The Farm Family

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Greetings friends! First of all, we want to apologize for the time delay in our updates. Finding internet here in Retalhuleu has been slightly more difficult than we expected…not to mention finding time with all the hard work everyone has been doing!

On Sunday, we left Guatemala City early in the morning and headed south towards Reu. On the way, we stopped to spend the afternoon with our farm family. We first met the farm family about three years ago, when our old school bus broke down along the side of the highway. Many members of the team were extremely sick, and we were out of water. When Diane went up to the bare cinderblock house to explain what happened and why we were stranded literally in this family’s front yard, she was shown hospitality beyond compare. The mother of the family asked Diane to wait just a moment, and after she took out her homemade broom of twigs, she carefully swept her porch. Once the porch was brushed relatively free of dust, she offered her home to Diane and the team. “Mi casa es su casa.” Even though the only thing this woman could offer was the shade and love found within her simple home, she offered it up without hesitation. How many times do we offer up our homes simply for the love found within it? We don’t. There is almost always some sort of apology given either for the mess, or for something we don’t have. Here in Guatemala, things are different. People don’t go to one another’s homes to pass judgment on their décor. They come for love and for family, and even if that is the only thing a person is able to offer, it is given freely.

Our relationship with the farm family has been a wonderful one. This year, our godchild Mindy is a strong one-year old. We were asked to baptize her last spring when she was a dangerously sick and malnourished newborn. It was beautiful to see how she’s grown, and we pray that she will still be with us in years to come. During our afternoon with the family on Saturday, we were able to play with the children, and even teach William and Carlos how to write their first names! We read to them, brushed their teeth, and just generally loved them. The entire family was here this time, and we discovered that they have been able to save enough money over the past few years to actually have a single light bulb put in their home. Not only this, but the mother of the family was able to get false teeth! They even have small fruit trees growing around their home, a few chickens and ducks, and happy children. Our visits keep bringing more joys for all of us, and I am happy to say that we ALL look forward to the years to come.

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Photos

Open wide!
Teaching the children how to brush their teeth

Comments

[Laura Bragg]

What a wonderful thing!
Wow! What a wonderful thing you all are doing! It's humbling to read what life is like there for the people, and especially the children. It makes my heart ache! I am so proud of my daughter, Colleen, for working to better the lives of these people. May God bless you all and keep you safe! Laura Bragg