Can You Help Us?

This is the question that we face every day at Mission to Guatemala. I know we are here to minister and share the love of God with our Guatemalan brothers and sisters and reach out to the least, the last and the lost, but some days the challenge of listening to yet another request is somewhat overwhelming. The last week or so has been a time when we would like to say yes to so many but the reality is we will have to send them away empty handed. We are able to help some through the generosity of North Americans, but we turn many away because we do not have the resources to help. 

Let me share with you some of these petitions and requests.  “Would you build a house for me next to the church?  I am a pastor with a family and I have only boards for walls and a dirt floor.”  “Can you buy  50 plastic chairs for us? We only have a few wooden benches in our church and they are falling apart.”  “Do you have any bibles in the Qekchi language?“  “Will you help me send my son to school? He only needs some school supplies and shoes.” “Would you help us buy some construction materials to build our church?” “Can you buy us some land so we can grow corn and beans to feed our families in the village?” “When can you come and show the Jesus film in our community?” A pastor asks, ”Would you buy some shoes for my 4 children?” A social worker asks, “Can we use your facility to talk to young girls about birth control and the responsibilities of having a child at 14 or 15 years of age?”   “Can you give us a soccer ball?”  “We would like a concrete floor in our church. Will you give us money to buy concrete?” “Will you build us a classroom so our children can have a school to go to?” 

Are you starting to feel a little overwhelmed?  This is just a partial list of the requests we have received in the last 3 weeks.  The needs here are enormous and in times like this it is a challenge to figure out how best to help.

Our vision at Mission2Guatemala is to share the love of God by helping meet some of the practical needs of the people.  Without your help we would be at a total loss.  To those of you who have given to this end, thank you so much.  And for those of you who have been thinking about what you can do, my question to you is, “Can You Help Us Help Them?”  Rocky