Dick Rutgers
Hello, my name is Dick Rutgers. I came to Guatemala 23 years ago on what was supposed to be a 10-day trip. And while there wasn’t a lightning bolt out of heaven, I definitely knew that this was where God wanted me, but never had any idea how long I would be staying here.
Most of my work at that time involved sitting and repairing wheelchairs and working with the kids at the orphanage Hermano Pedro. Even though I thought my primary ministry would be with wheelchairs, I ended up having about 15 kids at my dinner table every night in my home in Chimaltenango. I moved into my home 2 years after moving to Guatemala and it’s only 24 ft by 24 ft, but somehow they all managed to get around the table.
I met Daryl Fulp when he started coming to Hermano Pedro orphanage. I was usually there several days a week, seating and repairing wheelchairs and also just spending time with the kids, and he would often join me in taking several kids from the orphanage to lunch. I teamed up with Hope for Home ministries around 2014.
Most of my work involves sharing the love of Christ with people in some of the harder to reach areas of Guatemala, especially up north of Huehuetenango. Several of the young adults, who were kids that grew up in my house when I first arrived, spend a lot of time on the road serving with me. César works full time with me, and three of the other young men are now in full-time ministry work, and most of the others are Christ followers. We spend a good deal of our time giving out wheelchairs, crutches, vitamins, food, prosthetics and providing surgery to those who are in the more remote villages.
It’s been quite a ride. If you would have told this bachelor that he would be raising that many kids in his home he probably wouldn’t have believed you, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
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Thank you for your donation! Note that a portion of your donation is withheld by Paypal to cover procession fees. If you would like to avoid these costs, or use of a third party for your donation, we also accept checks and ACH deposits.
Checks can be made payable to “Hope for Home Ministries,” with the specific ministry or missionary listed in the memo line, and mailed to: PO Box 393, Troy, OH 45373
To set up an ACH deposit, please contact Emily McFadden at emily@hopeforhome.org or give her a call at our U.S. Office, at 937-216-1300.
Donations are tax deductible and will be receipted in January of the following calendar year.
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