Danny Scott is my hero. He also drives me nuts, but mostly he is my hero. When St. Ann missionaries visited Patzun in 1991 just one man, Danny, promised the orphans he would come back.

I'm not sure how Danny made that promise since at the time he spoke no Spanish. However it was made it most assuredly was kept. That second trip was an act of courage and faith. Still without Spanish Danny traveled to Patzun with his daughter Heidi who was also a member of the original '91 team. Danny carried a huge sack filled with stuffed animals, chewing gum, candy and other objects - meaningless in America, but treasures to poor orphans in Patzun. To the children at the mission Danny is a blend of Santa Claus and a saint. The kids are right.

Danny kept going back and going back and going back, pretty much by himself until 1995. Without Danny Scott there would be no St. Ann Mission in Patzun. Danny has made at least 15 trips to Patzun over the years. Today Danny works with surgical teams each fall and leads the St. Ann mission trip each summer. Danny thoughts, prayers, time, money and family are devoted to service of the poorest of the poor in Patzun. And that is why Danny is my hero.

This shows Danny with one of his CFCA sponsored children. The child is what is known as "Ladino". Ladino, though poverty stricken by American standards, are relatively well off. The indigenous have much less. Danny sponsors indigenous also.

One of the reasons Danny is so popular is he treats the kids to a big party each year. At the party the orphans receive a stuffed animal and some candy, their only gifts of the year.

Below Danny displays a fish taken by hand from Lake Atitlan. The launch pilot, a local, spotted the bass dozing near the surface and grabbed it. Steve Malinovich, one of the missionaries in 1991, is to Danny's left.