Day 4

Visiting Escuintla

Today we visited a small city outside of Escuintla. It sits outside of a garbage dump and it’s people are very poor. Some people even live inside of the dump, making shelters out of the trash around them.

There is a ministry called New Hope in this poor community that helps supplies new or pregnant mothers with healthcare, and provides tons of food for families. This ministry is run by Oscar and his familia en Christ. There are a ton of kids living in the compound whose parents either work for New Hope or have passed away.

On of these sweet little kids is Jamie, who was fascinated by my phone. I don’t think she had ever gotten to play on an iPhone before today.

We got to worship and study the book of Acts with some of the Women at New Hope. If you’ve never worshipped in a language other than your first language- You should. It’s incredible. The women preached that failure is apart of this world, but failure isn’t a part of the Holy Spirit. Through him, we can do all things.

One of the sweetest kids I met today was Able. He is nine years old, and was taking care of his little sister for most of the day. He didn’t play with the other kids and was protective over his little sister. As soon as I began to talk to him he lit up and answered all of my questions. I asked him where his mom was, and he told me he didn’t have a mom. Imagine a boy nine years old who had no dad, lost his mom, and has to care for his older sister. Imagine the things he saw on his days alone on the street, caring for a his baby sister. The only way he is still alive is because God had other plans for him, and used New Hope to rescue him and to give him a home.

Able’s House

Another sweet story is Nancy, who is a four or five year old girl that has been living at New hope for a few months. Nancy has severe special needs that prohibit her from talking or walking. All she can do is cry and sit either in her bed or her wheelchair. Her mom also had special needs and couldn’t take care of her, so New Hope came and took her out of her home.

The people at New Hope are far from wealthy. They barely have more than the people living on the streets do, but they are empowered by the Holy Spirit to go and make disciples. In only a few days, I have realized what a waste our commercialized living is in the united states. The people here have nothing, yet their community and love for each other is so strong. They pursue the Lord with everything in them, using ever minute to proclaim the gospel by caring for the people who need more than they do. I am so thankful for what the Guatemalans have taught me in these short few days. May my life be marked with gentleness and lowliness for the rest of my days.