The girls passed another year of school!  We aren’t surprised, however, as Apolonia is very diligent in keeping them focused on their schoolwork and making sure they put forth their best effort…even if she can’t check their homework herself.

These 4 ladies have not been without their own struggles, however.  Recently, as a result of the torrential rains caused by tropical storms sweeping across Guatemala, their well collapsed!  We didn’t find out until after the fact, but on a recent visit with the family, we discovered that their waste well (common in Guatemala) seems to have had a weak side which broke.  They loaned some money and paid someone to dig a new well which serves as their septic tank for the toilet and their other wastewater (from dishes, washing clothes, etc.) will now empty into the street just like many other neighbors in their neighborhood.  This will hopefully prevent the same thing from happening again.

Aside from working at the local market and Apolonia selling produce from their home, she recently picked up a job working at a local recycling center!  This will bring a steady increase in income of about $36.  We are also in the process of working with them to help them buy a fridge to maintain produce fresh for a longer period of time.  Apolonia explained to us that they would prefer not to borrow a fridge from the ministry for fear of something happening to it.  Instead, she asked if we could buy one for her and she slowly pay the ministry back.  We are waiting to find out how much she can afford to pay on a monthly basis before moving forward.  This is promising news, however, as most other times she has rejected the idea of us helping her advance in their money-making efforts for fear of “rocking the boat” in the community.

We also praise God to see progress in the restoration of a relationship in the family!  The girls’ aunt (their father’s sister) has had a pretty negative attitude towards them for a long time since their father (her brother) passed away.  God has been restoring that relationship and her and her husband attended Paola’s 18th birthday party!

Ana and Silvia really wanted to honor their oldest sister so they saved little by little in the past few months to throw her a surprise birthday party this year!  They asked Olga, one of our local missionaries to cook, who generously donated her time (they were prepared to pay her for the service).  Below are some photos of the event!