Hello, my name is Telma Yolanda Rosales Vasquez. 

I am a single mother/grandmother.  I am 70 years old.  I live alone in a community in Guatemala called Duenas and I attend the Liberty Church campus here in Duenas.   I walk about 20 minutes to get to the church from my house.  I was born in Zacualpa which is located in the mountains of Quiche.  I moved to Duenas approximately 35 years ago because I could not find work in Quiche.  Unfortunately, my husband abandoned me about 30 years ago.  I had a total of nine children: four sons and five daughters.  Sadly, one of my daughters and one of my sons have already passed away.  My son actually passed away only five months ago.  He had a terrible motorcycle accident, and I am still suffering terribly from this recent loss.  Another of my sons is in the United States.  Another one lives here in Guatemala, but he has completely forgotten about me.  I never see him or hear from him. In fact, only one of my children helps me.  His name is Jesus Flores.  He is not married, so he lives with me.  He works on a coffee farm here in Duenas called San Sebastian picking and cleaning the coffee beans.  I tried to get a job at the farm, but because of my age, they would not hire me.  So, I usually go with my son to work with him in the coffee fields.  He gets paid by the bag full of coffee beans.  When I go to help him pick the beans, he is able to fill more bags and therefore, earns more money.  Between the two of us, we can pick one quintal (a 100 lb bag) each day.  We receive Q50 (approximately $7) for each bag, so approximately $7 a day. 

We rent the house in which we live for Q100 each month ($14).  My son and I share the cost of the rent.  We have only one room with a separate kitchen.  Our house has tin sheet walls with a tin roof and dirt floor.  We do not have running water or electricity.  We use candles for lighting.  We get our water from a brother in the church by running a water hose from his house to ours.  We do not have any domestic animals, and we do not need any because we do not have a good place to keep them. Stray dogs would get to them and eat them. 

Unfortunately, I am not in the best of health.  I have high blood pressure, but I have never taken medication for it.  I have a lot of pain over most of my body which is the result of an accident that I had some time ago.   I did not go to the hospital or even to the doctor when I had the accident, so I am unsure as to what specific injuries I had.  All I know is that I still have quite a bit of pain.   Thank God, I am still able to work a little bit.  I trust that God will protect me and take care of me.  Right now, my biggest need is for blankets for my son and myself because it gets cold here during the night especially in the winter.

Love and blessings,

Telma Yolanda Rosales Vasquez

Translated by: Edwina Lyons/AAC Missionary