My Story

I greet you with much love hoping you are doing well. I am Yojana Cristina, and I am happy to share with you about my family and me. 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 a second partner, and 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.

Talking about me. I am a student, and I am in 2^nd grade this year. I am grateful to God for helping me to pass my grades; I am sure wisdom comes from Him. I am in good health, and I will turn 10 soon. Melissa has been my friend since last year, and we like playing with toy dishes in our free time. My mom works as a weaver and raises domestic animals to improve our income. I identify a lot with her because she is a hard-working woman. 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. For me, Jesus is the world’s creator who gives us life. I say goodbye to you for now hoping to have news from you soon.

Yours truly

Yojana Cristina Mendez Ruiz

Translated by: Loyda de Osorio, AAC Secretary-Antigua