Edwin & Leah Montufar
OUR STORY
Edwin is from Antigua, Guatemala, and surrendered his life to Christ in the summer of 2014. After becoming a Christian, he was blessed with the opportunity to grow in the Lord at the Calvary Chapel Bible Institute in Antigua. He graduated from the Bible Institute two years later and then continued to serve on staff there for three years. Since then, Edwin has been serving as a full-time missionary in his own country, having been gifted with the ability to teach the Bible, lead worship, and translate.
Leah is from Beechgrove, Tennessee. Although she was saved and baptized at a young age, she fully surrendered her life and plans to Christ when she followed God’s call to Guatemala during her senior year of college. In May 2018, she graduated from MTSU with a license to teach special education. She then moved to Guatemala two months later, in July 2018. Since then, she has been living and serving as a full-time missionary—using her skills and experiences to serve in a variety of different capacities here: with women, children, youth, and most recently, in the area of administration and hospitality.
We met at Calvary Chapel Antigua in September of 2018. At that time, Leah was living and serving with a missionary family and attending church there, while Edwin was living at the church and serving as a part of the Bible Institute Staff. From that moment, we began intentionally getting to know each other, and God started putting all the pieces together. As we prayed for direction, together and separately, God confirmed His will in our hearts, and we got married on May 12th, 2019.
On July 29th, 2022 we welcomed our son Lucas James into the world, and he has been an active part of our ministry ever since! The name Lucas means “bringer of light” and nothing could be more accurate to his personality. He welcomes each and every team we serve with so much love and joy. And of course, our newest family member – a baby girl – is due to join us in January of 2024.
HOW WE SERVE
As a family, we live and serve full-time at IMN Casa de Fuego: Team House and Training Center as administrators of the house and its many activities.
IMN (Independent Missionary Network) exists to support, network, and equip missionaries to use their unique, God-given gifts to build relationships and bring the Gospel to all people groups to make disciples of all nations. So, while Casa de Fuego has the opportunity to host many teams from all over to serve, we also have the privilege of hosting Bible studies, worship nights, classes, training, and even more practical classes such as carpentry, cooking, English, etc. The goal: not just to be a place that RECEIVES individuals to serve Him, but that also helps to prepare, equip, and encourage others to be SENT!
Casa de Fuego literally means “House of Fire” in Spanish. While the house was originally named this because of its amazing view of Volcán de Fuego when IMN bought and began an extensive remodel of the house, we felt a strong conviction that the “fuego” or “fire” in the name would more accurately represent the work of the Hoy Spirit in and through each and every person who visits this place!
That is our desire and prayer for this space!
OUR CHURCH
We feel so blessed to be part of our Calvary Antigua church family, a church that God has used to teach and mold us through so many different stages of life.
In 2022 Calvary Antigua’s Young Adult Group took a little break as the former leaders made the prayerful decision to take a step back. This group is and has always been very dear to our hearts, as God used it to encourage and counsel us during so many big and important transitions of life. For several months we prayed that God would bring a new couple forward to lead the group so that it could continue. Little did we know, that couple was us!
Since August 2023, we have been serving our church as the leaders of this amazing group of young people. Please pray for wisdom and discernment for us as we serve in this capacity. We recognize that it is a great responsibility and are seeking his guidance with every step. We are currently walking through the Book of Exodus together!
God has also blessed Edwin with many new opportunities to teach His Word in this season. He is on the rotation to teach the book of Psalms during Wednesday night Bible study, some classes for the Bible Institute, and Exodus.
It is a great responsibility that requires a lot of studying, so please continue to pray for him! He spends much of his week studying and preparing (usually late at night after the rest of us have all gone to sleep).
CARPENTRY
In 2022, Edwin started his own carpentry business in our home. Woodworking is something he enjoys doing, and and this has opened the door for him to be able to do just that with the focus of blessing local ministries and churches while also mentoring and discipling others.
While he has completed a wide variety of projects, his most common request is bunk beds—and he has made many, many bunk beds!
God has also placed it on his heart to use carpentry as a place of mentorship and discipleship to the young men who work with him! Please pray for this project as it continues to grow.
PARTNER WITH US
We are so GRATEFUL for God’s constant provision for our family through our faithful monthly supporters. He has blessed us in so many ways, and we are so thankful.
We praise Him for using this area to stretch our faith and grow and strengthen us in every season—teaching us to rely on Him alone! Please help us pray for provision and wisdom to spend wisely as we learn and grow in our ministry.
Of course, please let us know if you are praying about joining our support team and if you have any questions about this area of our lives! It is such an honor and privilege to serve together for one common purpose—making HIS Gospel known!!
Every gift is greatly appreciated and immensely valuable.
