Urgent Message From the Founder

The recent developments in Guatemala, concerning a lack of Hague-compliant processes in that country, mean changes in adoptions that our orphan care ministry currently handles. The Department of State recently sent out a notification for adoptions to be put on hold until compliance is achieved, perhaps first quarter 2008.

What this means for Hannah's Hope Guatemala is that its source of funding through adoption services is at risk. Put simply, we may have to close some of our children's homes. If that happens, many of these children will return to one of Guatemala's orphanages - or worse, to a life on the streets. That's no kind of life for a child.

We have built something in Guatemala that stands apart: an orphan care ministry that begins before a child is even born... and extends past the time they have found a forever home. Hannah's Hope Guatemala reflects the central driving passion of All God's Children - indeed the heart of what we do: to care for the world's orphans... one orphan at a time.

In Guatemala, we have reached farther than we ever imagined possible. In the last seven years, we have:

• Rescued hundreds of orphans from their lives on the streets
• Housed and cared for 1,000 children in Hannah's Hope Guatemala
• Ministered to birth mothers with emotional counseling, shelter, and education
• Brought 500 Guatemalan children home to new families

The situation in Guatemala isn't a new experience for us. Three years ago, adoptions came to a halt in that country. Thousands of children were left at risk. Instead of walking away, All God's Children took in children like the Mixco 9 and cared for them as if they were our own. We battled for them to become adoptable. Today each of those children have adoptive families. We welcomed these children knowing full well the great expense we would incur to care for them - an expense that went on for years.

But that's who we are. That's what makes All God's Children different - we are willing to take on the children others would call hopeless and give them the life every child deserves.

Once again we find ourselves at a crossroads. We cannot abandon the children in Guatemala who have no one but us to care for them. Hannah's Hope must remain open to care for the abandoned, abused, and neglected children who are brought to our doors.

Would you be willing to save a child's life and keep Hannah's Hope Guatemala open through home sponsorship?

Heather Radu