La Casa de la Puerta Abierta

19/09/2017

Shot during the Health For Humanity project, November 2016.
On locations in Antigua and Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.

24/08/2017

If you ever can, go. We're thankful for the years God granted us in this beautiful place.

30/12/2016

The view from our terrace is amazing! Come see for yourself!

29/12/2016

Spent the day working alongside a team from Tennessee today, building a house, loving on the kiddos. As the dump grows, chemical laden smoke drifts across La Tierra de Esperanza where people who once lived in shacks cobbled from trash have finally found a dignified home. Life is hard here. We come to share the hope we all have in Jesus.

25/12/2016

30/11/2016

We know this community and the work being done there by BuildinGuate from firsthand experience. You can help change lives and destinies. Why not donate today? Then plan a trip to Guatemala where you can participate in the effort to bring help and hope to the people of San Gabriel. We've got a room for you at The House of the Open Door!

It's GIVING TUESDAY! Today is the perfect chance to share a piece of your generous heart with the impoverished communities in Guatemala! Check out our DOUBLE UP Campaign for more information on how you can help!

www.buildinguate.com

14/11/2016

If a trip to Guatemala doesn't fit your schedule right now, here's an easy way to meet the basic needs of a child from your own living room!

Did you know that, in an average month, Love the Child uses 372 cans of formula and 10,000 diapers?

Caring for little ones is a BIG job, and it's our heart. Your kindness and contributions sustain us as we make sure every child feels loved and secure.

Please consider becoming a Love the Child partner by donating $36 a month. Thank you, and God bless you!

07/11/2016

Get up. Walk to the nearest sink in your house (You have several to choose from, right?). Now. Turn on the water. Easy, right? We'd like to invite you to "turn on the water" for the people of a community in rural Guatemala. Also easy. We know the Jackson's. This project will get done. You can help make it happen.

Hi, my wife Sally and I are First Steps Outreach Ministries, Inc. and we have been missionaries to Guatemala for 30 years. First Steps works with poor children and indigenous teens and adults from rural areas of Guatemala. One of our areas of outreach is having worked for 25 years in a rural vill...

07/11/2016

Those who dare to serve discover a sweet secret. There is a bigger world to live in and a bigger purpose to live for when we step outside of ourselves and give ourselves up for others. Wherever we are, there's a need. How can you, how can I meet someone's need today?

https://maxlucado.com/listen/jesus-came-to-serve/

God’s cure for the common life includes a strong dose of servanthood. It’s a timely reminder. As you celebrate your unique design, be careful. Don’t so focus on what you love to do that you neglect what needs to be done. A 3:00 AM diaper change fits in very few sweet spots. Visiting your sick neighb...

02/11/2016

El Día de los Mu***os, the Day of the Dead. Graves are cleaned and decorated, loved ones remembered. I was touched by this couple. He, carrying a homemade wreath, respectfully removed his hat as he entered the cemetery. His wife solemnly followed, a large bundle of chrysanthemums in her arms. Who had they come to honor? Parents? Siblings? A child perhaps? And do they have the hope founded in the promise that through Jesus Christ a joyful reunion is possible? I dared not interrupt their mute labor as they began clearing away faded flowers. But I did pray, for them and for the multitudes who have yet to hear. And for myself, and the many others who have come to share the Good News. Make us bold, Father. Be glorified, oh Lord, as the message of your amazing grace penetrates even the darkness of death.

29/10/2016

Working with the families living around the Escuintla city dump is sweet but hard. These kiddos love to play but work and hunger and filth are their greater reality. I'm happy to serve with BuildinGUATE, putting love in action in the name of Jesus. Bring a team for a week and be a part of what God is doing in this part of the world.

09/10/2016

Here's a beautiful example of love in action. Read and be inspired. If you want to invest your life in something bigger than yourself, you can do it here. Ask us how.

On October 9, Juan Alberto Sandoval will arrive from Guatemala, and on October 11, Dr. Brian Parsley will operate, providing a surgery that would be too complex to do in Guatemala.

Read about Dr. Parsley, Juan Alberto, and about our challenge grant to provide prosthetics and specialty wheelchairs in our most recent eNews.

http://us11.campaign-archive2.com/?u=5e9552fb0f3ec8c83304401a8&id=4b1fde3a46&e=665ca5dce1

04/10/2016

Are you ready to experience this place for yourself? We've got a room waiting for you!

15/09/2016

Today is Guatemala’s Independence Day. Particularly, this year Guatemalans are celebrating not only their past heritage, but moreso their hopes and dreams for the future. Over the past few months, the Guatemalan people have stood together against corruption. They gathered in the streets joyfully, with song and prayer, seeking change. And it worked. The President and Vice President resigned. Recent elections resulted in many upsets. The road to a brighter future will be long, and yet, they are meeting the challenge with renewed purpose. Trusting in God, trusting in a brighter future, for their homeland. Let us join them in prayer and hope for our beloved Guatemala on this their independence day.

03/07/2016

The heart inclined to serve will find a way to do so, with great love and often in the simplest of ways. These two. Always happy to see them, sorry to see them go.

11/02/2016

How many photos do you have of your kids? Now some moms and dads have at least one of theirs! Thank you Calvary Chapel St Pete for making this possible!

03/02/2016

They say that love + action = compassion. True compassion can change lives.
You can change lives.

03/02/2016

Retweeted Tim Keller Wisdom ():

“There are some needs only you can see. There are some hands only you can hold. There are some people only you can reach.”

01/02/2016

Enjoy this charming glimpse into the past of the beautiful people and place that is Guatemala!

27/01/2016

How many of us have wished to do great things for God?

I’ve been listening to a biography of the great evangelist, George Whitefield. He did great things for God. On a ship to colonial America he converted foul-mouthed sailors, formed a choir and…

02/01/2016

If you've ever visited La Antigua Guatemala you'll recognize the iconic arch. Here's how it looked as we rang in 2016 in this fascinating part of the world! Maybe this will be the year you get to see it for yourself!

08/11/2015

The best exercise for the heart is to bend down several times a day to help other people.

29/10/2015

The "mercado" or market here in Antigua is a fascinating place. Pulsing with life, it's filled with bright colors, shadowy corridors, the aromas of flowers, fruit, spices, tortillas and wood smoke. Vendors beckon passing shoppers. There is constant chatter as the game of the bargain is played.
I'm excited because for me, today is market day. I'll make my way through its labyrinth of stalls and when I leave I'll be toting bags full of goodness to be transformed into pots of healthy and delicious soup. In Escuintla, about an hour away, there are families who live and work in the city dump. They know that the people who form Building Guate will be there tomorrow with a smile, a hug, an encouraging word and a bowl of hot soup for everyone.
Can you cut a carrot? Can you kick a soccer ball? Maybe you'd like to be a part of what God is doing here in Guatemala. We'd love to share it with you!

08/10/2015

In a world largely populated with people who work incredibly hard for the very little they have, hundreds lost the most valuable possession of all in a moment. Seven days after what was the end of the world for so many, the work to recover lost loved ones continues. Sorrow hangs like a cloud in this community, thick, gray and dripping with tears.
Please pray for those who remain and for those who work tirelessly to find all who were lost.
Strength. Comfort. Peace. Jesus.

http://blogs.wsj.com/expat/2015/10/07/tragedy-in-guatemala-an-expat-teachers-account-of-mudslide-disaster/

The author, a 28-year-old from New York, has been teaching English in Guatemala City for four years. Her school is located on a cliff directly facing the site of Friday's disastrous mudslide. This is her account of its tragic toll.

27/06/2015

Yesterday I climbed into the back of a pickup truck and headed out for the 20 mile trip to Escuintla. To be honest, this may be my favorite way to travel in Central America. With the sun on my face and the wind in my hair, there's nothing between me and this incredibly beautiful and complex part of the world. Volcanoes loom above rolling hills. Men and women stoop to tend verdant fields. From bustling towns to roadside fruit stands the constant work of eking out a living in its various and often very creative, sometimes seemingly desperate ways is on display. Our destination, the Escuintla city dump, revealed what might be called desperation, but might better be described as determination. Here families live and make their homes in and around the growing mountain of trash, working, living, children playing in filthy and dangerous surroundings, while extracting whatever useable or salable items they can find.
I travelled with an organization which has committed to support this community, seeking to improve their lives and the future of their children by building homes, supporting education by paying teachers salaries and providing scholarships to children in the local school (which the government had all but shut down due to budget cuts, leaving one teacher for the 153 students), and by visiting once a week to prepare a hot meal for all comers and to develop relationships with the families.
Is this is the sort of thing you could support and get involved with? I invite you to step through the door God is opening to you, to see the world as He sees it. Contact us! Let's talk about how that can happen!

26/04/2015

Yesterday morning began well as friend Elaine and I enjoyed a delicious brunch at Kaioba Farms. Judging by the happy buzz from surrounding tables, Kids Cooking at Kaioba Farms appeared to be a great success. I enjoyed seeing the budding chefs in action, as well as touring the gorgeous gardens and chatting with table mates from across the US and Canada. It was a delight to be a part of this special event showcasing a part of the good work being done by TESS Unlimited. Thank you, Tessa de Goede de Ordoñez, for putting love into action! For more information about the work of this organization, check out www,tessumlimited.nl/English