Webster defines “sustenance” as “the maintaining of someone or something in life or existence.” Four-year-old Juan would not be able to tell you the definition of “sustenance,” but he would let you know when he was not getting it. One of the problems that stood in the way of Juan getting the food he needed to sustain his strength was his mother’s kitchen. Put together with bamboo, plastic tarps, and a whole lot of spit, it just did not get the job done, especially during the rainy season. The plastic roof leaked so badly his mom could not keep the fire going, so she could not cook enough food for Juan and his family. Juan’s dad, Cesar, did not have time to upgrade the kitchen because he spent every waking hour in the fields earning just enough money to buy the food for the family. Sadly, this home of wood, bamboo, plastic, and rock were the best they could do. Cesar would never have the money to build a home equipped to sustain his family. That is the plight of so many in so many villages in Guatemala.

Things rarely change and life is hard. But, for Juan and his parents something did change. A missionary family that lived nearby could not eat another meal in their comfortable home while watching their neighbors suffering to cook a decent one. The missionary family reached out and Build One Build One reached back. During a time when hurricanes and tropical storms were pounding away at Guatemala, Juan is now getting three warm meals a day. There is a roof on his new house and above his mother’s kitchen. There is a concrete floor under their feet. The family has an in-house bathroom for the first time in 47 years. Thank you Buy One Build One for not only helping to provide the physical sustenance for so many homeless Guatemalans, but for providing the spiritual “sustenance of proof” that there is a God who cares.

Next Story → It does take a village