She asked me to write my name on her bear’s shirt because she never wanted to forget that someone cared.
That moment is still etched in my heart.
Prayer Bears Head to Guatemala
In July, our JOY FM mission team traveled to a village in Guatemala to serve teenagers and their moms. It’s a place where poverty touches every home, and where attending school beyond 4th grade is incredibly rare.
Most kids begin working at a young age to help support their families. Education feels like a luxury few can afford.
But the students we met? They were in high school! Some even preparing for college.
Why? Because of the generosity of people just like you.
Breaking the Cycle of Poverty
Through Orphan Outreach, individuals and families in St. Louis (and across the country) are sponsoring these students so they can continue their education and forge a future their parents never thought possible.
Every student we spent time with came from a family deeply impacted by poverty. Many lived in one-room homes with dirt floors. Most came from single-parent households. And yet—what stood out wasn’t what they lacked, but the strength in their eyes.
These kids were resilient. Smart. Courageous.
They’re walking an unfamiliar path toward graduation, one that could break the cycle of poverty for generations to come.
We brought Christian counselors with us to spend the week alongside the high school boys and girls—and their mothers. So many of them had stories marked by trauma, abandonment, or abuse. But through safe conversations, prayer, and emotional care, we saw something beautiful: hearts opening, hurts being processed, and people discovering that healing and freedom are possible in Jesus.
And then came one of my favorite parts of the trip.
A Bear Made A Bigger Impact Than You’ll Even Believe
Each student received a JOY FM Prayer Bear as a goodbye gift.
And every single one of them—boys and girls alike—loved those bears. I mean loved them!
They wrote scriptures on the bear’s tiny white shirt. They asked us to sign our names. They held their bears tightly for photos, beaming with pride.
These students have so little to call their own—but the bears… the bears were theirs. A prized possession.
A reminder that someone in another part of the world sees them, loves them, and is praying for them.
Just like here in St. Louis, our hope is for every Prayer Bear to serve as a tangible expression of God’s love. Whether it’s handed out in a hospital room, a counseling session, or a remote village in Guatemala… the message is the same:
God is near.
Thank you for making these moments possible.
