As Courtney Peacock watched Victor and his mother walk out the door, emotion strangled her. She knew they would be returning to their mud hut in a dangerous community.
Their village was so unsafe that Courtney had been advised to meet her sponsored child and his mother at the headquarters of World Help’s partner instead of traveling to the village.
The three shared a meal together, and Courtney gave Victor and his mom gifts she and her family had picked out for them. But, all too soon, it was time to say goodbye.
It hit Courtney how little all these families in Guatemala have.
“You give these children these things, and you watch them walk off, and they’re walking back to these little huts … barefoot … and the little things you give them, that’s all they have.”
Courtney doesn’t take her blessings in life for granted. She thought about her own sons as she watched Victor — whose mom had dressed him in his nicest clothes. There was no comparison between her family’s comfortable life and the one Victor and his mom endured.
That’s why she and her husband, Allen, are dedicated to helping improve the lives of impoverished families in Guatemala.
They want to give back the blessings God has given them.
The Peacocks will tell you they’re simply vessels for God’s work in Guatemala, helping to provide basic needs like food, clean water, school supplies, and eventually, safe homes for children in need.
It all began with sponsorship …
After attending a World Help event, Courtney was browsing through the organization’s website when she spotted Victor’s face on the sponsorship page; she immediately knew she wanted to help. Victor is the same age as Courtney’s oldest son, and she wanted to teach her children about helping kids who don’t have the same opportunities they do.
“We felt like that would be a way to have our family involved and get our kids involved where our oldest son could be able to write to [Victor], relate to him, and we just felt like that would be a fun way for our oldest to be involved.”
The family regularly put together items to send to Victor, finding different gifts both boys thought he would like. The little gifts might change each time, but one thing stayed the same — they always prayed over the items before they sent them and prayed for Victor.
But God wasn’t done with their sponsorship story yet.
Courtney and Allen took several trips to Guatemala, eventually meeting Victor in person. And on Allen’s first trip, he met another little boy.
“He just bonded with this little boy who hung on him the whole time,” Courtney said. “He played soccer with him the whole time. When we got back home, Allen asked if he was sponsored, and he wasn’t, so we started sponsoring him.”
That’s how their second sponsored child, Erik, arrived in their lives.
Then came the houses …
Courtney and Allen still felt the calling to do more, so they decided to help provide a house for Victor and his mother.
“It’s so hard for me as a mom … as a human being … to see the conditions that these families are living in,” Courtney said. “All these families are living in a one-bedroom hut. And to think that what it’s costing us to be able to provide a family a home … The funds we have are not our own. We’ve been given them to manage and to just be able to give back just a very small part of what God has given us and to provide that for them. I feel like it’s just a very tangible way to meet a very basic need.”
Now, with the construction underway for Victor’s new home, Courtney and Allen have committed to building a home for Erik’s family, as well.
Not only are the Peacocks providing for two little boys’ daily needs and future, they also are making sure they have a safe and secure present, too.
No longer do either of the little boys have to sleep in unstable shacks. They can sleep safe and sound behind a locked door.
Will you be a vessel, too?
Courtney and Allen’s sponsorship journey began when they listened to the calling God had on their lives. And He can use you, too, to help meet people’s needs and show them the love of Jesus Christ.
Join the Peacocks by demonstrating the love of God in impoverished villages around the world. You can start today by choosing to sponsor a child or by providing a home for a family in need.
And check back soon to read the rest of Courtney and Allen’s amazing story.