A Family’s Life Transformed by God’s Love in Guatemala

Anna never believed that her 22-year-old son, Kevin, would be able to walk on his own. A single mother in Guatemala who spent years fighting alone to protect and provide for her children, Anna’s eyes tear up as she describes how life has changed, for Kevin and her whole family. 

Kevin and his twin brother, Manuel, both live with cerebral palsy. Manuel uses a wheelchair and, until recently, when he took his first independent steps, Kevin needed a walker. But Kevin’s new mobility is just one facet of the transformation you have made possible for Anna and her children through Joni’s House^® Guatemala. 

Anna had nowhere to turn for help… 

Looking back, Anna describes the traumatic isolation and poverty she endured as she raised her children, having been abandoned by her husband and cut off from her extended family.  

“I had to leave my children alone to work,” says Anna, “leaving early in the morning and returning at night so they would have food on their plates. There was no one to help me.” 

When the twins reached school age, Anna tried to secure an education for them. But Manuel was not accepted at school because of his disabilities. And even when Kevin attended, he suffered abuse and harassment from both teachers and students.

“It’s why I dropped out of school altogether,” Kevin explains. “I hadn’t set foot in a school since I was eight years old…” 

God’s Grace Delivered Through Joni’s House 

But when Anna learned about Joni’s House Crossroads School, God began a work of grace beyond all she had asked or imagined. Welcomed with the love of Jesus, Anna shared about her family’s critical needs—for shelter, basic resources, medical care, and, most of all, community. 

While Kevin blossomed in the classroom, increased strength through physical therapy, and soaked in the truth of the Gospel, he also saw his family thrive like never before. “I’ve been so blessed by this school,” says Kevin. “It’s also been supportive to my family.”  

For Anna, who struggled with depression, biblical counseling and loving fellowship slowly lifted her despair. Still, Anna couldn’t afford a safe or accessible home, having no choice but to care for her family in a makeshift house made of rusted metal and scraps, with an outdoor kitchen and no bathroom. 

But then Joni and Friends built Anna’s family a new home, complete with an accessible bathroom, ramp, wood-burning stove, furnishings, light fixtures, outlets, and kitchen utensils. And the power of Christ’s presence shined through every detail! 

Anna has also seen changes in Manuel, who has become more settled, knowing that their new house is truly their home—and that the Joni’s House community is his new loving extended family. 

“I thank you for supporting my children,” says Anna, overwhelmed with gratitude.  

While Anna, Manuel, our Joni’s House team, and the local church are celebrating Kevin taking his first steps, his deep new faith in Jesus stands out above every other milestone. Not only has Kevin professed that Jesus is his Lord and Savior—he also got baptized and now shares the Gospel at Joni and Friends wheelchair outreaches and everywhere he goes! 

Kevin also has a message for you, the Joni and Friends community who have poured God’s grace into his family’s life: 

“Thank you for being with us. Thank you for providing what we need. Even though I can’t repay you, there is a God Who will. He will multiply everything you’ve done for us!” 

Today, if you listened to Kevin leading devotions for his class, you would hear his words resonate with confidence in Jesus. As he says: 

“Telling others about what God has done in me is something that comes from the heart. He puts the right words in my mouth so that I can share the Gospel with those who need Him… And there are many people in the world who need Him!”