What Will You Do?

  As 2010 ends and 2011 begins, it's a good time to ask ourselves what we can do to make a difference in the life of someone else.  Once way would be to sponsor a child so that they may attend school and have a nourishing meal.   

Did you know that
Guatemala has the fourth highest rate of chronic malnutrition in the world and the highest in the Western Hemisphere.

Approximately 75% of Guatemalans live below the poverty level, which is defined as an income that is not sufficient to purchase a basic basket of goods and basic services.

Approximately 58% of the population have incomes below the extreme poverty line, which is defined as the amount needed to purchase a basic basket of food.

Approximately 50% of Guatemalan children under the age of 5 now suffer from chronic under-nutrition.

In the nation's highlands, where many indigenous people live, 70% of children under age 5 are malnourished.

Only primary school is required by law, so most children do not study past the 6th grade.

The average number of school grades completed for adults is just 4 years... ranked number 88 out of 100 countries. 

Jacqueline, Jefri, Maura, and Reily are waiting for sponsors. Will you make a difference in a life today?

 http://www.hishandsforguatemala.org

The Guatemala team is back home in Maine and Utah! The trip went extremely well with 8 stoves being built (more than we expected) the additional classroom completed (again, with more done than the original planned), all the children in the program updated and 25 new children added in El Membrillal as well as in San Lucas, where a new school will be starting up in January.

 



Part of the team worked with the school children doing crafts, which was fun for all involved.




  




The sponsorship team went out to the homes of new children to gather information which includes measuring the children. This child will be attending the new school in San Lucas.

  The stoves are a big blessing for the families who receive them.  They have been cooking on open fires, sometimes inside their homes which causes many health problems.  The new stoves allow a better cooking area on top and have a stove pipe to ventilate the smoke.

 
 
The classroom was build next to the existing building and made out of materials so that when the school is able have a build it's own  land, it can be dismantled and rebuilt. 







Joel & Janna were able to perform 5 time: at a youth meeting on Friday, church on Sunday, 2 schools on Tues & Wed, and at another church Wed night. They were a blessing to all who heard them.






We are thankful for all God prepared for us and allowed us to accomplish.
Thank you for your prayers.

Goals for the Next Trip

We are excited about our upcoming trip which is just over 2 months away!   As mentioned in the last post,  Joel and Janna will be joining us.  Because we have over 25 team members going, we expect to accomplish multiple projects.  In addition to updating and adding children for the sponsorship program in El Membrillal, some of the team will be working on constructing a new classroom at the school, while others help build cooking stoves for families in need.

Many homes have open fires to cook on inside their homes.  This of course leads to respiratory and eye problems. The cost of each new stove is $150.  The team is raising money for this project and well as for the classroom construction (estimated to cost about $1,000).

If you or your church, youth group, Sunday School, office, family, etc. would like to donate toward these projects, please go to His Hands for Guatemala or visit us at His Hands Support Ministries

This photo shows you an example of an indoor cook stove - cooking on hot coals.

Some of these stoves in El Membrillal and Magdalena have already been replaced, but other families are in need.



Below is an example of a new stove.  This makes life so much easier and is much healthful than the open fires.

There have been many improvements on the building where the school meets since we were there in December.

 

In December

After painting  (no matter what I do, I can't get this photo to rotate!!!)

                              Some very happy school children at recess!!

Please pray for this trip and for the projects. Donations of any size are appreciated.

Jamie D.

New Year's update!

We have found sponsors for 15 children in the His Hands for Guatemala Child Sponsorship Program - 9 girls and 6 boys!! There are just 4 boys still waiting to be chosen! Here's a little bit about each one -

Byron L. - age 6 - lives with parents, 3 brothers and 1 sister.

Marvin M. - age 9 - lives with parents, 2 brothers and 3 sisters. Brother Nery also waiting for a sponsor.

Nery M. - age 4 - lives with parents, 2 brothers and 3 sisters. Brother Marvin also waiting for a sponsor.

Jose P. - age 6 - lives with parents, 3 brothers and 4 sisters.

We're also still looking for sponsorship for 3 teachers/staff members. The sponsorship fee for each of them is $175/month so this would be a great project for a church or a business. Sponsorship donations are tax deductible and we do issue receipts!

Would you consider sponsoring a Guatemalan child today? Would you help us spread the word about these children and the teachers? We need to find sponsors soon so they can start school at the end of this month!

So sponsor a child in Guatemala today :-)

Thank you so much!

Jamie

The His Hands for Guatemala Child Sponsorship Program is ready to begin!

We're ready to begin our new His Hands for Guatemala Child Sponsorship Program! You can visit our temporary home on the web - http://www.hishandsforhaiti.org/his_hands_for_guatemala.asp to learn more about the program or to see photos of children who are waiting for sponsorhip. Currently we have 9 boys and 2 girls who are still waiting. The cost to sponsor a child in Guatemala is $35/month. This covers the cost of all their educational materials, TWO meals each school day and basic medical care.

Would you please consider sponsoring a Guatemalan child today?

Jamie :-)

We're heading back to Guatemala!

A group of 5 people will be heading back to San Lucas, Guatemala to work with Pastor Merari Rodriguez and to officially start the His Hands for Guatemala Child Sponsorship Program! We will be traveling down to Guatemala on December 10th and will return on December 14th. Our plan is to gather the necessary information on the first 25 children to be enrolled in the sponsorship program. These children will be the first students of the new Fuente de Esperanza School Project Pastor Merari and his partner, Pastor Mario Mendez, will be starting in the small village of El Membrillal in the mountains outside of Magdelena. We will also be visiting the town of Antigua in anticipation of another project Pastor Merari would like to start there in the future.

We covet your prayers as we make this quick trip and as we work with these children. This will all be new to them and may be a bit intimidating so pray for calm hearts and willing spirits.

We don’t yet know for sure what the sponsorship fee will be for these children but we do know it will be a monthly commitment. We will also be looking for sponsors for the teachers as well as sponsorship for the cost of food for the program. The children and the staff will all get a light breakfast and lunch each school day. The children will also receive basic medical care through the school program. If you are interested in sponsoring a Guatemalan child or any of these other sponsorships, please send us an e-mail so we can keep you informed of the details as they are completed.

Looking forward to what God has in store!
Jamie

Our First Visit to Guatemala!

So we've made our first visit to Guatemala to begin our partnership with Pastor Merari Rodriguez of Iglesia Galilea in San Lucas. It was an amazing trip and we learned a lot about Guatemala and the work of Pastor Merari along with Iglesia Galilea. We hope to begin a child sponsorship program with them sometime in 2010 - hopefully for the start of their new school year, which starts in January.

We also hope to be able to begin to bring some kind of help for the multitide of very young mothers in the areas we visited. In these areas, girls get married and start having babies at very young ages (we met a 14-year-old girl who is pregnant!) and because they are poor, they don't have the means to seek medical care. Most will have their babies at home. We may begin collecting New Mother's Kits for these girls or perhaps just collect financial donations towards this need and have our partners in Guatemala purchase the items locally.

We have many thoughts and desires but of utmost importance is - What would God have us do? Please pray that He will make His direction clear both to us and to Pastor Merari and Iglesia Galilea.

We'll keep you posted!
Jamie :-)