Dueñas, where your child lives, is a small farming village located at the foot of one of Guatemala's active volcanoes, Fuego (Fire). The fertile ground around the village allows for the cultivation of roses and coffee, two of Guatemala's largest exports. Most of the families in this area live in one or two room wooden or adobe houses with tin roofs. Electricity is available to those who can afford it. Running water is available - however, most homes do not have indoor plumbing. Public education is available for those who can afford it and consider education of value. Life in Duenas is quiet and sometimes difficult. 

Hello, my name is Lisbet Yanet Sanail Gomez. I am so happy to be able to greet you today and wish you many blessings. I want to take this opportunity today to tell you a little bit about myself. I am a little girl who lives in Guatemala, in a place called Dueñas. I was born on July 5th, 2018. I just turned 7 years old in this past July. I do not go to school yet, because I am still young, but I will start soon. I love my family and being able to spend time with my siblings. I have one sister and one brother. My brother’s name is Jose Eduardo and my sister’s name is Lesbia Yoana. My sister is the oldest, then my brother, then me. I am the youngest. Some things I love to do are playing soccer, watching TV and coloring. My favorite color is red. I live with my parents and my siblings in a small house that we rent. It costs us Q350 each month for our rent, which is about $45. There are three rooms in the house, but we only rent one room for my family to share. The walls are made of cinder block, and the floor is concrete with a metal roof. We have lights and running water that are included with the price of our rent. We live about fifteen minutes away from the feeding program by foot, which is how we usually go to the program. We have two puppies as pets. I love them, but my favorite animals are cats. I would love to have one of my own one day. I thank God that my family and I are healthy. My parents work very hard to take care of us. My dad’s name is Benjamin Sanaíl Zamora. He works in a garbage truck for the town of San Antonio. My mom’s name is María Leticia Gómez Jeréz. She is a farmer at San Sebastian Farms. We are very blessed, but one our biggest needs as a family is food, because sometimes we don’t have enough money to get groceries. I want to tell you that I am so excited to be a part of the feeding program of Living Water Adopt-A-Child. I have seen some of the activities they do at the program, and I am so happy that now I get to participate in these activities. They look so fun, and they always learn about fun Bible stories. I also love the food they serve us in the program. It is so delicious. My favorite meal is spaghetti. Sometimes they serve spaghetti in the program and those are my favorite days. I hope you are doing well, and I hope you have enjoyed learning about me, but I must say goodbye now. It has been a pleasure to share my information with you, and it makes me smile knowing that someone from so far away might be thinking about me. I send you much love and big hugs. May God bless you and keep you always!   

With much love,  

Lisbet Yanet Sanail Gomez  

 Translated by: Olivia Gallardo, Missionary Intern / Antigua