FAQ

 Frequently Asked Questions 

Why Guatemala?

God gave Kadi a heart for Guatemala when she lived there with friends for three months serving at an orphanage and medical clinic in 2003. God gave Dan a heart for Guatemala after our entire family visited our missionary friends down there for 2 weeks in 2018. After another visit in January of 2022, we became convinced that God was calling us to move and get involved in missions in Guatemala.

Why an Emphasis on the local Church?

We believe the local church is God's primary evangelism strategy and the way he intends to accomplish his mission of spreading his gospel message to the world. The apostle Paul knew his work was done in places because there were local churches there and local churches do local evangelism. God has chosen his church, and no other institution, to be his representative to the world. The church is central to the very purposes of God; therefore, it is central to our vision of missions work in Guatemala. The local church is where the believer grows. The local church is the place where Christian believers must submit themselves to spiritual authority. The local church is the best place for spiritual accountability, and the place from which discipline is biblically administered.1

"so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places." - Ephesians 3:10

How long do you plan to be in Guatemala?

We do not have any plans to move back any time soon. Our vision is for church planting, and supporting the local church. As we learned the language and culture we came alongside an existing church with pastoral support, training, and ministry help. We are now looking for what is next and plan to start the process of church planting. We see this as a long term work until locals are able to flourish without us and we will do it until God calls us to something else. In all things, we keep our hands open to what God has for us. "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." - James 4:15

Is it safe?

Yes, and the people are friendly. The city of Antigua is very touristy and is one of the safest cities in Guatemala. There are some areas in Guatemala City, about an hour away, that are dangerous and should be avoided. There are many rural areas that are less safe, but we trust God to direct us in where we are to obey him and minister the gospel and make disciples.

What is the education like? Will you homeschool your kids?

Our kids were doing a combo of homeschooling and online classes with teachers through Veritas Press. Now most of them attend a local school for missionary kids run by missionaries as well as Veritas and the Running Start program.

Do you speak Spanish?

Some of us had Spanish lessons in Spokane before moving with some language teachers through video and in public school. We continued taking lessons in person once in Guatemala. Language immersion helps a lot too. We will always be working on our Spanish, but most of us are now able to hold conversations and some are fluent.

Can you work down there?

No, not locally. Kadi continues to work as an on call scheduler for nurses and a medical coder. Dan is paid by support from our sending a church Indian Trail Church and individual supporters.

How often will you come back to Spokane?

We hope to return once a year in the summer and we hope many of you will come visit us in Guatemala.

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1. Mez McConnell & Mike McKinley, Church in Hard Places, Ch. 5 The Local Church Solution - A great book which fleshes these ideas out