Time is flying by as I prepare to go on the next mission trip!! Many donations have been sent down in anticipation of our arrival and will provide lots of families with hope this holiday season!! We will be able to hand out 26 food baskets to the children of New Hope Ministries and another 56 in Los Robles!! 82 baskets so far is a great start!! We're also trying to raise additional funds to provide 250 grocery bags of food for families in Aqua Escondido! I know times are tough and with the holidays fast approaching many of us find ourselves strapped for cash. This causes us lots of stress, but can you imagine the emotions it brings for mothers who watch their children go hungry day after day because they lack money for the essentials?? To me this must be the ultimate suffering a mother faces on a daily basis. I hope that you will consider helping to ease the burden of hunger on families in Guatemala this year. Can you please consider donating even $5 to help a family receive a food basket?? One less child will go hungry because of your help!! Even a small donation will make a HUGE difference in the lives of the less fortunate!!
Please consider making a donation to help feed the 250 families suffering from hunger in Aqua Escondido, Guatemala!! Also please take a moment to help spread the word of the needs they are facing. The more people we can make aware of the food crisis the more families we can reach!! Please take a moment to help spread the word by sending out an email, posting on your blog, or telling about it on facebook or my space. Together we can help feed the hungry one dollar, one child and one family at a time!! Many blessings!!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
PACKING AND FOOD DISTRIBUTION
The final shipment for this year is completely packed and waiting for Medrano to pick it up in the morning. There's some amazing donations packed inside those boxes that are certain to be life changing for all they touch!! They're full of toys, shoes, over the counter meds, canned meat, school supplies, Spanish books, and more. Although these three huge boxes take up a large portion of my living room the inconvenience was very worth it!! I can't wait to arrive in Guatemala and be there to witness all the smiles on the faces of those people receiving these items!! It's going to be a wonderful feeling!!
I'm also so excited that the food baskets for Los Robles and New Hope Ministries have all been sponsored which means 82 families will be fed thanks to your generosity! I'm not willing to stop there though because so many others are suffering from hunger and the affects of malnourishment. I'm working hard to raise $3,000 to supply food to the families living in Aqua Escondido, Guatemala. They're experiencing some really rough times because of the food crisis and I want to touch as many of their lives as I can. If you'd like to feed a family and make a change now is the time to do it!! With a minimum $10 donation I will provide you with a photo of the family receiving a food basket that can be kept for yourself or given as a gift to the hard to buy for loved one!! What a remarkable gift to give!! Holidays are all about giving and what better gift can be given than the gift of hope and food!! So many children are suffering from malnourishment and for less than we spend on a Burger King meal we can provide them with the basic foods. We're hoping to provide bags of food to as many families in this area as possible. The food bags will include beans, rice, corn, oil, fresh fruits and vegetables, and hopefully some other items depending on the amount we can collect.
If you're interested in donating to help us feed the village of Aqua Esondido all you have to do is click on the pay pal link to the right or mail out a check to me!! It's truly that simple!! I know together we're going to make tremendous changes on this year's mission trip!! Thanks to each of you who have helped in any way!
Packing up the Medrano boxes!
Thank you Dr. Turcios for donating these asthma medications that are so needed in Guatemala!! You're truly a remarkable person!!
Thanks Patty for getting these medications donated!!
A glimpse in one of the boxes being packed!
I'm also so excited that the food baskets for Los Robles and New Hope Ministries have all been sponsored which means 82 families will be fed thanks to your generosity! I'm not willing to stop there though because so many others are suffering from hunger and the affects of malnourishment. I'm working hard to raise $3,000 to supply food to the families living in Aqua Escondido, Guatemala. They're experiencing some really rough times because of the food crisis and I want to touch as many of their lives as I can. If you'd like to feed a family and make a change now is the time to do it!! With a minimum $10 donation I will provide you with a photo of the family receiving a food basket that can be kept for yourself or given as a gift to the hard to buy for loved one!! What a remarkable gift to give!! Holidays are all about giving and what better gift can be given than the gift of hope and food!! So many children are suffering from malnourishment and for less than we spend on a Burger King meal we can provide them with the basic foods. We're hoping to provide bags of food to as many families in this area as possible. The food bags will include beans, rice, corn, oil, fresh fruits and vegetables, and hopefully some other items depending on the amount we can collect.
If you're interested in donating to help us feed the village of Aqua Esondido all you have to do is click on the pay pal link to the right or mail out a check to me!! It's truly that simple!! I know together we're going to make tremendous changes on this year's mission trip!! Thanks to each of you who have helped in any way!
Packing up the Medrano boxes!
Thank you Dr. Turcios for donating these asthma medications that are so needed in Guatemala!! You're truly a remarkable person!!
Thanks Patty for getting these medications donated!!
A glimpse in one of the boxes being packed!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
OTC MEDS AND FOOD DRIVE
Martina did a medicine drive for Guatemala and collected all of the items in the photo!! It's such a wide varierty of medication and I know MANY lives will be changed by them!! I received antiobiotic creams, hydrocortisone creams, diaper rash meds, vitamins, iron drops, prenatal vitamins, fever reducers, stomache meds, eye drops, nasal sprays, cold meds, bandaids, and much more!! I'm simply amazed at the generous hearts people have toward those in such a great need!! These medicines will be a true blessing to everyone who receives them!!!
Just to catch you up on things in my everyday life since I have been so absent from the blog world!! I've been busy doing packing, packing and more packing of donations for the last shipment for Project Santa this year! I have received some amazing supplies to go down to Guatemala and I know the people are going to be thrilled because I sure was!! I've also been trying to figure out fundraising efforts to distribute food baskets to the villages we'll be visiting on our mission trip. I have managed to get the 26 children attending New Hope Ministries sponsored for food baskets and blankets, and 56 families in Los Robles sponsored for food baskets as well!! I think this number is amazing!! That means 82 families will receive the food they need!! That's not all that I've been working on though!!
I'm now moving on to collect as much funds as I can do to a major distribution day in Aqua Escondido. I was told of this village recently and asked to go there because the people are suffering from the food crisis! I know it's a BIG leap of faith to accept yet another stop when the trip is so close away but how could I say no? How could I say sorry I cannot try to raise the money because my life is too busy or I'm afraid to fail so they will have to continue to be hungry?? I simply could not do it and I know all I will need will be provided! I have faith on this one!! I'm praying to raise $3,000 by Novemember 27th so that we can provide as many families in this village the essentials they need. My plan is to provide beans, rice, oil and corn to as many of them as I can. If the full funds come in then we will be able to add a small amount of fresh fruits and vegetables to that list as well!! Do you know the impact this is going to have on a hungry family??
I know times are tough for all of us right now, but I hope each of you would consider making a contribution to feed these hungry people. No amount is too small to make a HUGE difference in the life of someone who is suffering senselessly from hunger!! Let's all try to give up something that is not essential this week to help a family eat! Can you imagine the true sadness and hurt in a mother's heart when she sits up at night crying and praying for the funds to come in to feed her hungry child?? Prays for work that doesn't come and a meal that is just not enough. As I look at my children I am very thankful that I can feed, clothe, and educate them so they can have an opportunity to be something and do remarkable things with their lives. It also leads me to pray for those around the world who do not have that luxury! I think it's a true tragedy when food, shelter and clothing are a luxury! To me this is a neccessity but for some it's one they cannot afford. If you can't donate right now please help to spread the word about this food program. The more eyes that are opened the more needs that can be met. I am open to any suggestions any of you may have on how to do a better job at raising the funds. I will not give up on this and will remain faithful that we will touch many lives! Thanks to each of you for helping me to help the people of Guatemala! All of you are a true blessing!!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
A MOTHER'S TRAGEDY~~TO WATCH HER CHILD STARVE
Can we all just take a moment to imagine what it must have felt like for this mother to hold her malnourished child and knew there was nothing more she could do for her other than pray? This is a feeling and life that no mother nor child should have to live through!! The pain and suffering from a lack of food can be eradicated if we can all strive to give a little of ourselves to those who need it the most!! If you look at this photo or read of the food crisis in Guatemala and find yourself wondering how you can help you've come to the right place!! I'm currently collecting donations for food baskets to be distributed in three areas when we travel down in December. I already have 26 food baskets sponsored for the children attending New Hope Ministries in San Andres. All of these children come from single mother homes and I know they will lift some of the burden off of these women's backs to know their children have something to eat!! I also have 35 out of 56 baskets for Los Robles. These are families that have been identified as high risk for malnourishment. I will not stop there! Once I have the last 21 of these baskets sponsored I will move on to collect 100 baskets for the village of El Barranco. I traveled to this village last year and those faces have never left my mind nor heart. This is the village where I witnessed sickness in so many of the children. I know times are getting harder and they're being affected even more!!
Food baskets are going to be $30 each but if you can't sponsor a full basket please don't let that detour you from giving! NO amount is too small and is guaranteed to make a HUGE difference in the life of someone receiving the food basket! You can simply click on the pay pal button on the side of the blog or you can email me at vbayouangel@aol.com for the mailing address to mail checks in to. With each sponsorship you will receive photos of the family getting a food basket when I return from Guatemala. I know times are tough for so many right now and if you can't donate financially please take a moment to help spread the word through email, facebook, blogs, etc. The more people this message reaches the more hope we have to raise awareness of the growing malnourishment rate in Guatemala. Please take a stand today and just give something up in order to feed a child!!
For less than the cost of a cup of coffee a day you can help feed a family for a month!! To me that's worth it!! For less than you spend on one meal out at a restaurant you can make sure a child doesn't go to bed hungry!! Please join in the fight today to help stop the affects of malnourishment!!
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ipsnews.net%2Fnews.asp%3Fidnews%3D48410&h=8fa9d3203aeddb790dd97db8344d8dc8
Food baskets are going to be $30 each but if you can't sponsor a full basket please don't let that detour you from giving! NO amount is too small and is guaranteed to make a HUGE difference in the life of someone receiving the food basket! You can simply click on the pay pal button on the side of the blog or you can email me at vbayouangel@aol.com for the mailing address to mail checks in to. With each sponsorship you will receive photos of the family getting a food basket when I return from Guatemala. I know times are tough for so many right now and if you can't donate financially please take a moment to help spread the word through email, facebook, blogs, etc. The more people this message reaches the more hope we have to raise awareness of the growing malnourishment rate in Guatemala. Please take a stand today and just give something up in order to feed a child!!
For less than the cost of a cup of coffee a day you can help feed a family for a month!! To me that's worth it!! For less than you spend on one meal out at a restaurant you can make sure a child doesn't go to bed hungry!! Please join in the fight today to help stop the affects of malnourishment!!
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ipsnews.net%2Fnews.asp%3Fidnews%3D48410&h=8fa9d3203aeddb790dd97db8344d8dc8
Friday, September 11, 2009
MALNURISHMENT IN GUATEMALA
The number of people in Guatemala that are malnurished is sky rocketing! Children are dying and suffering with little hope to find enough food to keep themselves alive. I am heart broken with each new article released and story that is told. I ache for the children who suffer as well as for the mothers who watch as their children lay starving to death with nothing more they can do for them!! This should now be, how can it be??
How is it that here we throw out more food in a single meal sitting than these children have to eat in a week or maybe even a month!! How do we justify our actions and know we een order dessert more times than not while a child sits in the corner of a room that has not eaten in days!! I can't sit back and know this is happening and not act!! I am striving to help fight malnurishment in Guatemala. Can you please consider helping too?
I am now collecting monetary donations to provide 56 food baskets to the families living in Los Robles, Guatemala. For $1,680 we can feed all of these families!! For $30 we will provide the family with food to eat and the sponsor a photo and info upon my return. $30 is less than we spend to go eat out in a resturant so can we all just give up that one meal to let these little ones eat?? If times are rough and $30 is too much then consider making a smaller donation because no amount is too small to help a family from starving!! You can pay through pay pal or mail me a check for the sponsorship!! Please help me spread the word because with the food crisis in Guatemala the more we can reach out and help the more lives we can save!!
How is it that here we throw out more food in a single meal sitting than these children have to eat in a week or maybe even a month!! How do we justify our actions and know we een order dessert more times than not while a child sits in the corner of a room that has not eaten in days!! I can't sit back and know this is happening and not act!! I am striving to help fight malnurishment in Guatemala. Can you please consider helping too?
I am now collecting monetary donations to provide 56 food baskets to the families living in Los Robles, Guatemala. For $1,680 we can feed all of these families!! For $30 we will provide the family with food to eat and the sponsor a photo and info upon my return. $30 is less than we spend to go eat out in a resturant so can we all just give up that one meal to let these little ones eat?? If times are rough and $30 is too much then consider making a smaller donation because no amount is too small to help a family from starving!! You can pay through pay pal or mail me a check for the sponsorship!! Please help me spread the word because with the food crisis in Guatemala the more we can reach out and help the more lives we can save!!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
MOGUATE GIVES BACK 2009
Over the counter medicines
School supplies
Thanks to everyone who attended MOGUATE this past week and donated to Project Santa. MANY very needed items were brought in and they will make a world of difference in the lives of the people in Guatemala.
I will continue to collect items until the last week of September. I would encourage you to get your donations as soon as possible or send me an email to let me know they're coming. I am still in need of shipping funds so if you're interested in donating items please consider helping with the shipping costs as well. Thanks again for all who have helped!
Together the MOGUATE gives back families alone have donated 346 bottles of medicines and 442 school supply items! I would say that was an AWESOME donation!!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
HOW MUCH DO YOU MATTER??
HOW MUCH DO YOU MATTER???
I came across this on the blog www.buildingtheblocks.blogspot.com and thought it was a perfect post! I want you to consider those who are in this situation already, are on the border of being this child, and who were already saved from this life!! What a powerful post and so well said!!
One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody.
~ Mother Teresa
Image with me for a minute…
Right now, today… you are small and alone.
You are hungry and lost.
You have no home, no parents, and seemingly no future.
You are scared, and weak, from days without food. You have no where to go, no where to be.
People walk by you but they don’t even look your way. It’s like you are invisible, nothing.
You keep walking, your feet are bleeding and sore… and yet still you manage to cling to the small bit of hope, the little voice inside your head that says maybe, just maybe, one day things will get better.
Maybe one day -you will matter.
It is getting dark outside- inside your fear is growing.
Where will you go?
Your heart is beating faster, and your fear becomes over whelming, consuming your every thought.
Then you see it, a dirty, broken cardboard box and you bow your head thanking God for His provision.
For you have found it- shelter.
Safety, if only for one night.
You slip underneath it, hugging yourself, vowing once again not to cry- because by now you know tears are a waste of your strength.
Your eyes become heavy, despite the sweltering temperature.
As you begin to drift off to sleep you pray, hoping, dreaming, of a family of your own one day...
of a place where you will matter...
to someone.
Half away around the world is a family...
They are just sitting down to dinner together.
They are smiling and their laughter fills the room.
Dinner is served and they bow their heads and they pray- thanking God for their many blessings… their home, their job, the food that is set before them.
They lift their heads and go back to the laughter and the joy.
They talk of their upcoming vacation plans, the lunch date they shared with a friend today and the movie they plan to see this coming weekend.
More laughter, more excitement, more.
As the leftovers are scraped into the garbage can and the table is cleaned up, hot bubble bathes are taken by all.
Evening settles in, and the family slips under their down comforters preparing for a good nights sleep.
Before turning out the lights, the husband leans over to kiss his wife good-night. She shyly smiles at him and begins to tell him that she has been feeling that perhaps God is calling them to adopt.
The room grows quiet as they are both lost in their own thoughts… their minds are flooded with questions, concern, and then inevitably -fear.
How could they manage?
Another child?
Why, they already have two!
Where would they put the child?
Who would share a room?
How could they afford to adopt?
Would they be able to take that vacation?
What would people think?
What if the child, you know, caused ‘problems’?
As their eyelids become heavy, they begin to drift off to sleep... and they think to themselves ‘surely not’.
Surely God knows this is not convenient.
Surely God wants them to take that vacation they deserve...
Surely he knows how busy they are.
They have plans and they have dreams.
As sleep overcomes them, the temperature in their master bedroom is perfect… and their pillows are fluffed to perfection.
Life is good for them, just as they had planned...
Because after all, they matter...
Too much...
to themselves.
"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. "- 1 John 3:16-20
Please pray for these children who are already living as orphans and those who are close to becoming orphans because their parents are ill. Please pray for God to show you how to help them!! There are so many out there living this life and so many times these children go hungry each night while wondering if they'll ever eat again. PLEASE consider giving to Project Santa because we already have 23 food baskets going to the families whose children are at New Hope. I would like to provide 40 more food baskets in Los Robles to those identified as high risk families. To do this I need to raise a total of $1,200. This will provide $30 worth of food for 40 families in need!! A small price to feed a family and believe me these food baskets will have a good deal of food in them. I will purchase the essentials for each family so please consider giving today! Please help spread the word and lets touch the lives of these families together!!
I came across this on the blog www.buildingtheblocks.blogspot.com and thought it was a perfect post! I want you to consider those who are in this situation already, are on the border of being this child, and who were already saved from this life!! What a powerful post and so well said!!
One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody.
~ Mother Teresa
Image with me for a minute…
Right now, today… you are small and alone.
You are hungry and lost.
You have no home, no parents, and seemingly no future.
You are scared, and weak, from days without food. You have no where to go, no where to be.
People walk by you but they don’t even look your way. It’s like you are invisible, nothing.
You keep walking, your feet are bleeding and sore… and yet still you manage to cling to the small bit of hope, the little voice inside your head that says maybe, just maybe, one day things will get better.
Maybe one day -you will matter.
It is getting dark outside- inside your fear is growing.
Where will you go?
Your heart is beating faster, and your fear becomes over whelming, consuming your every thought.
Then you see it, a dirty, broken cardboard box and you bow your head thanking God for His provision.
For you have found it- shelter.
Safety, if only for one night.
You slip underneath it, hugging yourself, vowing once again not to cry- because by now you know tears are a waste of your strength.
Your eyes become heavy, despite the sweltering temperature.
As you begin to drift off to sleep you pray, hoping, dreaming, of a family of your own one day...
of a place where you will matter...
to someone.
Half away around the world is a family...
They are just sitting down to dinner together.
They are smiling and their laughter fills the room.
Dinner is served and they bow their heads and they pray- thanking God for their many blessings… their home, their job, the food that is set before them.
They lift their heads and go back to the laughter and the joy.
They talk of their upcoming vacation plans, the lunch date they shared with a friend today and the movie they plan to see this coming weekend.
More laughter, more excitement, more.
As the leftovers are scraped into the garbage can and the table is cleaned up, hot bubble bathes are taken by all.
Evening settles in, and the family slips under their down comforters preparing for a good nights sleep.
Before turning out the lights, the husband leans over to kiss his wife good-night. She shyly smiles at him and begins to tell him that she has been feeling that perhaps God is calling them to adopt.
The room grows quiet as they are both lost in their own thoughts… their minds are flooded with questions, concern, and then inevitably -fear.
How could they manage?
Another child?
Why, they already have two!
Where would they put the child?
Who would share a room?
How could they afford to adopt?
Would they be able to take that vacation?
What would people think?
What if the child, you know, caused ‘problems’?
As their eyelids become heavy, they begin to drift off to sleep... and they think to themselves ‘surely not’.
Surely God knows this is not convenient.
Surely God wants them to take that vacation they deserve...
Surely he knows how busy they are.
They have plans and they have dreams.
As sleep overcomes them, the temperature in their master bedroom is perfect… and their pillows are fluffed to perfection.
Life is good for them, just as they had planned...
Because after all, they matter...
Too much...
to themselves.
"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. "- 1 John 3:16-20
Please pray for these children who are already living as orphans and those who are close to becoming orphans because their parents are ill. Please pray for God to show you how to help them!! There are so many out there living this life and so many times these children go hungry each night while wondering if they'll ever eat again. PLEASE consider giving to Project Santa because we already have 23 food baskets going to the families whose children are at New Hope. I would like to provide 40 more food baskets in Los Robles to those identified as high risk families. To do this I need to raise a total of $1,200. This will provide $30 worth of food for 40 families in need!! A small price to feed a family and believe me these food baskets will have a good deal of food in them. I will purchase the essentials for each family so please consider giving today! Please help spread the word and lets touch the lives of these families together!!
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