At Cadaniño, we believe that every child deserves the chance to thrive, no matter their circumstances. This Christmas season, we invite you to be part of something truly life-changing. With your support, vulnerable children and their families in Guatemala can access the education, mentorship, and spiritual support they need to overcome adversity and break free from the cycle of poverty.
“There's a hole in the window of the room where I preach. I didn't see what made the hole. In fact, it's been there since before I arrived in Guatemala. Some of the teachers say it's a bullet hole. Others say it was just a rock. It's in the window in the back left of the classroom, right in my eye line as I stand in the front, and I often find my eyes drawn to it when I'm teaching. Sometimes, I'll just walk over and look at it. There is a missing piece of window that was supposed to be there. That was designed to be there. Looking through it, you can see the city from a different perspective. It's the same slum but with the edges of the jagged and broken glass around it.
And then I'll turn around, and I'll see the class. And I see the same holes. Lots of times, I didn't see what made the holes. Many of them have been around since before I arrived in Guatemala. Sometimes the hole in their life was made by a bullet hole. Sometimes what made the hole was sickness. Sometimes, the hole was made because someone in their life chose to leave and ripped out that part of the window with them. The truth is, most of the kids we serve are missing a part of their life that was supposed to be there. That was designed to be there. And they see the world from a different perspective because of it.
I think of the stories of several of the kids I know. For the Sedano family, the holes in their lives were caused by actual bullet holes and the loss of their mother through childbirth. For Justin, the hole was made by a car wreck. In the story of Valeria, her decision to leave to provide for her family and have a better life wasn't a bad one—maybe it was even a good one—but it made a hole in the lives of her siblings who stayed behind.
I think of two of our girls, who we will call Lily and Rosa. They come from a family with both mom and dad in the picture, which is a rarity, and both parents are very nice to us and participate in activities and events. They are confident young women who are very sharp and intelligent; they pay attention and do their work, are well-liked by all, and are incredibly friendly. They might not be the type to volunteer an answer to a question in class, but if you call on them, they will know the correct answer. They are competitive and good at board games, quick to serve lunch or help clean up, and just really two solid students with good manners and even better hearts.
We planned to visit them a few months back, and we confirmed with them the night before our Thursday morning visit. We knocked on their door a few times, and nobody came to answer. We peered through the holes in the rusted sheet metal fence/wall and saw no movement. We knocked again, but with no response, we turned away, confused.
As we walked back to where the bus would pick us up, we saw one of our family's houses with the door open. There, we found a grandma who cared for her grandchildren, two of whom are our students. She invited us in to enjoy refreshments and visit with her.
It was one of those God coincidences, where He puts the right people in our path at just the right moment. She clearly was struggling and desperately needed to talk with somebody. They were hungry and didn't have the necessary food or funds to scrape something together to feed us. And so, we happily gave them the bag of groceries that we had planned to give to the family of Lily and Rosa. She shared about her struggle as a grandmother taking care of grandchildren almost entirely by herself and how her eyesight was failing quickly, and she didn't have any way to get the help she needed. It was a difficult conversation, but we could see that it was so needed and liberating for her to be able to share. Part of it was really emotional, to the point where she felt ashamed, so I took the 12-year-old grandson outside for a walk while our other teachers stayed with her.
There were a few things struck me from our conversation with her and our time in their home. The first were the flies. They were everywhere, worse than any home I can remember being in, all over the boy's oatmeal, everywhere. The second, and the thing that has been in my head since we left the house that day, was the pictures on the wall. Portraits of young men, maybe in their early 20s. When I got back from the walk, I asked about them. They were her sons, all of whom had passed away. One by one she told us about them, she didn't say that they were killed by the gangs, which is what had happened, she didn't even say that they "died" or were "murdered." She just said the phrase, "me lo quitó," which translates to "He was taken from me." And we don't have to ask what she means or who did the taking; we just understand. We didn't have to ask more questions; we just sat there with her as she pointed to the holes in her window and told us their names.
Later that day, back at the center, we heard four ambulances come screaming down the hill, one after another. They were headed to the "La Isla" neighborhood, where we had just come from. At that moment, we stopped everything we were doing to pray for the children and families we serve.
That afternoon, as the kids filtered into Cadaniño, we learned what happened. Lily and Rosa have a couple of older brothers whom I had never met; they were accused of theft and warned that if they were ever seen in the neighborhood again, that they would be eliminated. But one of them had come back, and when he walked outside to go to a tienda, he was shot and killed there on the corner. That's why the ambulances came flying down that hill. And probably why they didn't open the door when we came to visit.
The funeral happened the next day, with only immediate family.
Now there is a bullet hole in the windows and the lives of Lily and Rosa. The girls have taken their loss to Jesus and laid their emotions and pain at the foot of the cross, but now they see the world outside from a different perspective. I'm so grateful to God for how they have responded to what happened. I've had many long and tear-filled talks with both of them, and their faith inspires me and encourages me in my own faith.
They are so filled with love and the peace that surpasses understanding. Their example of walking with God through this hard time has deeply impacted many of those around them. And as their Pastor and their friend, I am so proud of them.
When I think of these awesome young women of God, who radiate love and joy, kindness and goodness, and yet who have been so affected by the world around them and the loss they've experienced, an image and some questions fill my mind, and my heart."
Could a stained-glass window still be beautiful in spite of the bullet holes?
Could it be more beautiful because of them?
Could the hole in their stained-glass lives let the light inside them shine more clearly?”
God specializes in turning brokenness into beauty. He promises to bring beauty from ashes and restore what's lost (Isaiah 61:3). Like the broken window offering a new perspective, God can use our pain to let His light shine through. It is incredibly powerful to see those we serve are learning that despite their losses, God can turn their suffering into something beautiful. As 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." God's grace shines brighter through their brokenness, creating something beautiful from their lives.
Sincerely, Timothy Martiny, President, Cadaniño
Partner with Cadaniño today and impact lives for eternity!
