Every day is a good day with Hector and Ruth

Ruth preparing Spanish rice for 26

Hector receiving a gift from a family
which he re-gifted later in the day 

Hector and Ruth Aragon have been serving in Guatemala for 21 years and administer one of the child sponsorship programs under Child Care Plus (CCP) that several of our global worker colleagues operate around the LAC region. We were invited to visit the Aragons and experience their ministry first-hand so that Rick could review the operations and provide some organizational advice. We spent 8 days with them, hosted in their home, which is also where Canadian ministry teams come for short term work deployments.  Little by little, over twenty years, Hector and Ruth have expanded their home and team lodgings on their property to accommodate teams as large as 16.  Between the team building and the extra rooms in the main house, they have 12 bathrooms!

Back yard of he Aragon home. Just out of sight at the top of the
steps is the missions team house. 

Hector is Guatemalan, so when they decided to leave his pastoral position in Canada, he was actually going home. Ruth is from Ecuador, meeting Hector in Canada and eventually making Guatemala her new home. Both are fully bilingual and know the culture well. Under their leader-ship, the CCP program has grown from 170 to 520 students from kinder to grade 9 with a few taking high school as well.  K to 9 students attend 14 schools around the country, so it is a big job to  stay connected and develop/sustain strong relationships. The main connection is with pastors in churches that have started a private school in places where public school is under-serving the community. Although public school is free, there are uniforms and other school fees which the extreme poor cannot afford.  These church communities meet this need and partner with Canadian CCP sponsors to support those without resources to go to school. When a child gets a sponsor, the money is used by the school to cover some or all of the costs for the child and it allows the church to use their own resources to bless other kids in the neighborhood.

    

These churches are committed to education

Surrounded

We were privileged to be able to visit 4 schools and help gather letters from the kids to sponsors and hand out birthday money and sponsor greetings.  Hector is so engaging with each one of the kids, hugging and encouraging them as he takes an updated picture and gives them cards from their sponsors. What a delight to see love in action as he blesses the children! The teachers and principals at he schools are committed to the education of these kids and are really doing a wonderful ministry in these under-served areas. It is hard for a Canadian to understand how 40 bucks a month can make such a difference, but it can provide the opportunity for a much better life to a child with no chance for an education. We have heard countless success stories of personal and spiritual transformation from our global workers and know that God's hand is at work through child sponsorship.

The Aragons' ministry is a perfect example of coming alongside initiatives already started by local churches. Canadian Child Care Plus funds simply allow the churches to enroll more of the poorest children in their schools.

Waiting patiently for their turn to talk to Hector

We found out "by accident" that a young man named Wilson was being sponsored by Cheryl's cousin. He has just started high school at the William Cornelius Center which was built by the Canadian church to provide a high quality education for CCP children.  While the model is not working fully as planned, Wilson was able to get in because of his hard work and sponsorship from Canada. When we visited the WCC, we were able to meet Wilson and bring greetings on behalf of his sponsors.

The Aragons treated us so well and we had such a wonderful experience in Guatemala that we started responding to Hector's daily evaluation: "This was a good day!" with "Every day is a good day with Hector and Ruth!" We enjoyed wonderful meals at home and out around the city, a trip to 500-year-old Antigua, crashing a Valentine's party with their small group of 26, a trip to the beach, a deep tissue massage, and so much great coffee and conversation. 

We are so honored to be able to spend time with servants like the Aragons and to become friends as we get to know their ministries.  We learn much each time we travel to these places and hope to one day be able to reciprocate their hospitality if they ever get to Saskatoon. We are also happy to tell their stories to you, so you can be encouraged by what God is doing around the world. If anything we have said piques your interest, we would love for you to contact us with questions or comments!

Wonderful Sunday meal together