Reporting from Hope House by Victoria Díaz
Dear family and friends of Hope for Families, El Salvador,
Our girls at Hope House have spend a LOT of time together in lockdown. During this time, with so much change and opportunity for growth, we asked Lorena and Victoria, our International Relations students, to interview their fellow housemates about their experiences during the extreme quarantine conditions, and to share them with us!
What follows is the first interview, made by Victoria. Of course, it was originally written in Spanish, and translated into English. I needed to edit quite a bit, but, I wanted to leave the essence of Vicky’s original interview in tact as much as possible. Enjoy!
Clara Guadalupe Díaz Martínez
By Victoria Díaz
Clara is one of the residents of the “Hope House” program. She is the third of five siblings. They and their mother live in a village called Tenancingo, which is about an hour outside the capitol city. Clara has been a beneficiary of the program for more than four years. She is a girl who has struggled to continue with her studies, but nevertheless continues to conquer each stage. She wants to study tourism at the university because it seems exciting to be able to prepare to be a tour guide in her beloved country of El Salvador.
Currently, Clara is studying English at the Direct English academy, which is a somewhat more difficult during this time of quarantine. The new modality of virtual classes and the need to learn to use virtual platforms like ZOOM have been a challenge for her. After a time, she has been able to rise above and learn the new methods. Now she receives her classes without difficulty, but she wants to return to her classroom classes as soon as possible. At this time of mandatory quarantine, in El Salvador, Clara tells us about her experience at Hope for Families.
“Due to social distancing, I have learned a lot about living with the other girls who are residents of Hope house. Despite the differences I have had with some of the girls in the house, I have managed to handle the situations in the best way, resolving problems by communicating and being guided by the love of God.”
At this time, God taught her that He must be the priority in her daily life. This means that she must dedicate more time to read the Bible. At times, it has been difficult for her to read some passages because she does not understand them, but the Lord is giving her discernment so that she can understand them. In understanding what He means through his Word, God has worked in an extraordinary way in Clara’s life. Before, she worked very hard. She got up early and went to her study center and sometimes she forgot the most important thing: to talk to God, acknowledging that He is the provider of everything. Now she shares her experiences of what God has done in her life, and the Word with the other young women.
Clara is happy that during this time of quarantine, she has been able to share very special times with the other girls at home doing sleepovers, picnics, soccer (in the little backyard!) board games, and other activities, but, more importantly, she has grown in knowledge about her Creator and Savior.
It has been a great challenge having to be away and not being able to visit her family on the weekends as she usually does. Due to the quarantine, she has not been able to see them for 3 months. Clara expresses that this is the longest time that she has physically apart from her family. However, she learned to trust God and to know that He will always take care of her family. She knows that only God can strengthen her, and even though she misses them terribly, she learned to rest in the Lord. She is thankful that communication with them is constant using technology such as video calls.
God has helped her through this stage and taught her that His plans are different from hers. Even when important things, like the birthday of her mom fell into quarantine and Clara could not celebrate with her mom physically, she says: “If God taught me something, it is that He is always with us in His providence and that His providence acts NOT only in my life, but, also in that of my family. Sometimes she wonders if she could take better care of her family and the truth is that only God can do it. By the mercy of God, the virus has not reached her home.
Economically, during this time, her family is not very well because her mother cannot work. Although now she receives half of her salary, it is very difficult to pay everything. Sometimes she does not have enough money to pay the water bill, electricity, to buy food and other things that she needs to pay. In order to receive a little income, she sells basic grains (corn, beans), since at home, Clara’s mother is the only one who works. (Her father passed away of kidney failure in 2017)
Despite this, Clara and her family thank God for the life of Edwin, Clara’s brother. He is ill, and has been diagnosed with kidney failure, as well. Currently, the hospital prescribes his medication and he can take it at home and he is stable.
Prayer requests: “My brother is ill, I would like them to pray for him, I would also like them to pray for me and for my spiritual growth.”
Important things you have learned in this time: “I have learned not to follow my own routine and dedicate more time to God; I have learned that time is very valuable and to be a good steward of it. I am very happy to have seen Providence work for me and my family because my family does not work and yet God has taken care of them by providing their food every day.”