Partnering... the best!

I was wondering, what would my friends and family would like to know, about us? We are still alive! And blessed more than what words can say.

First let me share the great news: the non-profit in Guatemala Rompiendo Ciclos (Breaking Cycles) has been approved and we are a legal ministry now! PRAISE THE LORD. Please continue to pray with us for my sister Cynthia who is doing all the paper work to get it done in US as well, she fells overwhelmed and discouraged so please have her in your prayers, we are almost there.

We have been doing good, Praise the Lord, Miguel is growing up so quickly, he is very unsecure still, but been in a small school has helped him a lot, is doing really well in school and he has good loving teachers.

My story is not that great, I do not have loving teachers! However, I have been doing well in school! I just started my 10^th semester, four more classes and I will be almost there. I officially finished my internship but I will continue there until October because it has been a great learning experience. Next year I see myself more involved in giving therapy to the kids and not so much English classes.

There is just a bit that you can do by yourself but when you let God work and are willing to share the blessing of partnering, then WONDERFUL THINGS HAPPEN. We want to break the cycle of lacking of a home, and thanks to Next Step Ministries, Stonewood LLC, Grace Church, we have been blessed with 10 teams that will come from June 6^th to August 14^th, finances and a team in Guatemala that will lead to build:

8 homes

1 storage Room at the orphanage

1 garbage dump room at the orphanage

1 big room for the children at the church in Sumpango

pour cement floor at a low income neighborhood

more than 70 home visits 

All of the above would not make any sense if the name of the Lord Jesus would not come to the mouth of those hundreds of people that see that God cares for them.

Want to be part of the change?

Please pray for us, keep in mind our safety, health, family and the non profit in USA, please.

Come! Encourage us with a visit! Make a family trip to help us change someone`s life.

Donate towards our ministry here!

let the missions teams begin!

It has been a very interesting year so far, we had 2 children from the orphanage that went with someone that will give them the things they need but most important, that will give them the love and care they log for. One is Henry who as I have told you got adopted, and the other one is Jesus a 12 year old boy.

Some of you that had visited me in my house before got to know Alex and Isaias, both teenagers that used to come to my house to help me, I would pay them or help them pay their school, their mom cooked for some of you, her name was Letti, and after battling cancer, she became very sick January, unable to get up and it was between the boys, her mom, neighbors and I took care of her during the day, as the husband would go to work from 5 am to 9 pm.  I thank God for the opportunity to serve them and let the family know that God was with them, Letti lost her battle last week.
 I was honored to deliver a message at the funeral.


Internship has started; I am serving in another orphanage for children that are HIV+ and that is a great thing! Some of you might be asking: why to serve in a different orphanage if the need is in the orphanage I have been serving? Well, I am required by my university to have my internship supervised by a licensed psychologist, and that is the lack we have here right now and the reason I went back to school! So please pray for me, I really feel overwhelmed with all that is going on in my life right now.

My mom and my trip to NY, the dates I could fly to NY there was a storm that forced the airports to close in NY, I tried in different dates but the flights were full, my mom was feeling much better, the doctor gave her permission to fly, so instead of me flying there she will be coming to Guatemala by the end of February,! And I have an open ticket to USA that I need to use this year, maybe I can visit you?

We had our first group that came to bless Sumpango and the orphanage,  praise God for Wooddale Church and the James 1:27, I think that the biggest impact was to donate bunk beds to 12 families that came to a required 4 night seminar to be able to get the bed, it is a way to encourage those families to live healthier, and to break the cycle of incest, cycle that sadly is very common in Sumpango,


God aswered our immediate need of continue supporting the school at the church in Sumpango, 23 children that do not have any other way to learn to read and write need support , please pray if you feel lead to help, we still need $2,500 to provide a snack, pay the teachers and some school supplies, please join us in prayer for this.

Karen is an orphan, she is still living with the nuns at the orphanage even though she is 18 years old, she is in school but needs to pay $400.00 for her school, for the whole year, can you please continue praying for this?

As for my family, please pray with us for health, energy, safety, financial help specially this last year of school for me, but mostly pray that my ears are open to hear God speaking to me and that I would be an obedient servant.

2015 is gone let’s make a quick review:

2015 is gone let’s make a quick review:

The good, Miss Betty was able to teach again grades 1st to 6^th at the orphanage, English lessons, full of love and second intentions! (talk about God!), she also finished her 8^th semester of psychology , 3 more to go and will be licensed to be a much better tool for the kids and community, Miguel was able to finish well his kindergarden!

Precious Moments school finished the year with all of the teachers paid!

The church in Sumpango grew 50%, pastor Marvin and his family worked their first year by faith and God supplied for them, also God showed his love and care for the children of Sumpango that can’t afford to go to school, can you imagine been 10 years old and not knowing how to read or write? Breaking Cycles Sumpango believe that education is the only way out of the cycle! That is why we are supporting a program that takes place at the church, paying the salary of one teacher and buying some food for the kids to come and learn at least to read and write. This was the first year and 21 students came and learned!

The birth of a much more intentional ministry, named Breaking Cycles Sumpango, that with your help, prayers, involvement and the power of Jesus Crist, will help Guatemalans to break cycles of poverty, of sexual abuse, of ignorance, of loneliness, by bringing hope, support , training and much love.

Partnering with Next Step Ministries has been a great blessing to us by hosting 7 teams this summer.

The bad, violence makes the news everyday in Guatemala, please help us pray for protection, this is the main reason why we decided not to go or take more teams to Precious Moments.

The crazy, during the year we hosted 11 teams;  9 in 3 months (including one of 90 people!) building with them 7 homes, the front wall of the church, one room for the principal of the school at the orphanage, leading VBS for 8 weeks in Sumpango, at the same time that I was taking my finals at University.

The family, we thank God that He has taking care of our needs and protected  us during this whole year. Miguel turned 6 years old with a Ninja Turtles party!  My mother is still waiting for her citizenship to come to live to Guatemala, and she also had an accident, she broke her ankle and has to wait now to see what the doctor says about her wanting to come to Guatemala.

The needs, please pray for safety, energy, guidance, wisdom, for me as I am leading this ministry of yours, please continue praying for my mom situation, our safety and financial support.

Please this is an S.O.S. for the program at the Church, we need to pay the teacher and give a snack to the kids, please help us to pray for $4,000 for 12 months of teacher salary, snack for the kids, the legal paperwork and school supplies. This has to be a miracle because so far we got $100 for this matter.

We need your prayers, but we also want to hear from you and know how to pray for you, please send us a note, we are family!

Blessings,

Betty and Miguel Angel

school is over!!! (until Jan)

School year is over, (in Guatemala it runs from January to October), at precious moments from the 200 kids that started the year 180 finished it!

The school ended with full support that means that all the teachers got paid on time and they will have some deserved vacation time now!

At the orphanage we are going to say good bye to Noe who finished 6^th grade and will go to live with an older brother in Guatemala city, please pray for health, safety and that he will continue going to school.

Also an all favorite… Alfredito will go, his Godmother will have him for good, she got and agreement with Alfredito’s family to have him and provide all of what he needs. Bitter sweet, we all love Alfredito and he will be missed but we are so happy that he will have a family!

The children of Sumpango had been blessed to have a teacher that came also during the school year, they are learning to read and write, and teaching of school subjects, moral orientation, teachings on hygiene and good habits, care for their teeth like brushing and application of Fluor, Medical checkups, treated stomach worms and head lice, give them some needed recreation, a daily healthy snack to eat, and other benefits like donation of used clothes, shoes, toys, etc.

Nowadays we have 25 kids, in ages between 3 and 14, their economic situation is very bad, and that is the main reason why they don’t go to a normal school.  Thanks to the 2 families that made this possible during this year!

Miguel and I are doing well, we are enjoying also our time off the school, he likes animals, loves mami and praises God. I had gotten more comfortable also with the family dynamic and he also is lot more comfortable here, he knows that he is going to be taking care and loved.

I am finishing my 8^th semester at University, 2 more to go, internship and then the Thesis and I will be done! 3 more semesters I hope! And I will be able to help in a more tangible way to the children of the orphanage and Sumpango.

Thank you for making this possible, we serve with all of my heart, we share God’s love with love and passion, we teach in those classes cause I do it thanks to you!

God bless you

tragic night in Guatemala

Dear Friends:

With heavy hearts we would like to share with you the reasons why Guatemala should be in your prayers again.  We are at the middle of the rainy season and the heaviest of the rain is yet to come in November. Nevertheless it has already rained a lot and the ground has already absorbed a lot of water. 

Last October the 1^st, at 9:30 pm we faced the first disaster related with the rain in this year, a huge mudslide, in an area pretty close to the city.  El Cambray 2 is a small village located at the base of a mountain near Guatemala City.  This community was completely vanished in a matter of seconds as the big mountain collapsed over them. This was a small community of about 125 houses, families of about 5 to 7 members in each household.  At the moment of the landslide they lived terrible moments because many of them were trapped in their houses under the rubble sending text messages on their phones, asking for help.

This is just one of many sad stories that we have been hearing: Maria is a taxi driver. At 9:00 pm, after a long day of work, her grownup son asked her to go get some pizza in a nearby place to celebrate her grandson’s birthday; her daughter-in-law and granddaughter accompanied her.  While she was on her way back home after getting the pizza she received a phone call from a client asking her to pick him up. She then had to decide between making some extra money and making her family wait for the pizza. She decided to make the trip.  Her decision saved her life but by the time she got back, her neighborhood was gone and she had no idea whether she would be able to see the rest of her family ever again.

At this moment, October 5, 2015 at 7:00 pm, 140 people have been reported dead including a number of children and an approximated 450 are still missing.  A group of rescuers specialized in these kind of disasters came from Mexico to support the work that the firefighters, army and Police Department are doing.  Rescue workers said that after 72 hours the possibilities of finding somebody alive are very low but they still are working very hard to find someone or to recover all loved ones from the mud.

Please, we are asking you to keep us in your prayers especially because CONRED [National Commission for Disaster Reduction] announced that there are at least another 300 communities facing the same kind of risk in our country and as It was said before, the hardest of the rainy season is still yet to come.

what´s up with Betty?

Dear friends and family , we pray that you are blessed and rejoicing in the hope and promises we have from our father and savior!

We want to thank God for you, for your prayers, your support and your love for Miguel Angel and myself, and want to share with you some important events that had happened so you can rejoice with us, or cry with us, we need your prayers, support but mostly your love and care for us.

1.     Precious Moments, this year we have more than 200 students, the area has become even more dangerous, many deaths, lots of drugs and gangs problems, please continue praying for us, Pastor Jaime continues going there to share the word of God with me to the kids every Friday, 4 classrooms are sponsored, and the van that many of you help me to buy is still paying itself, with God´s help it will take about two more years to pay itself and than we would be able to pay one more teacher just from the rental of the van!

As you think of us, please help us pray for:

·         SAFETY for the kids, for the teachers, and for the salvation of the children of precious moments.

·         That the van gets rented and it will pay itself soon so it could provide more income to the school.

2.    The orphanage, I continue my English classes there, I teach to all of the kids, and I really enjoy doing it, I thank God for teams that are coming and had been coming to spend time with the kids, I love to see them get hugged and loved by others, we just started the baseball season with them as well! So we will have base ball every Wednesday in the afternoon.

·         It is hard to be able to share God love with these kids when they have been abandoned, please take a moment to pray for a girl, she is 8 years old now, came to the orphanage at the age of 6, her father disappeared and her mom died of AIDS, while living with her uncle went to the store and was rapped by 4 man, the uncle came to the orphanage to say that he could not longer take care of her, she has been here and NO ONE has ever come to visit her since. I won’t post a picture, please picture her in your heart and pray that God will show her that she is not alone!

SUMPANGO CHURCH, It is growing and now thanks to an offering, we have a learning program, learning to read and write, it has been great opportunity for the young and older kids that never got to go to school to learn. We have a teacher and give them a snack every day. They even got to have “summer day” where they played with water got wet and got to laugh as you have no idea! Please help us pray for financial support, the offering we got will cover until July and if we do not get the support we will have to close the school by then. (it takes $350.00 per month)

I got the privilege of teaching also at church.

Miguel Angel and I are doing good, he is in kinder garden and he loves his school, he is growing and I thank each of your prayers for us, he has this special prayer: “Dear God, help me to be as strong as Samson, as brave as David, as smart as Solomon and give me the heart of Jesus to love as you”

Me, still grieving my dad, finances got a huge down this year but GOD IS FAITHFUL!,  in my 4^th year of school to become a Children Psychology, and even though some days I want to give up, so far 24 classes passed! When you think of me, please pray for wisdom, energy and spiritual support.

Thank you for been such a huge part of these ministries of yours!

2014 summary

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Some of the things I am thankful and want to share with you because you had present this requests to the Lord with me are:

School year is over, we were able to serve 180 children at Precious Moments School, 4 classrooms were supported 100% all year long and 1 started to be supported in July.

Kids at the orphanage got to hear the Gospel several times during the year, thank God for using us in something so precious as sharing His love with them.

Sumpango Church has been blessed with 5 teams this year, 2 from Minnesota, one from Arkansas, one from Wahoo Nebraska, and one from Washington! 2 classrooms, restrooms, and a kitchen were built! God is good and faithful! 

I became a mom this year and that has been such a blessing, Miguel Angel had been living at an orphanage since he was one day old, (not the same one I work at) we are a family now, some people had said to me things like “what a good action you did” I know that God rescued me from falling apart this year by sending me the cutest boy to raise for His Kingdom!

My dad is in heaven now, and we (my sisters and I) had the opportunity to served, loved and cared for him, I know that I should be pleased with that, but I am not, my heart is still grieving the man I had loved the most, and these coming Holidays are going to be hard!

Miguel Angel and I want to thank you for been part of these ministries, for caring for us, praying for and with us, and supporting us. We ask the Lord to bless you and your family with more than what you can imagine!

My life has had a 180 degrees change! Miguel Angel has come to change and rock my world!

We became a family (he moved in with me) February the 19^th, 3 months had passed by and I love him every day a little more, he is very affectionate towards me, he kisses, hugs, plays, sings and dances! He loves to sing and dance, and of course we have had our incidents! Every day is a teaching-learning experience for both of us, but not only for us we are an example to other Guatemalans, that never had thought about adopting and even more uncommon, a single female adopting, is that a new concept for many!

The kids at the orphanage had trouble accepting the idea of me adopting, and when I finally told them that it was not up to me to decide who I was going to adopt but it was a decision taken by the government, easy up a little the stress. When the kids met Miguel Angel they were very accepting and thank God it has been ok!

As you might remember I had major surgery  in January and was still recovering from it when I got Miguel at home, I begged you to pray for us as he had horrible time getting alone with the dogs, and I had to hold him and I was still in pain, well thank GOD, Miguel has no more problem with the dogs, he is not afraid of them anymore, now is the other extreme, poor Milly she hides from him now! Again thank you for your prayers!

JOY, THANKFULNESS, LOVE

Those words may describe the feelings I have in my heart now.

As you know Miguel Angel has been living with me since the 19^th of February, and a time of adjustment begun, he lived in the orphanage since he was 3 days old, and now he is 4 years old, he used to sleep in a room with 5 other boys and slept in his crib still, so moving to a new home,  was big to him but he is happy! He wakes up singing and dancing! he sleeps good in his bed and I think he loves his “mami” the main problem I had was that he is terrified of dogs, and I don’t want to jump into conclusions but he always asks me if that dog (any dog) eats children, and I wonder if someone at the orphanage used to tell him that… that is why when he came was terrified of my dogs, he could not see them or would start screaming and shaking and sweating, please help me pray that he can feel safe with me and will understand that dogs do not eat children! And also that I can teach him now about God in such a way that he would never doubt that God is next to him.

The Lord has been great to me, after surgery and Miguel Angel coming, I got the privilege to serve with a team from Minnesota, we served in Precious Moments, also in Sumpango church, near the garbage dump of Sumpango, and the HIV orphanage, the children had so much fun and the nuns too! Thank God for this ministry! In a not that happy note, for those of you who met and prayed for Alfredo (the boy who had a big surgery) he is in heaven now, the Lord took him about 3 weeks ago, please pray that the other kids do not think that they are “next”.

I will start teaching formally next Wednesday, after taking 2 months to recover from surgery and adjust with Miguel, thank you for your on going love and support, we need it! Please pray for safety as Precious Moments area had become even more dangerous more killings, more gang activity in the area, pray for Pastor Jaime, teachers and I please.

The Miracle of Becoming a Mom

"You need to have those tumors out Betty, and either get pregnant or take the uterus out as well to prevent more tumors in the future" those words by my doctor made me feel frighten again, many emotions, one decision, and I could just have the tumors out but I might have to go through surgery again, I decided to take the uterus out and with that decision knew that I would not have a baby in my stomach, but God knows that I have a child, my son in my heart!

I had surgery done January 6th and I am recovering well thank to my God, I wont been able to get pregnant ever, but I will be a mom this year! the plans that God has for me are good and perfect, I pray that I follow that path all of my life.

Classes are going to start tomorrow (Jan. 20th) but I wont start teaching until my surgery has healed completely.

I praise the Lord for the love that He has shown me to glorify his name!
I praise God for my life and encourage you to praise him every day of your life, that is the whole point of been alive, to Praise Him.

I said yes... and we will be a family!

well this is the kind of news that makes 2 people really happy hopefully forever!

on one hand you have a beautiful lady, who loves the Lord and in her heart the biggest need of a kid is to know God, so she works in an orphanage, and in a school near the garbage dump, she sees the needs and she suffers because she can not meet all of the needs. She prays that she could help at least one of them.

on the other hand you have a handsome boy, who has been in an orphanage, hoping that one day his mom is going to come to rescue him, he prays that she would come...and the same God listened to both prayers, and approved my application for adoption in Guatemala, I am going to be a mom some time next year! please pray for that poor kid that is hoping for a mature mom and will get me instead!

me teaching at University with my pjS...

  

school year is gone!

I thank God for the school year that ended, you and I had the privilege to serve God by serving the children at Precious Moments, this is a school for children that live near one of the illegal garbage dumps in Guatemala, those children are very poor, many would NOT go to school if Precious Moments were not there, many of these children would probably not go to school at all.

 I thank God for the churches, families and teams that came to visit this year, or just sent the money to help this ministry, it is thanks to you that these children had the opportunity to learn about life, but most important, to learn about GOD.

At the orphanage the children finished the school year as well, the government is looking for some relative to take care of the children, it is very sad to take the child to the judge and have an uncle, or aunt saying (with the kid listening) that they don’t want to have the child at their home. Alfredo who was in the hospital for months got sicker and the doctors just did not know what was wrong with him; his dying mom came to take him with her. Please pray for both of them.

A youth group started to meet on Mondays at my house, please have us in your prayers, today 14 kids came, ages from 11 to 16.

My family is coming for a visit!!! My mom will be here from the 21^st to the 25^th. My sister is coming with her family from the 20^th to the 27^th!!! I am so happy to have them all here!

And the Lord (through my friends) gave me a ticket to go to Minnesota for a week; I am looking forward to see my friends from MN!!!

Thank you for your continuing prayers for us, we need them.

Again,

·         Safety

·         Youth group

·         Kids from Precious Moments and Orphanage

·         Health

·         My trip to US in December