It All Adds Up
Ten years ago, Cadaniño began serving children in a small garage in Colonia Santa Fe. We didn’t know exactly where the journey would lead. We simply knew God had called us to serve vulnerable children and families, helping them grow in their faith, strengthen their relationships, and discover and develop their God-given gifts.
Since then, one center became two. One teacher became a team of 18. Thirty-five students grew to 240. Computer classes grew into STEM and robotics. Relationships with children grew into relationships with entire families. And some of those young children are now studying at universities and using their gifts to serve others.
None of it happened overnight.
Looking back, what stands out isn’t one big moment, but thousands of small ones: classes taught, families visited, meals served, prayers prayed, children encouraged, and people faithfully showing up year after year.
My pastor once said that “Sometimes we overestimate what we can do in a year and underestimate what God can do in ten when we are faithful.”
There is a lot of truth in that: one class, one home visit, or one conversation may seem like just one small step forward at the time.
But those moments add up. And after ten years, you can see what God has been building through them.
2016 — We Started
Cadaniño began with about 35 children, one teacher, and a garage in Colonia Santa Fe.
Our goal was to serve families in hard places, and after a few years of exploring what that might look like in this community, one local teacher and I got started.
Students came in after school for Bible class, homework help, and computer classes. We didn’t have a finished model or a ten-year plan. We saw a need, believed God was calling us to respond, and started with what we had.
Those first months were about learning—trying different classes, getting to know the children and their families, and continually asking how we could serve them better.
2017 — We Tested and Improved
During our second year, we kept experimenting and evaluating what worked while looking for ways to improve. We kept improving our classes and moved beyond traditional tutoring to make learning fun.
Technology was one of those early experiments. Many students had little access to technology, so we began teaching typing and basic computer skills, and it was exciting to see our students' progress.
The more we taught, the more we learned, and the more we became convinced that greater investment and more time with the children could produce even better results.
We expanded our ministry to parents by starting a women's Bible study group, building deeper community connections, and recognizing the importance of providing a safe space for children who had none.
Read More: From the Archives: Empowering Vulnerable Children Through Technology Education Ten Years of Cadaniño
2018 — We Saw It Working
By 2018, we could see the program was making a difference.
So we took a major step forward.
We moved into a larger facility and expanded to a full afternoon program. That gave us significantly more time to work with students academically, invest in their spiritual development, and build deeper relationships with their families.
We also started working in the town of San Jose Pinula, laying the groundwork for what would become our second location.
Those first years helped us define what Cadaniño was becoming. Our work increasingly centered around what would become our pillars: Spiritual Formation, Academic Reinforcement, and Family Strengthening.
We hadn’t started with a finished Cadaniño prototype. We discovered it by serving; testing, learning, improving, and then investing more deeply when we saw that it worked.
2019 — We Multiplied
In San José Pinula, we implemented our full after-school program, invested in more teachers, and expanded from 30 classes a month in 2016 to hundreds.
And we began to see results. By the end of the year, students began bringing in their report cards to show how they were improving, and almost 30% at the Santa Fe center made the honor roll. Our youth completed their first community service project, and students went on their first mission trip, giving us a glimpse of what was possible when students moved from being served to serving others.
A small garage experiment was becoming a foundation we could build on.
2020 — We Adapted
Then everything changed.
When COVID forced our centers to close, we had to find new ways to serve the children and families who depended on us. What began as a challenge to keep our programs going became an opportunity to respond to families' needs in ways we never had before, strengthening our relationships and deepening the trust we had spent years building.
We developed a home-study program with worksheets and Bible lessons so children could continue learning, and launched our reading program, with students reading almost 1,000 books that year.
As families faced growing uncertainty and hardship, we shifted our focus to meet their most pressing needs, providing more than 120,000 meals. We officially launched our missions club, and youth stepped up to deliver food to elderly neighbors and people with disabilities. That experience changed how many of them saw themselves, as they discovered that they weren't just recipients of help, but had something valuable to give. It eventually led to launching our youth missions club.
We also partnered with Fundación Génesis to provide leadership training opportunities for our students.
Looking back, 2020 was one of our most challenging years, but also one of the most formative. By staying, adapting, and serving when families needed us most, we strengthened the trust and relationships that continue to shape our ministry today.
2021 — We Came Back Stronger
Despite ongoing COVID restrictions, both centers stayed open to serve our students. We added nutrition programs, and by year's end, 21% of students made their school’s honor roll. We grew our team, added a full-time youth pastor, held a youth retreat, and made weekly home visits a regular part of our family ministry. Our team also taught more than 3,900 classes in academics, Bible, and computer skills.
We held our first Christmas outreaches, and by the end of the year we saw that, after one of the most disruptive periods imaginable, we served more children and families more deeply, and the ministry was flourishing.
Read More: From the Archives: Impacting One Family
2022 — We Strengthened
By 2022, we had learned a lot about what worked. Now we were focused on doing it better.
We strengthened teacher training, curricula, reporting, and student tracking, and deepened relationships with families through regular home visits.
We expanded our use of board games to help students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and we saw them begin to think and learn in new ways.
The model was maturing, and we saw children we had invested in begin investing in others.
2023 — We Went Deeper
Cadaniño reached 232 students, and nearly one-third made their school’s honor roll. Students read a record 2,276 books, our team made 180 home visits, and youth taught 130 Bible classes outside our centers. STEM was also becoming a significant part of the program, with 372 classes during the year.
Our team continued to grow; we improved staff training, refined our tracking and control processes, received more mission teams, held more outreaches, hosted a youth retreat and Family Day activities, and expanded our library.
But that year’s journey wasn’t simply one of growth.
Walking alongside families through sickness, loss, financial hardship, and grief reminded us of something we had learned over the years: being present with people in their community over the long haul lays the groundwork for discipleship.
2024 — The Children Were Growing Up
By 2024, something we had hoped for from the beginning was becoming increasingly visible.
The children were growing up.
STEM labs gave students opportunities in robotics, electronics, Arduino, 3D printing, and advanced programming, and students completed thousands of STEM projects that year.
But even more significant was where some of our older students were headed. Former students received scholarships to attend university, and Internships created pathways to employment at technology companies.
We were beginning to see what years of encouragement, education, discipleship, opportunity, and consistent relationships could produce.
2025 — They Went Further
That trajectory continued.
99% of our students passed their school year, an amazing accomplishment in a country like Guatemala. Technology training expanded into AI learning. Students graduated, received scholarships, enrolled in universities and vocational training schools, and found good jobs.
At the same time, 31 Cadaniño youth taught 150 Bible classes to more than 120 children in their communities.
Our goal had never been just to help children pass another grade. We want them to discover the gifts God had given them, develop those gifts to their greatest potential, and use them to glorify Him and serve others, and it was happening.
What once seemed far away became a reality.
Read More: From the Archives: From Prayers to Possibilities — Shaila’s Journey Ten Years of Cadaniño
2026 — They’re Becoming Leaders
And now, ten years later, we’re seeing what we dreamed of from the beginning: the children we’ve invested in are investing in others.
Our students are competing in robotics competitions, winning awards at Science & Technology Fairs, and taking ownership of their learning by launching five student-led clubs in areas like 3D printing, graphic design, Arduino, and drones. They’re not just developing new skills; they’re teaching their peers what they’ve learned.
Beyond technology, more youth are teaching Bible classes in their communities, serving in churches, and mentoring younger children. Former students are pursuing university degrees.
Ten years ago, we were teaching children to type. Today, they’re designing, programming, building, teaching, and leading. And the impact is multiplying through the lives they touch.
What Will the Next Ten Years Bring?
As we look toward the future, our vision isn’t simply to become bigger.
We want to grow deeper and higher.
Deeper means starting earlier, strengthening educational foundations, and investing more in children and families. Higher means walking alongside our students into university, technical training, employment, and leadership—one generation investing in the next.
We also want to strengthen Cadaniño through our local leaders, teachers, systems, and permanent facilities, while sharing what we have learned with others.
Ten years ago, we started with a handful of children in a garage. We couldn’t have imagined where God would take it. We were simply trying to be faithful with what He had placed in front of us.
And maybe that is the greatest lesson of this last decade:
Sometimes we overestimate what we can do in one year and underestimate what God can do in ten when we are faithful.
One class, one home visit, one Bible lesson, or one conversation may not seem like much. But keep showing up, year after year, and those moments add up. A child grows up. A student becomes a leader. One generation begins investing in another.
We don’t know what God will do with the next ten. We want to keep being faithful—and we can’t wait to see what He does.
Sincerely,
Timothy and Sharie Martiny
