Fenton Teen Reaches Out to Handicapped Children in Guatemala

Steven Rachor felt shocked when his parents brought up the idea of him having a little sister.

Not because the then-14-year-old didn’t want another sibling — he the oldest of seven — or that he was worried about the age difference.

The Fenton resident was shocked because his parents told him that sister would come from Guatemala.

“I was skeptical. I wasn’t totally sold on the idea. I didn’t know anything about it, so it shocked me at the time,” Rachor, 18, said.

Four years later, Rachor’s sister Hope, 4,  has changed his life.

“Now I couldn’t be happier,” Rachor said. “I’m really close with her.”

Hope has served as inspiration for the 2011 Fenton graduate as well. While most of his classmates planned to hang out on the lake or take it easy before heading off to college, Rachor went to visit Guatemala on a mission trip to help the orphanage where his sister was adopted from.

“I want to go and make a difference in my sister’s homeland,” he said. “God was urging me, and I was more than happy to do it.”

Watching their son reach out to others has made Rachor parents, James and Cinda, very proud.

“So far, it's been my favorite part of being a parent,” Cinda said. “You hope you instill that in them and hope it stirs their heart. You can do that so long until they go out and grab it on their own. We’ve always been proud of our kids, but this is the thing we’ve been most proud of.”

Helping the less fortunate

Steven traveled to Guatemala with a group on a Christian mission trip for a week at the end of June. It was his second trip to the country. The Fenton resident wasn’t satisfied with helping just anyone: He reached out to the children he thought needed the most attention.

“The natural thing is to go with the cutest kid or the most outgoing,” Steven said. “I felt to urge to help three handicapped children.”

He spent most of his time with a boy who has cerebral palsy, a blind child and a boy who has a tumor on his face.

“It made a big difference in my life, to play and laugh with them with all they are going through,” Steven said. “It puts things in perspective. It made me realize how lucky I am. I take nothing for granted. I count everything as blessing.”

He’s never gone alone, however, as many classmates from have made the trips with him.

“We have a yearlong training with them, meeting once a month and training them,” Cinda said. “They always amaze at how they embrace and take it on as their own.

"They go to children with open wounds or lice and pick them up hug them. They get tears in their eyes as they say goodbye," she said.

"They aren’t grossed out, their hearts are breaking.”

Together the team has helped the village install a clean water system, beds and provide food and fun.

"There is a vast, enormous trash dump area in Guatemala that is home to thousands of poor people. Steven spent time in the dump area helping with a needy family as well as time at a makeshift school," James said. "The area is very dirty and saddening to see people who live in such a horrible situation due to poverty. But, one rewarding part of the trips is seeing the people so thankful for help they are moved to tears."

Struggle for another sister

The Rachor family decided to adopt Amelia, another young girl from Guatemala, five years ago.

While the adoption of Hope, 4, went smoothly and the family has had her at their home since she was 9 months old, bringing in Amelia, 5,  has been a different story.

Both lived at Dorie's Promise Orphanage, but Cinda said the adoption process from the country can be difficult at times.

She is part of the Rachor family, but she has never set foot in the United States.

“We’ve had every possible problem and glitch,” Cinda said. “We see her as our child, like any of our other children. We’ve advocated through every avenue we can. We make sure the orphanage is the safest and healthiest. We are working on a private school. It has been a marathon.”

The family has made so many trips to the country, they’ve almost lost track. Cinda said they’ve been around 20 times. Steven and the family visit with Amelia on every trip, but still hold out hope that she will someday join the household.

“People say, ‘Why do you do all this if she is not legally yours?’ In our hearts, we are Mom and Dad," Cinda said. "You do what you have to, just like any parent would for their child. It has not been easy.”

Going back

Steven will be attending Liberty University in Virginia to pursue a career in medicine this fall, but he said his mission work will always be on his mind and hopes to return to help in any way he can.

Two days after he returned from his June trip, Steven started to plan a return trip for December.

"That is where my heart is," Steven said. "If I can find away to go back and help, I'm going to do it."