Guatemala has been described as the worst place in the world to be a child.                                                                        1.            More than 660 children were murdered here in 2014, the Office of the Public Prosecutor says, while a case of sexual violence is reported every two hours. Teen marriage is common in a country where the legal age for a girl to wed is 14. But the recent case of a 12-year-old girl who was married to a man almost twice her age has made headlines. It was officiated by the local mayor who could now face prosecution. Pray this is followed through in the courts.                                                                                                                 2.            In a Newsbeat article: "They really are not living a healthy life."They get pregnant at a very early age and their bodies are not prepared to have children. They stop being children, literally, to start working as women."  "Traditions such as paying for a bride" are common, through the exchange of money or usually land, and that often a teenage girl must marry a man much older than her.                                                                                                   3.            Between 1960 and 1996, Guatemala experienced a devastating civil war, in which 200,000 people were killed and 45,000 people were "disappeared". Four out of five of these were of indigenous Maya ethnicity. The UN later ruled that "genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity" had occurred during the conflict, but last year the government in Guatemala denied the genocide. Now ordinary people are protesting against the government over these and other issues. Pray for them and the protection of the judges who must try these crimes. Current and past presidents and other officials are being brought to trial. Pray for the youth of Guatemala to sustain their efforts for a just change with a wisdom that comes from above.                                                                                                                                                                              4.            Small farmers in Central America’s “dry corridor” stretching from Panama to Guatemala, including parts of Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador, are hardest hit by Central America’s drought, brought on by a particularly strong El Nino climatic effect this year. Guatemalan farmers have suffered drought for the last three years. The corn crops are their income for the entire year. They need new crops and methods to sustain their families.  Peje Armado, where we work is part of this. Pray. ( Pictures are of dried, dead corn)                                                                                                                                                 
5.            Doctors are having to go outside hospitals to get even the basics of medicines. Some vaccines are not even available in Guatemala. Surgeries are being postponed or even denied to the very poor by public health departments due to lack of medicines and surgical equipment. Please pray for the public health doctors of Guatemala as they attempt to do their jobs, some of them are very dedicated men
Please keep these children and people in your prayers In His Love Chici Barbella