My Story

I am excited to say hello to you through this means. My name is Angel, and I hope you are doing well. My family and I attend Mount Sinai Church on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. As for health, I would like to ask for your prayers because some of us suffer from health issues. My father, Abel Bartolo, suffers from a fatty liver. He is 40 years old and because of his condition, he is not able to work. We hope he gets better with the treatment he takes. My health condition is stable, although I have to be careful. I was born with hydrocephalus. Therefore, I must use a cerebral shunt (that is a valve housing connected to a catheter, the distal end of which is placed in the peritoneal cavity) to treat my condition. At the beginning, doctors told my parents that they must change my cerebral shut when I turned ten years old to avoid complications in my head.

However, they took me to a specialist two years ago and he told them that everything is well with me. He also told them that it is not necessary to change it if that works well. Nowadays, I have headaches because of my condition. I take medicines to feel better, although I cannot take them daily. My youngest sister, Linda Bartolo, is five years old. She is not able to walk, although I would for her to be able to do it someday. God has been merciful with us all the time. Proof of that, my oldest brother Ofny Eli, helps us economically. He lives and works in the United States. Fortunately, he is healthy. My mother, Julia Chingo, is 38 years old. She is a housewife who tries to help with her income at home by selling hens.

Our economic resources are limited, so we can buy just what we need at home, although money is not enough to buy groceries like corn and cleaning supplies like soap. We praise the Lord because the feeding program has been a tremendous blessing in our community. My younger brother and I can receive delicious food there. By God’s grace, I am twelve years old and I attend school as a third grader. I prefer to receive face-to-face classes because I learn so much better at school than studying at home alone. Unfortunately, everything is expensive today. In addition, my parents cannot support my school supplies because they are unemployed.

I would love to continue studying at least until finishing middle school. I also would love to speak a new language like English. Therefore, I also would like to count on your prayers for my future. Christmas is the best time for me because I enjoy receiving gifts at the feeding program. Besides that, I have fun during all the activities LW organizes to celebrate that holiday. I like drinking sodas and my favorite sport is soccer. My birthday will be in January. What I love the most is eating a delicious cake to celebrate my day. Finally, I thank you so much for taking the time to read my information. Before leaving you, let me tell you that a teacher of LW spoke with my mother and father to collect all my news to tell you about it. See you later!

Kind regards,

Angel Jeybilson Bartolo Chingo

Translated by: Hillary Popol, AAC Secretary / Antigua Guatemala