My Story

Cuatro Caminos "four roads", where your child lives, is an area located high on the side of a mountain in the state of Quiché, Guatemala. Life in this area is very difficult and very isolated from the outside world. It is a two hour walk to the nearest market town of Zacualpa. Cuatro Caminos is a farming area where corn and black beans, the staple elements in their diet, are the major crops. The Quiche Mayans who inhabit this area trace their ancestral roots to the ancient Mayan civilization. They normally speak a Mayan dialect called Quiché - however, Spanish is becoming more common. Very little money ever changes hands in this area as they live on a barter system.

Hello! How are you? I am writing this letter to tell you about me. I am Beymar Wilson Emerson Gutierrez Simaj, and I am 6 years old. I was born on December 5, 2017. I am in good health, and I am already attending school; I am in 1^st grade. My personal tastes are fried chicken, the color green, and cows. I love playing soccer and toy cars in my free time. I only have one sister. My family and I are not attending church. I only have my mother’s support since my father abandoned us around 2020. His name is Alejandro Gutierrez Hernandez, and we do not have news from him. My mother’s name is Lucrecia Simaj Jimon, and she raises domestic animals for selling. She does not have a stable job, but fortunately, my grandpa Marcario Simaj helps us financially; he is a day laborer and raises cows.

We live in my maternal grandfather’s house, and we share it with my grandparents and their children. The house has two rooms and a kitchen, and we use one of the rooms. The house is made of adobe with a tin sheet roof and dirt floor. We have electricity service, and my grandpa pays this bill. We get the water from a well. We have domestic animals like pigs, cows and hens at home. My aunts accompany me to the feeding program, and we have to walk for 5 minutes to arrive there. I would like to ask for your prayers for us since we are always in need of groceries and clothes. In this occasion, my mom helped me to give my personal information to an Evangelism teacher. I thank you for taking the time to read my letter. May God bless you!

Cordially yours

Beymar Wilson Emerson Gutierrez Simaj

Translated by: Loyda de Osorio, AAC Secretary-Antigua Guatemala