In one of the wealthiest sections of Guatemala City, streets are a shade quieter than most. Cleaner, as well. Large houses hide behind secure fences laced with barbed wire, their beautiful courtyards hidden from the outside eye. Yet down the hill, around the corner, lies one of the poorest areas of the nation’s capital. Pressed up against a concrete wall is a neighborhood riddled with crime, its grid divided by the gangs who claim it. And on the other side of that wall is a mountain of trash, which tumbles into a valley and sits, rotting in the sun. The president built this wall because he wanted to stop people from throwing their trash off the side of the mountain. Yet those who live nearby refuse–or cannot afford–to pay the 20 Quetzals ($2.50) for a trash service. So they sneak their bags down to the wall where men wait to rifle through them before throwing them over the side. It’s known as one of the most dangerous areas in the city (photo below by Connie Rock).
The life of wealth isn’t just a football field away for those who live near the wall; it’s in another world altogether. Here, people struggle to survive. There isn’t always enough food to fill one stomach at the table, let alone all the little bellies begging for nourishment. Lights blink on and off when the electricity is paid, and water is too dirty to bathe in, let alone drink. Without insurance or the money for medical care, many pregnant women give birth at home. Their little ones aren’t reported to the government, and don’t receive official documentation of their existence, like a birth certificate. Simply put, legally these children do not exist. They cannot attend school without official papers; the government does not recognize them as people, let alone citizens. Without education, they cannot grow up to get jobs. And without school, they become a target for the gangs. They are recruited, brutalized, abused, prostituted, killed, or become killers, addicts, or thieves themselves. They find a place to belong in a gang, a place that their country refuses to give them. There they are seen. There they can’t be ignored. Then the cycle continues for their children, if they live to have any.
A few years ago, a woman named Marta (above in black; photo by Connie Rock) dreamed of a school for the children of the wall. Today she rents a building for a school and a room in a nearby building for them all to meet in, right across from the building she lives in, mere feet from the trash heap. This isn’t just a school, however, for many of the children live there as well. Abandoned by their families, they have no where else to go. She takes them in, cooks for them every meal, and cares for them. This school, which started simply and is solely run on financial donations, now employs 8 teachers. They need more. They need more of everything– teachers, resources, space. But they have what is important: the presence of these precious children, the ability to educate them, staff to do it, and a space to do it in. God provides their needs.
One of the teachers at this school is a woman named Betty, pictured above in white. While this was my first time meeting her, she’s known Connie and her family for years. I was excited to meet her! Betty is a missionary from Guatemala. She raises support to meet her needs. Two days a week, she teaches at the school in Guatemala City, telling the little ones about Christ. She is currently in school to get her degree in counseling so she can best help the children she meets. Other days, she volunteers at an home for HIV orphans. She has her heart set to the pulse of her country’s needs, and uses her gift for teaching to share the love of Christ with those the government doesn’t even knowledge to exist.
God has given her eyes for those He sees.
We spent a lot of time with Betty while we were in Guatemala. We met for dinner; she took us to the school that she teaches at one day. We met up on the street one afternoon and she drove us to the airport our final day there. It was incredible to hear her stories, to hear about the children she teaches… but most of all, it was incredible to see how people responded to her. When we walked into the school, the kids went nuts. Those closest ran from their spots to throw their arms around her. When the different classes were brought into the chapel she was teach, the kids broke away from their lines and practically “attacked” her with hugs and laughter. As she taught them and led them in songs, reading from the Bible and then jumping in the air to the beat of the music, the children followed her every word and movement. It wasn’t that she lit up when she saw them… she was light.
Betty is one of the many ways that I saw Jesus in Guatemala.
Ten minutes into our first conversation with Betty that first night, Connie looked at me and said, “I think we found our ministry”. The purpose of Purchase Effect is to help those around the world; to tell their stories and to help tangibly as well, through the proceeds of what we sell. Our purpose in Guatemala was three-fold: to purchase goods to bring back to sell, to share Christ wherever and whenever we were, and to find a ministry/non-profit to donate to and build a long term relationship with. It was abundantly clear to us that this was the ministry/non-profit we were to help, the ones we could help. The next words out of Connie’s mouth were, “When can we go to school with you?”
So, on Friday, we went to school and met a hundred children who most definitely DO exist!
There was an exercise class after chapel for the 3-year-olds, and Connie decided to join in.
(bottom row of photos by Connie Rock).
One final story:
During the exercise class that happened after chapel, I noticed one little girl not participating. She stood there with her finger in her mouth, refusing to move. The teacher let her be, and I wondered why. Betty came over and motioned to the girl, “Do you see the little one over there? Her father dropped her off at the school two weeks ago and told us that he couldn’t do it anymore; that he couldn’t be her father anymore.”
Just like that, she was abandoned. And while she has a safe place to stay, food to eat, and people who love her and Jesus to take care of her, her heart cries out in pain. Will you pray for this little girl tonight? I don’t know her name. But please pray for her, for Betty, and for the rest of the school staff as they tell these children the most wonderful truth: that they matter and that Jesus loves them. And please pray for Purchase Effect, that God will continue to guide us and bring people to hear the story of this little girl, of Betty, and of the school.
*Final photo by Connie Rock*
