Note: Baby Roberto came to Hogar
del Nino orphanage in the village of
San Sebastian Lemoa, Guatemala early
in April. He was brought here by a young
man of faith from Ohio, Brian, accompanied
by a retinue of authorities, social
workers, and police officers. All of
their vehicles created a minor traffic
jam for our tiny village! Although he's
only 22 years old, Brian has succeeded
in rescuing Roberto from starvation,
nursing him to good health during 6
weeks in the hospital, and enabling
the responsible officials to authorize
his placement here at Hogar del Nino.
We call Brian "Roberto's guardian
angel." Surely, God has been guiding
Brian in caring for Roberto. Here, in
Brian's letter to us, is the amazing
story of Roberto's "miraculous"
survival.
from Chuck and Irene Skala, Volunteers
in Mission
Hospital Santa Elena
Santa Cruz del Quiche', Guatemala
09/April/2002
Dear Chuck and Irene;
I want to thank you for your care and
concern and willingness to take in Roberto.
It's an answer to my prayers to find
Christians willing to take on the responsibility
of taking care of this orphan child.
May God richly bless you and recompense
you in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Let me explain how this came to pass.
Some of the Things I've Learned
First, let me explain some things I've
learned since I got to Guatemala that
may help you better understand the difficulties
in relating to the people in the mountainous,
rural areas here. When I first arrived
in Guatemala, I got to know people in
the cities like Santa Cruz del Quiche'
but never really experienced dealing
with people further out in the rural
areas. During the past 5 months, however,
I've had the opportunity to live in
some of the more remote, poorer areas
of the Guatemala highlands. I have met
another North American who is also a
Christian and who has spent several
years working in the countryside as
a "campesino" (subsistence
farmer). These are some of the things
I've learned:
"Indigenas," "Ladinos,"
and "Gringos"
The people here sort of catagorize themselves
into two distinct groups. The indigenous
people who are descendants of the Mayans
who were here when Christopher Columbus
first arrived call themselves "naturales"
or "indigenas." The indigenas
still speak the K'iche language and
wear the traditional "huipil"
(blouse) and "corte" (skirt)
made from very colorful, hand-woven
cloth. Indigenas are a majority of the
population of Guatemala; most of the
people in the rural countryside here
in the department (state) of Quiche'are
indigenas. Most of them are very poor.
Descendants of mixed marriages between
Spaniards and indigenous people call
themselves "Ladinos." They
are often better off economically and
better educated. The indigenas were
the worst oppressed during the civil
war here in the 1980's - 90's. They
have a lot of distrust toward the Ladinos
and even more toward gringos (people
with light-colored skin from North America
or Europe). I have also learned that
in some instances the indigenas in the
more remote areas may take the law into
their own hands.
Suspicious of Gringos
I've met another North American who
has lived for years in the highlands
of Guatemala. His name is David. Now,
David lives in the city of Santa Cruz
del Quiche' with his wife who is an
indigenous Guatemalan woman. David shared
with me that, while he was farming,
he had been accused a number of times
of stealing children, eating children,
and once of making electricity with
their brains. David told me he was almost
lynched more than once but God deliverd
him. David is a really strong brother
in Christ (one of the strongest Christians
I've met). He's been living in the city
now since his neighbors in Estancia
broke in on him one night with rifles,
beat him up, and harassed his wife and
children. David said they were going
to kill him, but they started arguing
among themselves and fled. I had a close
call, too. A few months ago I was living
with a poor Ladino "campesino"
in the mountainous farming area a few
hours walk from El Naranjo. He went
to Guatemala City to visit his sick
wife. He left me at his house to take
care of things while he was gone. In
the morning, I milked the cow and let
it out. In the evening, I went out looking
for the cow to bring it in. Well, the
indigenous people in the area assumed
I was stealing cows and looking for
children to kidnap. So, they planned
among themselves to lynch me. I didn't
realize what was going on but I felt
led to go back down to the city of Santa
Cruz del Quiche' before anything happened.
I learned this from the man I was staying
with after he returned. He said the
neighbors told him a couple of different
schemes. One, they were planning to
burn me alive. Another, they were going
to stone me. To sum it up: It's a pretty
common misunderstanding here (especially
in the rural areas) that gringos are
out to get their children. Something
for you to be aware of while you work
with people in the more remote areas.
Roberto Was a Horror to See!
With that said, let me share with you
the particulars of Roberto's story.
One day our neighbor, Maria, an indigenous
woman who is our friend, told us of
another woman nearby who had the child
(Roberto) of her sister staying with
her. The woman's name is Santa Ana;
she has 8 children of her own and no
husband helping to support them. Santa
Ana was only able to feed the child
atol de maiz (just a drink made from
mixing ground up corn with water), and
for several months the child had not
grown. We had not met Santa Ana and
her family. We knew the difficulty of
getting to them and offering to help
the baby. So, we asked Maria to intercede
for us and request that Santa Ana come
to us. For the next few days I prayed;
this was really bothering me. A few
days later, Santa Ana came to us with
Roberto. He was a horror to see! He
had no hair and no fingernails. His
skin was very pale with red blotches
and welts on his face and hands. His
stomach was bloated. At 10 months of
age, he weighed only 6 pounds, 12 ounces.
I did not know what to do so I gave
Santa Ana some powdered milk, and I
went to the Health Center in Santa Rosa
about an hour's walk from El Naranjo.
The people at the Health Center said
they had seen Roberto 2 weeks ago and
referred him right away to the hospital
in Quiche'. But Santa Ana did not take
him. The Judge of Social Matters in
Quiche' told me that, on another occasion,
the "bomberos" (volunteer
firefighters) had found Roberto in a
ditch and brought him to the hospital.
Santa Ana was afraid to leave him with
the doctors, so she took him out of
the hospital.
We Really Needed God's Help
So, with Santa Ana afraid to go to the
hospital and even more afraid of us,
we really needed God's help in this.
I just prayed. That evening Tomas and
I went to talk to the Acalde (he's like
the mayor). The Acalde told us that
Simeon, Santa Ana's brother, lives near
Chujuyub, and Simeon might be able to
convince Santa Ana to take Roberto to
the hospital. We asked the Acalde to
go to Simeon's house with us. The Acalde
said to wait until the evening of the
next day, because he had to take care
of his cows. Even then, the Acalde did
not show up to meet us in Chujuyub;
we heard that he was still busy with
his cows. So, we went to Simeon's house
alone. Simeon underdstood at once the
seriousness of the matter. Roberto's
mother, Poncha, was there, too. She
has a mental disability and is unable
to care for the baby. Simeon, however,
went right away to talk with Santa Ana.
Santa Ana was afraid the doctors wouldn't
feed the baby or change his diapers.
She was afraid he would die in the hospital.
We prayed. We reasoned with her. We
planned to come down to the hospital
in Santa Cruz del Quiche' the following
day with Santa Ana and the baby.
We Finally Got to the Hospital
The next morning we came to Santa Ana's
house. Without saying a word to us,
Santa Ana went into the house. She left
us standing outside for quite a while
wondering what was going on. Finally,
Santa Ana brought the baby out of the
house. We walked down to the neighbor's
house to get a ride in his pick-up truck.
Santa Ana wouldn't even walk up his
driveway. When we finally got to the
hospital, Santa Ana sat down in the
dirt outside and started mixing up some
of the powdered milk. She was afraid
he wouldn't get fed in the hospital.
We finally got the baby checked-into
the hospital. Then they asked, "Who
will stay here with the child?"
(It is the standard practice at the
hospital here to require a family member
to stay and help care for a dependent
child.) Santa Ana said, "Let's
just go back to El Naranjo." The
doctor told us it would be a miracle
for the baby to recover in the hospital,
but if he went back, he would certainly
die. So, I asked to stay with him. It
is a blessing from God that Santa Ana
left him with me. So, 01/March, Roberto
was admitted to the pediatric ward.
We bathed him (he hadn't been bathed
in weeks), and we started feeding him.
God's Hand Has Been in All of This...
I've really been blessed here, even
though at times it's been trying here
in the hospital. I'm really thankful
for the time I've had here and the opportunity
to minister to souls, especially little
Roberto. His health and his strength
have improved steadily. Now, on 09/
April, his weight is at 10 pounds. I
am glad to see him go the a good home.
I thank God. I give glory to Him, for
God's hand has been in all of this and
will continue to be. I hope that you
continue to be as blessed as I have
been in caring for Roberto. I pray that
he will grow physically and spiritually
with you, and that your work will be
blessed. I hope to encourage you to
continue on here in your work in Guatemala,
especially now that you are getting
the language down. I believe that you
learn so much more and become so much
stronger in the faith by continuing
on in your work here. In the United
States it's easy to get comfortable
and spiritually lazy. Hopefully, we
can press on to walk in the Good Works
which God has preordained for us. For
these reasons, I hope to travel further
in Central America, perhaps into South
America, too, by faith. I'm not making
any plans, but I'm trusting in God to
see what He has in store for me. I would
appreciate your prayers that God would
help me find fellowship, opportunities
to minister, and work; as I continue
to pray for you.
Thanks so much.
Love in Christ, Brian
We would appreciate for our friends
to include in your prayers both "Guardian
Angel" Brian, as he continues his
travels, and baby Roberto, at Hogar
del Nino orphanage in the village of
San Sebastian Lemoa, Guatemala.
If you would like to help feed Roberto
and the other children here, you can
mail your tax-deductible contribution
to: Samaritan Hands
2505 Old Niles Ferry Road
Maryville, TN 37803
Just write "Food for Roberto"
on your check.
We are grateful for your support.