Phase I Report

We arrived on Tuesday and were able to prepare the ‘Biblical Foundations for Business” course into the four day sessions. This time of year, Guatemala is still in their rainy season so we put the time to good use getting prepared for the mission ahead.

I have never witnessed such a hunger to learn about what God says about conducting business. Combine that hunger with humbleness and a desire to serve others and you have a great recipe for new business owners.

I quickly learned that I could not be more courteous than the Guatemalans in our class. After spending several minutes initially gesturing for them to walk through doors first, I had to abandon this attempt since they simply would not walk through a door first. While I continued to try to put them first, it was utterly futile and our team had to recognize that they so treasured us that we needed to gracefully accept the many ways they show respect.

Many of them had to ride old city buses late at night and make arrangements for child care to attend this course. They filled their notebooks with ideas and learning’s. During a breakout session I asked them to select one business opportunity and work on creative low-cost marketing ideas. One group was stymied and asked me (through the interpreter) to confirm that they had to select only one opportunity since they all wanted to talk about their own.

Some of the businesses they wish to start are: restaurants (far different from what we know as a restaurant), internet service provider, bank security, and Glamour (Doris wants to open a beauty shop where she will make them beautiful inside and out by witnessing to her customers while they are being served).

During one of the sessions on Customer Driven Businesses, Terry and I performed a skit where he was a customer and I was ‘Martine’ the owner of a restaurant who is very customer focused. Our broken Spanish and poor acting caused the class and instructors to laugh through much of the skit. From that point on, the class called me Martine.

On Saturday, 21 potential Micro Enterprise students graduated. They are now challenged to perform marketing research and then write a business plan using the formats we delivered in order to go to Phase II of the III Phase program. The team will return in September to work with them one on one to review, tweak and determine which of the opportunities we will fund. Each opportunity has a kingdom purpose which is part of their plan.

Edsuardo, who is starting up a perfume and jewelry business adopted me as his ‘big brother’. He invited us to his rented apartment and shared with us his dream of one day owning a home. Tears came to his eyes as he spoke of his dream home.

At the end of our trip, we attended Showers of Grace church which is being slowly constructed by the 8,000 very poor members. I was reminded how much God’s hand is in Guatemala as the congregation sang, danced, shouted, waved their arms and prayed out loud and at will as the spirit moved them.  Showers of Grace website.

I expected to work hard and come home exhausted. Instead, I learned that “he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” .

Its impossible to imagine what new hope, new businesses, quality of life, homes, dreams may take place from investments like this so I thank you on their behalf and mine.

Warmest regards and thanks,

Grant