Maino Gálvez, his wife Sandra and daughters Dulce (24) y Sabrina (26) live in El Tejar, Chimaltenango. Sandra is a homemaker and Maino is a mechanic. Their eldest daughter, Dulce recently started a ministry “Changing the Generations” along with her husband. Their second daughter, Sabrina is a worship leader at the church. She writes, sings and plays both the piano and guitar.

Before living in their current house, they lived about one mile away. “We wanted more space for our family,” Sandra says. In their old house there wasn’t enough room for the family and with two adult children, they knew their daughters also needed space. “This house is a great joy and great blessing. We prayed a lot for a house and thanks to God now we have it.”

They’re especially grateful to the volunteers who came to build the house and they remember the group very well!

It’s the outside space of their house that has become a favorite for Maino and Sandra and they are especially grateful for the space they now have for a garden. Plants and flowers fill the front entrance to the home, and they hope to add more in the future. To the group who came to help them build they send thanks and gratitude for the change in their lives to now have their own home.

Maria Flora and her family of six live in the village of Xesuj San Martin. She and her husband Wilson have two sons, Pedro Antonio and Carlos Alexander. Wilson’s mother, Ellie and brother, Romeo also live with the family. Almost one year ago, they moved into their current house and shortly after, received a smokeless stove, which they built together with a small group of volunteers.

The kindness of these volunteers is what Maria Flora remembers most and she says she has never forgotten them. When we asked what the greatest difference the stove had made in her life, she mentioned the lack of exposure to smoke, saying “the smoke leaves the house very well and I haven’t had any problems (inhaling) it since.” It has changed her daily life because the food cooks a lot sooner.

She used to cook for five or six hours while doing other house chores because they were limited to a single fire. Now she has more of her day to do other things and to spend attentively with her children. Maria Flora expresses how grateful she is for this change and says the volunteers who came made it possible.