One of the toughest parts of being in Guatemala is the emotions you experience through seeing the extreme poverty, the neglect, and sometimes the abuse. This is especially difficult when it is the kids that are experiencing this neglect and abuse. This precious boy to the left is the younger brother of one of the girls in the Art School. We visited their home a couple of different times when were there on our last trip in late February. We were saddened to hear about the neglect and abuse that happens in this home.
One of the challenges that we see in Guatemala is the addiction to alcohol that many men have. They are often gone working long hours to make very little money. Then sometimes the money they make they use on alcohol. Abuse of women and children is very common there and we found out that this was happening in this particular home. This broke my heart and made me very angry. This precious little boy was so shy and sweet.
What are we do to in these situations? We had a range of emotions and many thoughts come to us some good and some not so good. We wish we could just have rescued these children and taken them out of this home and brought them back with us, but we could not do that. So what are we to do? We don’t know completely but we do know there is hope. There is hope for these four kids in this abusive home. That hope comes through the gospel being lived out in their lives!
The gospel is not only a message that brings hope and salvation to each of us who call on His name, but the gospel brings hope to these situations which happen in our country and all over the world. One of the ways the gospel is bringing hope in this situation is through Carlos and Telma who run the art school. The older two kids in this particular family are or have been involved in the Art School and have received love and care and guidance from Carlos and Telma over the years.
We were able to show them the love of Jesus by taking them food and clothes when were visiting. Pastor Aaron has been burdened with sponsoring this family so their physical needs are met on a regular basis. They not only have to deal with the physical abuse and neglect but they often times don’t have food.
So the gospel is going forward and making a difference in their lives and in the lives of many people in Magdalena, Guatemala. We are so excited about how we, as a small church in the middle of Indiana, can make a huge difference in the lives of many people in Guatemala in the months and years to come. Click here to find out how you can make a difference there.
