Women's conference in Guatemala

Yesterday was the last day of a 5 day conference on the status of women in society. Our director, Pamela Leon, was involved in the planning of this conference that included guest speaker, Darrow Miller, author of the book, Nurturing the Nations. Two days were spent introducing the topic and breaking down common myths and cultural influences on the status and role of women in society. The following 3 days were more intensive, getting at core issues and comparing cultural views of the woman in relation to marriage and motherhood to the views that God reveals through His word.

Darrow Miller speaks to the group with the help of his translator (Day 5)

Understanding these teachings has the potential to greatly impact the way locals as well as global workers here in Guatemala tackle problems that women face here. I, for one, am very thankful that I was able to attend and participate for 2 days of this conference. While we would have liked to see attendance a little higher for this event, it was still inspiring to see people from various backgrounds and roles in society contributing to the discussion on women and contextualizing the topics to Guatemala. 

 Alba and I attend the conference and help sell jewelry

As their schedules permited, some of the ladies from the shelter were able to attend the conference, hopefully with a changed outlook on life, their future, and their relationship with God. We were also allowed to bring some of our jewelry from the shelter to sell during the conference.

Thank you to everyone who made this event possible!

Please continue to pray with us for change and healing for women in Guatemala. And thanking Him for the people that are so passionate to serve in His name!

Feliz día de la Independencia

Today is Independence Day in Guatemala! There are a lot of traditions to celebrate this holiday. In the night people run in the streets with torches while onlookers toss them bags of water. I also found out that they like to throw bags and buckets full of water at any cars or busses driving by. Schools also put on special events to celebrate. On Friday morning I went with Mishel to see her kids perform in one of these celebrations. They danced to traditional music, sang the national anthem and read patriotic poems. It was adorable. The kids were nervous but did a great job. Mishel took lots of pictures so hopefully you can see some more when our latest update comes out.

Mishel's youngest daughter holds a craft she made for her performance. It is the La Monja Blanca, Guatemala's national flower.

Face painted for a special dance.

First El Refugio Blog!

Women's Brunch Jewelry Sale

Hello readers and El Refugio supporters! 

Welcome to our blog, 

One highlight of this week was being invited to sell jewelry at a women's group that meets at Union Church in the city. The ladies invited Deysi to give a brief presentation about our ministry at El Refugio two weeks ago. One of our women from the shelter came along and gave her testimony which greatly impacted the group. After hearing more about our micro-enterprise selling jewelry, they invited us to return the following week with some samples of the products to sell. We brought lots of our new line of jewelry as well as aprons and bags made with typical material. It was a great success! The ladies were curious to learn more, and some expressed a desire to help us sell jewelry or volunteer at the shelter. What a blessing!

Deysi sharing more info about the shelter at 

the women's brunch at Union Church

Please keep us in your prayers as the search continues for an appropriate vehicle for ministry use at the shelter.

Rachel and the El Refugio Team

Check back weekly for more updates :)