Guatemala

- Padre Apla's Youth Center
  
  Gift of Hope began its work in Guatemala in 2021. Florinda, a local missionary and eventual program coordinator, opened her home to students, and the after-school program was born.
  
  The program soon outgrew that space, so we began looking for land to build a permanent youth center for the children of San Jorge de la Laguna. Construction began in 2025, and the building was finished and dedicated in June of 2026.
  
  The center is dedicated to Blessed Stanley Rother, a priest from Oklahoma who served as a missionary to Guatemala and was martyred there in 1981. He was well loved by the Tz'utujil people he served and affectionately called by his local name, Padre Apla's.
  
  Currently there are 28 children who are part of the Gift of Hope sponsorship program. This sponsorship provides for their school supplies, tuition, and transportation.
  
  After school each afternoon, the children come to the youth center for tutoring, a snack, prayer, hygiene education, friendship, safety, and loving care.
  
  The children grow in their relationship with God through weekly Christian faith formation classes, the sacraments, and annual retreats.