About Us

Why we do What we do
Our Story

Our Story

Morning Glory Christian Academy is a fully-accredited, private school forming the educational branch of NIMA’s mission in San Raymundo, Guatemala founded under directors Queno and Lori Nij. Queno is now the Director of Morning Glory, supported by a local leadership team. Queno and Lori moved to Guatemala in 1985 and founded Morning Glory after working with the local churches for 15 years.

In 2001, Lori Nij began Morning Glory Christian Academy. Originally, the school was a two-room campus with 90 students. In 2018, Morning Glory taught approximately 650 kids with a staff of over 50 local employees using Core Classes and a variety of elective classes like Dance, Band, Art, and Bible. Currently, Morning Glory offers classes from Pre-K to College Entry level, with students from four to eighteen years old.

Our Story is the story shared by of hundreds of children in San Raymundo: following Christ from humble beginnings to pursue and achieve fullness in the Kingdom of God.

Our Beliefs

Our Mission and Vision

Our Mission

Morning Glory seeks to educate, equip, and encourage the community through relationships to cultivate Biblical Integrity, responsibility, and confidence in their lives.

Our Vision

Morning Glory aims to be the catalyst for life change as people become self-determining, understanding that they are not defined by their circumstance–they are defined by their relationship with a living and active God.

Our Core Values

Relationships

The most effective teaching is relational. Morning Glory leadership is committed to modeling Christian principles so that everyone may see our example and honor God because of our actions and behavior in the community. It is essential to this ministry that the faculty and staff have a relationship with the directors, that the students have a relationship with teachers of integrity, that the local community has a relationship with foreign visitors and volunteers, and that our students and staff maintain a presence in the community. Just as Christ took on flesh to live with his people, any Morning Glory team members come alongside people to minister to them effectively.

Biblical Integrity

We believe that God’s Word “is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16) for all people of all cultures. Morning Glory uses the Bible as its guide to determine what is correct and desirable in the lives of our students. We teach and expect our students to respect the Bible and its principles as God’s unchanging will for their lives. Biblical education also helps us to be objective as we train young people to make decisions that honor God and help them fulfill their role in the Kingdom.

Responsibility

Morning Glory believes that personal responsibility is the key to growth and maturity into completion of an individual’s potential. Often, one of the side effects of poverty is a “victim mentality” that blames others for current circumstances. People with this mentality often seek for others to give them the resources they feel they deserve in order to better their situation. Morning Glory teaches its students that they are responsible for achieving what they want in life and becoming who they want to be, despite whatever circumstance they were born into. Hard work, perseverance, and initiative are all aspects of the personal responsibility that is vital for success in any situation.

Excellence

It’s clear that the Bible commands Christ-followers to pursue excellence in all they do (Col 3:23, 2 Cor 2:8, Ecc 9:10). Morning Glory encourages the students and community at large to do the best job they can in all their endeavors. Whether in academics, extra-curricular activities, or inter-personal relationships, we spur our students on to achieve the highest level of excellence they can.

Confidence

Poverty can cause hopelessness and apathy. Very often, impoverished families can not see the value of their life or the opportunities they have because of their talents and abilities. Morning Glory seeks to provide activities that allow children to explore their God-given gifts and refine their skills, teaching them that their circumstances do not define them. As a result, the children believe in themselves and are equipped to seek out their own future free of labels and self-doubt. They also see new possibilities of what the future may bring after the results of the other core values are apparent in their lives.

Our Partner Ministries

Just as the Kingdom is one body with many parts, Morning Glory loves to explore new opportunities with organizations and individuals. Using our network within the community, we are able to make connections and support other ministries outside the school. These are our current partner ministries, but we are always open to more!

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