We love and are passionately committed to our two Living Water Adopt-A-Child (LWAAC) mission fields – Guatemala and Albania. In the name of Jesus, we’ve offered help and hope to Guatemala for over 40 years and Albania for 25 years. How and why have these countries captured our hearts?
Guatemala
Our founders, Mack & Peggy McKeown, started Living Water in Guatemala in 1980. At that time, the country had already experienced 20 years of the Guatemalan Civil War, and the need for aid in the war-torn mountains was overwhelming. Mack and Peggy began their work by opening dental and medical clinics in these rural areas and it wasn’t long before they started feeding children in 1983. As they asked others to partner with them by sponsoring children, our ministry was born.
Guatemala’s need for missions work continues to grow. Despite having the largest economy in Central America, more than 59% of the Guatemalan population live at or below the poverty level; 16% live in extreme poverty. Indigenous and rural communities experience the effects of poverty more severely. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic set back decades of hard-won economic progress.
Health and medical needs are also great. Guatemala has the fourth-highest rate of chronic malnutrition in the world. Doctors say as many as 6 out of 100 children in Guatemala die for lack of proper nutrition and basic medicine.
Albania
By the early 90s, LWAAC had new directors, Ron and Pat Kelly. Ron and Pat’s mission to reach “one more child, one more village, one more country” led them to expand the ministry into Albania in 1995. Being one of the poorest nations in Europe as well as the continent’s only Muslim nation at that time, they faced great difficulty and persecution but saw much fruit and growth.
Of those in Albania practicing religion of any kind in this predominately atheistic nation, 57% are Muslim and less than 1% are Evangelical Christians. Since the fall of the Communist government in 1991, the fight against poverty wages very slowly. The majority of people living in poverty have low-skill occupations that offer little job security – especially now with the Covid pandemic.
We love these two countries and are honored to serve them by meeting their physical and spiritual needs.
In Guatemala, over 8,000 children are fed through our feeding programs with seven churches now scattered throughout the region. In Albania, over 900 children are being fed through our feeding programs and there are now five churches bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to this nation.
For those of you who have supported our life-changing work – thank you! You have truly been a blessing to the “least of these.” If you haven’t yet partnered with us, we ask that you prayerfully consider becoming a sponsor.
