Every child deserves a safe place where they can be a kid.  A place where they can freely problem solve, use their imagination, develop physical strength, coordination and balance. A place where they can grow, dream, imagine, explore and gain a sense of self.

For many children in Guatemala this is nonexistent.  Many of the children here lose their childhood too quickly due to the stress of just trying to survive.

(photo credit) 

 Many of us have memories of our childhood days spent swinging on swings, sliding down slides, bouncing up and down on the teeter totter with a friend, hanging on the monkey bars, running through the grass and exploring the world around us. A vital and important part of our childhood development.

The children who come to Village of Hope often have lived in desperate poverty and will for the first time have a safe, permanent place to call home. Our goal is to provide them with the opportunity to grow and develop into the humans the Lord intended them to be through providing a safe place to grow- as every child deserves.

One of our big needs here at Village of Hope is a safe place for the children to play.  Because the facility is built in a mountainous area this isn’t as simple as putting in a swing set and a soccer goal. A large area will have to be dug out, a retaining wall put up to keep the mud from sliding and then the playground will be put in.

View from a different direction...

We have been blessed by a donor who has offered to match up to $10k for the ground to be dug out, a retaining wall constructed, a grassy area planted, and a playground for the children at Village of Hope. For every $1 you give between now and Sept. 6th it will be doubled! What a great way to invest in the kingdom and see your dollars stretched!

To give to the 10K match please go to: Lifesong for Orphans and please indicate it's for Village of Hope Guatemala- 10K Match.

Thank you so much!!!

Village of Hope

This post was Written by Amy Block . The Block and the Ucherek families are our friends serving as missionaries in San Lucas Guatemala.

I am a list maker. I learned that from my mama.

To me, being able to cross things off my ‘to do’ list, to grab my pen and scratch through a job as ‘finished’ signifies accomplishment.

Yet, ever since moving to Guatemala I have noticed that the Lord has been teaching me a different way. Since living here I rarely have the opportunity to cross things off. Actually, rarely do I even have time to make a list. And while I fully admit that can sometimes be overwhelming, what I have learned is that I need to allow the Lord the freedom to direct how I spend my days.

The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way? Proverbs 20:24

And so each morning, without fail, I get on my knees and ask God to show me what He has for me to that day... and that list in my head changes drastically.

A few days back God brought this precious family into our lives and they helped me see my to do list in a new light.

Aura Marina and her seven children live in a little village called Chi Tuk not far from Village of Hope. The main thing on Aura Marina's 'to do' list every day- is to simply survive.

As we visited with Aura Marina and her children, asked about their needs, prayed for them and got to know them better -for whatever reason the Lord brought my ‘list’ to mind. He reminded me that the bathrooms I complained about cleaning were a blessing…

                                                                   (family bathroom)

That the dinner ideas I had so often whined about trying to come up with were a blessing…

                                           (Aura Marina and her only means of cooking for her 7 kids)
And that the leaky roof we had been experiencing really wasn’t that big of a deal after all…

                                  (one bedroom, dirt floor home Aura Marina and her 7 kids live in)
And what I couldn’t help but wonder was how many times in the past I had allowed satan to distract me, to fill my head and my heart with my own shallow complaints, my own selfish wants, and my own agenda- that in the long run really don’t even matter. How much time had I wasted focusing on my own little world… when the world around me was crying out for Him?

So today I challenge you to ask God to arrange your 'to do' list for the day. I challenge you to not get so caught up in your own kingdom- that you forget about His.

If you would like to partner with us here at Village of Hope in helping families like Aura Marinas you can visit us at: Lifesong for Orphans- Guatemala.