Karla is currently in her junior year of High School and is doing well. She has since moved back in with her mom! We are grateful that this relationship has been restored and the family is getting along better now. Since she moved back out of the house and farther away, we have been challenged with the task of discerning how and if we should continue to help Karla with her schooling.

Our ability to serve families well stems from our access to them on a regular basis. Karla’s mom lives about an hour away from our base of operations. Additionally, she has not done a very good job of keeping on contact with us, despite our various attempts at communicating with her. Being a teenager, we understand part of it is her own temperament and period of life. We also know that moving back in with her mom has changed her focus and it isn’t as easy for us to walk down the street and knock on the door to say hi. She has continued to attend the same school, however, since the COVID restrictions have made the school go to 100% online attendance and participation. She can do this from anywhere. If the school were to open back up with physical classes, however, it would create a situation where she would have to move back in with Fidel and Maribel in order to attend. One of the complications with the diverse courses for high school in Guatemala is that it would be extremely difficult for her to transfer to a school closer to where she is now living, especially in the middle of a school year! The majority of her credits might not transfer and the schools near her might not offer the same curriculum, which means even if she sticks it out this year, next year (her senior year) she would possibly have to roll back into a different course and take extra years to make up the credits that didn’t transfer. We decided that we will continue to support her if she keeps her grades up, but she will need to take some responsibility for some of the costs such as her books and supplies. We have seen this help teens think farther ahead and plan and learn not to always depend upon others to take care of them.

Maribel’s brother-in-law recently had a stroke, so aside from caring for the family as usual, she has also been spending her extra time helping out her sister as her husband is bed ridden and cannot work. Since this has taken a toll on Maribel, we are working to help her with some food supplies and also keep an eye on her own self care. This is extremely difficult to do as Maribel is always working to serve and help others that she rarely cares for herself! Please continue to pray for this family as the dynamic always changes but they continue to trust in God for their well being.