Meet Liliana and her beautiful daughter Marisol:
Six years ago, Liliana lost her husband and her second baby child, then, suffered a stroke that left her paralyzed on one side of her body. She was left on her own with her 5 year old girl and a worsening case of diabetes which, eventually claimed her vision, her right leg and most toes of her right foot. To top it off, a rat started to nibble her big toe a couple of months ago and left her with a nasty infection which is still being treated.
Her daughter, Marisol, has been the main caregiver of her own mother, cooking and doing what she can to stay alive and somewhat healthy. Some relatives and neighbors have helped through the years, coming to bathe Liliana and providing some food and comfort, but because of the need of each family, in rural Guatemala, Liliana and Marisol have been mostly on their own.
It has not been easy for an 11 year old girl to carry the burden and their house has decayed as well as Liliana’s condition. She does not yet understand her heroism.
Our friends from “House of Healing” found Lilian and her daughter and took them in for a month to help stabilize Liliana’s health, bring down her sugar level and give them love and rest in a clean environment. After a successful month and lots of tender love, Liliana and Marisol went back to their house in Patulul (15 miles from San Lucas Toliman). It became clear that something more had to be done for our dear Christ-treasures… and soon!
We decided to take up this little mission of love and ask for funds to be able to build them a new cooking stove, get them a new “pila” (washing basin), change their old bed for 2 comfy comfy ones, purchase a table, fan, chairs, cleaning and painting supplies.
Thanks to so many of you and your generosity, we were able to respond within a week of our first visit to their humble home. We planned a 2 day mission of love with different volunteers to do a major cleaning operation, bring over their new stuff and paint the two rooms they use. We were able to hire a mason to do some improvements in the house -including a new window and the electrical wiring and illumination. We also were able to help sponsor the work of the nurses from “House of Healing” and of our social worker Herlinda who are looking after Liliana and beginning to work with Marisol on a weekly basis.
There is still much to be done but their house is now clean and it feels like a new home!
Little Marisol helped us choose the colors and even helped us paint!
We decided to paint something creative, and to bring some life and light to their little bedroom. What came out was a “river of life” uniting heaven and earth… which definitely summarizes what we experience touching the living Christ in the “least” or our sisters and brothers.
“And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”
Revelation 22, 1-2
The work will continue in the coming days but it’s already a tremendous step. Liliana and Marisol are enjoying their comfy new beds and their newly painted home! We hope that our precious Casita Feliz will be able to open its doors in the near future to receive people like Liliana and allow Marisol to have a healthy and happy upbringing.
We want to thank you, our dear family and friends for helping us serve Liliana and Marisol and to connect other lives with their own. Thanks to Teri Littrell and our selfless and dedicated friends from “House of Healing” who have done so much for our people and for this precious little women. Thanks to Butch Mueller, Anibal and their team at “Stoves for Guatemala” for donating and building the new cooking stove and breaking open the wall so they can have a window in their bedroom. Special thanks to our dear friends Herlinda, Hannah, Flor and Myvi who came along to give so much time, sweat (Patulul is HOT) and love!
STAY TUNED FOR MORE UPDATES ON THIS SPECIAL MISSION OR FOLLOW US ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE: “LEAST” or on Instagram @least.mission
Please continue to pray for us and “come and see”, come and love, come and serve with us!
If you are interested in making a DONATION for Liliana and Marisol use the DONATE button below or contact us for other ways of donating.
Any extra donations will continue to be used for the “ADOPT-A-ROOM” fund and the “Tortillas de Amor” program, which you can read about by clicking the following buttons:
WE WANT TO PRAISE AND THANK YOU OUR HUMBLE AND LOVING GOD FOR THE BLESSING OF SERVING OUR DEAR LITTLE ONES THROUGH CHRIST, WITH HIM AND IN HIM EACH DAY. THANK YOU LORD FOR THE DAILY OPPORTUNITY TO BE HUMBLED AND TRANSFORMED BY YOUR TENDER MERCY AND INCARNATE PRESENCE.
IN JESUS NAME PLEASE BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS US AND THOSE WHO CURSE US, AND BRING US TOGETHER IN THE KINGDOM OF YOUR LOVE, IN THE HERE AND NOW!
What an amazing job has been done. God bless you two for the initiative and thank God for all the volunteers that one way or another have made this possible..