Nato & Mariela's Home

Sponsor:  Asger & Mandy Eriksen - Oxfordshire, England

Nato & Mariela are special people and good friends of ours.  How we met them I will never forget.

i (Brock) was walking with Kerrie from a piece of land that we were considering for the future Boys Academy.  As we walked away, we heard a man yelling at us and running our direction.  By the time he arrived, he was clearly dizzy and he fell over into the ditch that was next to us.

We helped him out and asked if he needed medical help.  He said no, regained his composure, and explained that he was chasing us down to see if we would come see his son's home.  As we walked to his son's home, he explained that he had a condition from a fall that he took years ago, and still gets dizzy when he moves too fast...

When we finally got to his son's home (it is located deep into some cornfields), we knew it was a must-do.  It was constructed of strictly cornstalk, had dirt floors, and no water.  Nato, his wife Mariela, and their 2 kids were clearly suffering in this rough situation out in the middle of nowhere.

Soon after that meeting we received our first "overseas" donation for a 12x12 home!  Thanks to the Eriksen family, we were able to start on Nato's home right away.  Not long after that, we had a team visiting us from Journey church who painted the new home with us, and welcomed Nato & Mariela into their new "casa"!

Note:  I was asked to do a video for a youth group in Florida for a fundraising rally they were doing for Guatemala...  the home I used in the video to show them the living conditions for a typical Guatemala family was Nato & Mariela's home...  CLICK HERE TO SEE THAT VIDEO AND TOUR NATO's OLD HOME.