Caryn is back from Guatemala! The staff and students had a great time and God did some amazing things.
Four Lifelines staff from UVM and 10 students left March 6th and returned on the 14th. They were working with and thru a ministry to orphans & the poor in Guatemala called
Forever Changed International.
In our desire to bring hope & love to people, we received so much more in return....
We loved on orphans at the
orphanage where we stayed, many of whom have no chance for adoption... they loved us back with abandon & changed our lives & hearts with their smiles. We painted a bedroom for the two oldest girls (pictured sitting on their new bedding). The girl on the right in
Ingrid...
Click here to read the story of how she & her 3 siblings were rescued from an abusive & neglectful situation & taken to the orphanage
just last month.
We hiked up to
mountain villages where we brought food, toys & medical supplies to some of the most beautiful people on the planet.
We also brought food, clothes & gifts to a
women's prison where children are allowed to stay with their mothers for the first 4 years of their lives... we cried & prayed with one mother as she described her fears of the day when her daughter, now 2 years old, would have to leave. This particular woman entered the prison 2 months pregnant, and wrongly serves a 40-year sentence for a crime committed while her entire church watched her singing in her church choir in the ghetto.
We spent a few days in what used to be considered an extremely dangerous and gang-ridden
ghetto bringing in gifts, listening to stories of faith, praying, and attending
church with the people of God there. We were all greatly moved by how the faithfulness of a few people has transformed this center of poverty into a still-poor, but spiritually growing & much safer place for families to live & love together.
Our last day in Guatemala, we brought food, clothes, & a few toys into the
city dump where many Guatemalans actually make their home, literally living off the garbage there. I was humbled by the chance to give just a little to these people - even the youngest of whom uttered "gracias" with each loaf of bread we gave out.
The most exciting part of our trip was how God worked in the lives of the students in our group... all were greatly impacted & many made decisions for the first time to seek after Jesus & allow Him to work in their lives. Pray the Holy Spirit would continue to be at work in our lives & show us how to bring the great & wonderful things we learned back to "real life."
We spent a few days in what used to be considered an extremely dangerous and gang-ridden ghetto bringing in gifts, listening to stories of faith, praying, and attending 
