My Story

Chuchuca, where your child lives, is an area located high on the side of a mountain in the state of Quiche, Guatemala. Life in this area is very difficult and very isolated from the outside world. It is more than a two hour walk to the nearest market town of Zacualpa. Chuchuca is a farming area where corn and black beans, the staple elements in their diet, are the major crops. The Quiche Mayans who inhabit this area trace their ancestral roots to the ancient Mayan civilization. They normally speak a Mayan dialect called Quiche – however, Spanish is becoming more common. Very little money ever changes hands in this area as they live on a barter system.

I am so happy and excited to be able to write this biography. It makes me so happy to be able to share some information about my family and me. My name is Sheyla Gabriela Barrera de la Cruz. I was born in Zacualpa in a village called Xejox. My birthdate is January 4th, 2014. I am 12 years old. My father´s name is Camilo Barrera Simaj. He works as a day laborer in the village. My mother´s name is Rogelia de la Cruz Coj. She is a housewife and raises and sells hens.  At the end of the year, all my family travels to the coast for six months to cut coffee beans. We live in my parent’s house. It is a humble house, but it is our home. There are two rooms and a separate kitchen. The house is made of adobe walls, tin sheet roof and dirt floor. We do not have running water nor electricity. We go to bring water from a spring, and we use a solar panel for light.

At home, we have domestic animals like hens and pigs. We are a family with 7 members and we have many needs like groceries and school supplies. We believe in God and in his provision. I ask for your prayers for us for God to grow our faith in every moment. We attend Christ Church.  By the grace of God, we are in good health. Something I love to do is play soccer. I love red, and my favorite animals are dogs. I love many foods, but my favorite is fried chicken. At school, I am in fifth grade. The feeding program is around 20 minutes away from my house. I am very happy to be part of this program because I know they do different activities and the teachers teach many histories about Jesus. Thank you very much for taking your time to read my biography.

In Jesus name,

Sheyla Gabriela Barrera de la Cruz,

Translated by: Magnolia Gómez, AAC Secretary/Guatemala