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“We think she’s five. She was found wandering around barefoot and in her underwear. Her mother abandoned her some time ago and no one wants her” “He’s six and his little sister is 14 months. They’re both terribly malnourished and he doesn’t talk. They were removed from their home because of physical abuse” “She’s six and her mother abandoned her with a boyfriend she’d only known for a few months. He now fears violence against himself and the child” For some months now, the Vida Children’s Home has been operating – as planned – as a Baby Home. Abandoned infants have found love and refuge in the arms of our nannies. Some only needed sanctuary for a short time. Others will grow up as part of the Vida Children’s Home family. But change was in the air this spring. In the midst of the Covid-19 lockdown, we suddenly started receiving calls about children – not babies – who are neglected, abused and abandoned. And we felt that God was moving us into the next phase of the Vida Children’s Home.  The nannies have their hands full! Several of the new children are malnourished and needed medical attention. One of the girls speaks only Q’eqchí, and the boy doesn’t speak at all. None of these older children have ever attended school. We actually now have two new nannies who are solely in charge of the three oldest children. Both have worked as teachers, and one is also a nurse. The children are receiving remedial classes and are learning how to play.  The children are adapting well and are happy, though we know there must be a lot of emotional pain buried deep inside. The older boy has taken to Graciela, our cook and cleaning lady. He sits on a stool in the kitchen to be close to her. The girls are enjoying each other’s company and love their nannies. Please pray for all eleven little ones currently at the Vida Children’s Home in Guatemala, both the babies and the older children. Please pray for our nannies and all the staff. And please consider coming alongside the Vida Children’s Home as an Orphan Care Champion.  Would you consider adding a monthly gift at whatever level is right for you?
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Teachers around the world are struggling to figure out how to best support their students through this pandemic, and our teachers in Guatemala are no exception. But can you imagine preparing lessons for home learning when some parents can’t read or write?  Grade 2 teacher Grisley Suc explains how the Vida Teachers have developed study guides, and how they’ve provided photocopies to the families so that the students can keep learning at home with the help of their parents, but she adds, “I know that in some cases this is difficult, because some parents cannot read.” Grade 3 teacher Hilda Quej echoes the sentiment, “Home is difficult for some students because some parents don’t know how to read to be able to support the tasks, and the students aren’t yet able to guide themselves through the tasks on their own.”  “I teach in the stage of learning to read and write,” explains Yenifer Cú, who also teaches Grade 2, “It’s worrying and sad for me, since before all this situation, the students were making good progress, but now it has been limited. I thank God for technology, although many of my students don’t have access because they live in areas that are too remote or they simply don’t have the medium.” Access to technology is limited, though teachers have been able to connect to some students through phone, text messages or WhatsApp, a common way to communicate in Guatemala. Grade 1 teacher Paola Ac tells how she brought a few weeks of schoolwork to a student whose parents don’t have a phone for daily contact: “For me, that day was a great blessing to see him very well, and the huge smile on his face was enough to forget the long journey I had made to get to his home.” We are so thankful for our teacher’s efforts and creativity as they maintain contact with our students during this time. We hear from our students that they are washing their hands and not going out on the street, they are praying at home and they are even singing – but they are also a little bit scared. We are also thankful to all of you who are supporting a class through Impact Ministries. You are supporting our teachers and our students at this time. All of our teachers are looking forward to the time when they can be back in the classroom with their students. They can’t wait to be able to see their smiling faces and enjoy devotionals together accompanied by the children’s voices. In the meantime, the teachers are praying for their students, and supporting them as best they can from a distance.  As Grade 4 teacher Mayco Xoná says, “Each of these days have been filled with a lot of learning and drawing near to God.” May God continue to draw our teachers and our students near to Him!
“Together we Give” - that’s the theme for #givingtuesdayNOW. And that’s something we know the Impact Ministries community is good at! Today - Tuesday, May 5th - has been designated as #givingtuesdayNOW around the world - an additional global day of giving as an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by Covid-19.  You’ve already come together in an unprecedented way to provide food hampers for our families, many of whom are struggling to keep their children fed during this crisis. “Brothers and sisters, thank you so much for everything that you have given us, for groceries,” says 11-year-old Angel on behalf of his family, “We didn’t have food. Thank you so much for all that you give.”  But food runs out, and we don’t know how long the current situation will last. So, for #givingtuesdayNOW, we’re asking if you’d reach out to your friends to make sure that together we can keep providing food to Angel’s family and others like his. Will you forward this email to share the need to feed families in Guatemala? For every $10 you and 3 friends donate you are providing one generous food hamper for a family like Angel’s. How many hampers can you and your friends provide?  Watch our Facebook www.facebook.com/Impactminusa page for posts that you can share today and throughout the week! Or simply share the link www.impactminusa.org/togetherwecanfeedfamilies
through social media, by email, or however you communicate best. Thank you so much for sharing your passion for the people of Guatemala with others you know May God bless you, |
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