MISSION STATEMENT

Demonstrating Christ’s love to the families and communities of rural Guatemala by partnering with them to improve their physical, educational, and spiritual well-being.

CORE VALUES

As common people, we look to God to do uncommon things through us. We seek to bring integrity, accountability and transparency to all our interactions. We live in gratitude to the Lord who has called us to walk with Him in the highlands of Guatemala. We are committed for the long haul. We share the love of Christ and strive to model His teaching.

KEY PLATFORMS

ADVOCATE: We encourage and give voice to those who have been rendered voiceless.
EDUCATION: We empower local leaders.
RELATIONAL: We choose to walk with those we support.

WHAT WE'VE ACHIEVED

• In ten years, Colegio Horeb has grown from 25 students to over 360.

• Teachers once worked without pay are now making a living wage.

• Scholarships for students ______

• We have placed stoves in ___ homes, giving families a safe way to cook and warm their homes.

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90% of families live below the poverty line.

WIND works in the municipality of San Juan Cotzal, located in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. This region is populated by indigenous Mayan people, who speak Ixil. Geographically isolated high in the mountains, the people live in extreme poverty.

This region was the focal point of a bloody civil war (1960-1996) which left over 200,000 people dead. Rich in culture and tradition, the beauty of the region is a stark contrast to the needs of the people who live there.

70% of indigenous people suffer from chronic malnutrition.

THE HISTORY OF WIND

RICH AND MAURINA’S STORY

By Rich Rice

In January 2007, Maurina and I, along with two close friends, went a “vision trip” to the Ixil area of Guatemala. In awe, we watched God begin to reveal His plan as He threw open doors, placed people squarely in our path, and led us to a Bible Institute in the highlands of Guatemala. I had long desired to facilitate pastor training in this little part of the world, and we felt that somehow God could use us in this capacity. Little did we know!

While visiting Mike and Sharon Harvey of ASELSI at their training center in Chichicastenango, Sharon told us of a vision – of God’s mighty “wind” blowing through the region, breaking down the strongholds of despair and pouring forth His love and His Word into the hearts of the people. Several days later, with this vision still fresh in our minds, we stopped at a little café in Nebaj run by a white-haired gentleman affectionately known as Papi. He told us of a program he had established to help disabled children in the area. When asked why he had decided to do it, he paused for a long moment and nonchalantly replied, “Because it needed doing.” 

The four of us soon found our way into Cotzal and to Jorai Bible Institute. The building was in disrepair, they had lost their funding and most of their leadership group, and they were facing closure. The Institute’s remaining board of directors invited the four of us to stay overnight at Jorai. We slept on rugged bunkbeds with borrowed blankets in one of the upper rooms and used the “bano” perched on the hillside. The week was saturated by prayer as we sat in a circle with the board and prayed for the Lord’s direction. Through prayer we felt God directing us to offer scholarships to 28 local believers so they could attend Jorai. That was the birth of WIND.

God had given us a vision of WIND and now an acronym for WIND – When It Needs Doing. Since establishing our non-profit corporation, WIND, in 2007 we have been humbled by what God has done. 

Jorai Bible Institute continues to grow, with qualified teachers training local pastors and lay leaders.

A small elementary school, Colegio Horeb, struggling to stay open when we first met Principal Tabita in 2011, is now providing quality education to students in grades K-9. We are in awe!

Our hopes and desires for the future are to continue to bring Bible teaching to those who desire to learn, to help improve education and medical care, to be part of fostering a stronger community environment in Cotzal and its surrounding villages, and to be His hands and feet. Above all, our desire is to show the love of Jesus Christ and to be used by Him to make a difference…because that always needs doing.