GIVING BACK

Food is always a needed and welcomed gift in the villages around Casa Angelina. One year during a particularly heavy rainy season, the school children made crafts to sell to the teams that visited Casa Angelina. They raised enough money to buy a large amount of beans and cornmeal, loaded up the supplies, and took them to remote villages in the hardest-hit flood areas. They passed out the food to starving people whose crops had been washed away. It was a wonderful experience to watch our teens go door to door in the nearby village and ask if any food supplies were needed. At one house, a lady greeted them with her hands lifted in the air, shouting, “I have been praying for a miracle! We are completely out of all our food, and God answered us with you!” The kids were elated to be the answer to someone else’s need!read more

In our neighboring village of El Sitan and other villages around it, we take medical teams to minister and medically treat the people. Although some from this village regularly walk to our clinic to receive medical care, some cannot make the journey. In the past, we have taken medical missions groups to well over 17 rural villages throughout Guatemala. At these makeshift clinics, the local people are treated for minor injuries and receive diagnoses and appropriate medications. Thanks to our clinic staff and medical teams, hundreds of villagers have been treated who would have never received any medical care otherwise.read more

Several years ago, the remote mountain village of Chimixaya was hit extremely hard by rains and flooding. Many people lost their lives, homes were destroyed, and crops were washed down the hillsides. We were able to drive back to this village and take medical necessities, vaccinations, and food. We were also able to assist some local people in getting back on their feet by helping them start their own businesses. A generous Canadian group came and built them sturdy chicken coops and bought 20 chickens per family, instantly putting them in the chicken farm business! We were also able to build seven houses in the remote village of Panimache that replaced the ones that had been washed away.read more

For many years while Casa Angelina was just being established, we came alongside another orphanage, Casa Carmen, that needed help. The orphanage began as a daycare out of the home of a couple in a very poor area of Guatemala City. But as the need grew, they started to take in children permanently. They had received more than 60 children. We were able to provide them with basic necessities, such as shampoo, soap, and vitamins. We also took food, clothing, and financial support on a monthly basis. On occasion, we would bus the children out of the city to the beautiful hillside orphanage of Casa Angelina where we would have a piñata party, food, and gifts for them.read more

One of the most surprising ways that we have had an opportunity to give back is with our beautiful, new soccer field. Local groups frequently ask to use this fantastic facility. In fact, the entire police department from the city of Chimaltenango has an ongoing tournament. There are 22 police stations in Chimaltenango involved in this tournament, and it ends when one station is crowned the World Cup Soccer Champions of Chimaltenango! Each week trucks of policemen come and go from Casa Angelina, and our children delight in rooting for them!read more