Our story is best stated through the testimony from TFC Founder Raffael (Ralph) Carnesecchi.
I was 68 when I gave my life to Jesus and went on my first mission trip through my home church, Calvary Chapel, Vero Beach. I was the eldest of the group, surrounded by men and women 20-30 years my junior. Maybe I was trying to make up for lost time, but as a new believer, I was eager to serve and obey the Lord's calling… Keen enough to land me a window seat on a flight to Guatemala! But as the flight began to taxi, all I saw out the plane window was my reflection and insufficiency. I grew quiet and doubtful. What was I doing? I knew I was not nearly as well churched as my younger teammates. Well, better late than never.
For 40 years, I worked in the corporate arena. Several of those years were also spent volunteering as guardian ad litem for abused and neglected children. After retirement 20 years ago, I started my private investigation agency. For such a line of work, I had to be rigid, direct, and unwavering by emotions that inevitably poured out in my personal life. Meeting Jesus changed everything, and while on that first mission trip, I was surprised to find that my heart went out to the people I met. As a past Rotarian, I knew what "service above self" meant, but it took on a special meaning as I found more joy than I ever hoped. Never did I imagine how life-giving service could be personally transforming.
You could say it was a little selfish when I returned home to Vero Beach, wanting to continue service in Guatemala. Fortunately, I was not alone. My brothers and sisters in Christ were of the same mind, and that was the first time I realized the power relationships would play in this new path on which God had placed me.
It would be an understatement to admit that our beginnings were somewhat rocky. We were put in contact with a gentleman already serving in Guatemala as a pastor with whom we considered partnering with our shared vision. We were not seeking to pour money into the country and leave, nor did we see ourselves as white saviors. We wanted to set up opportunities for teenagers living in one of Guatemala's poorest and underserved areas, known as Los Limones. We firmly believed in the old adage, "Teach a man to fish, and he will eat for a lifetime," thus, our first vision was created: Sponsor teenagers to learn a trade and, at the same time, learn about the Lord's provision through Bible study.
While we shared a vision with the Guatemalan pastor, we were not able to agree on key issues and scripture, as biblical teaching and training were also an intricate part of our vision. We decided to keep searching for other partnerships.
Holding onto the vision for vocational training, we continued to pray and actively search for a ministry partner in Guatemala. We ultimately partnered with a nonprofit run by Cecilia Campoverde, PhD, a then 80-year-old retired FAU sociology professor. Suffice it to say that we were out of our depth, but that is how the Lord works. All we had to do was show up, and he directed us from there.
Aside from not speaking Spanish, other roadblocks and rockslides were experienced, including river crossings without a bridge. On the positive side, we were blessed to have Cecilia, who spoke the language and was well-established in what is now our service area. She graciously opened many doors for us, and with the help of her organization, we were able to establish and organize TFC with a vision to provide vocational and biblical training for 12 deserving teenagers who, for the most part, went on and found gainful employment as auto mechanic, motorcycle mechanic, baker, and chef. Of course, we did not lose sight of the fact that the weekly Bible study was essential to our scholarship grant for each student. For most students, this was their first acquaintance with the Lord, and several accepted the Lord as their savior. Once again, God opened the door through relationships. Several of these students continue to support our ministry's vision and, in certain respects, pay forward by serving as TFC boots on the ground.
Looking beyond our vocational training commitment, which covered several years, TFC directed its resources to build Kingdom relationships with families within our service venue. The village of Los Limones is the least developed of the surrounding villages in terms of infrastructure, economic opportunity, health care, education, and nutrition. Unfortunately, the surrounding villages are only marginally better off than Los Limones. Our mission field is located within a once-known thriving area before railway railroads, and businesses moved to larger city centers, taking technology and amenities with them. As a result, more is needed to meet the community's most basic housing, nutritional, health care, educational, and spiritual needs.
Government support, if any, still needs to be improved. During the Covid pandemic, it took the Guatemalan government three months to supply any meager aid to their people. The expression "Covid lockdown" in Guatemala took on a military garrison appearance: absolute shutdown of all traffic; business closed except for two hours on Saturday, and then only essential business. The military and police enforced curfews and set up checkpoints to ensure compliance. Employment was impossible, much less putting food on the table. While COVID was devastating for Guatemala and the world, the Lord put on our hearts to feed people during this trying time. Again, faced with challenges, the Lord did provide.
Over the years, TFC built relationships with others serving in the region and with municipal leaders. For three months, TFC fed 120 families weekly by delivering food rations and praying with each family as part of the delivery process. How did we manage with the lockdown in place? It was through our relationships with municipal authorities, especially our friend and fellow missionary Greg Miller, who arranged special travel passes that allowed his team to package and deliver the weekly rations with our students, who conducted the initial needs assessments.
As we experienced in other TFC endeavors within the community, relationships are just one of the countless provisions from the Lord when we are obedient. As a Florida-based ministry without a full-time leadership presence in Guatemala, developing and cultivating relationships was crucial.
Also, we had the vision to equip many homes with wood-fired stoves that were vented through the roof and which use a third of the amount of wood previously used in open fire pits within the interior of homes; however, the challenge was how to get the stoves installed. We had to rely on others to execute our plans. Our municipal friends stepped up and installed each stove, along with our volunteer students, who prayed with each family during the installation, giving thanks to the Lord for this gift.
As we come to the end of our history summary, we would be remiss if we did not reflect on a couple of life-changing events that the Lord set upon our hearts. We sent two of our previous vocational students to a two-year Bible study course at Calvary Chapel Bible Institute in Antigua, Guatemala. Delmy, who, before attending Bible study, was blaming God for the loss of her two parents at an early age, gave her life to the Lord and was baptized before she graduated. At some time during those two years, TFC arranged for Karlita (then 21) to have eye surgery for a congenital disability, which cost was well beyond anything she or her family could afford. Otherwise, she would have had that surgery as an infant. Karlita remains part of TFC's boots-on-the-ground team, is a leader in the youth group of her home church, and conducts impromptu Bible study and recreation activities with children in her neighborhood.
We acknowledge that all interactions through TFC ministry are not of our doing, lest we boast, all glory to the Lord who directed our path… one step at a time.
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