they are here!

Avenue Church’s mens team removing the old tin roof.

Avenue Church’s men’s team hoisting up the new sheets of metal roofing.

Avenue Church's men's team finished the roof; now moving on to level and pour new concrete flooring.

The new roof looks great! Now moving on to level and pour new concrete flooring.

Phillip Blume of Blume Photography captured the progress made of Engadi’s Transformation Center

#engadi

Men’s Team Leads January Family Festival

January 11, 2016/0 Comments/in Community Development, Missions Teams/by Nathan

This week, Engadi Ministries is excited to be joined by two very important partners. Saturday night, fourteen men from Avenue Church in Waxahachie, Texas arrived in Guatemala. Yesterday, the all-men’s team partnered with Engadi Ministries to host a family festival at the soccer stadium where a message about sin and God’s forgiveness through Christ was shared with all in attendance. We are thankful for the team’s efforts to continue bringing hope and brotherhood to Paraíso through the Gospel of Christ.

Also joining Engadi this week is board member, Phillip Blume of Blume Photography. Four years after releasing “Lost Boys of Paradise,” a documentary following the work of Engadi Ministries in Paraíso, Blume has returned to partner with Engadi for the week shooting more footage of the ministry in action. Since Engadi’s inception, Phillip has had a heartbeat for bringing hope and brotherhood to boys living in the slums of Guatemala, specifically, Paraíso, and we are thrilled to have him return to Guatemala for the week.

Throughout this week, the all-men’s team from Avenue Church will be spearheading the construction on Engadi Ministries’ newly acquired Transformation Center in Paraíso. We are thankful to have their knowledge and experience with construction to help us complete several specialized tasks. Check back for updates of their progress throughout the week!

#engadi #hope #brotherhood

Engadi Transformation Center Improvements

December 17, 2015/0 Comments/in Community Development, Missions Teams/by Nathan

Yesterday, the Anderson University mission team was the first to begin work on the Engadi Transformation Center located in Paraíso. The team worked to clean and renovate the center so that it will be a safe location to hold Bible studies, meetings and other Engadi events. We thank Anderson University for their partnership in bringing hope and brotherhood to Paraíso.

#engadi