Nothing is more uplifting than seeing the smiling face of a hungry child receiving a nutritious meal, or a mother with tears of joy in her eyes because she knows she’ll be able to feed her family with the bag of food staples she just received.

During a recent trip to Guatemala and Honduras, a couple of our staff members were able to capture some moments like these with photos. Below are a few of the many grateful faces they saw while visiting feeding programs we support in Central America.

We are able to feed needy people such as these because of the continuing support of American Christians. Click here to learn more about the feeding programs we support around the world and how you can help.

By 2050, a full 80 percent of the world’s population will live in cities. That’s four out of every five people!

Poverty and opportunity exist side-by-side in Guatemala City.

The prediction comes from a recent Financial Times report called “The Future of Cities.” People often migrate from rural to urban settings because cities offer new jobs. But these growing cities are also producing vast slums. The Financial Times used Lagos, Nigeria as an example of the downside of urbanization. Lagos is “a city that forces us to confront our fears of what will happen if we do not sort out our cities,” because it “has become the cipher for the urban nightmare – a city without structure, infrastructure, social provision, amenities, or basic property rights for its citizens.” In short, “Citizens have to work to carve out their niche in a city that does not care.”

It’s interesting that in the Bible, Jesus’ disciples used a strategy of evangelism that focused on cities. By going into urban areas, they could reach large concentrations of people who could then spread the Good News into the countryside. Today, those cities are bigger than ever, and they are full of people hungry for the Gospel. They are places where extreme wealth exists side-by-side with overwhelming poverty, and where row upon row of tin and cardboard shanties extend for miles.

Cross International is continuing the mission of Jesus’ disciples by reaching out to slum communities in developing nations with food, shelter, education, medical care, and the message of salvation. We want poor families to know that, even if the city doesn’t notice them, God loves them and so do we. Their cries are not unheard.

One great outreach we’re now sponsoring is a Christian after-school program for Guatemalan children whose families survive by scavenging for recyclable goods at the Guatemala City garbage dump. The program provides the children with school supplies, food, and even medical checkups, while teaching them about Jesus and working with their parents to improve their home life. Click here to learn more about this awesome opportunity to share God’s love!

In Proverbs 17:22 we are reminded that “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine…” Over the last several months we have been overwhelmed with images of sadness and despair from Haiti and, more recently, Chile. Sometimes it is nice to be reminded that the poor smile. Below are recent photos from the field of some of the individuals who we’ve helped through the generosity of American Christians. Remember God’s promise from Psalm 30:5: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”

Nicaragua

Guatemala

Dominican Republic

Philippines

We recently received a heartwarming story of spiritual transformation from one of our Guatemalan ministry partners, Potter’s House. It served as just another reminder of why at Cross we make it a priority to minister to the poor’s spiritual needs, along with their physical ones.

Katerine accepted Jesus Christ through a ministry partner we support in Guatemala.

Katerine Estefani Aguilar has been going to school at the Potter’s House for two years. She is a fourth-grader with a wonderful sense of humor. On March 24, the Lord was working on Katerine’s heart as she sat and listened to her teacher during weekly devotions. When her teacher asked if Katerine had received Jesus her heart, she said no and explained that she had no one to take her to church because her mother worked all day.

“You don’t need to be at church to accept Jesus into your heart; you can do it anywhere. The important thing is that you do it,” her teacher said. “Would you like to receive the Lord into your life?”

“Yes I do!” Katerine replied, almost yelling because of her excitement. The two then prayed together and asked Jesus to come into Katerine’s heart. After, the child excitedly exclaimed: “Christ now lives in my heart!”

Potter’s House ministers through education, health care, and microenterprise programs to some 10,500 people who make a living by scavenging the Guatemala City garbage dump. During its afterschool program that Cross International supports, the students receive tutoring, spiritual education, English and computer classes, art instruction, and have opportunities to play team sports. Want to learn more? Click Here.

Carlos Vargas is no ordinary businessman, to say the least. He owns a successful jewelry company that supplies thousands of major retail stores in the U.S., but he spends most of his time in Guatemala, serving the poorest of the poor.

Cross International President Jim Cavnar and several staff members had a chance to get to know Carlos during a recent trip to Guatemala, where his Esperanza de Vida ministry is providing food, medical care, shelter, education, and other services to destitute families in garbage dumps and rural mountainous areas. Everyone who met Carlos was impressed by his work and by his love for the Guatemalan people. His ministry is one among many that we support with shipments of medicines, medical supplies, and nutritional supplements.

Pastor Vargas Praying With Two Girls

Carlos admits that when he first committed his life to Christ at the age of 25, his heart wasn’t totally in it. “I was a church person, but not too close to God,” he said, adding with a laugh, “I think I only caused problems in church.” But God had plans for Carlos.

Years later, he contracted a severe case of gout. He lost fingernails and toenails, his limbs started to curl up, he couldn’t walk, and his doctors didn’t know what to do. Carlos feared he was going to die.

While bedridden, a blind beggar came to his door. “I had so much money, but I was too cheap to help this poor man. All I gave him was $5,” Carlos said. “As he was walking away, this strong idea came into my head. I was supposed to take care of people like this blind man.”

Carlos made a “business deal” with God. He promised that if God healed him, he would devote his life to the poor.

After several days of fervent prayer, Carlos sat up in bed and began walking again. His health was completely restored!

True to his promise, Carlos moved to his native country of Guatemala and used his business know-how to start Esperanza de Vida, which means “Hope of Life.”

“It’s not easy to be a missionary,” Carlos said to a church group of volunteers. “Sometimes we cry alone at night when we wonder how we’re going to meet our budget or we cry over the babies we lose…. Why do I do this? There will come a day when I’m going to close my eyes on this earth and I’m going to open them somewhere else. I want God to say, I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in.”