A Heart for Orphans

Manuel Aldana grew up in Guatemala City, Guatemala, aware of and feeling terribly sad about the many orphans who have been abandoned on the streets or put into one of the many orphanages in his country.

Since he is a photographer, one thing he could do is to chronicle their plight in photos. Although the photos have helped bring awareness to the situation, they have not been able to change it.

“So many people don’t have the money to support their children, and so they let them wander the streets or put them in orphanages,” said Aldana, who did not grow up in an orphanage.

Since some of his friends felt the same way, wanting to do something about the hundreds of thousands of orphans in the country, they started One Heart Ministries about two years ago.

Alanda was in the United States recently talking to Christian Reformed Churches, and other churches, about the ministry.

“Our main goal is first of all to glorify the name of Jesus in everything we do and then to transform lives, meeting the spiritual needs of ‘the least of these,’” said Aldana, 21, who was in West Michigan recently to meet with supporters of the ministry at East Martin Christian Reformed Church. He hoped to visit other CRC congregations as well.

Aldana and others organize short-term mission trips for members of churches who want to travel to Guatemala and work in an orphanage, hold vacation Bible schools, and “build relationships with the kids ... Our hope is to make Guatemala an option for people and really help the kids.”

The ministry works with a handful of orphanages and helps to coordinate places for short-term mission workers to stay, connects them with an orphanage, provides translation services and transportation.

“By seeing the need, we want to make changes. The number of local orphans keeps growing every day,” said Aldana.

Amy Vanden Berg, a member of the Christian Reformed Church and representative in this country of One Heart Ministries, said that her congregation has established an orphan ministry and groups from the church have traveled several times to work in orphanages in Guatemala.

“As Christians this is what we are called to do,” said Vanden Berg, whose husband, Rob, is also involved in the venture.

For more information, visit the One Heart website, contact [email protected] or [email protected], or call 1-800-700-4928.