Our Story
How It All Began …
The mission of Saving Lives has always been the heartbeat of the work we do. It is the theme that each and every staff recalibrates to every single day. Saving Lives is what started every single project birthed in the last 37 years.
It was 1987 when a young Carlos Vargas – suffering from a debilitating unknown illness – returned to Llano Verde, Guatemala, to live out what he thought were his final days. While in the small village, people who were sick themselves – one elderly gentleman in particular – came to Carlos to beg for help. In a deathbed deal with God, Vargas vowed to dedicate his remaining days to helping those who were infirm or suffering from poverty. From that day forward, Carlos’s body began to heal. The ministry started at the foot of a mountain, on one acre of land, meeting needs of the elderly who were homeless, abused, abandoned, and desperate.
Just two years later in 1989, baby Jose became the very first infant in our medical rescue program, which has since treated more than 25,000 children for malnutrition. And now, 37 years later, this ministry which calls a 3,000-acre mountain home, is serving hundreds of thousands of people each year through physical and spiritual programs with one continuing goal: to Save Lives.
“My inheritance will not be money; it will be a legacy which is a treasure in God’s eyes.”
– Carlos Vargas
The Work Continues …
Hunger and poverty continue to be hard enemies to face. However we have been blessed with an army of passionate invested partners and friends who are running into battle with us.
Partners just like you.
As we continue to race towards the future, we are blessed by continual growth. To date, we have impacted millions of lives and become a catalyst for change in Guatemala through planting churches, developing leaders, creating sustainable income-generating opportunities for families, educating children, and – of course – Saving Lives.
What started out as one elderly man seeking peace and rest on a mountain, God has transformed into into a global ministry serving hundreds of orphans, children with special needs, seniors without family or a place to call home, and people who are in desperate need. In addition, programs like Sponsorship are facilitating change for thousands of children and families each year, encouraging them to become catalysts of change in their communities.
We believe in a brighter Guatemala, and we believe in partnership to make it happen.