My name is Kelli Helton, and I am from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. I am a special education teacher with 21 years of experience in the classroom, 10 years as a paraprofessional and the last 11 years as a teacher. I grew up believing in Jesus, but have just more recently begun to understand what being in a relationship with Him and living out my faith means. I have always been active in my church: singing in the choir, playing piano for services, playing keyboard and singing in the worship band, teaching Sunday School, VBS, and AWANA; but it wasn’t until 2017 that I went on my first mission trip, all the way to North Africa. It completely changed my life, and left me wanting to “go” more.

My next opportunity came in 2023 when my church took a group to Guatemala City, Guatemala. Serving with Engadi Ministries in Zone 18 of that city was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. Teaching the children English through Bible stories and verse memorization made God’s word come to life in a whole new way. Working construction for hours every day as part of a crew building a house for a family was exhausting, but worth the smiles of gratitude. That first trip to Guatemala City affected me like nothing else, and when it came time to go and serve with Engadi Ministries the following year, God provided the funds for me to go back to Guatemala. I renewed friendships made the previous year, taught more English lessons and Bible stories, and continued to work on that house. All the time I was falling more and more in love with the children, the culture, and the country. As I began to anticipate my third trip to Guatemala City, I could feel God nudging me in a new way. As we taught the children and worked on building a new retaining wall, the idea of moving to Guatemala was mentioned by the director of Engadi Ministries. After months of prayer, reading Scripture, and discussing options, I accepted God’s call to Guatemala. I will be serving at the Christian Academy of Guatemala, and hopefully also with Engadi Ministries whenever I can. I am so excited to love, serve, and share the Gospel of Jesus with the people I meet!