Orphan Outreach

This week I am with KVNE/FUZION Radio in Guatemala City.  This team arrived Saturday and hit the ground running! We drove directly from the airport to San Jose Pinula (a community just outside Guatemala City) to visit the homes of families whose children attend CadaNiño, a partner ministry with Orphan Outreach in Guatemala City.  The team I joined visited Jorge’s home, and we were so blessed to interact with his mom.  Jorge has only been at CadaNiño for two months, and his mom says that he loves the staff and loves to read.  He loves to learn and is excited to be part of the program.  KVNE/FUZIÓN radio has served with Orphan Outreach for many years, and has also hosted an on-air sponsorship drive for the kids at CadaNiño!  This was a great way to start a week of amazing ministry!

Our second day was quite the experience.  We spent the day taking 22 preschool Montessori students to a trampoline park—for the first time ever!  Once the kids and team arrived, everyone stored their belongings and got a little snack.  Everyone was given a bright orange pair of socks with ‘sticky pads’ on the bottom to prevent sliding.  The kids were so excited to wear these socks! Each team member was paired with a child and immediately gave chase to their child as they ran to the trampoline floor.  The kids were able to jump on multiple trampoline floors, zip line into a foam pit, climb through a ninja obstacle course, and slam dunk on an 8 ft basketball goal (with a little help from a trampoline and an adult).  The kids did not tire (unlike their adult companions).  The afternoon was topped off with a pizza and soda lunch – plus a surprise dessert of POPSICLES! Once all the socks and shoes were put back on, we all headed back for the Montessori school to return the kids to their parents.  I must admit, we all smiled as we watched the parents taking their sleeping kids home from the bus ride! What a special day to get to know the kids.  We ended the day with several home visits to meet some of the parents of the Montessori kids and learn more about their lives.  It was truly a day to remember!

Today, we began our regular schedule for the rest of the trip. Each weekday the team will serve in the mornings at the Montessori school, and then quickly eat lunch while driving to the other side of the city to serve each afternoon at CadaNiño San Jose Pinula.  The teaching theme for the day at the Montessori was Jesus healing the lame man, and that theme was woven into all the activities.  We started with some music and moved into the story about the lame man and his friends lowering him to Jesus.  We then moved to craft time which had a great sticker craft that allowed the kids to lower the lame man to Jesus.  The kids enjoyed making this craft. The team then had a snack that used graham crackers, teddy grahams and marshmallow creme to have a mat with friends carrying it.  We then played games outside with the same theme.  After another craft, it was time for soccer matches on a big field located next to the Montessori. The team then ended their morning with story time.  This schedule will be repeated daily except for Thursday, when the team will do an outing with the students at the San Jose campus of CadaNiño.

We drove to CadaNiño while we ate lunch, and then split into two groups (older and younger kids). The team opened with introductions, and then sang with the kids(there may have been a little dancing too).  The kids played Bible games as they learned the verse for the day.  The group then invited the kids to discover the creativity of kinetic sand. It was such a great time to sit and talk with the kids as we all worked together on our designs. Great day, great fun!

Tuesday and Wednesday repeated the same schedule with visiting the Montessori in the morning and CadaNiño in the afternoon with different themes and stories from the Bible.  Today (Wednesday) we celebrated the birthday of our Guatemala Executive Director, Brenda, at the Montessori with cake, gifts, singing and many hugs and laughter from the kids.  It was so special to celebrate with the kids and Brenda!  Feliz Cumpleanos Brenda!

Thursday was the second big activity for the team, as we took the kids from CadaNiño San Jose to an amusement park!  Talk about exciting! The kids at CadaNiño haven’t stopped talking about it!  Approximately 120 kids, 30 staff/parents, the team (21) and 10-15 additional translators and staff from Orphan Outreach Guatemala spent the day riding roller coasters, log rides, eating popcorn, and chasing peacocks.  There were so many smiles and so much laughter, that it was so hard to end our time at the park and travel back to the hotel. 

I want to end this diary by tying back to the very first thing I wrote. I shared about a home visit to Jorge’s home once we arrived in Guatemala.  Jorge shared during our home visit that he was so excited about the amusement park day.  Jorge’s birthday was on the day of the amusement park visit.  He shared that that would be the best birthday present ever, and it was.  We were all able to see his joy throughout the day with the biggest smile, the loudest laughter, and the most thankful for his birthday gift!  What a day!!!

Thank you to Jeremy Copeland for sharing updates from the field! If you are ready to join us internationally, check out available mission trips in the "Go on a Mission Trip" section of our website!