Special edition of Covered in His Dust.

Once a year, we ask people to step in and help carry the weight of this ministry in Guatemala.

But before we ask anything…

I want to show you our life.

There’s no pressure to give. I mean that. I just want you to know who’s on the other side of these emails.

If you’ve ever wondered what our day-to-day life actually looks like… the next three nights are for you.

If you want to stay connected, join our monthly ministry email.

I’ll send you a free copy of my first book, Do You Love Me? Giving Up the American Dream to Serve the Underprivileged (it’s $24.99 on Amazon).

It’s 50 stories from our life here in Guatemala.

“I’m spoiled… I have all kinds of First World Problems… I’m so glad I read it. May I never forget.” — Macy

If you’re in the U.S., I’ll send you a physical copy.
If you’re anywhere else, I’ll send you the digital version.

Thanks for reading Covered in His Dust.
And for stepping into our world over the next three nights.

[SEND ME THE BOOK]

Welcome to day two of our annual fundraiser.

Last night, twelve people stepped in and together, they gave $7,380.

That means another $7,380 was unlocked through the match… bringing the total to $14,760 in just one night.

I sat with that this morning.

Twelve people.
Twelve yeses.

And then I started looking at who gave.

A retired missionary gave.
A missionary still on the field gave.
A 20-year-old in the Army gave.

Man… that's humbling.

That’s how this thing moves forward.
And we’re not done.

There’s still $17,620 left on the table waiting to be matched.

I don’t want the momentum from yesterday to slow down. Not now.

This is how these things build.
One step.
Then another.

Then suddenly… you look up and realize God has done something way bigger than you expected.

Let’s keep this going.

The academy is the center of everything we do here.

It’s why we came.

Every morning, before anything else, we open the Word.
Before they’re tired.
Before campus is buzzing.

It’s one of my favorite parts of the day.

If I could fly you in for one hour, that’s the hour I’d pick.

It’s not what you think.

The room is alive. Hands go up. They lean forward. They ask questions.
You can tell… they want to be there.

Last year we walked through Luke, then Acts, then Romans, then 1st and 2nd Corinthians. Verse by verse.

At the end of the year, the teachers asked them a simple question:

"What impacted you the most this year?"

One of the boys raised his hand. "The Apostle Paul."

"Why?"

"Because he hunted Christians… and then Jesus stopped him. And he became a warrior for Christ."

That's what you hope for. Not perfect answers. Just that something landed.

The teachers decided to build an end of year play around the life of Paul. While they were planning it, I was on a plane back from Cuba.

I always take a class period to talk about what’s happening there. I want them to see a world they may never experience firsthand. For most of them, their entire world is Guatemala. Most of them will never leave the country.

So I try to bring it to them.

I told them churches in Cuba aren’t like the churches here. If a church starts to grow… if it gets too big… it doesn’t keep growing.

It gets shut down.

The government steps in and takes the building.

Church happens in living rooms. Maybe it grows to a back patio.

In Cuba, the government keeps a close eye on anything that starts to gather momentum. Anything that could grow. Anything that could gain any sort of power.

You could see it on their faces. They weren’t just listening… they were trying to make sense of it.

They know we’re partnered with pastors there, men who are preaching the gospel in a way that looks a lot like what we’ve been reading in Acts. It’s not comfortable, and sometimes it’s not safe, but they keep going.

So I asked them, “What if we invited the community to your play, sold tickets, and sent whatever we raised to Cuba?”

I reminded them how Paul collected money from churches and sent it to believers in need. “You could do the same thing.”

We voted, and every hand went up.

And from that moment on, it wasn’t just a school play anymore. They were part of something. Middle schoolers in a small mountain village, stepping into something bigger than themselves.

They wrote the script, built the sets, and stayed after school to rehearse.

Then other people started stepping in. The kitchen staff asked if they could cook for the event. Our head cook Mara donated a pig. Moms showed up to help prepare and serve food. Rolando, who handles maintenance around campus, spent the day delivering meals to nearby villages so people who couldn’t come could still be part of it.

I remember thinking… if we could raise two or three hundred dollars, that would be incredible. The average monthly income in Cuba is around fifteen dollars, so even a small amount makes a difference.

The night of the play finally came, and families filled the soccer field. We had a large tent stretched over the top, and you could feel the mix of nerves and excitement in the air. When the boys stepped onto the stage, I remember thinking how brave they were.

It was so good.

At the end of the night, we counted everything. It came out to $432.

I remember just looking at it, thinking, "How did that just happen?"

And honestly, I thought that was the end of it. But later that night, there was a knock on our door. The kitchen staff was standing there, along with a group of moms from the community. They were smiling, and they handed me an envelope.

I asked, “What is this?”

Mara had donated the pig. Rolando had been delivering food all day. The moms had cooked everything they could and sold every single plate.

One of them looked at me and said, “We want this to be a seed planted in Cuba.”

Another mom held the envelope in her hands like she was carrying something fragile. Or holy. And inside was $736.

I didn’t know what to say.

"Thank you." I was so proud of them. If this was why God brought us to Guatemala... to witness this... it was enough.

So the total for the night became $1,169.

From a small village.
From people who don’t have extra… but give like they do.

And I thought, okay… now we’re done. But we weren’t.

Three families in Colorado sent $950. Then two more families saw what had happened and decided to match what was raised here. And it just kept building until the total reached $6,619.

From a little academy tucked into the mountains of Guatemala. From kids, parents, teachers… people who simply believed they could do something.

And they did.

I’ve thought a lot about that night.

About the moms who cooked all day. About that boy who raised his hand and said “The Apostle Paul,” because something in that story grabbed him and wouldn’t let go.

Jesus once sat and watched people give their offerings.
Some gave large amounts.
Then a widow walked up and gave two small coins,
almost nothing by comparison.

And He said she gave more than all of them.

They gave out of their wealth.
She gave everything she had.

That’s what this felt like.

They gave what they had.

That envelope had $736 in it.
Your gift, whatever it is, gets doubled.
There's still $17,620 in the match.

Credit card via Pushpay: https://pushpay.com/g/ordinarymissionaries
PayPal: [email protected]
Venmo: George-Sisneros
Zelle: [email protected]

Check: payable to Ordinary Missionaries
Sent to: Greg Dix,
6021 Wild View Drive,
Fort Collins, CO 80528
"2026 fundraiser" in the memo

If you send a check, let us know so we can add it to the total.

If you want to pledge for a later date or increase a monthly gift? Just reply to this email.

Don't forget. If you want to stay connected with our ministry work and get a free copy of my book "Do You Love Me?"  Sign up HERE.

All our love,
George and Vonda

See you tomorrow night.

George Sisneros is a full-time missionary in Guatemala and the founder of Ordinary Missionaries and the El Rosario Christian Academy for Boys.

He’s been married to his wife, Vonda, for 27 years. He’s a father to nine children, five adopted.

In 2024, George and his wife expanded to Cuba, joining forces with nine pastors committed to transforming lives through the gospel.

You can get George’s newest digital book, Uncovering Scripture: The Gospel of Luke HERE.