Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Travelogue
Part five:
os’
‘Hogar de Nin
in Guatemala
yanmar
Next week: M
‘Living vicariously through the adventures of our friends’
‘Out of the 14 million people in Guatemala, over 500,000 are orphans.
In our American mindset, an orphan is a child without both parents. But in Central America,
an orphan can be any child who has no one to care for them, feed them, love them or protect them.’
In C. America,
Muellers bring
support, and
witness the
ample ‘love,
hope and joy’
in faces of
children
By JEFF MUELLER
For the News
As we touched down on
the wet runway on that
early spring day of 2014, I
was reminded once again
why my wife Lynda and I
just landed in Guatemala
City, the largest city in all of
Central America.
After a year of planning
and praying with a team
from Immanuel Lutheran, it
was clear that God wanted
our church to learn all
about the plight of Central
American orphans and how
other American Christian
churches were meeting the
vast need of these precious
children.
As we taxied to the gate, I
recalled the two Bible verses
that had been the catalyst
for this trip and many more
trips to come: “Religion that
God our Father accepts as
pure and faultless is this: to
look after orphans… in their
distress” (James 1:27). And
Jesus’ words: “Truly I tell
you, whatever you did for
one of the least of these
brothers and sisters of
mine, you did for me”
(Matthew 25:40). Immanuel
Lutheran Church had re-
ceived a clear mission from
our Lord to fulfill these two
verses and although almost
none of us speak Spanish
and have very little experi-
ence south of the border,
when God says go,
you go!
As we walked
out of customs,
we heard our
names and turned
to see our dear
friend, Uncle
Willy, waving at
us to follow him
around the fence
and over to his
parked car. Uncle
Willy has been liv-
ing in Guatemala
City for over 30
years and is a re-
tired business-
man. He was
going to serve as
our tour guide, in-
terpreter, and
host for our 7-day
adventure in
beautiful
Guatemala.
As he drove us confiden-
tially through the crazy (and
often scary) maze of cars,
buses and motorcycles to-
wards his fifth floor condo
in the heart of the city, I re-
called that out of the 14 mil-
lion people living in
Guatemala, it was estimated
that over 500,000 were or-
phans.
In our American mindset,
an orphan is a child without
both parents. But in Central
America, an orphan can be
any child who has no one to
care for them, feed them,
love them or protect them.
Most children living in
Christian orphanages in
Guatemala have at least one
living parent, usually their
mother, but for various trag-
ic reasons, the child is aban-
doned, abused or neglected
to the point that they be-
come “orphaned.”
Guatemala is famous for
its coffee and bananas. It is
equally famous for once hav-
ing the largest Mayan civi-
lization in all of
the Americas,
with huge temples
and ancient cities
buried deep in the
mountainous jun-
gles. Guatemala
also has a rich,
cultural history of
Spanish Colonial
times, with beauti-
ful cities like An-
tigua dating back
to the 1500s.
But sadly, it is
also well known
for its more recent
violent history of
civil wars, politi-
cal corruption,
and drug cartels.
Because of these
deeply rooted
chronic societal
illnesses, babies
are born with
many strikes against them.
This is why we were here.
Most of our days in
Guatemala were spent visit-
ing three very special and
vastly different Christian or-
phanages, or as they prefer
to call them, “Hogar de
Ninos” (children’s homes).
One children’s home was
in the slums of the inner
city run by Mama Carmen,
an elderly Guatemalan
woman I called “The Mother
Theresa of Guatemala.” She
‘. . . for
various
tragic
reasons,
the child is
abandoned,
abused or
neglected to
the point
that they
become
“orphaned.” ’
About
the author
Jeff and Lynda Mueller were high
school sweethearts at Hood River
Valley High, now married 36
years and counting. Jeff is the se-
nior pastor at Immanuel Lutheran
Church on 9th and State Street,
and the chaplain of the Hood
River Fire Department. Lynda is
the church secretary and chil-
dren’s ministry director. Before re-
turning to Hood River, they
served churches in Northern Cali-
fornia and Hawaii.
housed 60 children fulltime,
and watched 36 others after
school, in a two floor build-
ing the size of most of our
Hood River homes, with a
one-car garage as their only
play area.
Another orphanage was
in a fairly safe area on the
outskirts with 20 children,
all under the age of five.
They enjoyed a nice outdoor
yard. The third home was in
a high-security neighbor-
hood that also hosted the Is-
raeli Embassy. There were
26 children living in two
large side-by-side houses
that provided every possible
need for each child, includ-
ing a playground that rivals
anything we have here in
town.
■
We were struck by the fact
that there were so many dif-
See TRAVEL, Page B2
Photos by Jeff and Lynda Mueller
“I walked in the doors of the first orphanage we visited
and two small boys ran up and hugged me before I could
say a single word,” Jeff Mueller writes. He adds: “My
wife, Lynda, wanted to take every one of those precious
children home with her — every single one of them. I had
to check her luggage before we left the country to make
sure there were no stowaways.” Guatemala, and the city
of Antigua, is truly a stunningly beautiful part of the
world, with active volcanoes, a mild tropical climate
called “the eternal spring,” and vast jungles, rivers, lakes
and mountains.
B1