Please join us in praying for this year's mission trip . The trip will be broken into 2 locations: Jalapa and Villa Nueva.

While in Jalapa (Tuesday through Sunday) the team will lead bible studies with the adults and teens of the church as well as participate and lead in the nightly church activities. Daily ministries will include a luncheon provided to the people surrounding the "dump" area in Los Laureles. This ministry that Westside supports provides one lunch a week to this area throughout the year. The goal of this ministry is to draw unbelievers as well as believers to the local church through providing for a need. Several days in Jalapa the team will be participating in door to door ministries, praying with the residents, and providing dry goods. This year we have the opportunity to also work 3 days in the local medical clinic. Westside will have a nurse and CNAs that minister to those who visit the clinic. The remaining days in Jalapa will be spent leading Vacation Bible School in the mountains near Jalapa. This is a new church plant area for the local church that we are excited to partner with!

Once arriving in the Villa Nueva (Sunday through Wednesday), the team will stay in the City of Children center. This is a foster care/orphanage for children who have been abused or surrendered by their parents who could not take care of them. Each day the team will lead Bible stories, share testimonies, and participate in fun activities to encourage them to know Jesus and rely on Him. Discipleship groups are beginning with some of the teen girls there also, so please pray that this area will grow.  The team will also provide a fun ‘American’ meal one night for everyone living there. Pray that we have the energy we need for these days in the children’s center. Fighting fatigue will be a battle by then because we will be with children from sunrise to sunset!

Please also pray that through all of these various activities and outreaches in Jalapa and Villa Nueva the name of Jesus is made known. Pray that seeds are planted and hearts are encouraged . Many of the children and adults in both areas know only a life of work and hardship. Pray for the team that this is a week where distractions are put aside, and we can all focus on the hearts of those before us!

In 2012, God prompted the Alexander family towards Central America. Not knowing how or when, April began looking into different ministry areas that could leave sustainable impact of the Gospel both in truth and in deed. Through a mutual friend, she found a trip that would enable the whole family to live out love in a children’s home called Remar: Ciudad de Los Niños in Villa Nueva, Guatemala. Since then, they have continuously taken teams to this area to do VBS, spend quality time with the kids ages 0-18, maintain a donor relationship for the home’s needs, and customized the trip by way of utilizing each team member’s skill sets that the Lord has given them. 

    In 2015, God opened the door to start working with Pastor Gustavo Araña in Jalapa and other villages on the Eastern side of the country.  

Based out of the mission house at Vida en Jesús ministries the team has been able to: 

• serve alongside the church’s 30+ youth
• lead bible study groups, worship, and services for a variety of ages 
• energize VBS mini camps
• distribute food such as rice, beans, salt, and sugar at the trash dump to people that live there
• sponsor children to go to school to break the cycle of extreme poverty 
• provide supplies for the medical clinic for those that can not afford medical costs 
• volunteer at local sites 
• door to door evangelism 
• support sewing occupations for women coming out of the dump

Westside Baptist church family has been able to send and support, to make this impact possible through the means that God has provided. Thank you for being intentional about funding the hope of Jesus Christ on an international scale. Continue to pray for the conviction of the Holy Spirit for our church and in the lives of those reached. May God bless our brothers and sisters in the faith for their generous hospitality as foreigners in Guatemala, and locally in Murray, Kentucky for their enabling of goers to make disciples of all nations. 

Please contact April Alexandar if you're interested in being a part of the Guatemala Missions Team, or click here to contact our front office and we will be happy to get her in touch with you.