By Daniel C. Loney

For years, I sat in church and heard missionaries come and tell of the work that they were doing in other countries. Like many other people, I would be moved by what they had to say, then I would go out to lunch afterwards, and the next day I was back to work, and I would forget all about the good work and the challenges they were involved in.

I was asked by a client of mine to go to Guatemala City for business meetings, to consult for him. (I am a financial advisor and business consultant.)

My wife, Joy, said, “Since you are going to Guatemala City, I’m going to send with you a suitcase full of gifts, toys and dolls. I want you to go to an orphanage and give the stuff away.”

In Guatemala, I asked the businessmen I was working with if they would direct me to an orphanage. They were able to make connections and arrange for someone to take me to one.

When I got to the girls’ home, my expectation was that I would drop the suitcase of toys off and I would leave. Then I could go back and tell my wife that I had completed the mission.

It turned out that when I got there, the director of the girls’ home asked me to meet the girls and then stay and give the gifts out personally.

I was blindsided by a real love for these children.

The director took me on a tour of the home and introduced me to all the girls, one by one, 24 girls.

And then, in English, she told me their stories.

I think I’m a pretty tough guy, but it almost reduced me to tears, the stories I heard. I had no frame of reference for an eight year old girl in prostitution. All of these girls had been sexually abused. Most of them had been taken away from their homes by the government because of neglect or abuse.

The director told me some of the most horrifying stories that I’ve ever heard. For example, one girl was found in a hotel room forced to work as a sex slave at 11 years old.

Mentally, she had suffered terribly, and she still has got a long way to come back. This is a precious little girl, and it’s hard to comprehend the atrocities and the horror that she’s been through in her life.

Another girl, her father repeatedly raped her so badly that her insides started to come out. A midwife took her and hung her upside down by her ankles from the rafters, hoping that gravity would fix her problems. Before she came to the girls’ home, she had spent three months in the hospital.

This kind of abuse, unfortunately, is not uncommon.

After I left that home, I went back to my hotel that night, and I just wept.

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My first emotion when I looked at these girls and thought about what had happened to them was that I wanted to grab a baseball bat and go out and do justice to the people who had hurt them. I looked at these precious girls, and they were so innocent.

At the end of the day, by God’s grace, I saw the other side. I realized that this was the mercy of God – that people such as Joanne and Carol and the other women that were there had given their lives to work with these girls, to help them and give them a shot at a normal life.

Once I had met these girls, I couldn’t hold back. I wanted to help them and bring some resources into their lives.

When I was 13, my father shared with me his dream to build an orphanage. When I was 14, his corporate aircraft slammed into the side of a mountain. When my father died, I vowed to keep his dream alive, not knowing how I’d ever do it.

When I was 22 and married my wife, I said, “Oh, by the way, one thing I have to do, honey, is I have to build an orphanage in memory of my father. “

So, it’s been a dream for 35 years, and now it’s coming to pass.

I prayed about where we should be putting our money, investing it, to fulfill my father’s dream. The fact that this orphanage was named the James Project (James is my father’s name) – to me this was a confirmation from God that this was where we needed to be investing our money and building for the future.

The James Project name comes from the scripture, where the apostle James said that true Christianity is providing for widows and orphans in their distress. (James 1:27)

This is a big project. Land was purchased three hours outside of Guatemala City, nine acres. We plan to have nine homes altogether, housing 24 girls per home. That’s over 200 girls. We also plan to have 50 widows and 20 babies.

We have built a school so the girls can be educated on the site, and there’s an administration building that has been dedicated to the memory of my father.

We have also acquired seven and a half acres next door for boys. Once we get this project completed, then we can start on the boys’ orphanage, which is a tremendous need. At this moment, we now have our first boy.

We have local workers doing the work. Labour is very cheap, but building costs are very expensive.

When I get to heaven, I won’t have any of my cars, I won’t have any of my business deals. God says to lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20). There are only two things I can take to heaven, and that’s family and friends. These little girls – to me, they’re family and friends. That’s where my treasures will be, and so we want to help as many of these little jewels as possible.

 Daniel C. Loney is president of Loney Financial Corporation in Langley. More information about the James Project can be obtained by going to www.loneyfinancial.com or by phoning 604.534.6003.

September 2010