(15 Sep 03) Faced with declining funds, Lutheran missionaries Larry and Sonya Marhenke have had to find ways to make each dollar count in serving the needy in Guatemala.Since Hurricane Mitch struck Central America in 1998, dozens of widows and elderly who lost their homes have come to the Marhenkes hoping for some help. In Guatemala social services are almost non-existent and some of the most vulernable are the elderly and widows. Yet, they are not the only ones in need
A young husband and father asked the Marhenkes for help in buidling a home for his family. He had worked as a laborer until a back injury cost him his job. Now disabled, with almost no education, and very limited Spanish (he speaks a Maya language), he is unable to find work.
Though the Marhenkes normally limit their assistance to widows and the elderly, they realized the young man had little hope of providing shelter for his family. And so they came up with a plan to help the man and his family in a way that still allowed them to assist the others.
The Marhenkes told the man that if he could get family members to build an adobe home, they would provide the doors, windows, and roof. (Most area homes are one-room adobe construction.)