Seeds Sown in Guatemala
An interview with Millie Hennemann
In 2018, the Hennemann family received their first mission assignment to Costa Rica. As part of their preparation, they attended Spanish language school in Guatemala. While new missionaries might be excited to immediately settle into their new home in a new country, language school is an important part of a successful mission. For Nick and Millie Hennemann, this was the door to a future ministry.
Millie’s Spanish teacher was a Catholic woman named Florinda. During the course of their classes, Florinda asked if the Hennemann Family could help a man in her village who was paralyzed and unable to work. They went with Florinda to visit the village and were able to give some assistance to the family of this man.
The following year, the Hennemann Family returned to Guatemala for continued language classes, and they encountered Florinda once again. They returned to Florinda’s village, and this time Florinda introduced them to a mother with ten children. Several of the teenage daughters could not read or write, and did not speak Spanish, but only spoke a Mayan language. This concerned Millie, and she wanted to do something to help them with their education.
Through this encounter, the Lord put the education of Guatemalans on Nick and Millie’s heart. During the Covid-19 pandemic, these needs became even more urgent.
So many children were spending their days on the streets because schools were closed. Millie worked with Florinda to hire a teacher to begin tutoring about 20 kids. They met in the upstairs terrace of Florinda’s home.
Even after the schools opened, many of these students couldn’t return because of the cost of uniforms and supplies. So, the Hennemann family began looking for sponsors in the U.S. to help these children have access to education. Florinda’s home became a place for after-school tutoring during the week and catechism classes on the weekend.
“Education is the best way to help these families.” It is a way to break the cycle of poverty and not simply give handouts.
This led the Hennemanns to work with Florinda and other missionaries to institute the “Gift of Hope” program to sponsor the education of students whose families couldn’t otherwise afford education. Millie shared, “Education is the best way to help these families.” It is a way to break the cycle of poverty and not simply give handouts.
Jhony is a Guatemalan youth whose life has been changed by Gift of Hope. Jhony lost his mother to cancer when he was barely five years old. Five years later, his father abandoned him, and he was taken in by his grandmother. Sadly, his grandmother died in an accident several years later, leaving him alone as a teenager.
Jhony’s cousin, who was like a brother to him, began taking him to church activities, and Jhony found much consolation in the Lord’s presence. Tragically, Jhony’s cousin died suddenly, leaving Jhony in a state of deep depression. He stopped going to school and barely left home.
Through God’s providence, Florinda met Jhony in 2022. She invited him into the Gift of Hope program so that he could afford to continue school and have the support of a community. Jhony began his studies again and began to realize that one of his dreams was to support people by forming them in the faith. He decided to study in the diocesan minor seminary for high school students, and to continue discerning the call to serve as a Catholic priest in the future.
Jhony is an excellent student, as evidenced by his grades. In 2024, he will be able to continue his studies in the major seminary. Jhony is studying in the Diocese of Solala-Chimaltenango—where Oklahoma native Blessed Stanley Rother was serving when he was martyred in 1981. Thanks to the Hennemanns’ providential encounters with Florinda and those of her
village, several Guatemalan youth are being provided with opportunities for a hopeful future. Please keep these young people and their families in your prayers.
Stateside Missions
The Hennemann Family
After leaving Guatemala, the Hennemanns founded a new non-profit to continue the work they started. To learn more, visit thehennemannfamily.familymissionscompany.comComments are closed