BeFriend Concepcion Pinula

What is life like in Concepción Pinula?
Time to rise and shine! A typical day for most people in Concepción Pinula begins at 3:30am or 4:00am, well before sunrise. Men head outside to milk their cows, care for their fields or take the early bus to work in the capital city.

Some women work in agriculture to put food on the table, often working alongside their husbands in the fields. Other women work at home, making tortillas, doing house work and caring for their children.

Children may or may not attend school. Uneducated children may work in the field and return late in the evenings. But not every minute is filled with work! Children love to play soccer together, often while still wearing their rubber work boots. Girls enjoy girls jumping rope together. “Patojos,” as children are called in Guatemala, spend their free time playing, chatting and joking around.

Delicious and unique food is important to life in Concepción Pinula. “Meriendas” (or street food snacks) abound. Every afternoon people stop for some delicious “atol,” homemade bread, tostadas and more.

What issues does Concepción Pinula face?
Unemployment: A lack of employment opportunities pushes people to leave their homes and immigrate to another country in search of a better life for their families. This strains the family unit, destroying relationships and families in the process.

Medical Care: Many people lack access to health services due to a severe shortage of medical providers in the village. While healthcare can be found in the outskirts of town, travel expenses create a burden. Resource-strapped families struggle to pay for transportation to the doctor, office visits, medicine and hospital services.

Gender Inequality: Gender roles often devalue education for girls while emphasizing male dominance. Daughters are instilled with the belief that their primary objectives should be to learn house work, attend to their husbands and care for children.

  
About the Church
Ministry at Concepción Pinula Christian Church emerged during the pandemic, which led the church to share food with the community. Many people in the Concepción lived on land without proper legal warrants. The government eventually decided to intervene, leaving many people in the community without a home. People called this change “La Piedrona,” or the invasion.

Fallout from “La Pierdrona” forced many people from the church and village to leave the area, including the hostess of Sunday services. The church was left with few members in the community, so they began again from scratch.

Throughout this time, the church continued distributing food to supplement critical needs. To follow up these relief efforts, they began leading Bible studies through home churches. Another church member graciously opened up her home for Sunday services.

Currently, the church rents a facility in the center of Concepción where they hold Sunday meetings. They continue to minister to children and adults in the community as well.

“God has been good because we are in a better place.” - Pastor Bryan

  

BeFriend Project Goals
Concepción Pinula Christian Church will focus on 3 key areas of transformation:

Economic Empowerment

• Achieve self-sustainability for the church through the growth of a kingdom business.
• Restore dignity through economic empowerment for families in the community.
• Acquire land for the kingdom business in a location convenient to the local community.

Discipleship & Multiplication

• Reach 4 sub-communities of Concepción through multiplication, discipleship, and sending out new leaders to share the message of salvation.
• Train leaders for effective ministry within their sub-community.
• Create new home churches led by members of the congregation in each of the 4 sub-communities.
• Project a growth of 15 new church members each year in Concepción.
• Be a church which blesses the community. 

Church Improvements

• Construct a provisional church with Sunday school classrooms and a pastor’s house.

How will BeFriend benefit the church and community?

BeFriend will allow Concepción Pinula Christian Church achieve self-sustainability. Through a kingdom business and family businesses, the church will benefit in the expansion of the kingdom of God in an integral way, where people will not only restore a spiritual relationship with the Lord Jesus, but also improve their quality of life.

BeFriend will also help develop strong relationships between people in other countries, which will open up opportunities to get to know another culture and strengthen the family of God.