Mission to Guatemala

This month, for the first time that I can remember, both of our congregations are supporting the same mission.

Janine Simon, daughter of John and Connie Verbeck, and her son Elias, who will turn 14 this month, are going to be a part of the High Pointe Church Guatemala Mission and Service Team. Their home church, High Pointe Community Church in Puyallup, is partnering with Orphan Outreach on a trip to Guatemala from July 5 to 13.

They will travel to the town of Cerro de Oro where they will be working with children and helping to build a house. Janine writes:

"As a team we are going to teach a leadership program in the public school which points to Jesus as the best leadership example. This program was taught for the first time last year to the high school and middle school students. The program was so successful that our church was invited back this year and was asked to include an elementary program as well. We also will get to assist a construction crew in building a house for a family in the village, and visit all of the families we have built homes for in the past bringing them a medicine cabinet in a box."

You, too, can make a donation to support Janine and Elias on their trip. Checks can be made out to High Pointe Church, and for tax deduction purposes should not have the trip member's name on the check. Donations can be sent to:

Ruth Ann Van Steen

11803 101st Ave. Ct. E Suite 103

Puyallup, WA 98373

To learn more about Orphan Outreach and their work click HERE.

Facts About Guatemala

• Population: 12,728,111 (July 2007) • Birth Rate: 29.09 births/1,000 population • Death Rate: 5.27 deaths/1,000 population • Infant Mortality Rate total: 29.77 deaths/1,000 live births • Population below poverty line: 56.2% (2004) • Est. # people living with HIV/AIDS: 61,000; 0.9% adult (15-49) prevalence rate (2005) • Unemployment rate: 3.2% (2005) • Literacy Rate (age 15 + can read & write): 69.1% total population • Estimated 370,000 children (0-17) orphaned (2005) • Type of Government: Representative democracy • Language(s): Spanish (60%); Amerindianlanguages (40%) • Religion: Roman Catholic, Protestant, and indigenous Mayan beliefs • Guatemala is located in Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico, and bordering the Caribbean Sea between Honduras and Belize. • UNICEF estimates that there are more than 370,000 orphans in Guatemala and at least 5,000 children live on the streets of the capital, abandoned by mothers who are too poor to keep them. • Only 24 percent of the population attends Secondary school (1996-2005). • Only 58 percent of municipalities have a secondary school. • Five out of 10 students who enter primary school in urban areas complete primary school, as opposed to only two out of 10 in rural areas. • Some 67 percent of indigenous children suffer from chronic malnutrition. • 27 percent of all children under 5 are underweight. • The distribution of income remains highly unequal with about 56% of the population below the poverty line. • The indigenous population, the Maya, make up about half of the population. Mayan languages are spoken alongside Spanish, the official tongue. Many Guatemalans are of mixed Amerindian-Hispanic origin. • Guatemalans live in one of the most inequitable societies in the region. Poverty is particularly widespread in the countryside and among indigenous communities. Illiteracy, infant mortality and malnutrition are among the highest in the region, life expectancy is among the lowest and, in common with many of its neighbors, the country is plagued by organized crime and violent street gangs.