"this is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world"
James 1:26
Hello everyone,
This verse from James is a challenge to us all. In our world today there is unfortunately an epidemic of broken families and uncared for children.
Often times we are exposed to examples of some of these situations in the ministry. Today we would like to tell you about two little boys, Juanito and Brian. Below you will find two reports from Alex, our Director at the Las Vistas school. We want to share these with you to help you understand the difficult circumstances that so many families experience in their lives here in Guatemala. Through Alex's interest in both of these little boy's lives, AMG has been able to enroll them in our school, help the family with some of their expenses, and provide spiritual and physical care for them.
None of this would be possible without child sponsors. Thank you to so many who already sponsor children in our programs. If anyone would like to consider sponsorship, you can see pictures of children here in Guatemala who are in need of sponsors right now at this link:
Right now we are in need of sponsors for more than 150 children!
Report #1 from Alex - Juan Alfredo Lux Vicente - "Juanito"
Can you imagine an 8 year old boy who cannot play soccer with his friends, cannot run, cannot play hide and seek, really cannot do much of anything.
I would like to introduce you to a little boy, Juan Alfredo Lux Vicente – “Juanito”. He is one of our new children enrolled at our school in Las Vistas, located just outside Guatemala City. Juanito has a very unusual circumstance with his health. He was born with his heart located outside of the normal chest cavity. In 2001, he had surgery here in Guatemala City to relocate his heart, but the doctors were not able to put it back into its proper place. Believe it or not, Juanito’s heart is now located just “below” his thorax. (for those of us who are non-medical people, his heart is in the soft tissue area just below the inverted “V” that you feel in the middle of your chest).
Due to his condition, Juanito has several complications relative to his health. The first one, and by far the most serious, is that his heart is unprotected. Believe it or not, you can feel Juanitos heart, and you can actually see it beating from the outside! Because of this Juanito cannot live like a normal boy. He cannot exert himself. He cannot have any extra physical activity as he cannot risk falling or being hit in the area where his heart is.
Juanito has poor circulation as a result of all of this. His heart only operates at about 50% capacity. This is noticeable in his color, especially the color of his fingernails and extremities.
He is on daily medication that our ministry helps his very poor family buy each month. They live in a very small house that does not have electricity or running water. Juanito walks about a mile each way to attend AMG’s school each day.
In this pictures you can see where Juanito’s heart relocation was performed:
Juanito's heart is now located just a few inches above his belly button. As you can imagine, his heart is completely without protection.
Report #2 from Alex - "Brian" Israel Avila - 11 years oldOne day earlier this year I noticed a young boy hanging around outside of our school. I began talking with him and found out his name was Brian. Brian seemed to be a very nice young boy but he did not walk properly. He was wearing some type of brace and it appeared he had something wrong with his legs. As I talked with Brian, I learned that he had been this way for his whole life. While Brian didn't completely understand his disability, it was apparent that getting around was very difficult for him.
Brian told me that he did not attend school so I took the opportunity to go home with him and talk with his mom one day. Upon meeting her, I discovered that she is a single mother as her husband left her several years ago. She was a very sweet woman who was trying to do the best to raise her son. She explained that Brian's problem was a broken bone in his hip that the doctors thought was the result of an injury she had when she was pregnant with him. She also explained that the doctors told her that they could correct the problem with surgery but that they could never afford to pay for this.
I invited Brian to enroll in our school and his mom agreed. Following this, I spoke to my supervisors at AMG's central office and petitioned for help for the funds necessary to help Brian receive the much needed surgery. Fortunately, we were able to help from our "Medical Fund" and in June Brian had his surgery! The doctors believe it was successful and Brian is now in a long period of recuperation and therapy. Below are some pictures of Brian post-surgery in his very humble home.
Inside the home:
Brian showing the brace he wore:
The kitchen:
Brian's scar from the surgery:
Brian's mom is unable to work during this time. She sometimes does laundry for people for a few dollars per day. We have purchased food for the family, will continue to help with their medical expenses, and some very generous donors from the US have helped to pay the rent of their home.
A few weeks ago, AMG's leadership and some visitors from the US came to visit our school. Mr. Hastings asked if it would be possible to visit Brian as he had just recently had his surgery, so we all went to his home. Brian's mom could not contain her emotion. Through her tears, she told us "I knew I could never pay for Brian's surgery, so I have prayed every day that the Lord would provide a way. Now, He has provided so much more! I can only thank God for his faithfulness in providing more than I even asked for".
Brian's mom (far right) with the visitors from the states:
Will you join us in praying for Juanito and Brian? They both still face many challenges in their lives.
Here's a picture of Alex. I know he would also appreciate your prayers as he continues to labor in the ministry.
Thanks for taking the time to share in the ministry of AMG Guatemala.
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