I was born in Guatemala, Central America, a third world country with the highest rate of malnourished children in the Western Hemisphere.  It is a country where as much as 75 percent of the indigenous rural population lives on less than $2 per day. It is a country where some families have a mindset to ”have many children because we know that some of them are going to die.'' It is a country that has struggled with civil unrest, human injustice, violence and war.  

When I was a boy, among my heroes was a Mexican comedian by the name of Cantinflas.  He made movies; funny, funny movies. But along with being the source of endless laughter for my brothers and myself, each of his movies delivered a message about being kind to others, being fair and giving to those in need.

I remember my father telling us about the kind of person Cantinflas was. One of the things dad told us was that Cantinflas used his money to build a hospital for poor people in Mexico; A hospital where families with no money could take their children for medical help. I was very impressed.

One day, when I was about eight years old, I was walking to school with my brother, kicking cans and rocks and thinking about Cantinflas' hospital for the poor. I remember thinking on that day, during that walk to school, that one day I too would build an orphanage, so that I could help poor children in Guatemala.

For more than forty years I thought about my dream, but I only talked to God about it. Then in the year 2000, I was on a pilgrimage to Rome, and I found myself sharing my dream with a person who over time would become my best friend and partner. I told her that my plan was to get started in about five years.  She wondered why I needed to wait, and she offered to help me. And so it began.

I didn’t have a real game plan, but there was something that told me I needed a professional painting, depicting the Guatemalan and Mayan culture, my Catholic Christian faith and children.  I was told of an American artist who lived in Guatemala, in a town called Chichicastenango.  Sister Donna Marie Korba, of the Sisters of Immaculate Heart of Mary, lived at an Internado in a mountainous region of Guatemala. I shared my dream for a second time, and asked her about doing a painting. At first she said no, but by the time we finished talking, she agreed to help.  I was two for two! It took more than a year for her to complete the painting.  Today it is on display in Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, my parish in Raleigh, North Carolina, awaiting its return to Guatemala where it will finally be home.

Like I said – I didn’t have a real game plan. On the day that I met Sr. Donna I learned about the Internado where she works. I learned that there were two hundred girls living and going to school there. They were from indigenous mountain communities around Chichicastenango. Some didn’t have any parents. I learned that sometimes they didn’t know where the next meal was coming from. The six sisters who were running the Internado often relied on Divine Providence to take care of their daily needs.  I realized that part of my “plan” was to help her.

When I got back from that trip I shared my dream a third time, with my pastor, Monsignor Tim O'Connor. He agreed to share the needs of this Internado in Chichicastenango, Guatemala with our parish family. That’s how the Children of God Ministry began.

Within a few weeks, two hundred families came forward to offer support to the Children of God Ministry. Each family agreed to pay $30.00 per month for food and clothing for each of the girls at the Internado.

I remember the first wire-transfer of funds to the Internado. It came at a time when the shelves were empty at Catholic Food bank in Guatemala City because of an earthquake in El Salvador. The sisters made the three hour drive back from the city to Chichicastenango praying for the Divine Providence they so often relied on, because they had nothing to feed the children. When they went to the bank and learned that the funds were available, Sr. Donna exclaimed, "What Divine Providence!"

That was seven years ago.  Since then, our ministry has continued to support the children with sponsorships and more. People who have visited and been touched by this project have replaced the roofs, added a library (the only library in Chichicastenango and the surrounding communities), filled it with books, provided text books to the school, added a computer lab, updated their antiquated kitchen with a sanitary facility, complete with hot water and ovens and gas stoves. Most recently, the girl's bath house has been renovated to provide a safer and cleaner environment for the girls. 

This project has been successful because of many generous spirits and giving hearts. I am deeply grateful and touched by all of the love and the spirit of giving from so many people. For me, the Children of God project has been a humbling experience.

While all of this has been going on, we have continued to work on the dream - a new orphanage, with a school. That project has been named the Saint Clare Home for Girls.