Twelve-year old Skyler Schuenke demonstrated last week that one person can make a big difference in the world.

It all started when she accompanied her parents Lisa and James to Guatemala on a mission trip this past January. They visited an orphanage called Case Bernabe, which translated is Barnabas House (meaning House of Comfort). Upon returning home, the orphanage weighed heavily on Skylar’s heart. She wanted to help somehow. She first decided to put all her summer babysitting money towards helping them. Then, after having a dream about the orphanage, she talked with her parents and her karate instructor, Bill Stiebs, and came up with a God-sized goal.

Skyler created an event called “Breaking Boards 4 Building Hope”.

On Thursday, Aug. 18 at Cornerstone Christian Karate, there was a boys vs. girls karate competition. On the Girls team: Skylar and Lisa Schuenke, Morgan Russell, Brooke and Kristie Rhoden, Andrea Chauvette. On the Boys team: Benjamin Posselt, Christian and Johnathan Simpson, John Fudge, Jim Russell, and Jalen Gottschalk.

The team goal was to raise $2,500 by breaking 60 boards in five minutes. The karate students collected pledges and the donations will buy things like housing, medical care, education and food for young children who might otherwise be on the streets.

The orphanage is home to over 150 children and is helping the orphaned, mistreated, abused and abandoned experience the love of God and find rest and healing for their wounded souls.

Together, in just those few minutes of breaking boards, the students made a difference in the world and helped to ‘break through’ the barriers and ‘build hope’ for the future. They raised over $6,500 for the orphanage, and donations are still coming in.

On the poster they distributed was Psalm 82:3, which reads: Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.

Skyler said she appreciates everyone who made a donation, and even if you didn’t, she said you can still be a part of God’s work by praying for the orphanage in Guatemala.

If you would like to help

Make checks payable to Cornerstone Christian Karate. In memo put orphanage and send to Cornerstone, P.O. Box 271, New London, WI 54961 or go to cornerstoneNL.com and click on pay pal. All donations are tax deductible. Funds will be used for education, food, and care for the children.