Rayo de Esperanza

My name is John Houser. I am a member of the board of directors for Rayo de Esperanza, a small Christian orphanage in Guatemala which was founded and is currently operated by Mike and Karen Rhea. Our philosophy is that children thrive best in a house parent setting. We can accommodate up to eight children per set of house parents. Our houses and other facilities are designed to foster growth and youthful experimentation in all types of weather in a ranch setting with horses, cows, sheep, chickens, dogs and cats. We are located on 70 acres of rural property near Rio Dulce, Guatemala. We have a large chapel on the property to serve the local community plus two orphanage houses and two small houses (2 bedroom) as well as a shop and a water purification plant. We are in need of house parents who want to make a long-term commitment to orphaned children in this area.

Our History

Mike and Karen Rhea left the U.S. on their boat from St. Petersburg, Florida in 2001, with a new-found faith in Christ not knowing where they would land. They had a desire to serve wherever God would have them and eventually, after much prayer, God called them to the Rio Dulce region in Guatemala. They really had no idea exactly what God has in mind for them, just that they should go. After spending time in the local community, they quickly saw a need for a clinic to serve the sick and the hurting in the area. Karen’s background was in nursing, so they scraped together the resources and started a clinic. They operated the clinic for five years. During that time, it was evident that the only place provided for orphans was poorly-run orphanage. Not only were the children being raised without an understanding of the Gospel, the orphanage itself was involved in questionable activities. We saw this as a need being so great that we began to pray for an opportunity to start our own orphanage in the region

Our Mission

The vision is for a self-sustaining farm, a Christ-centered safe haven that would provide a home for orphaned children, a loving atmosphere, and training for the children to prepare to go to school or work a trade as they got older. .

Our Values

We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that he was born of the virgin Mary, crucified under Pontius Pilot, dead and buried and that he rose on the third day to sit at the right hand of God in heaven. We believe that we were saved by his sacrifice and will join him in heaven when we are called home. We believe the Bible is the inspired written word of God and we endeavor to replicate its principles in our lives.

Rayo de Esperanza - What We Do

We raise orphaned children in a loving, Christian oriented family style environment with plenty of space for them to roam, experiment and interface with nature and its creatures.