Bob + Tessa Yeater
“In the vast plain to the north I have sometimes seen, in the morning sun, the smoke of a thousand villages where no missionary has ever been.” -Robert Moffat
Bob + Tessa's Story
Bob + Tessa's story began, we'd imagine, like the story of many of you - a young couple, serving the Lord in ministry. Both from the mountains of West Virginia, Bob and Tessa Yeater were married at the age of 20, and soon had a beautiful family of five. Their family included the two of them, and their three children: Allysa, Allison, and Ashton.
From the age of 7, Tessa had a calling on her heart to serve the Lord in foreign missions. This calling reached Bob's heart when he was in his late 20s - and together, they committed to following the Lord wherever He sent them.
Little did Bob and Tessa imagine that 25 years after saying "I Do", they'd have spent the better part of their lives in Latin America. In 2006, the Yeater family began fundraising to go into missions full-time. After 2 years of traveling the East Coast, they moved to Costa Rica, where they attended immersive language school for one year. The Lord then moved them to Mérida, México, where they successfully worked under local missionaries, and were able to eventually plant a thriving church.
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Though they believed they would spend the rest of their days in Mexico, the Lord had a different plan. In 2013, the Yeater family felt a call to make yet another move - this time, to the country of Guatemala. After visiting the year prior, in January of 2014 they relocated to Guatemala City, eager to hear the Lord's voice.
This was where Suffer the Children Guatemala was born. Bob and Tessa began their ministry in the inner-city, offering weekly feeding, English, and Bible lessons to anyone who wanted to join.
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And who showed up, you ask? Children. Hundreds of them. For maybe the first time in their lives, Bob and Tessa understood what Jesus meant when He said, "Suffer the children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for such is the Kingdom of Heaven."
God was tugging on the Yeaters' heart to invest in those who He invested in.
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Now, for the past 8 years, Bob and Tessa have branched out to serve with STC all throughout Guatemala. The Lord opened a door for them to expand their ministry to rural villages, in the highlands of this country known as the Land of Eternal Spring.
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Through STC Guatemala, hundreds of children and families are reached, weekly, with the Gospel of Christ through feeding and Bible programs.