So it Begins

Hey all!
Thanks for taking the time to read about my time here in Villa Nueva, Guatemala! I'm so excited to be back and am looking forward to seeing the ways that the Lord is going to use me this time.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with New Life Children's Home, let me tell you a little about it. There are 52 kids here currently (that's 5 more than when I left in December) and their ages range from 1-25 years old. These kids are unable to be adopted, because they all have at least one parent or grandparent still living. The kids have been brought or placed here to escape poverty, abuse, gangs, living on the streets, and many other things that kids should never have to deal with. The staff here is committed to raising them in a way where they will be safe, healthy, educated, happy and, most importantly, to become men and women of God.
While I'm here, I will be helping in the clinic in the mornings and with the kids in the afternoons and evenings. In the clinic, I help the doctor by taking blood pressures, measuring weights and heights, handing the doctor instruments, giving shots, keeping billing records, filling out medical testing forms, and a variety of other things. I learned so much last time and vastly improved my Spanish comprehension, and am really looking forward to spending time with Dr. Eliet again. She is incredibly nice and patient and an awesome teacher. I also help Wendy, one of the directors of the Home and a nurse, with taking the kids to doctors appointments and passing out medicine. The rest of the time, I hang out with the kids making cookies, reading, playing soccer (badly) and other sports, helping with homework, hosting movie nights, playing cards and board games, as well as behind the scene things like planning events, helping with mailings to the US, food shopping, translating cards to and from the kids' sponsors, and generally wherever needs to be done. One of my favorite things to do is spend time talking one-on-one with the kids. During these times away from their peers is when they are more likely to open up. These kids have experienced so much pain and crave love and acceptance.
I really appreciate your prayers! Please pray that the Lord will clearly show me how I should be spending my time. With 52 kids it's hard to reach each kid. Last time, the Lord really laid two kids on my heart, one who I became close with, one who I didn't but continue to pray for. Also, please pray for safety and good health for myself and the other interns that are here.

If you are interested in sponsoring a child, taking a trip to Guatemala, or in learning more, I would love to talk further with you! My email address is dbertozz@eastern.edu. Thanks again for your prayers. Without them my time here would be in vain.


"But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more."
Psalms 10:14, 17-18