Dear Friends:
The town of Zacapa in eastern Guatemala looks like many other bustling Central American communities. With a population of 51,000 and widespread poverty common to this part of the world, the town is famous for its sweltering desert climate and for its production of hand-rolled cigars. But perhaps the most striking features are the majestic mountain ranges that surround Zacapa with a misty, blue-gray watercolor horizon. Looking at the landscape, one would never guess that these mountains contain numerous pockets of villages that seem to be a step back in time by many centuries.
There, the indigenous Mayan people live in primitive conditions with no electricity or indoor plumbing. Many villagers suffer from malnutrition and the results of inadequate medical care as they struggle to survive on subsistence farming. Their native dress and adobe huts are the obvious differences. There are also differences which are much less apparent but equally as harmful to these families. Ancient superstitions, witchcraft and false religions have been passed down through many generations, causing the people to live under a veil of mental, physical and spiritual oppression.
These precious people live in fear and with lack of purpose, many refusing to venture down the mountain to Zacapa for medical treatment or jobs. As a result, there are many deaths due to treatable or preventable illnesses and consequences of extreme poverty. But in this male-dominated society, the most heart-breaking stories are those of women and children who are suffering the terrible injustices of abuse and murder.
Women and young girls who have children out of wedlock are marked for life, even though the pregnancy is almost always the result of rape. Fearful of living a life of shame, these women often try to perform their own abortions, or smother their newborn babies immediately after birth. These situations even occur among married women who live with abusive husbands, and women who have difficulty caring for a number of children. Those who perform their own abortions often die following the birth of their next child do to damage of their reproductive system.
We have just received news about a woman who is expecting her fifth child. Her husband left her for another woman, and has run his family out of their home at gunpoint. Juana and her children have nowhere to go. She will have her baby alone. It’s a three-hour walk down the mountain if she chooses to have the baby at the national hospital in Zacapa. But it’s dangerous for women to travel down the mountain by themselves because of roadside thieves. In addition, the hospital is reluctant to treat patients from the mountain villages and it refuses to keep these people overnight. Where would Juana go after the baby’s birth if she ventures down to the town? And what about her four other children?
Our Para Vida mission house will offer a safe haven for women like Juana by providing temporary housing for her and her children. Women will have an opportunity to live near the hospital during that critical period before and after their baby’s birth. There are so many other personal stories of women and children in crisis situations. Sadly, there have been many deaths in the mountain villages of Pinalito and Matassano that could have been prevented. Many abortions have been performed and many newborn babies have been murdered because women felt they had no hope and no alternatives. That will change when Life of Promise is able to provide shelter, safety and choices for women and their children.
We need the help of friends who will pray for the women and children of Pinalito and Matassano. Also please pray that God will provide the finances for the ministry to complete the mission house, and that He will enable Life of Promise to meet these vital needs and save lives. The most important request we can make is to ask you to pray for the ministry and all those who are touched by it.
Would you please pray and consider joining with our ministry in providing shelter and life-saving services to the people of the mountain villages? They are truly forgotten and tossed away by society, but we know they are so precious to God.
Please donate by credit card on the "Get Involved" page of this website, or send your tax-deductable donation to:
Life of Promise Ministries
24 Three Point Garden Road
East Stroudsburg, PA 18301
* Please make checks payable to Life of Promise Ministries. We are a 501(c)3 registered non-profit.
EIN: 45-2395 751
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your prayers and your support.
God bless you,
Tom and Arlene Richmond
tom-arlene@lifeofpromise.org
The town of Zacapa in eastern Guatemala looks like many other bustling Central American communities. With a population of 51,000 and widespread poverty common to this part of the world, the town is famous for its sweltering desert climate and for its production of hand-rolled cigars. But perhaps the most striking features are the majestic mountain ranges that surround Zacapa with a misty, blue-gray watercolor horizon. Looking at the landscape, one would never guess that these mountains contain numerous pockets of villages that seem to be a step back in time by many centuries.
There, the indigenous Mayan people live in primitive conditions with no electricity or indoor plumbing. Many villagers suffer from malnutrition and the results of inadequate medical care as they struggle to survive on subsistence farming. Their native dress and adobe huts are the obvious differences. There are also differences which are much less apparent but equally as harmful to these families. Ancient superstitions, witchcraft and false religions have been passed down through many generations, causing the people to live under a veil of mental, physical and spiritual oppression.
These precious people live in fear and with lack of purpose, many refusing to venture down the mountain to Zacapa for medical treatment or jobs. As a result, there are many deaths due to treatable or preventable illnesses and consequences of extreme poverty. But in this male-dominated society, the most heart-breaking stories are those of women and children who are suffering the terrible injustices of abuse and murder.
Women and young girls who have children out of wedlock are marked for life, even though the pregnancy is almost always the result of rape. Fearful of living a life of shame, these women often try to perform their own abortions, or smother their newborn babies immediately after birth. These situations even occur among married women who live with abusive husbands, and women who have difficulty caring for a number of children. Those who perform their own abortions often die following the birth of their next child do to damage of their reproductive system.
We have just received news about a woman who is expecting her fifth child. Her husband left her for another woman, and has run his family out of their home at gunpoint. Juana and her children have nowhere to go. She will have her baby alone. It’s a three-hour walk down the mountain if she chooses to have the baby at the national hospital in Zacapa. But it’s dangerous for women to travel down the mountain by themselves because of roadside thieves. In addition, the hospital is reluctant to treat patients from the mountain villages and it refuses to keep these people overnight. Where would Juana go after the baby’s birth if she ventures down to the town? And what about her four other children?
Our Para Vida mission house will offer a safe haven for women like Juana by providing temporary housing for her and her children. Women will have an opportunity to live near the hospital during that critical period before and after their baby’s birth. There are so many other personal stories of women and children in crisis situations. Sadly, there have been many deaths in the mountain villages of Pinalito and Matassano that could have been prevented. Many abortions have been performed and many newborn babies have been murdered because women felt they had no hope and no alternatives. That will change when Life of Promise is able to provide shelter, safety and choices for women and their children.
We need the help of friends who will pray for the women and children of Pinalito and Matassano. Also please pray that God will provide the finances for the ministry to complete the mission house, and that He will enable Life of Promise to meet these vital needs and save lives. The most important request we can make is to ask you to pray for the ministry and all those who are touched by it.
Would you please pray and consider joining with our ministry in providing shelter and life-saving services to the people of the mountain villages? They are truly forgotten and tossed away by society, but we know they are so precious to God.
Please donate by credit card on the "Get Involved" page of this website, or send your tax-deductable donation to:
Life of Promise Ministries
24 Three Point Garden Road
East Stroudsburg, PA 18301
* Please make checks payable to Life of Promise Ministries. We are a 501(c)3 registered non-profit.
EIN: 45-2395 751
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your prayers and your support.
God bless you,
Tom and Arlene Richmond
tom-arlene@lifeofpromise.org