Step by Step

Hello everyone!

We are the Ryder Family.  Jason, Lilivet, Kristen and Erin.  We moved to Guatemala in December 2018 to serve with Vine International in Guatemala.  Jason is a BMET and served in Guatemala 12 years ago.  I (Lilivet) was born in Guatemala and have experience working for non profit organizations here.

We had the blessing of having Dennis and Cindy McCutcheon as our guides to get to know the work at Vine International.

We have been married for almost 6 years, our daughter Kristen is 2, Erin is 3 months old. 2019 has been a year of new beginnings, and we are working step by step trying to do our best job at Vine International.

We would like to continue to share some of the work we do through this blog.   We hope God inspires you when you read the stories we will be posting here.

Bendiciones (Blessings),

Jason and Lilivet

 

April 2019

³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Mathew 25:35-36

Guatemalan’s health is among the worst in the Western Hemisphere.  High maternal and infant mortality affect primarily poor and indigenous populations in the rural areas. Public health services, limited resources, inadequate infrastructure and non-existent supplies of medicines are some of the challenges faced by Guatemalans, especially for those living in remote, rural indigenous villages.

Your gift has enabled Vine to distribute fortified rice-soy protein meal packages to our partners.  At the beginning of April, we started the distribution of the AVA project.  AVA stands for Antibiotics, Vitamins, (prenatal vitamin care) and Albendazole (deworming medication).

This month, in addition to delivering the AVA supplies, we were able to provide two “PET”- carts (see image below) to one of our partners, a special needs orphanage.  This picture is of an 8 year old resident that suffered years of abuse before moving to the orphanage.  The abuse left her with the inability to maintain balance, requiring a helmet to protect her brain from the frequent falls.  She is absolutely thrilled to be able to move by herself now.  The joy of having some mobile independence is obvious on her face.  The children served by this ministry are using these “PET”- carts.  They call them their “motorcycles”.

You can see that there is a great need in Guatemala. Jason and I are able to serve a need    that starts with donors like you who want to be a blessing to Guatemalans. It is a beautiful expression of Christ’s love for people who need  it and we are grateful  to be serving  the   Lord here.

The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40