Special Edition of Covered in His Dust

Most of you know me through Covered in His Dust.

What you may not know… is there’s a whole other side to our life.

Once a year, we open that door and invite you in. Just to let you peek.

You may not know this but when I sit down and write, those words are coming from a small village in Guatemala.

For two more nights, tonight and tomorrow night, I want to give you a closer look at our call to Guatemala… and now Cuba.

What God is doing here.
And why we’re still here after almost 14 years.

No pressure to give.

Just check it out.

If you want to follow along, 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 50 stories from our life here in Guatemala.

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

[SEND ME THE BOOK]

(If you sign up, you’ll get two very similar emails. Don’t worry. That will only last through Friday.)

Day 4.

I was up early this morning going through names. Thirteen people gave last night totaling $15,530. Which means the match turned that into $31,060!

In three nights we’ve raised $65,770.

Can we just bask in that for a minute?

Our goal this year is to raise the operating costs of $151,500. We're not there yet, but we're moving in the right direction.

Last night Kimberly gave $60. The match made it $120. She wrote that it's not much. She's wrong. It is much. Every single gift in this thing matters, and nobody is on the sidelines. Kimberly, you're not on the sidelines.

Then two more people stepped up and expanded the match pool!

$10,000 and $5,000. That means $22,115 is sitting there right now waiting to be matched dollar for dollar, and I am not leaving any of it on the table.

The Lord is going to provide exactly what we need to keep the lights on in Guatemala and Cuba. I believe that. But I also know He tends to use people like you to do it.

If that $22,115 gets matched, we cross $110,000.

We're close.

Welcome to Day 4 our our annual fundraiser ♥️

I remember when we started the widow program, three years ago.

I was reading the book of James:

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

I wondered…

“How many widows are there in our little village?”

Our team spent 10 days making a list.

We met with the mayor.
We asked the nurse at the health center.

And finally… we had a list of 41 names.

We bought each one of them 75 lbs of corn, black beans, rice, pasta, milk, instant coffee (strangely, the coffee of choice), a 20 lb bag of fresh vegetables, and soap to wash clothes.

Over the next five days, we sat down with

Every
single
one.

It was amazing.

Some were young, with children.
Some were very old.

They all had bright eyes and seemed glad to see us.

It was one of those times I wish you were here with us.

To witness it.
To let them know they’re not alone.
And to pray over them.

I’ve said it before…
“If I could bottle those days up and somehow save them forever, I would.”

Do you know what was most surprising?

Almost all of them were living with family and were being taken care of.

In the villages of Guatemala, parents aren’t put into retirement homes. They’re taken care of by their sons and daughters… their granddaughters and grandsons.

It’s beautiful.

Of the 41 widows, all but four lived with family.
The four were struggling.
So we adopted them.

Over time, we’ve expanded our widow program to include single moms.

It’s an epidemic in Guatemalan villages.

Men get a girl pregnant.
They start living together, usually at his parents’ house.
And three kids later…

They
just
leave.

From the beginning, the plan was to stand with them until they got on their feet. It’s so easy to want to save them and provide for them forever.

But we wanted better for them.

We wanted them to grow and thrive.

We’ve built houses for single moms.
We’ve helped with medical bills.

And once a month, we deliver food and firewood to both widows and single moms in the program.

We’ve had single moms graduate from the program…

But we’ve never had a widow graduate.

We’ve adopted them.
We’re committed to them.
Until they graduate to be in the presence of the Lord.

But this month…
Estefana, one of our four original widows...
Graduated!

Estefana lives down the road from us. She lost her husband six years ago. That man loved the Lord.

If you walked by their home, you could hear him praying. Literally crying out to God.

Estefana's sons had moved away, and when we found her, she was dying. You could see it in her body.

She has diabetes and couldn’t afford insulin.
She had lost weight and could barely walk.

We drove her to the hospital for months and paid for every medication and exam she needed.

Once a month, for the last three years, we’ve delivered food and firewood…

And we’ve prayed.

I’m literally shaking my head as I type this.

She was in bad shape.
I don’t know how she survived.

On March 15… Estefana got married!

Her husband, Emiliano, is a quiet, humble man. He’s 80 years old and lives down the road as well.

I haven’t heard the whole story about how they met or how the relationship led to the altar, but apparently, Estefana is quite the catch in our little village.

She was asked by another man to be married…
but she declined.

“He wasn’t a Christian. Jesus wasn’t his Lord.”

That’s a good standard to have Estefana.

You know what’s crazy?

This all started three years ago because of a few lines I read in Epistle of James.

That’s how God works.
Through His Word.
Through His Spirit.
If we’re willing to move.

I tell the boys this all the time:

“Anyone can say they believe.
Anyone can say they’re a Christian.
Anyone can go to church and read their Bible.
But at some point…
what we do starts to show what’s actually going on inside of us.”

James says our works don’t save us…
but they do reveal us.

Just a few words on a page.

I didn’t know where it would lead.

We just moved.

$22,115 is sitting there right now waiting to be matched dollar for dollar.

Here's how you can give tonight.

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.

All our love,
George and Vonda

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.