In the year 1857, Don Rafael Ayau built the first orphanage in Guatemala City. During the 1970s, the Guatemalan government took over the orphanage and named it, Hogar Rafael Ayau after its founder. In 1996, the government released control of the orphanage to the Orthodox church and the capable hands of three nuns, Mother Inez, Mother Ivonne and Mother Maria. These nuns run the orphanage today with its eighty five children.
Our mission team from St. Katherine was composed of ten people:
Father Costa, Antonia Chelpon, Maria Chelpon, Raymond Vazquez, John Kiriakou, Maria Wills, Daphne Papamichael, Nicole Leontsinis, Barbara Voyiaziakis and myself.
One of the purposes in going to the orphanage was to provide our physical labor in the maintenance of the current facility. Since October is the rainy season in Guatemala, our project was not finalized but would most likely include yard work, painting and / or cleaning. The second purpose was to clean the children’s teeth. Antonia Chelpon and Maria Chelpon are both dental hygienists. Instead of a maintenance project, they would clean all of the children’s teeth during the week. Our third purpose was to spend time with the children by playing games, reading books and just showering them with attention.
