Thirteen days ago, a little girl was born. Within about 24hrs., a little boy was born. Both have brown skin and black hair, but that is where the similarities end.
The little boy was born to a mother who lives at a dump in Guatemala. He will undoubtedly know hunger during his life, will likely not receive an education, and may be destined to live at the dump for the rest of his life--unless we intervene.
The little girl was born in America to professional parents who will be able to provide all of her needs and most of her wants. She will never know hunger, will receive a good education, and will probably enter a profession, just like her parents.
Both of these children are precious to God. Their circumstances have nothing to do with them, but only with where they were born.
On July 16th, I boarded a flight in Tampa, Fl which would take us via Miami to Managua, Nicaragua. Our purpose was to visit some of the ministries our Florida Baptist Children's Homes is already involved in. We first went to a Nursing Home with 10 residents. It had been in total disrepair until Nicaraguan Baptist Association got involved and contacted FBCH. Now there are three cottages which are open and have residents in them. They are more like homes than what we have in America. The cottages have 3 bedrooms, a bath and kitchen area. There are about 3 residents in each. No, they are not as clean and sanitized as the institutional nursing homes in America, but they are well-cared for and a nurse comes regularly to check on them. There is one man from the states who lives there--his choice. There is no air-conditioning, but their rooms are much more like a home than what is here in the states. Several teams have been there to paint, clean up brush and remove trash from the compound. Across the street was a gated home that could not even be seen from the road. I wonder who lives there and if they even care about the elderly across the street from them.
The next day, we visited Bethel Baptist Church which has a ministry to about 200 of the poorest children in Managua. The church buses them in. This day, they were having a Bible school. After class, they were fed a meal. I was in the kitchen distributing plates onto serving trays, so I missed what some other team members saw. The children would take their meal, open the styrofoam container, take a bite of chicken, one bite of rice, and one bite of their roll. Then they closed it to take it home to feed their families. That may be the only food their family has that day. They are not at all greedy, but share willingly with their families. Failure to do so means their family will not survive.
During the Bible school class I attended, the teacher gave an assignment. She took out a baggie with a few crayons in it and gave one to about every third child. We had taken boxes of crayons, but they were being inventoried. I wished I had put one in my purse so that all of the children could have had their own crayon. We take so much for granted here.
The third day we were in Guatemala. We headed up to the Malnutrition Center in San Juan. It used to be a Tuberculosis treatment center, but when TB became fairly extinct, it was turned into a Malnutrition Center for children. It is owned by the Lion's Club of Guatemala City and used to be supported by them. However, it turned out that there was one man who was providing most of the support, and when he died, it almost closed. When FBCH was introduced to it, there were only 15 children there and very little food. What food was there, was not nutritional. After over a year of sending teams there, the mud has been cleaned out, the pantry stocked, rooms cleaned and painted, new washers and dryers installed, and now 67 children are being cared for at the center. The capacity is 200, but there is still work to do.
We toured the Center and then FINALLY got to the baby room so we could hold these little darlings. There are 28 babies there. Several are twins. The latest set of twins came in June when their mother died in childbirth. They were born in May. Their dad could not provide for them, so he brought them here. At least, they will now have a chance, but can you imagine having to give up your child for several months or longer, just so the child will have food? I know of no place in America where that would happen. Some of them are not thriving--pray that they will, that God will reach down and touch them and wrap His arms around them and let them know he has a plan for their lives, too.
From Guatemala, we flew to the Dominican Republic. There we visited a ministry to children who have been taken off the dump outside of Santiago. The ministry was funded by a grant from the UN, but that grant has ended and FBCH is trying to provide resources to keep it going. Many children have been maimed or killed by working the dump. To be a part of the Children of One Hope Center, the parents must agree to never allow their children to go to the dump again, to enroll them in school and to send them to the Center after school for tutoring. They also receive instruction in music and art. Some of their art was incredibly good! In the afternoon, the children were there. Some of the team members joined the children in a volleyball game until it was rained out. Then we went down to the room used for chapel and a team member presented the gospel. Several children raised their hands saying the wanted to receive Christ. The staff will follow up with them. We had bought snacks for the children (about 125). Each received a muffin, a piece of chocolate and a drink. The rain continued and we literally watched the roads wash away. We had already been stuck in that mud earlier and wondered if we could get out. We watched a little boy, carrying his brother upstream, to the gate of the center. We had some leftover muffins, so we handed them to the neighborhood children. When he was handed one, he gave it to his little brother. He did the same with his drink. Of course, we gave him his own muffin and drink. They are so gracious and giving--just precious people caught in a cycle of poverty.
The next day we took a long ride up to the border of the Dominican and Haiti. We did not cross over, but met with pastors from 7 churches in the area. They are ministering to displaced Haitians who fled after the earthquake. They are in a no man's land, as they are illegal in the Dominican and their own country doesn't want them back. Without birth certificates, their children cannot go to school and there are few jobs available. Pray for them and pray that we will know how we can help them help themselves.
One cannot go there and not come back with a new appreciations for God's grace in our lives. The resounding thought is "what can I do that will make a difference in the lives of the people I met"? We do not want to Americanize them, we want to meet their physical needs and introduce them to Jesus. "What can I do?" That question haunts me daily.
For more information or to follow the blog, check out www.orphansheart.org. I had not planned to go on a mission trip this year, but God had another plan. When I was asked to go on this one, I just had to say yes. I do not know all of the reasons for my being there, but I do know God will reveal them as He sees fit and on His timetable.
Thanks, Amanda, for allowing me to use your blog. I look forward to reading your thoughts when you return from Guatemala.
Brenda McCollum
