Un Dia Especial


Last Friday, May 25th, was a very special day for the central office employees of AMG. We had been talking for some time about closing the office for the day and taking the employees to visit a few of our rural childcare centers. Well, the perfect opportunity posed itself last Friday at our Villa Laura and Oratorio projects. You may have seen our earlier posts (from February 5th and May 1st) about the construction of new buildings at our Villa Laura childcare center and the visiting construction teams that have helped with the construction. Also, a "cancha" or "court" (for basketball, soccer, etc) was built at our Oratorio childcare center this past year as well. Since the construction of these two projects was completed recently, the dedication services for both was set for this past Friday when our central office employees could be there.
Twelve of us loaded up in the van in the morning on Friday and drove to the small rural village of Villa Laura. About an hour east of Guatemala City we took a small dirt road and went about 8 kilometers up the mountain to the village. Here are a few pictures from the drive:




Villa Laura - you might wonder why we needed new school buildings at this childcare center. Part of the problem was the ownership of the property as the land where a few of the older buildings were located was not owned by AMG or our church partner. Also, the buildings were very old. Here are a few pictures taken of the old buildings that were replaced:






























The property where the new buildings were built was just accross from where the old buildings were located. It was purchased several years ago by AMG and one building with 3 classrooms was constructed a few years ago. Then, during the past two years, the main building(3 more classrooms, and office and a storage room) and the kitchen/storage buildings were constructed. Here are some pictures of the finished project:












It was a privilege to participate in the ribbon cutting ceremony along with the staff and children of the Villa Laura childcare center:











Oratorio - The Oratorio childcare center has wanted a "cancha" for several years and needed a play area for the 400 children who attend there. And since the Oratorio project is close to Villa Laura, during the time that the last construction team was here we split the team and half of them worked to constuct the "cancha". After leaving Villa Laura, we drove back down the mountain and to Oratorio. When we arrived, they had prepared a buffet lunch with for us. Their hospitality went way over board.....but we enjoyed the lunch just the same! Here is a picture of our central office employees enjoying this time:





And after our "feast", we were once again treated to a program put on by the childcare center staff and participation in their dedication service of the "cancha". Here are some pictures from the afternoon service:



Amidst the opportunities and challenges that we face in the ministry each day, we have special days such as this one to remind us that the Lord is working in Guatemala through the ministry of AMG International.


Thank you to all who sponsor children so they are able to attend the childcare centers.

Thank you to all who helped with the planning and construction in Villa Laura and Oratorio.


Lord bless you all.




6 comments

School and Friends

Hey everyone...its Melody. Many of you have asked me when I am going to post, so I thought I would tell you all a little bit about my life here, with some pictures to help. This is the Christian Academy of Guatemala (CAG) where Bethany and I go to school.
Here is a picture of Bethany and her classmates. Her teacher, Ms. Leonard, is on the far right. (you can click on it to see a larger image)







I don't have a picture of my entire class, but these are some of my friends at school:
This is my good friend, Gaby. We are really close, and spend a lot of time together outside of school. Actually, she's really become part of our family this year:


And here are some of my other friends...we're just hanging out at school:

Of course I still love it when friends come from the states. Here's a picture of some of the teens that came from our home church just a few weeks ago.


I really like CAG and the Lord has really blessed me with some great friends here... only a few weeks left of the school year! Hope to see some of you this summer!

5 comments

Team From Our Home Church






This past week we hosted a team from our home church - Fellowship Bible Church of Chester, NH. The team came to finish a building project by painting two new school buildings at one of AMG's rural childcare centers in the mountain top village of Villa Laura. They also did some children's ministry in the form of mimes, songs and testimonies at this center and another one in Guatemala City. The group was made up of 8 teens and 4 adults, some veteran short-termers and some first-timers as well.

Besides being a tremendous source of encouragement to us, the team accomplished a LOT of work. They finished painting two buildings, ministered to hundreds of children and staff members and even found plenty of time to play with the kids...always the highlight of the week.

The picture of the buildings above is of the buildings before the team started. After their week, the buildings look like this:




New friends.... ...and old friends too!



Some of the kids at AMG's Villa Laura Childcare Center:



...and a not so welcomed creature!

Making tortillas looked so easy when they did it!



The team performing a gospel mime...



"One of these things is not like the other!":



Children praying for the team at the Las Vistas school just outside Guatemala City...

Thanks, Fellowship Bible Church, for your continued support and participation in the ministry of AMG, Guatemala. We're looking forward to the next time!

3 comments

Dariana Mishel Lam

"This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress....." James 1:27

Some of the most difficult situations that we encounter in the ministry have to do with health problems of sponsored children. The picture above is of a little girl named Dariana who is seven years old. Yesterday, I met with her mom at our mission office following a report from our Amparo Daycare Center. Dariana's mom explained that her problems began two years ago when she was five. It was discovered that Dariana has a form of blood cancer. She has many problems as a result of her disease and the doctors fear that it is spreading. Yesterday, she had a CAT scan as they suspect she may have a tumor in her brain. Dariana's blood platelet count is extremely low and she has to take medicine and receive transfusions on a regular basis. Sometimes her bleeding gets out of control and she has to be hospitalized for weeks at a time.
During these past two years, Dariana has been unable to attend school or our daycare center. Her mom is a single mom with two other children. She is working full time in a clothing store and spends many of her nights at the hospital with Dariana.
The hospital that Dariana goes to is a public hospital here in Guatemala City. The care is free but Dariana's mom has to pay for medications and special procedures and tests that Dariana has to have. She has taken out two loans to pay for these things. As I talked with her yesterday, I could sense that she was extremely weary and nearing her breaking point.
AMG is going to help with Dariana's medical expenses through a special medical fund that exists through one of our partner funding agencies.
Please pray for Dariana, her mom and her two older siblings. This is a very difficult time for all of them. Her mom assured me that they were Christians and that they are waiting on the Lord through all of this. You can help by praying for Dariana and for the health of all the children that are ministered to through AMG's childcare network. Thank you.

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