Children from Los Guido

The children from Los Guido have left an imprint in my heart forever.

“I learned in my childhood in Africa that a child may be born in poverty but poverty is never born in a child. The worst aspects of poverty are not the deplorable outward conditions, but rather the erosion and eventual destruction of hope and therefore dreams.”

                                                     Too Small To Ignore By Dr. Wess Stafford

Now that is an intense statement and requires reflection. Even with my draw to work with children in poverty, I still struggle with getting it. I mean really getting it.  Dr. Wess Staffod stated, "The development process of a child is absolutely crucial to his future ability to act as a mature, responsible, contributing member of their society.Nurturing a child's sense of personal worth, and therefore hope and dreams for a wonderful future, is perhaps the most important responsibility of every grownup in a child's life. Dreams die when hope of success is no longer seen as an option. One of the issues with children in poverty is that their environment and especially the adults they come into contact with impress upon them that the realities of life will never let them do, or become, what they desire. Children are born into poverty, but poverty is never born in a child. If children are encouraged early enough, they may break the cycle of poverty with their dreams."

Every child should at least hear once that they are a miracle, a gift, a precious individual, and that they are lovable. My heart breaks and sometimes I feel sick when I think of kids right here in my barrio in Costa Rica, the children in Los Guido, the children in La Ceiba and across the globe that will never know love. 


I am so glad that I had an opportunity these last 5 months to share the hope and love that can be found in God. It was a time of growth for ALL of us. The children learned to enjoy listening to a story being read out loud. I learned more Spanish. We learned how to trust, respect, and learn together. The children were able to be creative in creating puzzles, making crafts, and playing games. We laughed together a lot.  I smiled every time we sang, opened God's word, and memorized promises from the Bible. I will never forget the the last few weeks I was able to teach and when two of the girls came running to the car for a hug. I will cherish the conversation I had with Anderson and will continue to pray for him as he continues to battle the disease. I will continue to pray for the families of the children and for God to work in their lives in a might way.

 Jeremy and Anderson