Teen Center in Guatemala
When we launched Visit Ministries, one of the first people to approach us about launching a teen center was Carlos Merlo.
Carlos Merlo was a professional soccer player in Guatemala and later a successful businessman. Carlos now runs the Merlo Foundation with his wife, Nora.
The purpose of The Merlo Foundation is to care for the sick, aid the disabled, and nurture the people of Magdalena MP in Guatemala as Jesus would. They host regular medical missions trips where medical professionals from all different fields travel to Guatemala and put on clinics to care for the people’s needs. Often the citizens there are suffering from conditions which are easily treated with the right medicine and expertise. Every time they host a clinic, hundreds of people from the surrounding regions lineup to receive medical, dental, vision, and other kinds of care. Through Carlos’ ministry countless people have received treatment and many lives have been saved. You can visit the Merlo Foundation’s website by clicking the link here.
Carlos also has a deep burden for the children of the area. Many sick and disabled children have been treated through his clinics, but many more are in danger of falling to drugs, gangs, and other destructive activities. He realized something more was needed and decided to work with Visit Ministries to plant a teen center.
He has created plans to build a brand new facility which will serve as a medical clinic and teen center in the same building.
Earlier this year an offering was taken by Foothills Church to raise the necessary funds. The goal was to raise $30,000. When everything was totaled, over $90,000 was raised for the project!
The next steps are to purchase a piece of land and draw up building plans to be approved by the government. Then construction can begin. Both are moving along well.
There is still a lot of work to be done and questions to be answered, but we are hopeful to have a teen center launched well before the end of the year. We will provide more updates as the project moves forward.
