Imagine...

Imagine washing your clothes in a river with pigs bathing near you. Imagine your baby crawling on the dirt floor of the tin-roof shack you call home. You have access to running water for only a couple of hours a week. Your five-year-old has parasites from the contaminated water. It is not feasible to get to the doctor when you need one.

This is reality for families living in San Nicolas, Guatemala.

Now imagine missionaries coming to your town. Some of them are doctors who set up times of medical services. They give you and your children much-needed nutritional supplements. They give your five-year-old medication for the parasites. The missionaries provide an after-school program for your children to come to know the love of Jesus and to learn English. They help you dig a well and you have access to clean water. They help you learn some crafts to better support your family. And most importantly, the missionaries pray with you and offer you a retreat to draw you to the One “who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103:3-5).