Guatemala Archives - Cross International

A Young Woman and Her Family Rise Out of Poverty

May 26, 2022 by Cross International

Josefina was stuck. With four children to care for, Josefina and her husband, Santos, were struggling to find enough work to put food on the table. The pair mainly worked as day laborers in their hometown of El Milagro, Guatemala. Working for others, it was difficult for Josefina and Santos to get ahead. They wondered if they would ever break free of the cycle of poverty.

Little did they know God was about to bless them with a new opportunity.

Josefina was chosen by local Cross International partner, Hope of Life, to receive help starting a new business raising chickens for eggs. Thanks to the kindness and generosity of Cross International donors like you, Josefina and her family received training on how to care for and maintain a flock as well as 40 hens and a coop of their own. Because Josefina is not literate, field staff enlisted the help of her eldest daughter to help with keeping track of egg production and sales.

In the first year of the business, Josefina and her family worked diligently to make the most out of their new opportunity. Not only did they start earning a daily income, they were able to reinvest some of the profits in replenishing and expanding their flock. For Christmas, Josefina was able to purchase and raise a small flock of broiler chickens, and they all sold out!

Josefina and her family feel blessed by God to be a part of this Cross International poultry project and they are very proud to have their own business and to be able to support their children.

Thank you for making family agriculture projects like this one possible. You are giving hard-working people like Josefina the dignity and hope that comes from being able to reap the fruits of their labors and build a future for themselves and their kids.

If you want to support other families like Josefina’s, you can donate to the animal and agricultural fund or provide economic empowerment for small businesses in other communities in need.

Raising Chickens: Moving Beyond Poverty in Guatemala

February 17, 2022 by Cross International

Escaping Poverty in Guatemala

Argelia never had the chance to go to school in Guatemala. Now 52 years old, she still cannot read or write. Even so, Argelia worked hard to provide for her children as best as she could, but with little opportunity the cards were stacked against her. Then, thanks to the faithfulness of Cross supporters, Argelia got connected with Hope of Life, Cross International’s partner in Guatemala. With the support of CI donors like you, Hope of Life is in the midst of a three-year community transformation project in Argelia’s village of El Milagro.

One of the core components of this community transformation project is to help individuals build thriving agriculture businesses in order to provide for their families and increase the availability of nutritious food in the village.

Raising Chickens

Because of her hard work, Argelia was chosen to receive help starting a chicken raising business. Argelia has been diligent in attending training sessions and now she has her own chicken coop and is able to harvest eggs for her family to eat and to sell at the market for extra income. Argelia is incredibly thankful to have been able to be a part of this Cross International poultry project in Guatemala. “No one receives if God does not give,” Argelia said. “God is great and powerful and I am so grateful for the benefit of these projects.”

Thank you for blessing hard-working people like Argelia with the means to build a better life for themselves and their children!

If you want to support other families like Argelia’s, you can donate to the animal and agricultural fund or provide economic empowerment for small businesses in other communities in need.

How our ministry partners are adapting to COVID-19

April 23, 2020 by Cross International

The COVID-19 crisis is truly unprecedented. Our ministry partners face challenges they’ve never faced before. They need to address the reality of the coronavirus and ensure essential ministry services can continue. We are working with them closely to create highly-adaptable plans that can be adjusted as the crisis unfolds.

Today we may feel uncertainty. But nothing surprises God.
God is already prepared for everything we’re going to face tomorrow, next week, and next month. What the future holds may seem unclear to us, but it doesn’t surprise God. Nothing ever catches Him off guard. We’re seeing evidence of His provision in how our ministry partners are able and equipped to adapt.

Like in Eastern Zambia, where over the past five years Cross International has fully supported 47 water systems and trained thousands in the region with proper WASH techniques through our partner Kachere Development Programme (KDP). When the coronavirus hit the area, KDP leaders jumped into action. They worked together with the Ministry of Health to equip and train community facilitators on proper handwashing, sanitation, and social distancing practices to educate the public. A place where just five years ago had no access to water is now leading community efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 and waterborne disease.

God knew what would be needed. He prepared the way.
Or consider the “shelter-at-home” directive that’s only effective when you have a home. So many of the world’s poor live without adequate housing and lack the ability to have a safe place to shelter or social distance into. And yet over the years in places like Guatemala, Cross International has partnered to build new homes for impoverished families through the generosity of people like you. Now, communities can help slow the spread of the coronavirus to others simply by staying at home.

God provides, even in uncertain times.
At Ambuya Development Center (ADC) in Malawi, schools are closed–and they are the only source of food for many children. Within the last few years, the center received God’s provision of a water system, hired a consultant to teach parents and children the importance of hygiene and sanitation, and gifted new homes to families in need. All of this happened before the appearance of COVID-19. Today, ADC staff members have the knowledge to train kitchen staff on proper sanitation so they can safely prepare meals for over 300 children, and families have the refuge of safe homes.

The pandemic changes our situation by the minute and, like each of our ministry partners, we’re adapting with it. What hasn’t changed is our commitment: to serve those in need around the world. We’re helping our partners adjust as we learn more each day, and our partners are better equipped for the unexpected because of your generous giving. Your ongoing support will help us meet these unprecedented needs today, and the needs God is preparing us for tomorrow.

Thriving kids start with a healthy home

February 11, 2020 by Cross International

Chances are the floor beneath you right now is a soft carpet, beautifully stained kitchen hardwood or smooth tile, right? That solid ground within your home gives you warmth, safety from disease and danger, rest, and peace of mind for body and soul. That stable foundation is everything.

Today, 1-1.5 million Guatemalan children and their family members live in homes made of dirt floors, cornstalks, mud, sticks, and any other materials they can find. These makeshift structures leave them vulnerable to violence, theft, and diseases such as asthma, tuberculosis, influenza, anemia, and diarrhea, as well as decreased mental health.

God is helping kids thrive through your generous giving!

Thanks to generous donors like you, Cross International is doing more than just replacing dirt floors. With help from our ministry partners in Latin America and around the world, we’re providing entire, safe and secure homes for marginalized families. For example, at Hope of Life in Guatemala, we’ve already built more than 20 concrete block homes, impacting over 200 people.

As we celebrate the good your giving has provided, we cannot ignore the work still left to do. Cross International relies on local pastors and Christian leaders to help us identify which families are in the greatest need of a new home, creating the opportunity for God’s love to be shared. Telling families this help is in Jesus’ name opens their hearts and minds to receive the Gospel.

What’s under your feet matters.

Replacing a dirt floor with cement can be as good for a child’s health as nutritional supplements and as helpful for brain development as early childhood development programs. Cement reduces parasites, resulting in 13% less diarrheal disease, a 20% reduction in anemia –both life-threatening –, 30% higher scores in language and communication skills and 9% improvement in vocabulary in children under six. Not only are children better off on a strong foundation, but studies find that their mothers are less depressed, less stressed, and happier.

The impact of your donation to Thriving Kids is huge: healthy housing stabilizes lives in unimaginable ways. A lockable door protects against danger and theft. A nearby latrine reduces parasitic infections. A roof gives a family rest and shelter from driving rain. When basic needs are met, an entire community is impacted. For children and families around the world, housing is health.

Stable homes, stable families

Healthy homes change lives by creating income opportunities, advancing education, improving health, reducing crimes against women and children, strengthening faith, supporting mental health and much more.

We pray you’ll continue to support Cross International’s Thriving Kids initiative as we build homes and provide other life enhancing services for families. We believe that thriving kids need a safe home and the knowledge of God’s love. Please join us!

Giving back to your beginning: A full-circle story of faith in Haiti

September 10, 2019 by Cross International

The average Haitian has less than 5 years of schooling. We’re working to change that.

Do you know our friend Pastor Oville? If you’ve been with us a while, you might. Oville Wilzer was born in Haiti into a family that didn’t know God. An invitation to youth group led him to hear a sermon about God’s plan for salvation that touched him so deeply, he accepted Christ that very day.

The preacher was Pastor Jean Edmund, founder of the Cross International-supported network of Divine Shelter Schools (DSS). Through Pastor Jean, Oville was offered a teaching job at a DSS school and encouraged to become a minister.

Here I am Lord, send me
In 2011, when God called Pastor Oville to leave the city for remote Boukan Kare and lead an earthquake-damaged church and school serving poor local children, he and his wife knew they must go.

In 2016, the school was incorporated into the DSS network. This means the school, and Pastor Oville, dedicates itself to the threefold mission of nurturing minds, nourishing bodies and evangelizing souls.

Together, we are changing the world
Pastor Oville continues to be a strong spiritual leader and educator in Boukan Kare. With your generous giving, Pastor Oville and the community of Boukan Kare got a brand new school building in the summer of 2018. Since then, we’ve been able to equip it with a kitchen, benches and tables for the preschool. That first year, enrollment increased from 229 to 401 students with a passing rate of 85%. Despite violent protests and serious civil unrest, transformation is happening in Haiti! Amen!

But there is still more to do.

A new school is just a building unless you invest in the operations.
From feeding programs and hiring trained, quality teachers, the support of ongoing needs across all 13 schools in the DSS network is critical. The school depends on this support so that the full financial burden does not fall on the students, who cannot afford to pay more than a small tuition.

Over 4,000 eager minds start class on September 9th, and we want to provide them with the tools they need to become capable society-contributing adults. When a child is given opportunity, the possibilities are endless.

It’s been a joy to watch the fruit of our DDS partnership through Pastor Oville’s life, from an unbelieving young boy to a world-changer. And the cycle of change continues: his daughter is a student at the newly completed school.

Our mission is to transform Haiti materially and spiritually for the glory of Jesus Christ. We believe education develops an individual more so than any other kind of international development intervention. We pray you’ll join us in this mission.