the BIG trip

For those of you who don't know, and many of you do, I am heading out to Guatemala in January to work in some orphanages and show love to the kids who have no home and no parents. I will be going to an orphanage called Hannah's Hope. I will do crafts and play with the kids there, and visit with and do Bible studies with the young ladies in the House of Hope, which is a place connected to Hannah's Hope where young mothers learn how to care for their child and also learn work skills so that they can go out and get a job to properly care for themselves and the baby.

I will also be going into the Guatemala Ghetto and take sack lunches to the very poor children, and just try to show them some of the love that Jesus has for all of his children. Then I will also go to another orphanage, much poorer then Hannah's Hope, where at the present there are around 96 kids and 1 adult! Can you even imagine a ratio like that? I am sure there are days and days at a time where those poor kids do not have any kind of adult interaction at all. I long to be there for those kids, to hold them, to show them that someone cares........and ultimately if I could, to bring a few of them home with me!!

Now, in all reality, I know that I cannot bring any of them home, which is a huge part of my decision to go down there. Most folks know that I want to adopt very badly, and yet cannot, so I have decided that since I cannot take in a baby who has no home, I can at least go and be the best Jesus to these kids as I can.........and hopefully, even if this is the only glimps of Jesus that they get, that it will be enough to bring them some joy, and when they are old enough, to remember this joy, and seek out who Jesus is, and come to a relationship with Him.

So, there ya go............I have been wanting to share about this in my blog for those of you who don't know about it. Also, for those if you who do, maybe this gives you an even better glimpse into why I want to do this, rather than just the fact that I am doing it.




About Guatemala - for anyone interested:
Fast Facts...
Full Name: Republic of Guatemala
Capital City: Guatemala
Time Zone: GMT/UTC -6 ()
Languages: Spanish (official)
Religion:
Roman Catholic
Pentecostal
Mayan-Catholic fusion
Indigenous Mayan beliefs
Currency: Quetzal (Q)
Geographic coordinates: 15 30 N, 90 15 W
Area: 108,890 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Tennessee
Land boundaries: total: 1,687 km
Border countries:
Belize 266 km
El Salvador 203 km
Honduras 256 km
Mexico 962 km
Coastline: 400 km
Climate: tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands
Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau (Peten)
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m - highest point: Volcan Tajumulco 4,211 m
Natural resources: petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, hydropower
Natural hazards: numerous volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast extremely susceptible to hurricanes and other tropical storms
Environment - current issues: deforestation in the Peten rainforest; soil erosion; water pollution Environment - international agreements: party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: no natural harbors on west coast
Population: 14,655,189 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 42.4% (male 3,185,037/female 3,033,947)
15-64 years: 54.2% (male 4,019,052/female 3,928,984)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 226,745/female 261,424) (2005 est.)
Median age:
Total: 18.47 years
Male: 18.25 years
Female: 18.71 years (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 34.11 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 6.81 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
35.93 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
Total population: 65.14 years
Male: 64.27 years
Female: 66.04 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.53 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 1.1% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 78,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 5,800 (2003 est.)
Ethnic groups (2001 census):
Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and Spanish - in local Spanish called Ladino) and European 59.4%
K'iche 9.1%
Kaqchikel 8.4%
Mam 7.9%
Q'eqchi 6.3%
Other Mayan 8.6%
Indigenous non-Mayan 0.2%
Other 0.1%
Languages:
Spanish 60%
Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2003 est.)
Total population: 70.6%
Male: 78%
Female: 63.3%