Polk Contingent Will Carry Needed
Supplies On Trip to Guatemala

Joyce Gompf has two tumors in her abdomen that may require surgery. But she is delaying her treatment for a while.

Gompf, a Plant City resident, didn't want to miss a "mother-daughter" mission to Guatemala scheduled for July 28. She will join her daughter, Tracey Russell of Lakeland, in delivering supplies to the Children's Malnutrition Center of San Juan as part of an ongoing mission headed by Florida Baptist Children's Homes.

"Just to see pictures of those children makes you want to go," said Gompf, 68. "It's a mother-daughter trip, and I think that will make it so special, but the main reason is just maybe to make a difference in one of those little children's lives. That would be wonderful."

The mission arose from the work of Jerry Haag, president of Florida Baptist Children's Homes, and his wife, Christi, who have been involved with international orphan care for years. When they moved to Lakeland two years ago, Jerry Haag asked the Florida Baptist Children's Homes board of directors to support their international missions, and the board agreed.

Florida Baptist Children's Homes is a church-affiliated, non-profit organization that operates homes for foster children, including a Lakeland campus, and provides other services.

The Malnutrition center, operated by the Guatemalan Lions Club, cares for children ranging from infancy to 7 or so. Christi Haag said most of the children are not orphans but come from impoverished families.

Guatemala, bordered by Mexico, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador, as well as the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, is one of the poorest of Latin American nations, with three-quarters of the population living in poverty, according to the World Bank.

The Malnutrition Center, with a staff of 15, occupies a 50-year-old building originally used as a tuberculosis hospital. Haag said parents leave their children at the center and return for them later. She said it usually takes six to eight months to restore the malnourished children to health, and volunteers also train parents in sanitary techniques.

Haag said she was alarmed by the condition of the children at the center on her previous visit."They look like dowel rods with little crinkle material for arms," she said. She told of a 7-year-old boy, Benito, who arrived weighing just 26 pounds. The staff could not save his life.

The mission has organized several group trips to the center this year. Haag said this first "all-girl" trip arose from requests by women affiliated with Florida Baptist Children's Homes. Planners had to turn people away after 30 had signed up.

The women have been collecting donated supplies to deliver to the center. Each plans to take a suitcase containing 50 pounds of supplies, including diapers, baby formula and shoes.

Haag said the one man joining the group, Ron Gunter, Florida Baptist Children's Homes' vice president of international ministry, has been hearing plenty of jokes about estrogen overload.

Russell, an occupational therapist, first visited the Malnutrition Center in March with her two sons. Her daughter, just 3, is too young to take part."Once I held a baby over there, my heart went out to children all over world," said Russell, 41.

As an occupational therapist, Russell said she's concerned about the children's mental development. She said many of the children don't receive the individual attention and physical contact they need because of poverty and cultural habits.

On the March trip, Russell delivered mobiles to be hung above the infants' cribs so they would have objects to track with their eyes, aiding their visual development.
Russell, who attends church at the Florida Baptist Children's Homes Lakeland campus, said she initially resisted invitations to join the March trip to Guatemala.

"I was so scared to go on a mission trip," she said. "I did not want to go. I didn't know what to expect. I thought it would be overly emotional, but it was an incredible experience. We got (the children) giggling and laughing. It was just unbelievable what we were able to do in just a short time."

Russell said most of the missionaries are motivated by religious convictions. She said the mission answers the mandate from the biblical book of James to "look after widows and orphans in their distress."

The missionaries stay in the city of Antigua, a 45-minute bus ride from the Malnutrition Center. Crime can be a problem for Americans in Guatemala, but Russell said the mission provides armed guards for the volunteers.

Haag said the center is in dire need of repairs, and one goal of the mission is to restore and upgrade the building.

Brian Gilpin, communications director at Florida Baptist Children's Homes, said volunteers on previous trips have worked on installing more modern kitchen and laundry facilities and a better water-treatment system. He said some volunteers do painting or light construction work.

The missionaries' improvements have allowed the center to double its capacity, caring for 40 children at a time. Haag said the mission set a three-year goal of expanding the capacity to 200 children.

"The last time we were there, a doctor showed up and said, 'I have 33 children and I need to place them,' but we couldn't take them," she said.

Haag said it was distressing to turn away children in need. But she's encouraged that the mission trips have become so popular planners are now having to turn volunteers away.

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