Week 42 - Full Week

I started this week by visiting 4 families that will be beneficiaries for a sponsorship from the Join Foundation, an organization started by my friend Luis from Guatemala and now based in Wisconsin.  We visited their homes and filled out applications so we can decide who will be the beneficiaries of this program. I visited them with my friend Luis' family and it was great meeting these families who had been preselected by the school we partner with for this. All of these families have a need for the sponsorship but we had to choose only three because of the budget we have for 2016 (School year in Guatemala runs Jan - Oct). You can learn more about our work in www.thejoinfoundation.com

Yonathan showing us the way to his house.

I continued my business training classes this week. Attendance was low too but it was good to dive on the topics I want to share with the women. I’m glad that a woman that has come since the first day of classes has already been putting this concepts into practice and has seen her business improve. She was first selling fantasy jewelry on the weekends inside a parking lot but  she wasn’t selling much. We talked about selling what people are looking for, so she started noticing people asking her if she sold any food.  The next weekend she started selling food and has seen her business improve since then.  This week, we talked about 3 factors that indicate what a good business idea is.  During the the Wednesday meeting I saw some of the women that had signed up/come to previous trainings and motivated them to keep coming to the trainings.

Some of the women at the business training in San Bartolo

I met with Marcos again this week to continue the discipleship. He told me, with a sad tone, that this might be the last week he could me with me.  I was already going in my head why he was saying that… He then explained to me that we has planning to move out of his house to go work with his uncle and learning the construction trade. I wasn’t sure this was a good idea or not so later this week I talked to the orphanage director if she know anything about this. We talked with him and it seems he thinks this is a good decision. Even though he is not interned at the orphanage, he is supported in part through it. I prayed with him for this and continued to read through the book of Proverbs. What an amazing pool of wisdom that is! I was able to get him a Bible in a contemporary translation so it’s easier for him to understand. I will be in touch with him and try to visit him where he will be working.. With the support of the orphanage I will try to work closer with him and get him involved in other activities like sports or a vocational training.

Marcos and I.

It was haircutting time also. This is an activity I enjoy doing with the boys.
Finally I helped the Juillards do their border run to have their visas renewed by going out of the country, so I took them to the bus station for this and picked them on during the week. Their good to go for another 3 months!