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This month we want to tell you more about the “Child Beyond International” program of the Lutheran Church of Guatemala, recipients of an $100,000 grant from Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) in the 2019–2021 biennium.

Guatemala is a beautiful country, called “The Land of Eternal Spring” because of the pleasant climate. However, many people suffer in extreme poverty. Over fifty percent of the children who live there are malnourished and have no access to any form of medical or dental care. Over 65% live in poverty. Most children have no pre- or post-natal care and often die from preventable diseases.

Immanuel Lutheran Church of Hood River, Oregon, and the Lutheran Church of Guatemala have partnered to share God’s physical and spiritual healing with as many souls as possible in the decades to come. Rev. Abdiel Orozco, Bishop of the Lutheran Church of Guatemala, and his brother, Rev. Elry Orozco, are doctors. They have developed a network of LCMS partner churches that sends medical professionals and mission teams to Guatemala on short-term mission trips.

In order to reach isolated villages, they need the right tools. This grant will be used to purchase and outfit a “Mobile Medical Mercy Mission Bus,” to be called the “4M” bus, with medical equipment. It will provide a sanitary area needed to stage medical and dental procedures in remote and inaccessible villages. Along with the bus and the physical care offered through it, non-medical missionaries will offer Bible school classes and worship services for both children and adults. Subsequently, the local Lutheran churches will follow up with each person served through the medical clinic, enabling thousands of Guatemalans to experience God’s healing power and grace, both physically and spiritually.

The one-day bus clinics will be held monthly in three selected communities surrounding Lutheran churches beginning in 2020 and continuing indefinitely. Additionally, monthly one-day clinics for up to three additional communities will begin in 2021. When the grant funds are received, less than four months should be needed for the bus to be purchased, outfitted and stocked for use by the medical mission teams to share the love of Jesus with the people of Guatemala.

Lutheran Women's Missionary League (LWML) is the official women’s auxiliary of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Since 1942, the LWML has focused on affirming each woman’s relationship with Christ, encouraging and equipping women to live out their Christian lives in active mission ministries and by supporting global missions. For more information on each month’s mission focus, visit LWML.org. Saint John’s Mission Guild (LWML) meets the first Tuesday of each month at 10:30 AM in Room 301. All ladies of the congregation are invited to attend.