Hello from Guatemala!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support for our family! In our last newsletter, I mentioned how we were starting the process to foster two girls, and the process seemed to be stalled for the last 5 months. Finally we had our first court appointment with the girls three weeks ago, and to our great surprise, we received them that very same day! So we’re the new guardians of Ana, who is 14, and Nohemí, who is 12. We’re very excited to have them in our family, and we’re always amazed by the way that Margaret & Bella love them. Please pray for them and their adjustment to our home! It’s been a busy three weeks as they still attend schools that are far from our home.

Sharon is now 21and will be graduating high school in three weeks. A high school requirement in Guatemala is to have an internship to practice what they studied. Sharon’s high school degree is in business management, and she just completed her internship with Los Gozosos. This is a special needs orphanage near our home that I’m on the board of directors with. It was great to have her helping them out!

Jeremías, the older brother of Ana & Nohemí, is 18 and graduated last week from his high school. He studied computer science and his internship was with a computer repair company that also installs security cameras. We even had his company come and install cameras in our home. His mother was able to attend his graduation, and we were able to meet her for the first time. She is mentally handicapped and quite friendly, but there are a lot of hard feelings from the girls as they’ve never lived with her. We’d appreciate your prayers for all of them!

Katy is 17 now and just finished her junior year of high school where she’s studying computer science. She’s been with us for 2 years, and we’ve really seen her grow and mature this year. She’s everybody’s buddy and very dependable.

Geovany is 18 and came to live with us in April. He also finished his junior year of high school and is studying architecture. He’s super interested in construction and design, and has been teaching the rest of our family how to paint.

Karla is 21 and is in her second year of college studying computer science. In July she needed to return to live with her grandmother who is having health problems and is unable to care for Karla’s younger brother without help. After having Karla in our home for 10 years, we really miss her! But we’re happy that she still visits regularly.

Julio used to live with us back in 2017, and I’ve known him since he was 4 years old. Since he left our home, he’s had some ups and downs: He’s gotten married and has a two year old son, and he has been coming to our Monday night Bible studies. But he’s also been really struggling with addictions. He’s currently living in a rehab center and working through the destruction that his alcoholism has caused to his family. He really needs your prayers!

And finally, we’re very sad to write that Celia passed away in August. She was hospitalized for a bad infection and died quite suddenly. She had a two year old daughter and a newborn son. We met Celia in the orphanage Casa Shalom back in 2007, and she lived with us for many years. We’re quite heartbroken over the loss, but we’re even sadder for her children. Celia’s older sister Rosa is caring for them, but she already has 3 children of her own. And Celia’s sister Ana, who also lived with us for many years, is helping as much as she can. We’re trying to be a support to the family with diapers and formula, and we’re using a lawyer to fix the paperwork for Celia’s baby boy who was never given a birth certificate before her sudden passing. Please be in prayer for all of them.

Thank You!

That’s been our last 5 months. We’ve had some incredible highs, like with the arrival of Ana and Nohemí, and some low lows, like the passing of Celia. Here are some additional quick updates:

• Our Monday night Bible studies continue to be wonderful times with over 100 in attendance, and 30-40 children that come. Many who come are poor and work in the dump or as street vendors, and some are struggling with addictions. But our meetings are filled with a hunger for the Lord, and the prayer times are powerful.
• Our local church in Guatemala continues to be a great help where we all can personally grow in our relationships with the Lord. The pastor, David, is a great personal friend and encouragement to me, and I regularly get the opportunity to preach at the worship services.

Another prayer request is for Yuli’s mother. She had a fall that badly broke her vertebrae in January, and she’s been bedridden since then. Two months ago she was also diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Yuli and her sisters have been working hard at caring for their mother, and it’s become much harder lately. We would greatly appreciate your prayers for all of them during this difficult time.

Margaret is 12 and just finished sixth grade. She’s read over 30 books this year! And Isabella is 6 and just finished kindergarten. She loves numbers and has learned to dial our cell phones from the home phone which means that we now receive regular calls from her, even if we’re just in the next room. Both continue to progress in gymnastics and recently competed in a Central American meet. And both love swimming and are excited that Ana & Nohemí are going to start going to swimming classes with them this month.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support!

God bless,
Brent, Yuliza, Margaret & Isabella