As many areas in the United States begin reopening, in Guatemala we’re still under strict stay-at-home orders. We’re entering our fourth month of e-learning, daily curfews, and travel restrictions.

Honestly, even with all of that, we’re missing people the most. We miss our friends, our mission teams, and our church! Staying connected with our church family has been hard, but we’re grateful for their support, especially now.

Finding Family at Vida Real

Helping our children grow in their faith is important, but finding the right place can be hard. Imagine us walking into church with 25 or 30 kids. Most Sunday school teachers would run the other way, understandably. When we show up to church, we definitely up the enrollment in the children’s classes. (And that’s before we bring mission teams!)

Over the last several years, Vida Real has truly become our church home and our church family. Through one of our staff members, we connected with Vida Real. Not only do they offer amazing teaching for adults, but they also have a solid children’s program as well. There are opportunities for all of our children to learn, grow, and make solid connections with loving adults.

We love our kids, but we also know they need other people outside our home guiding them as well. Where better to find strong, godly influences than a good church?  

Most importantly, our kids feel welcome and included at Vida Real. They aren’t seen as a “mission” or “project,” they’re part of the church family just like all the other kids. Our church has programs to help struggling families and orphans, but they also understand that our kids want to be known as themselves, not just their hardships.

Vida Real is a great place for our kids.

Staying Connected with Our Church Family

The entire staff at Vida Real has been working hard to help our church family during the pandemic. Due to travel restrictions and closure of businesses, many people within our church and in our larger community can’t travel to get what they need or can’t afford enough food right now. Pastor Carlos and the staff are working hard to take care of us all. Recently, they assembled food bags for members in need of a little help, including the kids at Dorie’s Promise.

We rely on donations for everything at Dorie’s Promise. Even so, it’s humbling to receive a donation from our church. We’re much more comfortable being the givers of gifts. Nonetheless, we’re eternally grateful for a church family who loves us and our children so well.

Thanks to Pastor Carlos, Karen and Marcos were able to pick up an amazing gift for our children—50 pounds of rice, 50 pounds of beans, 50 pounds of sugar, 50 pounds of corn flour, chips, paper products, clothes, and even some toys just for fun!

Thankful for Our Church Family

We can’t wait to be together with our church family! Our kids are ready to load up on the bus again on Sunday mornings. Our teens are ready for more church retreats. We’re ready to see our beloved Sunday school teachers and sing with our worship band.

Until we can meet together again at Vida Real, our Special Mothers are sharing devotions with the kids each morning and evening. We’ve found a wonderful new rhythm to begin and end our days. One day soon, we can again combine the daily time our Special Mothers devote with the special influence our church family offers our kids.

We’re thankful for our church family who loves our kids, cares for us well, and believes that together, we can make a difference in Guatemala.

We’d love for you to be part of the Dorie’s Promise community too. You can find more information about sponsoring one of our children on our website. For updates, follow us on Facebook or Instagram.