Mirna Diaz and her two children are suffering from a lot of emotional hurt as a result of her husband leaving.  One day he left to go live with another woman, abandoning her, Carmen (13) and Oscar (7).  This is yet another example of how some things in Guatemalan culture set up families for failure.  Mirna doesn’t have much specialty for work because most Guatemalan women stay at home and care for the house and family while the husband is the sole provider.  When the husband does not live up to his obligation and abandons the family, the wife cannot normally obtain and maintain a suitable job for supporting her children.  The children are then usually forced to fend for themselves while the mother works and sometimes the children have to quit school just to help their family survive, as we witness with the Cordero Family.  For now, this is not the case (thankfully) since both children are too young to work.

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Oscar and Carmen in their little front yard.

Mirna does her best as a housemaid in homes on the other side of their community.  They live in a squatters village, an area of land set apart by the government where the basic necessities are trucked in like water.  Spiritually, the family is slowly growing.  When Jon first met them, he said that Mirna refused to talk about God.  She did not permit her children to read the bible although they still tried to when they could.  Now, she is a little more open to hearing about what Jon has to say about God and the ability to have a personal relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.  The children are always eager to read more of their bibles.

Even though this family does not have much, they cling to small things in order to brighten their lives.  Carmen has 2 parakeets and recently acquired a kitten from a friend.  She loves chasing it around, catching it, and holding it close.  Mirna, with the very little land they have in their rented makeshift home, has created a beautiful garden.  Jon told us that the first time he met them, it was just dirt and every time he visited, Mirna had a little more tilled and planted.  Unfortunately, we did not get a picture of her garden when we met them, but hope to get one next time.  Oscar is very shy and while he has some trouble with school work, tries very hard to please his mother.  The absence of his father, it seems, has been very hard on him and he is trying to adjust to his new role as man of the house.  As we discovered when visiting Mirna’s family with our friends Larry and Doreen, Oscar loves playing soccer.  Even though he didn’t speak, it was amazing to see Oscar’s response when Larry kicked a little ball over to him.  Next thing we know, we are all kicking a ball around on their little porch (it had begun raining when we got there) and Oscar was now smiling from ear to ear instead of cowering behind his sister or mother.

Carmen and Oscar with Doreen Hinkle

Carmen and Oscar with Doreen Hinkle

We’d like to ask you to keep this family in prayer for their emotional recovery and spiritual growth.  In addition to making sure these children can continue attending school, you can also help Mirna by helping her find a more stable line of work through job training.  Another option to show this family the love of Christ is by contacting Servants to find out how you can make a donation to supply little things to brighten the lives of this family.  If you would like to be a part of helping this family not fall into further poverty and show them the love of Christ, contact Servants or click here to download and submit a sponsorship form.

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