Not too long ago we discovered that Katy decided she wanted to take her chance to immigrate to the United States. We weren’t given much notice as Katy stopped by one of our local missionaries’ house to say goodbye then sent us a message just before crossing into Mexico.

In talking with Pedro, Eva, and Jacinto, we learned that Katy wanted to “try her luck” in the US as the pandemic has created an even greater lack of job opportunities in Guatemala. Even though she graduated high school as a bilingual secretary (English being her language of choice), she struggled to find a way to find a steady job to help her family. Nobody wanted her to leave, even her brother Jacinto who has tried 3 times to cross the border for the same situation. Jacinto now has work and has been doing well for over a year now.

Juanita could not simply let her baby girl go alone and decided to accompany her to make sure she made it safely and wasn’t alone for the journey. Once Katy reaches her destination (Juanita has family that has been in the US for over a decade now), she plans to return to Guatemala.

We have since learned that they have safely crossed the border and are in Texas somewhere. Please pray for their safety. This is our main concern. It is just one of many cases we have witnessed here in Guatemala where families decide it is better to risk all and try their chances than to find a way to make it work here. It pains us because this is exactly what we are trying to prevent the need of, however sometimes families still feel desperate.