I only have a few minutes, but I need to ask for your prayers for four little guys and for support for two of them. Thanks for caring enough to read and seek God regarding your response.
The first little boy is Josua (Joshua). He is three years old and he and his family live directly across the street from us. On Friday he was hit by a chicken bus (one of the brightly painted school buses that is one of the major means of transportation in Guatemala). He is currently at the National Hospital in Guatemala City. We have been told that he has brain damage and a badly damaged leg. We are also told things do not look good, so a miracle is needed. Please take time to pray for Josua in the coming days.
Update: I just received word that they removed Josua’s breathing tube last night to see if he could breathe on his own. He could not. They want to do surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain, but the doctors have said he is too weak. We have been told that the doctors are just waiting for him to die. Please join us in praying for a miracle.
The next young man we found up in Guastatoya last week. His name is Berne, he is six years old and he suffers from severe cerebral palsy. He is also malnourished, weighing only 26 pounds. Berne needs a wheelchair badly. He also needs a monthly sponsor for a high nutritional formula to help him gain weight. Please pray for Berne and let me know if you would be willing to sponsor him for a wheelchair ($200 one time gift) or for all or part of his monthly formula ($60 monthly gift). If so, please contact me at daryl@hopeforhome.org.
Ever Elisio is another little guy that we found up in Santa Isabela. He is eight years old and his family has been perplexed by his learning disabilities and behavior. He only began to speak about 18 months ago and cannot count or name basic colors. They have tried placing him in school, but he keeps getting kicked out because he gets violent and hits and kicks. He will sit quietly for long periods of time but quickly becomes agitated if someone touches him or tries to make him do something. I am not a doctor, but Ever Elisio seems to have the classic symptoms of Autism. When I mentioned it to his parents they told me that they had never heard of Autism and asked me to explain it. We are making arrangements to have him evaluated by a doctor for a proper diagnosis. In the meantime, we have also found a wonderful school for children with special needs. It will provide a small classroom setting for him and a special nanny to help supervise him. And, most importantly, it is a Christian school that shares and shows the love of Jesus. It is also expensive (at least by Guatemalan standards). The enrollment fee is $40 and the monthly tuition is $40. It is too late for him to be a part of this school year, so he will have to wait for the new year to begin in January. But we would like to enroll him in October to assure his spot. Would one of you be willing to sponsor Ever Elisio so that he can go to school and get the help he needs? If so, write me at the e-mail address above.
Finally, I want to give you an update on Alex. We found out early last week that he was suffering from parasites. As a result of the vomiting and diarrhea he had lost a lot of weight and had very little energy. We arranged for him to go to the doctor who ordered blood, urine and stool tests. We paid for those tests and tried to get them done quickly. However, his original urine and stool samples were contaminated (his mother used dirty containers to collect them). So, those tests had to be repeated. It wasn’t until Saturday that we received those test and Monday until we had the doctor’s prescriptions written. We rushed to purchase and deliver those to Alex and administer the first dose. We hope to see improvement in the next day or two. Please pray for Alex. He is dehydrated, very skinny and very weak.
Thanks so much for all your prayers and support! They make a huge difference to these four boys and many more!
Daryl, Wanda and the Crew
