Family sends gifts to orphanage where they received one

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN TOM STOPPEL
Irvin and Elaine Goertzen of Goessel didn’t have many Christmas gifts under the Christmas tree this season, but no one was complaining.

Although the Goessel couple has five married children and numerous grandchildren, their hearts and gifts were more than 1,650 miles away in Quezaltenango, Guatemala, a Central American city of more than 200,000 people.

This year, the family pooled its resources to make Christmas a little more pleasant for a small segment in the city, the Hugar Cuna Orphanage.

“We did this at Christmas instead of giving each other gifts,” Elaine Goertzen said. “This was just our Christmas project this year.”

The connection between the Goertzen family and Hugar Cuna Orphanage dates back to 1988, when Arlen and Anita Goertzen adopted Felicia.

Arlen, son of Elaine and Irvin, recently resigned as public works director in Goessel and now works for Schowalter Villa in Hesston. Anita is Goessel’s city clerk. In the late 1980s, the couple contacted the social worker who handled the adoption of their son, Jesse, now a sophomore at Hesston College.

“We told the social worker that we wanted to adopt another child, and the missionary from Hugar Cuna Orphanage, Claire Boggs, was in Wichita at that time,” Anita Goertzen said.

“She had this picture of Felicia and wondered if we’d be interested in adopting her. She was only about a week old then and it just took off from there.”

On Jan. 8, 1988, 6-month-old Felicia Goertzen arrived in Goessel from the Hugar Cuna Orphanage.

“At the orphanage they run down there, the mothers come in and have their babies and put them up for adoption,” Anita said. “We felt very blessed to have gotten her when she was just 6 months old.

“A lot of the kids get older in the orphanage, and the older they get, the harder it is for them to be placed,” she added. “Just knowing that we gave a child a home that otherwise might not have had a home is a good feeling.”

Felicia is of Mayan Indian decent, but knows little about her heritage, according to Anita.

“She’s never known anything but speaking English,” Anita said. “In fact, she tried to take Spanish, but didn’t get very far-although I think she’d like to know how to speak it sometime.”

The Goertzens experimented with a family Christmas project last year, sending nearly 70 health kits to the Mennonite Central Committee, an inter-Mennonite relief and development agency.

This year, their targeted charity was the Hugar Cuna Orphanage.

“We took our items to a place called Special Delivery for Kids,” Anita said.

“The children of the missionaries who run the orphanage (in Guatemala) live in Wichita and run this along with working with the adoption process.”

Hugar Cuna Orphanage, established in 1979 with four children, currently is home to 70 orphans under the age of 5-all waiting to be adopted.

“I called down to Special Delivery and they have lists and flyers that give you suggestions about what to donate,” she said. “Basically, though, with 70 kids, they always need clothes, shoes and bedding-and stuff like that.”

Accumulating the items proved to be an early Christmas present for the Goertzens, too.

“Our family really enjoyed doing that this year,” Elaine said. “They thought it was so much fun to buy all those little outfits.

“Our whole family was a part of this-Irvin and myself, all five of our kids and their spouses and their kids-everyone was involved,” she added. “We had so much fun shopping.”

When they finished, the list of items purchased for shipment to Guatemala read like an inventory sheet at a children’s clothing store.

On the list:

n two dozen receiving and fleece blankets;

n one dozen crib sheets;

n thee dozen sets of clothing- one piece, two piece, T-shirts and jeans;

n one dozen infant onesies (bodysuits);

n three dozen girls’ and boys’ underwear;

n seven dozen pairs of boys and girls socks;

n two dozen pairs of shoes;

n two dozen washcloths.

Last Wednesday, the Goertzens loaded their supplies and headed to Wichita to haul their gifts to Special Delivery for Kids.

“This stuff will actually arrive in Guatemala next week because there’s a couple that’s going to work down there and they’re taking it with them,” Anita said.

“I asked them how they get that all down there and they told me each person who flies is allowed two suitcases that weigh up to 70 pounds each,” Elaine said. “So they said they’ll just pack them as full as they can and take them down on the plane with them.”

Hugar Cuna Orphanage has outgrown its current home, but construction has begun on a new 9,800-square-foot facility scheduled to open in April. It will nearly quadruple the current space.

“They’ve sold the old building to a group of doctors who will run a clinic,” Anita said. “They’re now building the Eagle’s Nest Children’s Home which will be located in Solola, Guatemala.

“It’s a new orphanage and it’ll house them a whole lot better.”

Knowing where and for whom their gifts are destined adds to the Goertzen family’s satisfaction.

“For me, it’s a really special feeling because Felicia came from this orphanage, so we have a special connection with them,” Anita said. “It’s wonderful to give to MCC and all these others, but to have an actual connection and to know when these people get this, they know Felicia, that’s just a neat feeling.”

Now a senior at Goessel High School, Felicia plans to attend Hesston College next year and enroll in the nursing program.

“In August 2003, we had a get-together in Wichita with others who have children from Guatemala and Felicia got to talk to a missionary couple about some of the native customs of Guatemala and the way they dress,” Anita said.

“I think someday she’d like to go down there and maybe work at the orphanage or at least go for a visit.”

Anita and Elaine agreed the good feeling of giving at Christmas far exceeds the feeling of receiving.

“We may not do this exact thing next year, but hopefully we’ll be involved in a similar project each year,” Anita said. “If anyone else in the community or surrounding communities would like to donate to this orphanage, they can contact me.

“I have flyers that talk about the Eagle’s Nest Children’s Home and what it’s all about,” she added. “Anybody can give to them at anytime of the year.”

Generosity made Christmas 2004 a lot merrier for the Goertzen family of Goessel, but whether the kids in Guatemala reaped the larger benefit remains to be seen.

“Just knowing you’re helping someone out who really needs help is a great feeling,” Anita said. “We have a video of some of the children down there that we showed at our family reunion, and that was really neat to see where these things are going and some of the kids who will benefit from this.

“It just gives us a great feeling.”

Anita Goertzen can be reached at 620-367-8111 or 620-367-8373.

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