My Story

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Hello! My name is Santos Javier Morente Castro, and I am so happy to tell you a little bit about myself. I am six years old and this year, I am in pre-school. I receive face-to-face classes and personally deliver my homework; I attend school when the teacher asks me, but most of the time, I go there twice a week. My parents top up the phone with internet plans. At home, I work on my tasks and use WhatsApp to receive the teacher’s instructions. Thankfully, Covid-19 has not affected my learning, and I have done a good job at school. In my free time, I enjoy playing with my toys. Let me tell you that my father decided to travel to the USA some months ago, and fortunately, he is already working there. Currently, he makes a living as a milkman to support our family expenses. On the other hand, my mother works hard at home doing the chores, raising hens, and selling brochure products to get an extra income. My family and I live in our own house which is made of blocks, tile roof, and concrete floor. Our home has two rooms, a separate kitchen, running water and electricity. I love spending time with family because we usually go for a walk and eat a snack in the field under a shade tree. Fortunately, the pandemic has not frustrated the Christmas season because last year we celebrated it along with my grandparents, aunts, and uncles. We prepared “tamales” (this is a typical dish made of dough, tomato sauce, spices, and meat wrapped in large banana leaves) and enjoyed a great time.

My family and I are members of the Catholic Church, and we frequently go there on Sundays. We usually walk five minutes from our home to the road and take a bus; after ten minutes, we arrive at church. Sadly, when the virus spread everywhere, our church closed, and that made us feel worried because we could not attend mass. Fortunately, the church opened again, and it works as normal. However, the situation has affected our economy a lot because the basic products are pretty expensive. Despite that, God has always helped us because we have been able to go ahead, and we are healthy. For a long time, the feeding program also closed because they wanted to protect us from the virus. During that time, I missed attending it because there is a lot of space, and I used to have fun along with my older sister. Nevertheless, the Living Water staff did not stop working, and they provided us with food parcels which were a great help. Thankfully, the feeding program is opening again, and I am so excited; this is an eight-minute walk. Lastly, let me tell you that my mother gave this information to an evangelism team member to share with you my last news. I leave you for now, but do not forget that you are a blessing to my family and me. May God grant you the deepest wishes of your heart!

With much love,

Santos Javier Morente Castro

Translated by: Hillary Popol, AAC Secretary/Antigua