My Story

Hello! I am pretty excited to greet you fondly. I really hope you are enjoying our God’s blessings along with your loved ones. My name is Soraya De la Cruz Grave, and I am 13 years old. This year, I dropped out of school because of lack of resources. At the moment, I help my mother doing the chores. Let me tell you that I live with my parents, and they strive a lot for our family. My mother works hard weaving napkins and raising domestic animals for selling. On the other hand, my father works as a day laborer. Moreover, he travels to the coast for cutting coffee beans from November to February; in that way, he gets extra money and helps us with the expenses. My family and I live in our own house which is made of adobe with a tile roof, and a dirt floor. Our humble home has two rooms, a separate kitchen, running water, and electricity. My family and I love spending time together when we go to the field to look for firewood; being under the shade trees is amazing.

Let me tell you that Christmas is the most beautiful time of the year. When we have enough resources, we usually prepare a tasty lunch to share and give thanks for our Savior’s birth. My family and I are members of Prince of Peace Church which is a five-minute walk. At the beginning of the pandemic, our church closed, but we did not feel sad or worried because we trust in God and think that Covid-19 is just a signal of His second coming. Because of the current world situation, our economy has been affected because everything has gone up in price, and it is a little difficult to buy food or clothes. However, our Heavenly Father has taken care of us, and we are healthy. Moreover, the Living Water staff provided us with food parcels which helped us in the most difficult moments. The feeding program was closed for a long time, but this is opening again which makes me feel happy because I missed learning beautiful verses in the Bible classes. The program is a thirty-minute walk or fifteen minutes by minibus. Finally, let me tell you that my mother gave this information to an evangelism team member to share with you my last news. I say goodbye for now, but do not forget that I love you so much!

Lots of love,

Soraya De la Cruz Grave

Translated by: Hillary Popol, AAC Secretary/Antigua