Don’t be just dreamers, be dream makers!
…a quote which has stuck with me since I first heard it from
Carlos. On this day, we got to tour the Hope of Life ministries with Carlos
(the founder)! This was exciting in itself, since we got a taste of the founder’s
passion through the tour. God used Carlos to bless the people of Guatemala through
Hope of Life ministries and this blog is not enough to explain it all. He is
truly a man of God who loves serving His Master, and will continue as long as
the Lord provides him with strength.
A brief summary about Carlos: at sixteen he had moved to
America from Guatemala. In pursuit of his dream to make money and marry an
American lady, Carlos started a business and married Cheryl. He accomplished
both. But then, he became sick; not just a cold sick, but dying sick; which
left doctors puzzled and helpless, unable to offer a proper treatment. Deciding
that he wanted to die in the country of his birth, Carlos moved back to
Guatemala. He secluded himself from everyone in a house, because he couldn't even get up from bed and he didn't want to face anyone. One day, an elderly
blind man came in the house and begged him for money. He just told him where to
take the money from because he couldn't move. After the beggar left, Carlos
started to cry out to God for healing. For three days, he pleaded to God that
if He healed him, he would dedicate his entire life to serving Him and the
people of Guatemala. On the third day, struggling out of bed, he managed to
limp over to the building next door. This point was when the ministry was born.
Although Hope of Life started off with the just an elder’s home on 1 acre, God
blessed Carlos’s ministry, as now the ministry sits on 3,000 acres! This
organization includes ministries such as an orphanage, the Baby Rescue Center,
an elders home, a special-needs home, warehouses for supply storage, a tilapia
farm, several greenhouses, seventy-eight feeding centers (that distribute to
villages), and many others. We have
learned that Hope of Life reaches out to approximately 2.5 million people
around them.
We started with a tour of the warehouses, then continued to
the Baby Rescue Center, which was the first time we saw the children and had
all our hearts captured by them. We continued onto the special needs home,
orphanage, school, tilapia farm, and little village within Hope of Life called
Aldea Esperanza de Vida. This village was made as a safe haven for women who
have been abused/raped and their children.
Following our
tour of Hope of Life, we headed back for lunch, after which we bag closed 2,000
lentil food bags. Each bag consisted of 50 meals, and there were 5 bags in one bigger bag, which provided 250 meals for each village family. We
split into two groups where one group food bagged, while the other re-packaged
paper towels, napkins, toilet paper, and other toiletries. After several hours
of packaging, we helped move several furniture pieces from one warehouse to
another.
Having some
downtime thereafter, we got the opportunity to spend more time at a ministry of
our choice before dinner. I headed over to the Baby Rescue center, as did many of other members of our team. Many of our team members were able to feed the
children their dinners and just really love on the children. What precious
moments those were! That night, Emilio, a 14 month old, was in my arms most of
the night. Initially he walked about, playing, but soon after started crying.
As I picked him up, I immediately felt how hot his little body was. He was
running a fever, and one of the ladies who works there, explained that he had
some shots done earlier that day, so he was sore as well. As I hummed him a
song, he just relaxed in my arms and fell asleep. The time flew by too quickly
as we had to head back for dinner. The children weren't happy as we were
leaving, but they needed their rest for the night.
As we left, a song by Audio
Adrenaline came to mind called Kings & Queens. The lyrics are, “When we
love, when we love the least of these, then they will be brave and free.” Merely
loving on these children will make a profound difference in their lives.
Before little Emilio fell alseep..
Most of the
children that are there are left without parents, yet in the midst of their heart-wrenching
stories, we are able to be the hands and feet of Jesus and demonstrate His love
to them. In addition to the teams that visit Hope of Life, the individuals who
work there are being the hands and feet of Jesus on a daily basis for these
children. It is reassuring to know that these children are loved and will be
loved throughout their lives.
After dinner, we got together for devotions
during which we heard from Savannah and her story about Isaiah. Though God took
her son away only 25 days after being born, He used this event in her life to
bring numerous individuals to Himself. Savannah has a huge heart and is
allowing God to work through her in wonderful ways. I’m blessed to have met people
like her, who have wholly surrendered their lives to God.
One thing I failed to
mention in the last post was, if you want more information about child sponsoring
either from Guatemala, or any other country, please visit: http://worldhelp.net/sponsor-a-child/. You can choose from about
18 different countries. More detail is provided at the end of that website.
Thank you for reading, and... Stay
tuned for more to come… :) God Bless You!
