Abuelitos

A ministry for the elderly. A nutritious breakfast is provided, stretching exercises, weaving, gardening, and sharing the love and saving grace of Jesus with these wonderful people who are living the last part of their journey here on earth.

In Spanish, Abuelitos means “little grandparents.” It’s a term of endearment in Guatemala. Many people in San Juan La Laguna, Sololá, struggle to feed their immediate family. This often results in leaving the elderly without any means of support. The majority of the elderly are living in dire conditions and have no more to eat than a tortilla and a cup of coffee each day. Often the elderly population in a village is the most neglected.

The Abuelitos ministry focuses on providing a nutritous breakfast and a snack for the elderly, as well as giving them a daily Bible lesson followed by age-appropriate recreational activities. Our Abuelitos love when teams come to visit and spend time with them; the hugs, smiles, and attention they receive help to ease their loneliness.

Some Abuelitos are very set in their ways and to them, religion is sometimes more about tradition than about having a relationship with Christ -- a mindset we try to change. We want them to embrace the relationship they can have with our Lord and Savior through prayer, worship, reading, and believing His Word. These elderly people are living their twilight years and we try to help them to be happy years filled with a good quality of life. They have some great stories to share and we can glean wisdom from them if we listen. Like the children of Happy Tummies, the Abuelitos have many needs for us to help fulfill.

Impacto invites you to consider financially supporting our Compassion Ministries. Help us to help feed the Abuelitos and create opportunities to share the Gospel with them.

What can US $35.00 accomplish?

It takes approximately US$35 to support an Abuelito for 1 month (or US$420 a year) to provide nutritious meals, a snack to take home, the doctor's monthly visit, medicine, teachers, a cook, electricity, and water. Please prayerfully consider if you can become a monthly supporter to help the Abuelitos.

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How it Works

Monday through Friday they meet from 8-11:30 a.m. and receive a nutritious breakfast, have a time of Bible Study, worship, age-appropriate exercises, work on different crafts, weaving, gardening, and tending chickens. A snack is provided to take home each day so they have something to eat in the afternoon or evening. We also have outings with them and try to show them the love of Christ as much as possible.

Why sponsor the whole program and not an individual Abuelito?

After people travel to Guatemala with a team and serve, they are excited and want to continue the effort by financially supporting the ministry. Sometimes, the excitement wears off. Sometimes, they go through difficult seasons. Sometimes, they simply forget. This does not, however, need to be a reason for an Abuelito to be asked to leave the program. Hence, if everyone sponsors the program as a whole, the probability is less that an Abuelito would have to be asked to leave the program.

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Want to donate supplies?

If you’re interested in donating supplies for our Abuelitos program, please check our “Prayers & Needs” page to know more about each ministry’s specific need.

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