History of Hogar Miguel Magone
At the age of seventeen, Karen Rodas was asked by her school to volunteer at an orphanage. As with most children that age, she was more interested in playing basketball with her friends than spending an afternoon as a volunteer. Little did she know that day would change her life, forever, when one child asked her, “Will you stay with me forever?”. Since, then she has never forgotten the words of that little girl. And to this day, Karen’s eyes fill with tears when she tells that story. She has dedicated over 20 years to helping the children of Aguacate, Guatemala and the people of the village.
Karen and her husband, Estuardo, are the directors of Hogar Miguel Magone, a home to 80 children, between ages 2 and 10. These children are orphaned or have been abused by their families and removed from their homes by the court system. Karen and Estuardo provide a safe and loving home for these children by providing food, shelter, clothing, health care, psychological counseling, tutoring services, English, music classes, computer training, trade skills, life-skills training, and Biblical teaching.
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Why did Karen name the home, Hogar Miguel Magone?
Hogar is the Spanish word for Home. In the 1845, Miguel Magone was a student of Don Bosco. Bosco believed that faith, education, and the opportunity to learn a trade was the combination for changing the lives of troubled children. Karen uses this same concept to equip the children for a healthy and productive life and to break the cycle of poverty.
Because the Guatemalan government does not provide any assistance to provide these services, all of the funding for this home is raised through donations and the Child Sponsorship Program. Hogar Miguel not only provides the care needed for the 80 children, but also many programs and meals to the children and their families in the nearby village of Aguacate.
This village is comprised primarily of families living in extreme poverty. They live with extended family in homes with dirt floors, tin walls and leaky tin roofs. They often fight malnutrition due to parasites from the soil and non-purified water. Those who work make less than $4 per day doing strenuous manual labor. Women spend most of their day collecting water and wood to cook with, then cook meals over an open fire, do laundry at an outdoor public facility, and maintain the home while taking care of several children. Most children do not have proper nutrition or access to education.
Our Involvement
Our mission is to provide support to Karen and Estuardo, directors of Hogar Miguel Magone, to break the cycle of poverty in their community. We do this by providing monetary donations; supplies, programs, labor, and most importantly love.
We partner with Celebrate Children International Sponsorship program to provide food, education, and relationships to the children.
We travel to Guatemala for one week each July to work on a variety of construction projects in the village of Aguacate and Hogar Miguel. Several homes are in desperate need of new roofs, cement floors, and walls to provide privacy and the safety of children.
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The roads of Aguacate are not accessible by car; therefore the villagers walk several miles a day, even the 90-year-old woman that lives at the top of the mountain. As you can imagine, they wear through their shoes quickly. Our mission group collects hundreds of new and gently used shoes throughout the year to distribute to the children and the residents of the village. We also collect the much-needed toiletries, medication, and school supplies for Hogar Miguel.
Each day we offer Vacation Bible School which is a village favorite for 200 children in the community. We tell Bible stories, teach them songs, dance, do crafts, and play games. This is a time where our young mission leaders excel.
Karen emphasizes the importance of education for these children to end the cycle of poverty. As a reward for good behavior and school effort, we take the children of Hogar Miguel Magone to a local amusement park for a day. This is a special day for all of us. It is one day of the year that the children can enjoy a day just being kids. They run around, play games, eat ice cream, and pull us on every ride with them.
The most important thing that we do is spend time with the children at Hogar Miguel Magone and let them know how much they are loved by God and all of us!
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Mission Leaders
Stacey Bevilacqua - Mission Director
Contact: Staceybev@comcast.net
When I was in 5th grade, my teacher asked my class the question; “What do you want to be when you grow up?”. The first 10 classmates said the expected, “nurse, doctor, teacher, construction worker….”. When she got to me, I simply said, “I want to be a mom”. I always had a passion for children and my desire to be a mom never went away. In fact 26 years ago, I knew I found my future husband when I saw him playing peek-a-boo with a two-year-old at a wedding. I found my soul mate with the same passion for children.
Well, my dream of being a mom was not an easy task. It led us on an adventure from State College, Pennsylvania to the other side of the world, Russia, where we adopted our four amazing kids. What an eye-opening experience that was! I saw people in Russia who were poorer than anyone I had ever witnessed.
As our children grew, we realized the life we were providing them was far from where they were born. We wanted them to see how fortunate they were. In 2010, we went to Guatemala for the first time. Being greeted by eighty children at Hogar Miguel Magone was not what I expected. These children lived at the home because they had been neglected or abused. They all had a hunger to be loved, as evidenced by their big hugs and desire to be held. When I met Karen, the founder of the orphanage and heard the story about her passion for children, I felt an immediate connection. She is the mom to all 80 of these children. My four children keep me quite busy. How can she care for eighty? At that moment, I made it my personal mission to do whatever it takes to help her and her husband fulfill their mission to help not only these children but also the people of the surrounding village.
Carrie Odden - Mission Director
Contact: csodden@charter.net
Scott and I and our two children first participated in a mission trip to Guatemala in 2013. I had no idea of the impact that trip would have on me and my family. Spending time with the children at the orphanage and the families in the village was a life changing experience. Witnessing their joy and happiness despite their poverty and tremendously challenging circumstances helped all of us realize how blessed we are, and the importance of sharing our blessings with others. My children’s faith grew and developed with each visit to this kind and loving orphanage, and each year my daughter begins a countdown of when we will return. I am grateful to work beside Karen and Estuardo as they lovingly care for the children living at their home and extend their help to the children in the village. The apostle Paul writes in Acts (20:35) that Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive”. Each year I am reminded of this when I return home from Guatemala, as I am nourished and overflowing with the love I have received.
Scott Odden - Mission Director
My family has been involved with church my entire life. I grew up as a pastor’s kid in the Midwest, and my wife Carrie and our children have always been quite engaged in our church.
In 2010 we all participated in a weekend community service project. It focused on the youth and involved the entire congregation. It was called “Be like Jesus”. It was a wonderful way to help out the community and reach out to others by serving them. We had a presenter that weekend, Shawn Smith, who runs a series of missions to Guatemala. His mission was something we considered participating in, and in 2013 we made our first trip as a family. It was an amazing and uplifting experience and has had a profound effect on my entire family. The week we were in Guatemala was the mission week at the Hogar Miguel Magone orphanage. “Hogar” is located in the mountain village of Aguacate outside of Guatemala City. We returned the following year. Shawn then asked us and the Bevilacquas if we would run the mission week at Hogar, and then take over that mission, as he was moving into some other areas in Guatemala. It has been a crazy but immensely rewarding experience. It is a privilege every year to travel with a group of missionaries and work alongside Karen, Estuardo and their amazing staff at Hogar. They are truly role models for all of us as servants of the children in the orphanage, and servants to the village of Aguacate.
It is the highlight of my summer every year!
Mike Bevilacqua - Mission Director
Michael Bevilacqua is the founder of Mammoth Restoration, multi-location restoration company whose mission is to restore people as much as property damage. His main purpose is to bring as many people to Christ as possible through leadership training, mentoring and modeling a Christian life for people.
His mission work started out of a need to teach his oldest son about gratitude and appreciation for the life he has in America after being adopted from a Russian orphanage. It led him to Guatemala and being overwhelmed with emotion and a significantly different perspective on life and the grace God bestowed upon him and his family
What started out as a lesson for his son turned into a life-altering experience that has shaped not only the rest of his family but his focus and mission for his business that he intends to take to a national level.
