By Alej Diaz-

Some weeks ago I attended a hearing for two of our new children, Ana Lucía and Fabiola. During that hearing I realized one more time why we are here … why we serve at Dorie’s Promise … why it is so important to open our hands and our hearts to those children who have nowhere to go.

Ana Lucía 13, and Fabiola, 6, entered Dorie´s Promise in July. When I met Ana Lucía, I could see her joy for life, her enthusiasm to help others, and how protective she was of her sister. I had no idea of her past or what life was like for them before they came to live with us.

As it turns out, they were living with their mother in a very poor community close to Guatemala City, but at the end of last year their mother got sick and was diagnosed with cancer. Just six months later she passed away. Ana Lucía and Fabiola were able to stay with their oldest brother, who was 17 at the time. After two months, their brother went to jail, and the girls had nobody to take care of them. They went to live with a neighbor and stayed with her for some time.

Ana Lucía had to work in the mornings in order to earn money for her and her sister — she would to sell candies in the street or outside a big mall close to where they lived. She and Fabiola would attend school in the afternoons.

In June of this year, these neighbors they were staying with decided they couldn’t take care of the girls anymore — she simply didn’t have enough money or resources for the girls and her own family. As a result, they were taken to Minor’s Court — and it’s how we in turn received a phone call asking if we had space for two girls aged 13 and 6. We said yes. And from my perspective, this is when the girls’ lives started changing.

We are so blessed to have the opportunity to make a difference for them. They are gaining weight, eating well, sleeping in nice beds, and will go to school next year. Most importantly, they are learning about God and are experiencing His love every day through the Special Moms and the entire staff at Dorie’s Promise.

Once again, we believe this is the reason for the children’s home of Dorie’s Promise: to passionately serve the world’s forgotten children in Guatemala City. To accomplish this mission, we need your continued prayers and support — we even have a special sponsorship opportunity to help us provide open beds so we can take in more children like Ana Lucía and Fabiola.

We praise God for these changed lives! And we pray we can continue changing lives every day!!