“Genuine Faith Shelters the Orphan” - Russell Moore
Too often, we hear of a fact and statistic that sounds so large that we feel anyway we help would be irrelevant to helping fight the problem; and unfortunately we indirectly let the truth go in one ear and out of the other. Then, we are reminded, that this isn’t just a number or statistic; it’s a real person in need, and the number of lives in need is so large that we can’t help but do something to fight against the odds.
In the past few months, the Project Orphans team became aware of a truth that we could not grasp. We learned that there are 370,000 children orphaned in Guatemala and that over half of the Guatemalan children under 5 years old are chronically malnourished. As an organization that strives to build family style orphan homes for vulnerable children, we knew we had to step in and help.
Brittany, Christina, and I spent Valentine’s Day weekend traveling to a mountainside village in Zacappa, Guatemala on a vision trip. Our goal was to get a better understanding of the culture and the needs of the children that were already being cared for through the organization we were looking to potentially partner with.
Although, our time in country was brief - it was the time we needed for the most beautiful, brown-eyed, Spanish speaking children to capture our hearts. We were able to minister to dozens of sickly and malnourished children in the village hospital, hold little infants that had been abandoned, and love on babies with special needs who were left orphaned.
It was overwhelming to see the poverty, sickness, and help needed in Guatemala, but one thing we have learned is: where the need is great, the opportunity is greater.
It didn’t take long for our vision trip to turn into a partnership and long-term commitment. Today, we could not be more excited to let you know that Project Orphans is expanding our organization to Guatemala. We will be working alongside our new friends, Matt and Jessica, who will be leading Project Orphan's new home in Safe Haven Village. (Project Orphans team pictured with Matt and Jessica below.)
At Project Orphans, it is our ultimate goal to help children off of the streets and into a home with a family. It is our mission to see the lives of vulnerable children changed, healed, and restored. Today, we are so grateful for everyone who has supported and given to Project Orphans. We rejoice with you that there are eight less children abandoned on the streets because they will now be going to be live in our new home!
With Love and Gratefulness,
Tiffany
www.ProjectOrphans.org