Special greetings to you! My full name is Joel Garcia Mendez, and I am so excited to tell you about my life. I am 11 years old and fortunately, I am in good health. I attend school on the morning shift. I am in third grade again. On weekends, I help my parents with the housework. We raise hens, turkeys, one pig, and a few cows to earn an extra income from the sales. We also grow corn for our consumption. My mom is in good health. She keeps busy cleaning, preparing our meals, and taking care of my brother and me. My father is also doing well. He makes a living as a day laborer and farmer to provide our family with food. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I want to ask you to continue praying for my youngest brother Mario. As you know, he suffered from pneumonia last year. He is doing well now, but his physical development has gone slow. Therefore, he is still not able to walk.  

My family and I are members of a Christian Church. I am glad because my parents welcomed Jesus into their hearts. A teacher of the LW evangelism team shared the gospel with my mom and me recently. He encouraged my mom to persevere and trust in her savior. I am grateful to be part of LW-Adopt A Child. All the benefits that I have at the feeding program are a great blessing. I become the happiest child when the staff serves fried chicken for lunch. Christmastime is close, and I am glad because that means that I will receive a Christmas gift at the feeding program. That makes me so happy. I say goodbye to you now, but I wish you all my best.  

From the bottom of my heart,  

Joel Garcia Mendez 

Translated by: Hillary Popol, AAC Secretary / Antigua Guatemala