If you have ever been on a trip to Guatemala this question is all to familiar. It is burned into your mind, scratched across your heart, you hear it over and over again, yet the desire does not numb you the more you hear it. The opposite happens, actually.
The work we do is demanding and painful, but we all know we can no longer imagine the world before Guatemala melted into our hearts. But it can be very difficult too, especially when the children we love so deeply are in Guatemala and cannot leave with us.
This very thought is at the forefront of the work we do. We know we cannot be with the ones we meet and grow to love all of the time, so we work hard to help them create a community they wish to be a part of.
On a recent trip, one volunteer met a young boy who was in desperate need of attention and she was able to be there to fill meet some very real needs. Every day he would be waiting for her to come down the mountain and would be by her side until she went back up at night. As she discussed and prepared for the goodbye at the end of the week, she could not shake the desperation she felt to provide him somewhere safe, loving, and secure- where all his needs would be met. More than that, she didn’t want to leave.
She decided to sponsor the young boy and take the burden of finding food and medical treatment off his already exhausted family. Even though she new her impending departure would be difficult, she was comforted by knowing Hope of Life would be there for the young boy when she couldn’t.
So what we really want to ask is, “Why Can’t I Stay With You?”
