My Story

This is Celso Israel, and I praise the Lord for allowing me to greet you through this letter. I hope you find my information engaging. My family and I attend the Catholic Church once weekly. We are sure about our faith and God’s love. A member of the evangelism team of LW encouraged us to continue growing spiritually, so we are grateful. He also collected my last news to let you know about them. Taking advantage of this moment, I want you to know that receiving delicious food and medicines at the feeding program is an enormous blessing for me. Thankfully, I am healthy, and so is my family. Domingo Benito is my father, and he is 59 years old. He works as a day laborer in our community and does his best to support our needs, even though it has been a little hard for him. Our economy is less so it is hard to buy enough food supplies, clothes, and shoes. My mother also works hard by doing the chores and raising our domestic animals; we have one cow, hens, and pigs. Her name is Sabina Calachij, and she is 57 years old.

Nowadays, I dedicate my time to work in the field with my father instead of studying. Last year, I was in second grade. We grow corn, beans, and chayote for our consumption. I am eleven years old and my next birthday will be in September. I would like to have a piñata (a traditional birthday puppet full of candies) to celebrate my birthday. One of my biggest dreams is to have a motorcycle, so I am working hard to accomplish it. My native language is the Quiche dialect and I know a little Spanish. I hope to improve and speak that language fluently. Christmastime is a lovely celebration to take advantage of doing many things; what I enjoy the most is burning firecrackers, eating tamales, and drinking hot fruit punch. My favorite drink is “mosh” (a typical hot beverage), and I love playing soccer. It is time to say goodbye to you for now, but I hope to hear from you someday. May God bless you richly!

Sincerely yours,

Celso Israel Benito Calachij

Translated by: Hillary Popol / AAC Secretary / Antigua Guatemala