My Story

Hello! My name is Leonardo Mendez Ruiz, and I am writing this letter to tell you about me. First of all, I want to open my heart to you and tell you about my family situation. I have a half-brother (12 years old), and he is a son from my biological father, Roberto Mendez Garcia, and my grandmother, Candelaria Ruiz Ruiz (my mom’s mother). What happened was this – my father established a relationship with my grandmother, but he also took my mother (his stepdaughter) as his second partner. He had my two siblings and me with her. My mom decided to break up with my father six years ago, so now, he only has a relationship with my grandmother. We were all living together, but now, we are separated. We continue living in the same piece of land, but my mother, two siblings and I have our own room; that is why I told you in the past that my dad does not live with us. My dad only has communication with my siblings and me, and he supports us financially. My father works as a farmer and day laborer, and he also cuts sugar cane at the coast from November to May; this is the time that the sugar harvest lasts.

My mom works as a weaver and raises domestic animals to improve our income. She helped me to give my information to the Evangelism team, so they took the opportunity to share the gospel with us since we are not attending a church due to some personal problems. We are grateful for their words, and we hope to attend one church soon. I tell you that my parents’ separation affected me, but now that I am older, I understand a little more about the situation that they were living in. I admire my father because he is a hard-working man. For me, Jesus is my friend; He loves and listens to me. I have a friend named Juan Antonio, and we like talking and playing soccer. I am studying, and I am in 5^th grade this year. I am in good health, and I am 12 years old. Well, this is what I wanted to share with you, and I hope you find it interesting.

Sincerely yours

Leonardo Mendez Ruiz

Translated by: Loyda de Osorio, AAC Secretary-Antigua