Recently, five of church community took a trip down to Guatemala to visit our mission partners there. As a reminder, our church community has come alongside a Carepoint (community center) in Santo Domingo, Guatemala. It is guided by the parent ministry Children’s Hopechest, but is staffed and run by local Guatemalans. Children’s Hopechest has done a great job of framing a path of growth for this Carepoint so that it can serve up to 200 children at some point in the future. Currently, it serves 89 children in the area.
Children become the primary focus of services because it also allows the building of relationship with complete family units in the community. The children receive tutoring in school subjects, music education, sports and other activities, as well as baseline healthcare and a meal each day they are there. As services expand into families, the Carepoint teaches saving money, small business skills, and coopertive building of businesses in things like farming and chickens/eggs.
Our team witnessed a tremendous team at the Carepoint and saw how this framework is already in place and being built upon. Pulpit Rock has recently contributed to infrastructure plans through the funding of a security wall around the eventual playground area there, and also funds for a computer lab project, allowing them to train several children and parents in computer skills and job training via computers.
A key part of Pulpit Rock’s participation in the success of the Carepoint’s future is through our sponsorship of children there. Currently, we sponsor 42 children at the Carepoint through our church attenders. Our goal is for 50-75 children sponsored at this Carepoint in Santo Domingo. You too can be part of this team sponsoring children. For $45 per month, you help finance the programs at the Carepoint, like tutoring, the computer lab, and feeding a meal per day. 80% of all funds from sponsorship goes directly to the Carepoint programs and expenses. Please consider becoming a sponsor by clicking the link below. (see the picture of me with my sponsor friend Brainer Eduardo, who I met on this last trip. You too will have the opportunity to go on a future trip to actually hang out with your sponsor friend!
Continue to pray for our partners in Santo Domingo, Guatemala as they do this critical work in a very poor and under supported area of the country. We will continue to report progress with them as move toward a goal of graduating this Carepoint as totally self-funded and self-sufficient within the next 12 years!
Rowland Smith
