Guatemala (MNN) — It happened despite many naysayers. It happened even though the government said it wouldn't. Paradise Bound Ministries has an orphanage in Guatemala. That's great news. And there's more good news: they need you.
President of Paradise Bound Ministries, Dan Smith, says, "Nine months after submitting our paperwork, God blessed us with certification. All through it we could see the enemy just at work, but God was at work more."
Smith says, "Open Doors Orphanage is actually located right at our mission base [in Chimaltenango] in Guatemala. And we have the capacity at this current facility to take care of 32 children. Right now we have seven children. The only reason we're at seven is because we just opened our doors."
The orphanage is located in Chimaltenango, which is about an hour's drive west of Guatemala City. Smith says Paradise Bound is working directly with the government. "Some of the children are awarded to us out of full abandonment, but then there are also cases of domestic abuse, or violence, or drug or alcohol addiction. And in most cases, they're awarded to us on a temporary basis."
According to Smith, that's another ministry opportunity. "As a mom comes in to visit her child, we have the opportunity to ministry to her, to share the Gospel with her, with the hope that she will come to know Jesus Christ as her personal Savior." The goal is to reunite the child with the mother. However, funding is needed for this.
Smith says it costs $32 a month to sponsor a child. "In everything we do, the Gospel has to be shared. The blessing of it is this: even though it's a non-Christian government, they're so happy with what we're going that they're allowing us to be open and share the Gospel."
This orphanage isn't designed to place children in homes as much as it is to get children ready for life. "We want them to go back to their own culture, to be able to go back to their own people and to minister to their own people. What we're really doing is raising up another generation of missionaries within Guatemala."
If you'd like to make an eternal difference in the lives of these children, click here.
