Mission Team Helps Guatemalan Orphanage Relocate to Higher Ground

SVOTS Mission Team to Guatemala(from left) Claudia Bazil, Alumnus Ian Jones, Dn. Andre Paez, Mother Ines of the Hogar, Fr. Chad Hatfield, Alumnus Fr. David Wooten, Mary Roth, and Seminarian Scott Miller (Photo: Fr. David Wooten)

13/6/2012

[SVOTS Communications/Yonkers, NY] From May 31– June 7, 2012 a mission team from St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, led by Chancellor/CEO Archpriest Chad Hatfield, visited Guatemala to lend much-needed hands to Hogar Rafael Ayau Orphanage. The team assisted in moving the orphanage from “Zone 1,” a crime-ridden and dangerous area of Guatemala City, to Hogar San Miguel, a new orphanage in the mountains outside of Guatemala City.

“This was the first ever mission team organized from St. Vladimir’s Seminary,” noted Fr. Chad, “and this was my sixth time personally to be at the Hogar Rafael Ayau Orphanage and the Holy Trinity Monastery.

“This trip was supported by people from all over North America, and ‘Team Guatemala’ did an outstanding job of fundraising for their own expenses,” Fr. Chad said. “Additionally, the funds included a very generous donation to support the work of the nuns at the orphanage, as they transition to their new facility, beginning in early February 2013. “Moreover, I have a personal goal to offer a missiology course on site there, at their new facility, in 2014,” concluded Fr. Chad.

The mission team’s task was to pack up cribs and beds for the children, for transport to the new facility in the mountains. In addition to Fr. Chad, SVOTS team members consisted of Claudia Bazil, Mary Roth, Alumnus Ian Jones, Seminarian Scott Miller, Seminarian Dn. Andre Paez, and recent seminary graduate Fr. David Wooten.

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