Help Needed

After a lot of prayer, advice and encouragement from others, I finally decided to ask for help. I have been working hard paying everything off and after talking to a man from Illinois who lived in Guatemala as a missionary, he informed me that my visa will only be good for 3 months. I will have the possibility of renewing it for another 3 months, but then I will have to leave the country. I though, "Road Trip!!!!" Then he told me that I could not go to El Salvador or Honduras, which are the closest countries. I would have I go to Belize or Mexico to renew my visa. All I could think of was another cost for me.

People have been wanting to help me out, but I wanted to wait until I was almost ready to go. With this new expense I figured, why not have the children also benefit from the generosity of the those who are able to help? There are 27 children who are currently living at the Hogar and for their birthdays something special is done. A cake is baked, a meal is prepared and a gift is given. The kids usually request a special meal to celebrate and I would love, with your help, be able to provide that special request. Sometimes all try want is chicken from a popular fast food restaurant called Pollo Campero. If you are from Central America you know exactly what I'm talking about.

A month ago the Hogar celebrated the quinseañera of one of the girls. She wore a beautiful pink dress, the Hogar was decorated in pink balloons, a cake was made and a party was given. How exciting for her. If she would to not be at the home, this would have never happened to her. She doesn't have family volunteering to take her back. All she has are the people who help and serve with all I their heart at the Hogar.

Click HERE to look at the donation page. I promise to make good use of it. Thank you so much in advance from the bottom of my heart.

ANNOUNCEMENT

I have a special announcement to make. Are you ready???? Well, I finally bought my one way ticket to Guatemala. I will have to admit I was pretty nervous when I was looking for tickets, which is something that I have been doing for the past several months, but I finally was able to find a ticket within my budget. There was one specific airline and time that I was looking at, but it was always over $400. When I looked on Monday the ticket was $350. I couldn't let it pass me by so I decided to buy it and I will admit that when I was pressing the continue button to submit my payment got a little lightheaded. This made it a lot more real. It's so easy to talk about it and make plans, but there's nothing like having a flight booked. I can't imagine how I will be like a few weeks before it is time to leave. I have a lot to so these next 2 months: cleaning out my room, packing books and m journals and setting aside things I will be selling. August 11th is the big move date :)

The one thing that's helping me pay off the remainder of school loans is selling my car. I have a 2010 Toyota Corolla with 105,000 miles. I have worked really hard to have my car and it's a little crazy to think that within a couple months I will not own it anymore however it is also bringing me joy knowing that it will help me get to Guatemala. 

I keep having dreams that I'm already there with the children and one of my close friend  also mentioned that she  has also been having dreams about me being in Guatemala. I can't wait to to serve God in this way. 

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the conference that Hope Worldwide hosted here in California. I was not planning on going, but thanks to a very generous couple they paid for my registration fees so was able to attend for free. Being there was very insightful to  see the different things that are being done around the world to eleviate poverty and reach out to those in need. During the conference the different countries that were there being represented were selling things from that country to fundraise for their programs. I was given the opportunity to sell my jewelry and fundraise for Hope Guatemala. I donate a portion of my sales and it was great being able to share about the mission that God had put in my heart. 

One specific prayer that I have been praying is to be able to meet people who will prepare me for my move. I was destined to be there because I met a woman who started a Saturday program for the children of the families who have been displaced due to hurricane Sandy that happened in the east coast. The program is designed to help children who have gone through trauma and it helps them deal with the trauma through the arts. Something in me thought I should talk to this woman and later that day I was able to find her, introduced myself and let her know about the orphanage where I will be living. I had asked if there was anyway I can get training to be able to present this idea to the board and she said that she would be more than willing to email me all the information that she had. I can't wait to read more about it and see how this can help the kids in Guatemala. To be continued...

Mariachi

I love being Mexican and having such a wonderful culture. In Latin America Mother's Day is celebrated on the 10th of May no matter what day it lands. Latin mother's are quite lucky if they are living in United States since they get to celebrate it both days.

I only have 1 grandparent left. She is my dad's mom, Maria Teresa Valencia. She is a feisty woman and has lived through so much hardship. Her father dies when she was 9 years old and was sent to live with her aunt so that her mother can find employment. At the age of 15 her mother died. She had older sibling and she lived with them. Her older brothers were very protective of her and would not allow her to be seen in public with guy friends. Well, this was also part of the culture in her days. In her early 20's she met my grandfather and they married. She had a total of 10 children and 2 of them died very young, one at 40 days and another at 7 years of age. This was something that has devastated her till this day. My grandfather died about 20 years ago and she never remarried. She now lives part time with us (mainly my uncle) and the other time in Mexico with her daughters.

My mom had a wonderful time. Not only did she not have to cook, but we were able to celebrate with a Mariachi band. 

This is a group who plays several instruments and sings Mexican songs. It was so great to see my family at the house singing along. My dad, who loves to sing, had courage to sing a few songs with the Mariachi. I recorded my dad singing "El Rey:"