The town of Chisec was completely obliterated during the civil war. It was literally burned to the ground. They were right in the middle of the conflict between the army and the guerilla soldiers, and although many were innocent, they were wiped out. The town you see now, is relatively new - about 15 years old. The streets are all well laid out and wide enough for two lanes of vehicles, but there is little in the way of infrastructure and services. Water is an issue here, and in the town, there is only water every other day. Most villages do not have water systems and simply haul water from the nearest available stream. The needs are overwhelming.
Everyday people are at our gate, coming to make petitions for help.
Yesterday three different groups of people came to present their needs to the ministry for consideration.
Group #1: A pastor and one of the eleders from a church in Chisec came to ask for help in purchasing the tin roofing material for their church building. It had taken them two years to build the church and they were very pleased to share with us that they had not borrowed any money to get it done. Now all they needed was the lamina (tin roofing material) to put on the roof and they'd be done.
Group #2: 4 workers from the Center of Health in Chisec came to share a report with Cindy of how they used the gifts of baby clothes and blankets they had received from Mission2Guatemala. As they shared with us the stories of how the pregnant ladies in the villages surrounding Chisec received the prenatal classes, you could see the gratitude on their faces.
Then, one of the ladies share how they had lost one mom just this past weekend. She gave birth at home and shortly after delivering, she bled out. She left behind a newborn little girl and a 3 year old as well as her husband. Because of the lack of work in this area, most men work far from home, so the grandma will have to assume the responsibility of caring for the children. This family is desperately poor and cannot afford to buy the formula that the baby needs to survive. The Health workers expressed how frustrating it was that the government gave them no money to help a family like this.
They also shared with us the frustration of working in the area of malnutrition. Again, they are supposed to run this program, but are not given any funds to do it! So, they go from business to business, asking for donations so they can distribute food to the children who are malnurished. 50% of the children in this area suffer from malnutrition, so the need is huge. The frustrating part of the work is when they return to the homes where they have given food, and they often discover the condition of the child has not improved and the food is being given to the chickens. The moms say, "My child doesn't like the food you gave us and they won't eat it." When the workers try to tell them that they cannot give the child a choice or they will die, the moms respons, "well if they die, they die. I guess that is God's will."
Group #3: Four people from a church came to ask for help with a cement floor for their church. Again, they were able to do the majority of the construction on their own, but now needed some help with the last part. When the young man, who was leading the group, finished talking about the church, he asked if he could present another need. Cindy responded, "of course." Then he told us how his dad, the former pastor of the church, had been killed four in one of the villages where he worked. The past four years had been tough for the family and now the youngest child was wanting to attend Senior High School (quite an accomplishment here), but they couldn't afford to send him. In Senior High, the kids take a career and most of these schools are private, so you have to pay tuition. He wanted to know if the ministry ever gave out scholarships or helped kids with school.
Three different groups of people, all with needs, all in one morning. We listened to their presentations, asked a few questions and then prayed. Then, after they left, Manny, Cindy, Rocky and I discussed if we could help each group and if yes, how that would work.
This is a typical morning at Mission2Guatemala.
We so appreciate your prayers as we learn and transition into this new ministry. It is our heart to be a blessing to Manny & Cindy and to be able to help the local people in a way that affects eternity!
Blessings!
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