Gospel Hospitality:

Posted on May 08, 2025

How One Graduate Feeds God’s Sheep

When Olivia Juarez observed her fellow Guatemalans traveling long distances for their loved ones’ medical care at the local hospital, her heart was stirred by their plight. Hotels are too expensive, especially for long-term hospitalizations, so they slept outside on the streets of Antigua. Her understanding of Christ, his compassion, and his Word shaped how Olivia viewed her neighbors, so she gathered a team to pray for how to meet this need in their community. 

The Lord answered Olivia’s prayers by providing a way to establish a hospitality house for these families. Casa David opened its doors in 2021 to provide a safe place to sleep and eat while guests stay during their loved one’s hospitalizations. Some guests stay as long as a month, hearing the good news of Jesus Christ and experiencing His love. 

Olivia graduated from Global Action’s Foundations program in 2023. She and her team, which includes multiple Global Action graduates, refer often to what they learned during their education, applying it to their daily ministry. 

“What I appreciate about Foundations is that it’s very biblically based. When you have the word of God involved, there will be transformation, there will be His Work being done. We are looking at God’s Word and inherently being transformed in ministry. It helped me to make my perspective in Biblical points, and establish me in my walk with the Lord,” Olivia recalls.

Casa David’s Assistant, Julio Navas, is also a Global Action graduate. He opens the Bible before the evening meal with guests. “Every day of the year at Casa David, we have a gathering with our guests and study a passage of the Bible. [Guests] come from various backgrounds, even prejudice against the church. We point the guests to the very Word of God, we pray and teach, and that brings transformation. Many have trusted Christ,” recounts Olivia.

 If you met up with Olivia today, you’d find her leading her team, connecting with hospital administration on behalf of patients’ families, arranging taxi rides, overseeing the hosting and feeding of 40 guests per night, leading gospel presentations, supplying infant and maternity care packages, caring for families during their children’s life-changing cleft lip surgeries, and being the hands and feet of Christ to her community. In 2024 alone, their team welcomed 3,154 guests.

At Global Action, we often say that we want our students to “know something, be something, and do something” with their theological education. We want each of our graduates to leave our program with a deep understanding of the timeless truth of Scripture, we want their character to be transformed into the image of Christ, and we want them to have the practical leadership skills they need to make a lasting difference.

Olivia embodies this transformation. She graduated from the Foundations program with a robust understanding of God’s heart as revealed through Scripture. She shares Christ’s compassion for the poor and the hurting. And she has now welcomed thousands through Casa David so that they might experience and know Christ’s love.