God Stories - Jenn Broel - Serving God's Children

Well, Jen, thank you for uh being here.

Me and you go way back, actually.

I was thinking this morning, and I was like, okay, so my little bit of background on me for people that don't know, I've been at his hands for almost 20 years now.

I got hired here in 2007.

So we're like 18, a little over 18 years, because that was early 2007.

Um, and it's you know later in 2025 as we're recording this.

And I was the youth pastor, I did high school and junior high, but then about a year in, they also added children's ministry to me, and I had no idea what I was doing.

I really knew what I was doing at all.

But children, I didn't have kids yet, and like little kids were more intimidating to me than anything.

And so I started doing the kids stuff, and pretty soon I was like, man, I need to get some great volunteers.

And I really needed some like moms with who were fun, but also had some authority.

Like I was like, and we called it the room, I think we call it the room leader role.

Yeah.

And you were one of my like original room leaders.

What year would that have been, roughly?

It had to be.

We started coming here at 2011.

Okay.

Um, and it was right around that time when I started getting involved.

So it had to be around that time.

Okay.

Because he was in the tree house.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

You guys were always asking for volunteers.

We were we were always, we still are.

Yeah.

Kids volunteers have never been uh I don't know any churches like we have too many kids volunteers.

It's kind of like we have a lot of kids.

So I got to know you because you you came in and you were awesome.

You were one of my room leaders.

You I would always look at you in the back of the room if there was a kid who was like losing it, and I'd be like, you know, and you were on it.

Um and so yeah, that's how I I got to know you.

I'm not sure what your experience was like being a room cleaner.

It was probably a little, you know, chaotic and crazy.

It was at times, but that's just the joy of working with kids like this, you know, that keeps us on our toes.

But it was a great way just to get connected at the church, starting the volunteers.

Yeah, no.

Well, you were sorry, my throat was I thought you were getting emotional.

I was like, oh, you were you cared that much about being a room leader.

That uh sorry, I just pause whenever I have like uh No, you're fine.

I love that.

I was I was sitting here, I was like, oh man, I I didn't mean.

I don't want to make you cry this early.

Not yet.

Not yet.

No.

Thank you.

Boom, boom, Zach with the water.

That's uh that Zach he does more than just record and edit.

He is uh he's the concierge of this whole experience.

That's awesome.

Yeah.

I didn't want to like in front of the mic.

Oh, trust me, you're you're totally okay.

Um so you were you were my you were my room leader.

Uh you and a few other uh ladies did an awesome job of that.

That's how I first got to know you.

Yes.

And it was it was a great experience.

Um I got involved with the church, we got to know more people, just being there in the tree house with the kids.

Yeah, there was times where it was challenging, and there were times that we had a lot of joy.

Just seeing the kids come in and laughing and having a great time.

We did have a good time.

They still do.

And they still do.

And how old were your kids at that time?

My kids were babies.

They were like, yeah.

Yeah.

Uh well, I only had Christopher.

Well, Christopher was both of them were in the baby section.

Yeah, so I will so yeah.

And they they've grown up here now.

Yeah, they this has been home.

This has been their church since they were babies.

And they're high school, like Chris Christopher's in high school, ninth grade, and Sophia's eighth grade.

Okay, I'm about to say I knew they were right on that high school junior high.

Yes.

So they've you've had you've got kids grow up here and and all of that.

Yeah.

Yeah, so this has been home for us.

Well, I'm super grateful that it is your home.

Um, it's my home too.

And you know, we were just talking beforehand and praying, and I'm just really grateful God brought you guys here because you've been an incredible family.

And, you know, your involvement here really took a turn.

And I I'll tell like my version of it, and then I want to hear what you remember.

Um, this would have been probably, I don't know, 2015 or 16, somewhere in that range, if I'm thinking right.

We had really felt, we'd never done missions as a church.

We'd never done anything beyond we did a lot of community outreach, but we'd never gone beyond our community.

And just really felt like it was time.

I was reading a book at the time.

I can't remember the name of the book, and it was talking about missions.

And I really felt reading it um kind of convicted, like we should be doing this, and and like it's it's time.

And so I actually had a buddy that it used to go to his hands, and he had moved to Colorado and started working in a missions organization.

And so I was like, let me reach out to him.

Um he's a great guy.

And he told me what they were doing with the organization, and I'm not gonna use the organization's name.

Um, we'll talk about that later.

But uh, but you know, it was like, hey, this is a uh cool match.

I know this guy, I trust this guy.

And we met with them, and they're like, yes, here's what we do.

They facilitate churches in America having mission missions relationships with ministries in other countries, and they're basically saying, We're not just gonna go take trips, we want to have long-term relationships.

And I was like, great.

And then our first thing was to figure out where we were supposed to go.

And so I had a few people praying with me, and we really felt they they worked in Africa, uh Kenya.

I knew they did a lot of work there, Uganda, Russia, they do Russia, and then Guatemala.

And so um we we prayed and we were like, Guatemala, that's where we're gonna go.

We had no idea beyond that.

So one day, uh there was a meeting after church with some some small group leaders, I think.

And you guys were just the home group.

Yeah, home group leaders.

Yeah, you guys were on that.

And uh I was just talking in the corner with a person and they were asking me about missions.

And I said, Well, actually, we're we're gonna be starting something soon.

We don't know what it's gonna be, but we're probably gonna be in Guatemala.

And it was and I wasn't talking loud.

Right.

And I think, was it you or Eric?

Eric.

Okay, Eric, your husband.

Yeah.

He just goes, Did I hear Guatemala?

Yes.

And I was like, Yeah, and so I here's what I was saying, and he goes, Well, you know that Jen is from Guatemala, right?

And I didn't know that.

Like I knew I or I'd forgotten about it.

I don't think we really have shared that now.

Yeah.

Uh-huh.

And so all of a sudden I'm like, huh.

Well, do you guys think you might be interested in going to Guatemala?

Because we gotta figure out what are we gonna do in Guatemala.

Right.

And so what was that what what was that like for you when Eric told you?

I'm not sure, I can't even remember all the details.

So the funny part of that though, is Eric came at after he talked to you because it was a lunch for the home uh group leaders.

And at that time in our lives, I had it in my heart already that we wanted to start a uh nonprofit organization.

Okay.

But with the business at that point, yeah, because you guys run a you guys you run a very successful and very demanding business.

Thanks.

Yeah.

And so it was, you know, we were still still growing and um it required a lot of both of our times, especially mine.

And so I've had it in my heart, we wanted to do it, but it was not the right time for us.

And then this came up of the conversation between you and Eric of the mission trips, and so it was like maybe this is just what I'm called to do is not to really have a nonprofit, but it is to be part and help to be able to help the people in Guatemala and then what the odds of being that country, because that's where I've always wanted to go back and help, yeah, growing up there.

The odds of that country, plus you know, our church, and even the fact that you were at that meeting where early on I just happened to whisper it to somebody and your husband hears it, and it's like whatever.

And I didn't know that.

And so, you know, and and forgive me for that because I never really asked you about um I knew you weren't originally from the United States, right?

We just hadn't talked about it in detail.

So, like tell tell us that story.

I mean, you you were born, I mean, in Guatemala, were you born here?

So I was born in Guatemala.

Okay.

Um, my family, my dad grew up in California.

Yeah, because I knew you went back and forth.

Yeah, so I lived in California when I was little, and then we moved back to Guatemala when I was almost five.

Okay.

So my older brother was born in California.

Okay.

And so then my younger brother and I were born in Guatemala.

Okay.

So when I was born, my parents went back to California and I lived there for a while.

All right.

And then when my mom got pregnant with my younger brother, we moved back and we stayed there.

Okay.

And so I grew up in Guatemala.

So you lived in Guatemala from the time you were five until until my twenties, early twenties.

Okay.

You got a lot of family in Guatemala?

Yeah.

I mean, all life was in Guatemala, school, friends, everything.

My best friend still lives in Guatemala.

So yeah.

Um and so we I just grew up there in a small town in the Pacific coast side of it.

Okay.

Um, so I'm about two hours, two and a half hours, three hours from the city without traffic.

Which I've in my experiences, the times I've been to Guatemala, without traffic doesn't exist.

Correct.

That's not a thing.

It's just not a thing.

And you think Atlanta traffic is bad?

Uh those of the people who live where we live, I'm and Atlanta traffic is bad.

It is bad.

It is not.

Not compared to that.

Trevor Burrus, Jr.: I remember, in fact, we'll probably get to this later, but I remember the first trip we were on, we were in this bus, and I just couldn't process what was happening on the roads.

And I asked our interpreter, you know, guide, uh uh Ernesto.

Oh yeah.

Um, Nestor.

And I asked him, I said, Hey, is are there like traffic violations?

Like, can you get pulled over and be given a traffic ticket here?

And he laughed.

He was like, No, there's no there's just no way you could uh No.

It's just basically like herding cattle, you know what I mean?

So anyway, so you you live there from the time you're about four or five all the way into your twenties.

My twenties, yeah.

I mean then um I moved here and to I moved here to Atlanta.

Um I came here to visit because my dad's uh sister lives here.

Um and so she invited me to come over, and so I I came to visit and then I found a job.

Okay.

Um just to take time off from back home from life back there.

Yeah.

Um and then I found a job, started working, and then I met Eric.

Okay.

And then he swept you off your feet.

He sure did.

And so the rest is history because then him and I dated for five years, and then I was the five-year engagement actually, because we got engaged and then we stayed together, and then the rest is history we'll be married.

Well, we've known each other for a little over 20 years now.

What uh what year did you guys get married?

2006.

Okay.

Yeah, really close to what Meg and I.

We were 2005.

So yeah.

Yeah, that's crazy.

Um So and and when you grew up in Guatemala, I mean, if if I'm getting the timeline right, that would have been a pretty interesting time to live in Guatemala, because that would have been shortly after the Civil War.

They had a Yes.

Yeah.

Because there was what a couple decades that were defined by really violent civil war in Guatemala.

And that all early nineties.

Yeah, early nineties is when that kind of wrapped up.

And so you would have been living there like kind of in that time period.

Yeah.

What was I mean, what was life like in Guatemala for you as a kid?

Um You know, it was I because I grew up in a small town, it was kind of safe.

I never really felt anything weird.

However, my parents probably were more exposed to it, but they try to keep us insulated.

They kept you insulated, yeah.

Yeah, uh away from it.

But how we were not really allowed to just go out and things like that, like what would normally you would think that you could do.

Yeah.

But nowadays, even you can't do it anyways.

And traveling to like um we knew traveling at night was not safe.

Right.

So we will always, if we had to go to the city, try not to travel at night.

Right.

Yeah.

Um so Yeah, because it's just a different culture in the sense that when we've gone, you know, it's pretty much understood that the government systems are just very corrupt.

Yeah.

Right.

So pol even like the police department, whatever stereotypes you can think of of like a corrupt police department, you know, you see movies in America like the sheriff's really corrupt and the deputies are all right.

It's like that's kind of how that's very it is.

The the police department is very corrupt, government is very corrupt.

Um from what I've learned and heard now, you know, as as I gotten older, it's just the police is really bought by the drug cartels.

Um it's just human trafficking is a big thing.

Yeah, human trafficking, drugs, drugs, drugs, the government is all connected.

Um, which is it's sad.

The gangs are a big thing now.

Uh, and then it's even worse than even growing up.

Yeah.

Um I know the gang activity and and it's everything has consequences.

So even like the immigration policy in our country really affects those things.

Oh, yeah.

You know, and so when you send a lot of people back, uh, and a lot of those people, you know, whatever percentage of people are were gang members or were or the or they join a gang when they get back because they don't have a job, it just it all compounds, and that's where these issues are so complex.

You know, I remember thinking when I was there the first time, I'm a pretty idealistic person, and I'm like, we can solve problems.

And then you get there and you're like, wow, okay, the problems are very what do you even think.

They're very this is a big challenge.

It's all like a w spider west.

It is.

It's like yeah, it's like a tangled mess.

So there's no there's not like, oh, we'll just do this and it'll fix it.

Not not true.

It's very deeply complex problems.

Aaron Powell No, but on that note, going to the center, I think part of it is education and just having that safe place that the community can count on that is making a small change.

It's like that master seed change that we can't change the whole country, but just changing one or two people that we're touching.

Yeah.

Um and maybe changing a generation.

And j changing that generation, it's making a difference for the country, or at least that area.

But then one or two people from there will go and make a difference there.

Yeah, and we've and we're seeing that, I know for sure.

So let's go back.

Um you're in the room, we hear about your husband hears, Eric's like, Guatemala.

Um, tell me more.

And so you bring you guys in.

And I was super excited because I thought, wow, I mean, we felt led to Guatemala for a variety of reasons, but never thought we have someone in our church.

And it's not just someone in our church, like you're someone that I knew, had worked with, you guys were small group leaders.

We had a relationship with you all, we trusted you guys.

Eric's awesome.

Um he is great.

He is super great.

And uh and so one of the first steps we had was to go with this, again, with this other missions organization, which we will not name.

Um, and uh and we went on a trip, and the purpose of they called it a vision trip, and the purpose of the trip was to figure out what ministry in Guatemala we were gonna work with.

Because they had a variety of um, and I actually like their their filters.

It was like we want their we want you guys to work with an organization that's already doing something.

It's not organizations that go, we need someone to give us money and we'll start a ministry.

No, these people have already started established.

They just need someone to support them.

And it's more about coming alongside local leaders there versus us going in and thinking we'll fix the problem.

We'll fix the problem.

No, this is us you know bolstering people already working within that to do it.

And so we went, um, you went on that vision trip.

Yes.

The first one, you and Eric both.

Yes, both of us went.

And we were basically like traveling around Guatemala, rural places, urban areas, and we were interviewing uh potential ministry partners.

And I'll never forget Eric on that trip because I think that was right about the time the show Shark Tank had come out, and it was like really popular.

I mean, still was probably it still is popular, but it was like the early days.

Yeah.

And you know, I don't I'm asking, I'm so blown away by what these people are all doing.

I felt like all the meetings, I was like, so man, how are you doing?

Like, tell me.

And Eric, I mean, he was asking questions as if as if these people were making a pitch for us to be venture capitalists in their I mean, he was like, So tell me, what's your five-year strategy?

And what I'm seeing is is, you know, with the current model you have, if this continues like this, well, what's gonna happen once and I some of the people were not prepared for the level of of questioning that Eric had.

And I really appreciated that.

I was, I wasn't like, Eric, cut it out.

Because I was like, no, no, no, we do need to be really discerning.

And if I correct me if I'm wrong, the way I remember is we went on a bunch, we saw a bunch of, I remember all the places we went, but then we had to come together as a team, and there were like five or six of us, yeah, and pray about which group we were gonna go with.

And and it was really between the group we work with now, right, and this really rural village that we had gone to.

And that rural school, in some ways, I remember for me, and this maybe exposes my inexperience and just cultural, you know, ignorance.

It very much more the the rural place fit more of like the mental picture I had of missions.

It was like in the middle of nowhere.

Middle of nowhere, uh, you know, kind of squalor, and kids that were living in, you know, I remember there's like a kid that would just run around totally naked when we were there.

Do you remember that?

Yeah.

And and it was very, very poor.

Yeah.

But also very like, you know, it felt like a place we could come in and we we could build a building and we could do things that were like we put in a well.

Well, yeah.

Yeah, it was that so it felt very like obvious what to do.

Like what the missions call for.

And I remember one of the ladies on our trip was very set, like that's who we were supposed to work with.

And then we had this this other ministry that was totally the opposite.

It was in the outskirts of Guatemala City in an incredibly urban, densely populated area with heavily influenced by gangs.

Yeah.

Kids were really living very exposed to violence.

They were, they were hungry, they were in poverty, but it was like urban poverty.

Right.

And uh and so, you know, there's like cars zooming by left and right, and yet these kids are hungry and they're they're not able to keep up in school because the whole school system is a whole different thing.

And I remember like, these are two totally different ministries.

But if I'm thinking right, a couple people were like, I think we should do the rural one, and that made sense.

But I think you and I and Eric were like, I think we're supposed to work with Mimi, who is the woman that was running that ministry.

What was it about?

And even if you were like, No, I thought we were supposed to be the other one, whatever.

We prayed about it.

Yeah.

But what I I think I remember though, you guys were really excited about her.

What was it about Mimi and the actual ministry that we've been now been working with for years?

That what was it that impressed you about them?

So thanks to Eric and all the questions that he asked, which it's his gift, and I think that's what makes us who we are.

That's probably really fun to be married to him when he has seven.

That's what I'm saying.

He's like, he thinks things through, he's thorough.

Yeah, we both have our strengths and weaknesses, and I think we kind of like help each other with that.

Yeah.

But with that uh vision and understanding, so Mimi's vision, um, they are a community.

They're not just for the children.

So when we talked to them and the questions were being asked to them, and Mimi and William, Pastor William, it was um they they had a clearer vision.

And even though they did not know how they were gonna make it happen, they had the faith.

Yeah.

One thing that it really comes from them is their faith.

Like in hearing their story of not having food, eggs that morning.

I don't know if you remember that story that Mimi showed uh shared with us.

I'll never forget, yeah.

That yeah, tell it if you remember, yeah.

They didn't have food for that meal for the kids that day, um, or one of the times, and they didn't have the money to buy eggs, but somehow somebody came and gave them the food, the the money, or they donated the eggs.

I don't remember clear the story, but just hearing that and walking with alongside her hearing the story and her faith on how God provided because they all they had was prayer.

Yes.

And they pray over it and it was provided.

And seeing that connection, I was able to connect with her and and them on that faith and understanding their vision of this ministry, their ministry, it was just not like, okay, we're here to feed the kids and then we're done.

Right.

It's like they come and they are fed and then we're done.

No, they are there for those for the kids and the community and the families, yeah.

And the families, 24-7.

Somebody needs something, and we could see it.

Like, and now that we've been partnering with them, we can see that somebody's roof falls, they figured out how to fix it.

Um or somebody needs a surgery.

Somebody needs a surgery.

And the kids are often the you know, the kids are the entry point because they correct the organization we work with um is a kind of an education center for children and young kids come for a time and they get tutored and and fed.

Yes.

Because a lot of these kids are hungry.

I mean, good luck.

That's the only meal that they get.

That's the only meal they get every day.

And and like how are you supposed to stay ahead in your classes when you're starving?

Right.

When you're so hungry that you can't think.

And so they feed the kids and then they teach the kids and help the kids stay, you know, keep up with school, which is really hard there.

And they provide with the school supplies to the other.

Right with school supplies, that's right.

Yeah, a lot of kids can't go to school because they don't have this they don't have the supplies.

I don't have paper.

I don't have a pencil.

Right.

Um so they provide supplies, all that.

And then the older kids come later and do the same exact thing.

So they're working with multiple generations at a time.

And a lot of times, right, the the their entry point into a family's life is this child, and they do it all for free.

These families don't pay.

Correct.

You know?

And then, you know, they find out that that family has like a death happened in the family.

I remember when we were there the last time, when I was there the last time, there was a little girl that I was playing with, and she was the sweetest little girl.

I mean, just bright-eyed and just beautiful.

And um, we went to a park, and uh all the kids were playing soccer, but I I don't know how to play soccer, football.

It's the main sport.

They were good.

I was like, man, I'm gonna get but there was a little basketball goal, and I was like, eh, I know basketball, so I was playing basketball, and this little girl started wanting to play, and I was showing her how to shoot, and she was just really fun.

And then afterwards I found out, you know, they said, Hey, she we've haven't seen her smile like that in a long time.

Her dad committed suicide not that long ago, and and uh she's been really sad ever since.

You know, it was like this heartbreaking story.

I'm like, oh my gosh.

And these kids, very few of them have duh dual parent homes, right?

A lot of them being taken care of by grandparents.

Grandparents, grandmother.

Yeah, and if they get sick, they just miss a month of school.

Right.

Because they they don't get well fast, they're malnourished, they don't have access to medicine, and so a stomach bug for us is like, oh, you're gonna miss two days of school.

But for them, that's like it could be weeks.

Could be weeks.

Um so the situations are so heavy.

And I remember with Mimi, it was like this combination of faith.

I remember another story she taught about some kids wanted food, but they didn't think they had any, they hadn't they just had this little propane tank.

Oh, I remember Burley that's like, yeah, it was like they had a propane tank grill kind of thing, like flat top, and that's what they cooked all their eggs and tortillas.

I mean that's what they eat.

And they were like, We don't have any gas.

And they prayed and they turned it on and and it lit.

And it lit.

And but then it stayed like that for a long time.

And they and the earlier they had been out of gas, so like it wouldn't turn on.

And God just kind of like a story in the Bible.

Yeah.

So it was a faith, but also obedience.

Yes.

Like Mimi's sharp, and she could go get a really good job in Guatemala City and live a very comfortable life by those standards.

Correct.

And she's turned that down time and time again to stay with these kids and put her own family in harm's way.

Correct.

Because the gang violence there is real.

It is.

We've had multiple kids part of the program that have been killed.

Unfortunately.

Even one recently.

Correct.

Yeah, that was what a 13-year-old that died.

13-year-old like a week ago.

Yes.

He was shot, correct?

Correct.

Yeah.

And that's a kid that's part of our part of our center.

He is part um of the church.

Do you want me to tell the story?

Yeah, yeah, tell the story there.

Because there's a church that there's a church and the center work together.

Yeah.

But do you want me to tell the story of how he was killed?

Yeah, let's talk about it because it's um it's real.

It is real.

So yes, this boy, uh, a 13-year-old boy was killed probably about a week or so ago.

Um he is part of the Nexo, which is the youth group of the church that again is the community.

So the center and the church are connected.

And and now that we partner, we invite those teenagers as well when we have opportunity to do uh work with not just the center, but the youth group.

Yeah, so they have the their faith.

Correct.

So we're able to also work with those kids.

Um, so he's part of Nexo.

He's um he was at school and um he had just gotten out of the school, and he's been talking to another girl that I guess he was hitting on, or you know, he's being a 13-year-old boy.

13-year-old boy and kids being uh teenagers.

Um so they were talking, and apparently this girl is also she was dating one of the gang members.

And this because the boy had been hitting on her, the gang member member decided to come and shot him and playing they lined.

Um, and he shot him in front of the girls that were sitting there and all the parents that were lined up to pick up their children.

So it affected the community and has affected the community a lot just because it's a 13-year-old gangs are taking part of the youth group at first.

He's part of the youth group of the church.

And the church, and that church in the center, we'll we'll we'll have a chance to uh at our event coming up soon, William, who's a bit of his role's changed recently, but he's a pastor, he was the youth pastor at the church.

Yes, volunteers in the center all the time, and there's this kind of relationship where, like you said, it's a whole community thing.

It's it's feeding kids, it's educating them in school, but then also it's providing a spiritual system for them to have a relationship with the Lord and to have a church community around them because they they need as much as they need as many layers of support when we can.

I mean we all do.

We do absolutely.

And I get I is the like my role, I get to see the layers of support that the church provides.

Like we talk all the time that when life's going great, most people have kind of a consumeristic view of church where it's like, yeah, I'll go when it's convenient.

And uh and I didn't like that.

That's not the they didn't play my favorite songs.

That's not my favorite worship leader.

And I like Justin's message better last week.

I'm being playful.

Yeah.

But we do have more of a was this exactly what I wanted?

That's kind of the thought.

But man, when crisis hits, all of a sudden your church becomes a very different thing.

Correct.

And it's this support structure and it's counseling and help and resources and love and prayer.

I mean, I everything.

And they live in that daily.

Daily.

I mean, that is that's that's like life is a crisis for most of them on a daily basis.

So they need like that support constantly.

And that's one of the things when you're there, the community that they have with each other is Yeah.

They are so tight-knit.

They are like and they're there for each other.

It's it's it's cool to see it.

It's hard to put it in words and ex explain it.

Yep.

But when we're there and we are able to experience it firsthand, it's it's cool to see how they come together and they're there for each other and they support each other.

Aaron Ross Powell And at this point in time, correct me if I'm wrong, you've been on like every trip we've ever taken there.

And how many trips has that been now?

Ooh.

Like the hit the official his hands Guatemala trips have been like twelve maybe?

Maybe.

Somewhere twelve of because we started when did we go?

2007 was our vision trip?

No, 2008.

No, no, it would have been like 2015 or so.

Oh, fifteen, I mean that was seven is when we spent a long time.

It's been a long time.

Because eighteen, I think it was our first trip.

With the church.

We did the vision trip on 2017.

Yeah.

I remember it was a long build-up, like 2015, we're like, we need to do something.

2016, we figured out Guatemala.

It took time.

And then we took a break because of COVID.

Yeah.

It's probably been 10 or so.

Close to 10, yeah.

And you've been on all of those.

On all of them.

Are you the only one that's been on all of them?

I think you are.

Um Yeah.

Except David, who is our uh member for our nonprofit.

Yeah.

David Arnold.

He's been on all of them except the vision trip.

Except the vision trip.

So I'd say I can't remember if he was on that.

So yeah, we've got a few people who have David and Nancy.

And Nancy.

And so what I'm building to that is in the early years of us working in Guatemala, we we were working through another organization.

Right.

And like I said, we're not going to name that organization just for I mean lots of reasons.

All I can say is, you know, think I'm always grateful for the organization.

Yes.

Because if we would have been for them, we wouldn't have met our current partners.

Trevor Burrus, Jr.

Correct.

Yeah.

It was a great.

And at first, this organization, which is based here in the States, you know, it's like, man, they were able to set up the trips and get us interpreters and places to stay and you know, really grateful for that.

But as time went on, um, we just became to be dissatisfied and kind of concerned.

I mean, we didn't feel like A, we didn't feel like the organization was was necessarily prioritizing the right things with our partners.

They were taking a pretty good percentage of I mean, it was like half.

It was like anytime we would raise money, um you know, like it you have monthly sponsorships and they would take, I think, close to half of that is what they they took.

Yeah, that's when we did the Trevor Burrus, something like 45% or 40 percent, whatever it was.

And I understood that.

I'm like, they have administrative costs.

They have employees in Guatemala and they're working with our partners, and I mean, fine.

But I remember like one of the things was we we had a big event years ago where we did a big fundraiser.

Yes.

And we raised and we put the whole thing on ourselves.

We flew Mimi into here, and you were such a huge part of that, and we had this massive event.

It was one of the most successful like events we've ever had as a church and a fundraiser, and we raised like a hundred thousand dollars.

Yes, we did, which is incredible.

But they, that that local American organization was like, well, we get a a percentage of that.

Because, you know, and I remember being like Administrative fees.

But you didn't administrate it.

I remember thinking like we did everything.

Yeah.

So you guys, like, okay, you want 20% of this.

You want$20,000, whatever it was.

I think it was like 17 or$1.

I think we actually talked them down.

It was$20,000 and we actually got them to agree to like think 13.

Something like that.

Something like that.

But the point is we as a church did everything for that.

They didn't do anything.

No.

We set everything up, we organized it, and we put it together, and it's like, so we're paying you$13,000 just to take the check from us.

And move money.

And move the money to and I just remember feeling like I get administrative fees and I get your but that just felt so wrong.

Yes.

Because again, none of your people really worked on this.

You know what I mean?

And so that's when like cracks were starting to show, and they had a change in leadership and and all of that.

But I remember it got to the point where we were so frustrated because we would like we have you who can fly to Guatemala, you have family there, you can call them on the phone, and we were constantly told not to have that communication.

Yeah, yeah.

Communication was always really stifling, and everything was we're like, we just want to talk to them.

And then you came to us after a few years of frustration with a different idea.

Yes.

And this was the birth of what is now called serving God's children.

So tell us that story, because this is a big deal.

Yeah.

So yeah, in the mix of us, the church, trying to figure out what would be the best thing to do for our partnership in Guatemala, um Sheila and I were looking and thinking what will be our thing to do.

Um and in the conversation with Sheila, and we were on a trip in Guatemala with Sheila, um, and we were we were done with the tri um locations that we had gone to visit to figure out which organization we could work with.

Um Yeah, because at that time we were looking at maybe switching to a different switching to a different thing.

Yeah, we were gonna stay with our partner.

We're not gonna change the people we're working with, but we were like, well, if we're not gonna work with this missions organization, let's find some other missions organizations that can be like do a handoff kind of.

Correct.

And you guys went to sort of explore that.

Aaron Ross Powell, so we were exploring that and we were done for today, and we were talking, and she and Sheila and I had, you know, I wrote Rishare with Sheila, I've had it in my heart to always help.

And back in the day when we first started with the church and the mission trips, that she knew that I kind of had it in my heart to go back and help.

And so we were talking, and she was like, maybe this is it.

This is the time for us to for you to really consider, pray about it and and see if this is a time, if this is what you're called to do.

And I did.

I prayed.

Eric and I talked, and at this point in our lives, our kids are a little older.

The company, we've had a we have a an awesome team to help us lead the company.

And yeah, it felt right.

And which I mean, you say it so casually, which is great, but it's kind of like, hey, you know, what if you just started from the ground up, you know, an international missions organization that uh works with hundreds.

Because I mean, we didn't say this.

The the center we work at, we're not talking about like 20 kids.

No.

It is they have it between 250 and 300 kids.

250 and 300 kids plus their families that they're working with all the time and they're feeding them, educating them.

I mean, it's like everything we talked about.

Yeah, just you know, you're a mom, you're raising kids, you also have this full-time business that while going great, you have a good team.

It's still, I mean, you carry the weight of that.

Yes.

Just, you know, just start an international missions organization from the ground up, and we'll you we'll work through you guys.

You know what I mean?

Talk about being obedient.

It was put in my heart.

It definitely has come with a lot of challenges.

Um, I think you get tested in so many different ways, you know, putting it together, building it.

Um we gone through I think our marriage has been challenged through this.

We've had our ups and downs.

But it is that faith that throughout.

Um I think life kind of molds you and situations in life helps you grow.

And like you said, right, in the hardest times, church is your place to come.

And it has been, you know, getting to know who really God is, Jesus, you know, it's just been one thing in life after another.

And I think when God put this in my heart to start, he knew Eric and I were ready to kind of work through whatever challenges in our marriage and our family business will come through this.

Um in the moment, you know, it's it's a it's a being in like a tornado, right?

Um you're in it, it's a dis feels like it's a disaster, everything is going.

But something that I'm never gonna forget, William, in one of his talks to us when we go through the mission trips, he said, you know, the Holy Spirit is dancing in that tornado.

Um and it is true, being building the nonprofit is has not been an issy test at times.

Uh we've had our challenges.

And yes, I think you're the enemy.

I I do believe in that, kind of like tests as you, tests as the kids.

Definitely.

Yeah, Satan doesn't want this to succeed, right?

Correct.

He's gonna attack your marriage, your kids, because he wants you to be like, we don't have time for this.

Correct.

And so the distractions come in and and it's just it's not like we have a huge team.

It's really David, Arnold, Eric, and I.

Yeah.

Yeah, but you guys are doing I mean, you're helps us a lot.

Yeah, we love you guys, but you're doing the work.

Um thanks.

And so putting it like lighty, lighter, I guess, of feeling like it was has not been a challenge.

It has been.

It's it we've had our challenges, and every time that I I feel like something we're about to do something different or changing something, or we're about to go on a mission trip, um a challenge comes up.

Right.

And I'm I'm not, I'm gonna one of the thing that trips that we took.

Um it was our first trip that we went as a nonprofit.

Yeah.

Um, Sheila, we do a business trip with the partners in Guatemala because it's just part of it's you know, it's a business, and we gotta look at it also to see our their visions, what their plans are.

Yeah, you gotta make sure that we have a plan.

You gotta make sure that side of it's sustainable.

Correct.

How what what do we need and things?

So we have gone through that um trip um and coming back.

So talk about challenges.

We as soon as we land, Eric and I were, you know, literally the plane, the wheels touch ground, and our son calls us.

And uh he's like, he's crying, and he's like, I fell.

Um and I busted my head.

And he was at a friend's house.

And I talked to the parent where he's at, and he's like, Yeah, I think he they were on a scooter and they were not wearing helmets, and he really hurt his head very bad.

And I think he needs to be seen by a doctor.

Obviously, we're You just landed in Guatemala.

No, uh here in the States.

We had just come back.

You just come back from the trip.

Okay.

And we were coming back, the trip had been successful, everything had been.

Oh, yeah.

Okay, so you're coming back like be ready to celebrate.

Celebrate, it's all good.

And we come back, we landed, and we got the goal.

And we are Hartsfield at Jackson's airport.

Yeah.

We're downtown.

My kid is probably about an hour from where we are.

So we call my brother-in-law, and he is rushing to go get him so we can take him to the children's hospital.

So it's like those things and that I feel like we get tested because it puts a lot of stress as a family and you know, as a couple, of no, you've got to get through it.

And you're coming back from serving and doing what's put in your heart, you know, being obedient of God and which is energizing but also exhausting at the same time.

Yeah, it is.

It is, and then you've got to come back.

And so it's like things like that that has been that we've seen the challenges at times, and it's just so it's so funny.

And now I know like I've learned to pray a lot more.

That's the other thing.

Like of all of this, it's been good too, because it's taught me to get closer to God.

And I'm not one in my journey, in my journey with God.

Um, I have not been one to really read the Bible as often back in the day.

And now, you know, just um even before the nonprof starting the nonprofit, being in the mission trips part of it, and and helping, just getting closer to God like that, and reading the Bible more and reading the Bible verses and learning more about God.

It's been that journey of getting closer uh to him and getting to know him better.

Um so it's been a good thing, but it's been those challenges at times as well.

Well, I mean, yeah, I mean, we think we want God to hit the button and just zap us and give us faith and maturity and and uh knowledge and everything goes great.

And I I think it's interesting as you say that a lot of times we have this conception that if God is involved, everything will go smooth.

Yes.

And that's how you know God's involved, because it won so smoothly.

I mean, this was a God thing because and sometimes that's true.

Sometimes it's like, wow, you see stories in the Bible where battles are won in ways that they shouldn't.

It's like God was involved.

Yes.

I mean, but if you look at the people in the Bible that God was with and they were the closest to God, it's like I don't think many of their lives could, or any of their lives, could be described as like smooth sailing.

There's a lot of bumps on those roads, and uh, and that's that's encouraging for all of us because it means that when life is is not cooperating, it doesn't mean that God's not with you, and it doesn't mean that you're not doing exactly what God wants you to do.

Right.

There's just resistance.

Yes, you know, and sometimes it's Satan, I do believe it is like the devil, and sometimes it's just a broken world fighting you.

And that goes all the way back to even the curse that Adam had in the garden where God was like, You're gonna work and toil, but it's like the earth's almost gonna fight against you.

That's how the world works.

Right.

But yet he's with us through it, and he he gives us what we need, he gives us endurance, and um and you, just like Mimi, so here we go, right?

Like co-full circle, what drew you to Mimi was was her faith.

Yeah, and then we talked about her obedience, and here you are, and you and Eric have been incredibly faithful and obedient, and you guys have sacrificed a lot of I mean, I'm sure it's been a lot of money, a lot of time.

I mean, it's just time with that's precious energy.

And it's not like you guys have tons of extra anyway.

You're raising kids, you run a business, it's a lot.

But I'm so proud of you guys, and I'm so, I mean, honestly challenged.

Like even hearing you talk, it reminds me to um like you would think that I work at a church, I must pray nonstop all the time.

And sometimes I can get so busy working for God that I don't work with him.

And my day, as I have to go, oh yeah, God, I can I can do this with you.

I'm doing it for you, but I want to do it with you.

Uh years ago, a guy who spoke spoke your his hands back in the day, named Ken Kington put it that way.

Like work with God, not for God.

And I'm like, I really struggle with that.

I really do on a regular basis.

Um, I need reminded of that a lot.

So thank you.

But here we are, years later, you said yes to God.

Now you've got this uh organization called Serving God's Children, and it's a it's a nonprofit here in the States that works directly with Guatemala, and now instead of working with another organization, which we don't need to name, uh, we get to work with with you.

You guys.

So everything we do in Guatemala now comes from you.

And it's been so cool because you guys uh like I know financially the money goes like directly to the kids and much more than it it ever used.

So you still have operating costs, you gotta do it.

That's fine, that's normal.

But it's so much less than that.

Yeah.

And I know when we do this, we've got a big fundraiser coming up.

Yes.

And I'm not having to fight you guys on like, well, why is not the money going to the people that need it?

You guys, that's not what you're in it for.

No.

And it's so cool.

And that's something that when again talking about the starting the nonprofit, I you we see a lot of nonprofit organizations in Guatemala, right?

I d that's just a week.

Yeah, there's a ton of those, yeah.

That that come and and help and support.

But understanding now how it all operates, having those administrative fees of staying behind within the organization and not really going into the community, it really touched my heart of I wanted to do something different.

Um, not something that I'm making this for profit is really a non-profit.

Yeah, and God's positioned you guys.

You know, it's funny, it's kind of like us being a one-service church.

Correct.

Like very few churches could even try it.

Because we have a big building and big parking lots around us.

That kind of kind of a date.

Most organizations, like the people running it, that has to be their income too.

Right.

There's nothing wrong with that.

There's nothing wrong with that.

But you guys are set up differently.

You have this successful business, and you're not you're not looking at this organization as income.

This is like we want as much to go to the partners as possible.

We we we want to make sure it's sustainable.

So yeah, there's some operating costs, that's normal.

But just in the last year or two working with you guys, it's been the amount of communication we have.

We get to talk to our partners all the time.

We know what's going on.

We don't have to wait for these like official quarterly reports.

Like we can get those, that's great.

But you're free to talk to them whenever you want.

I could I could pick up the phone right now and call you and say, Hey Jen, could I have a conversation with and I'm not usually the one doing that, it's usually Sheila.

Yes.

But um, but Sheila could pick up the phone right now and say, Jen, can we can we talk to Mimi and figure out what Yes?

And it's like, yeah, we'll call her today.

It's so it's just been so beautiful.

And there's this transparency, and that's a big thing for us.

Transparency is very important for the partners of the partnership, um, not just with the church here, but with the community, the partners in Guatemala and our partners here that are supporting us.

Uh, we are working very hard to have that transparency.

So, yes, we have our administrative fees that we keep.

It's uh I believe it's about 30 percent not uh twenty percent of the of the monthly uh partnership.

But we don't keep anything when we do a special event or like we have the the special projects like the school supplies or anything that they come up with throughout the year that they need help with.

Our our mission and our goal is to give as much back to that community.

So if it's for a specific project, that funds go back.

Yeah.

No, and you guys have been super transparent, crazy generous, and I mean it's it's it's both set up well, because you could have set it up to where it was just it'll fizzle out one day, but you've set it up to succeed and be sustainable, but also it's it's just a whole different level.

And so selfishly, like thank you, because all the work and time and toil you've put in has made it a lot easier for us, and we're a lot more confident.

That's great.

That's our goal.

Yeah, of course.

And and now we're excited because we're working on improving our website and our for our partners as well.

Um so one of the biggest things that we've always heard and we wanted to happen as well is for our partners to also be able to communicate with the community.

So now when you become a partner, you can pick or select a child or a volunteer or staff to sponsor, to support.

And you'll have that communication within your profile that you can send messages.

And you get yeah.

And you can talk to them.

Um we're super excited about that.

It's been on the works for the past few this year, actually.

Well, it's easy.

All you gotta do is set up communication channels between people here in the United States and hundreds of families in Guatemala.

How hard is that?

Like, you know, it's not that bad.

Um Well, you guys have been and you're always working on it, you're always making it better.

Um, and I trust you guys so much with that.

And so as we wrap up, um if if someone's watching this and they want to get involved, like what should they do?

Um they can go to our website, servinggaschildren.com, and you'll see uh a section there that says partner, become a partner, and then you'll have the option there.

Um the new website is not live yet, so but when the new website comes up, you'll be able to see the pictures of the kids or the pictures of the volunteer staff of the center, and you can select that.

Or we will have a section for projects.

Yeah, the school supply to school supply to that project itself.

So that's how you can come and become a partner with us.

Yeah, and I can't recommend it enough.

Um, we're gonna get the word out a lot over the next few weeks with the big event we've got coming up here at the church.

Yes, um just even in perpetuity, like man, go to serving godschildren.com, become a partner.

It's uh an incredible cause, and none of it would be possible if if it weren't for people like Mimi and William, who said yes to God, but also you and Eric.

Like God called you to do something really hard, and you said yes.

And I know he's gonna thank you for that one day.

Like I know you're gonna get to sit in front of the Lord one day and he's gonna say, Hey, thank you for doing what I asked you to do.

Um because not everybody does that, and you guys are really special.

And I feel very blessed and like I said, challenged to know you guys, and so yeah.

Thank you.

Yeah, and we're very blessed to have you, the church, to have you guys too, and blessed that we've gotten to know you guys and the support that we get from the church.

We this could not be happening.

Well, this is just we're still in the early stages, it's gonna get better and better.

It's gonna get better.

So Jen, thank you so much.

Thanks for saying yes to God.

Thank you.

All right.