Arlen and Keturah King
Serving in Guatemala
Arlen and Keturah have been serving the people of Guatemala for 12 years. They both grew up in conservative Mennonite homes and met in high school. Both had 7 months of missionary service in Guatemala (Arlen) and the Philippines (Keturah) before they decided to marry and do it together! They spent one year in a remote jungle area of Guatemala, working with Elam Stoltzfus, an independent missionary, rebuilding a mission compound which had been burned to the ground during Guatemala’s civil war. While there, Arlen and Keturah crossed paths with Missionary Ventures Field Coordinators in Guatemala, who invited us to check out MV. The rest is history.
Arlen and Keturah returned to Guatemala as Field Coordinators with MV in 1997. They spent the first 6 years living in the Guatemala City area and doing construction projects (churches and schools) in various departments of Guatemala. In 2003, Arlen and Keturah returned to the Peten jungle region of Guatemala. God has blessed them with wonderful relationships with church leaders in this area and they have been successful in focusing team energies in the areas of greatest need.
In the last several years, God has taken Arlen and Keturah to a deeper level of commitment to Him and to the people of Guatemala. They have become passionate about helping our Guatemalan brothers in Christ to be salt and light in their communities. First to be disciples of Christ, working on that vertical relationship with our Savior. But also understanding our mandate from God to love and serve the people around us and be in good relationship with the earth, on which we depend for the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe.
Arlen and Keturah have four children, three of which were born in Guatemala. They currently live in Sayaxche, Peten.
Email: mvpeten@gmail.com
Ministry Focus/Current Projects: Our vision for ministry is: : We want to see Guatemalan Christians understand their commission from God to care for their neighbors, to be good citizens of their country, to be a voice for justice in their nation, to guard God’s creation as good stewards, and, in general, to form and nurture good relationships and live in spiritual, emotional, physical, and material well-being.
Current Projects:
- We are working closely with Field Coordinators, Edgar and Anita Cosigua to build “Centro Recreativo El Refugio”, where they can minister to young people in our community by giving them a place to hang out, play sports and have fun in a Christian environment. We have a small soccer field, sand volleyball court, and a covered ‘indoor’ soccer/basketball/hockey court. We are currently working on an enclosed multi-purpose room.
- We are developing ideas to start a Model Farm to teach better farming techniques along with Biblical principles for every area of our lives.