"I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me..."
- Jesus of Nazareth
The Westmont Bethel Association was established by the Hernandez family with the purpose of providing essential medical care to the poorest of the poor in Guatemala. In a country where many people lack access to quality medical care, the hospital is aimed at reaching those who are deprived of necessary medical attention.
After much work and anticipation, we have just recently finished the building and furnishing of the third floor, completing the construction of the hospital! While it was still incomplete, the hospital had already become a center for administering medical care to the poor through its out patient clinic and urgent care facility, serving an average of 1,000 patients a month. People learn of the Westmont Bethel Hospital by word-of-mouth, and they continue to come, hearing of the excellence of its doctors, the personal care and attention of the patients, and its openness to those from all ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds.
The three levels of the hospital are equipped to serve the people in al arenas of health care. The main level contains the outpatient clinic, radiology, and the lab. On the second level, patients are admitted to the emergency room, which houses state-of-the-art medical equipment including an EKG and ultrasound machine. The now completed third level houses the OR, ICU, and maternity care.
The Westmont Bethel Hospital partners with various individuals and organizations who make it possible to bring medical assistance to the poor in Guatemala. This has come in many forms, including financial grants, shipments of supplies, and donations of medical equipment and furnishings.
With the hospital complete, we have set out to effectively treat the physical suffering of the people of Guatemala, thereby tangibly showing the love of Christ through medicine. People are being healed, lived are being saved, and the once marginalized of society are receiving the love and care proclaimed by Jesus.
Education
For the last five years, Salomón and Mery Hernández have collaborated to provide education to young children in the highland communities of Uspantán, El Quiché where they have lived for over 30 years. They are currently working with and helping to support over
150 students in four area schools with the resources they need - from providing materials as basic as notebooks and pencils to helping the communities actually build schoolhouses.
In each of the four schools the children are taught Quiché, their native Mayan language, as well as Spanish. They are taught reading, writing, and mathematics as well as basic hygiene and environmental care. The unique aspect of these schools is they are taught about their own culture through music, language development and history.
Throughout the learning process the children are also taught the basic principles of Jesus, namely, loving God and loving others as themselves.
Housing
Observing the need of their neighbors in Uspantan for adequate housing, Salomon and Mery have collaborated with hundreds of families to provide shelter. It is something they've been doing since the devastating earthquake of 1976. Most recently, students from Westmont College built a house for one of the neighboring widows whose original home was destroyed by a fire.
Potable Water
The lack of clean, potable water is still all too common in most of the rural areas of Guatemala. Recently, the Hernández, with help from friends in the US, were able to work with the local village of Chaj to channel water from a local natural spring to provide better drinking alternatives to over 60 families who otherwise were retrieving contaminated water from a local well that had caused much sickness and even death. There are still surrounding families in need of drinkable water.
Food & Clothing
The poor in the surrounding of Uspantán often lack the basic necessities of food and clothing. As part of their work, the Hernández distribute food and clothing to those who are in most need. They help others to learn how to vary their crops, adding missing nutrients to their diets. Salomon and Mery also equip families to sell their crops in the market in an effort to help the families provide for themselves.
Pedro Pú Us began working for the Hernández' as a manual laborer around their property when he was young. At the time, he had not completed his high school degree. Pedro did not know what he wanted to do with his life, but he did know he did not desire to return to school. Through his friendship with the Hernández', they began to encourage him to develop a larger vision for himself and for the people around him. They also encouraged Pedro to complete his high school education, offering to provide the finances necessary to do so. Pedro decided to return to school, which is when his passion for learning grew as well as the desire to assist others through teaching.
After finishing his high school degree, with his humble enthusiasm, he began going into remote areas where he knew children lived, but where schools did not exist. He began his work in the remote village of Xepequen where he asked the parents in the community to let him teach their children. Every morning he would gather the children under a big tree by the creek where the students themselves became enthusiastic about the opportunities education provided for their community.
When the Hernández' first visited Pedro's school they saw the need for an actual school building where the children could learn without being distracted from the often scorching sun, and the torrential rains during the rainy season. They began to pray and little by little they were able to help the community construct a school for their children. As he was still in the process of obtaining his teaching credential, Pedro turned the direction of the school over to an accredited teacher, Josephina, who walks three hours a day to teach the eager students in Xepequen. Pedro then went to another community, Patzite, again asking the parents to allow him to teach their children. He continues to teach in Patzite today.
His classes have grown to 50 students and he is now training another young man to teach as well. Pedro completed his credential program and has begun to teach adult education classes in Uspantán in the afternoons and evenings. Oaks Christian High School in California has assisted with the construction of a new schoolhouse for the community which should be completed this month.
Pedro's passion for God and children drove him to give of his time and effort investing in the two communities on a volunteer basis - until this spring when some friends from the U.S. committed to providing a monthly salary for him.
In the life of Pedro we see that God has indeed honored His promise in Psalm 41:1-2, "Happy are those who consider the poor; the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble. The Lord protects them and keeps them alive; they are called happy in the land."