Some people go all their lives without someone who is close enough to trust with a secret: A secret love, a secret treasure, a secret truth…information so delicate and fragile that cannot be trusted to just anybody. I have just such a secret that I would like to share with you. I have been holding on to it for over thirty years. Deep in the lush mountains of a remote village in Central America, buried under the lavish foliage of the garden-like tundra, with brown eyes and innocent hearts that are starving for love and affection, live almost a thousand children whose lives have been interrupted with an injection of heavenly love. That’s right. We interrupted their regularly scheduled lives of poverty and difficulty with the good news of life and a real and meaningful education. I should explain.
When we began construction on the Morning Glory Christian Academy things were really crazy there in the Central mountains of Guatemala. We were beginning another phase of our ministry in San Raymundo and were not sure of what God had planned for us. We only knew that His plans were founded on building a school that would serve as a life-line to thousands of students. We had partnered with a few faithful supporters who shared our vision for evangelism and education for these kids. We wanted to create a place where learning was experiential and spirituality was demonstrated daily by the leadership. We chose to design everything around scriptural teaching but we refused to become legalistically inclined. Rather, we were drawn to the merciful and gracious Christ who refused to give up on us—therefore that was the Christ we shared with each student.
Every successful ministry has a vision, and ours was clear:
“Morning Glory Christian Academy exists to be the hands, feet, and heart of Christ in order to encourage and equip Christ-followers through example and service. We believe that ‘As a man thinks in his heart, so is he’—Prov 23:7. We want to be a catalyst for life change as people become self-determining; understanding that they are not defined by their circumstances—they are defined by their relationship with a living and active God.”
This is the vision that drives everything we do. This is the hope that fuels our passion and fans our flame. We believe in the saving power of Jesus Christ and the restoration that he is able to provide for these students as we become his hands and feet among them. The whole village erupts in possibilities as these children learn to learn. And we are learning to become disciples as we make and groom other disciples that he sends through these villages.
The secret is not in the nature of the message, although it is a mystery; the secret is in the nature of the messenger. The one who has been transformed by the nature of the Creator of all things. It happened when the Just King of the universe abandoned his royal throne and came and dwelt among us. It was only then when all of his splendor was poured into flesh when we could dare to believe that we too could be perfect and whole again. This same love is the secret that empowers those hugs and high-fives that flow so freely amongst them.
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