A pool is a dream come true and so much more!

Artist rendering of proposed pool.

In 2009, the students at Mana de Vida were taught to dream of a future filled with hope instead of an endless cycle of poverty. They were asked to dream big dreams like they had never dared before. Soon after, when the school needed to move to a larger location, the children were asked to dream the biggest dream they could think of for the new location. By far the most amazing thing they could imagine would be that the new school would have a pool. Not only did they dream, but they prayed for a pool. In case you haven’t been, Escuintla is very hot and steamy EVERY SINGLE DAY. A refreshing pool would be an impossibly big dream come true. In God’s providence, the school was offered an amazing property to rent and it had a pool! The pool became a symbol of answered prayer. It also became a community asset as families gathered around it on Sundays after worship. It served as a recreation option for young people to offer rather than other much less desirable activities. The children all learned to swim, and many were even baptized in this amazing gift. The school outgrew the rented property and the terms became untenable, so the school began building the current facility and moved in during the pandemic. From the beginning, a pool has been planned for the new facility, but almost 4 years later it still does not exist. The children have continued to dream, and we believe together with the school that the time is right to dream big and see what God will do. The cost of the project is close to $150,000. This seems like such a big ask, but we put it before you and hope that you will agree that the time has come to participate in making this dream a reality. We already have more than $55,000 pledged for the project. There is growing interest in the local community in making this happen. One church member there has donated one of the pumps needed and a pool contractor is donating the plans and is considering what else they might do.