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“Like a bird’s nest, the house protects us more. My kids can look out the window at the rain and not be in it. Thank you for helping our family.”
ose, his wife Rocio, and their three children had been living on their property in a house with a dirt floor and leaky roof and walls. His daughters and wife were sick all the time and tensions were high, as his youngest daughter was critically ill. Constant stress was taking its toll, and no money was available to move his family or repair the house. Jose was ready to pack up his family and leave the area because of the hopelessness and constant anxiety. He felt inadequate as a father and husband that could not even provide for his own family.
As the Manzanillas Torres family walked out of the dilapidated house for the last time to say goodbye to neighbors, a truck pulled up with two Homes of Hope staff members. As the two ladies approached, one handed Jose a few papers, asking him to prepare his land for a new house that was going to be given to him. “I didn’t believe it was true!” exclaimed Jose. Now that Jose and his family are warm and healthy in their new house, they look back on the difficult time in their lives with such thankfulness in their hearts. “YWAM opened The Manzanillas Torres Family the door to Christ for us!” Rocio said.
With the new house, sickness is gone, work is better, their marriage is more fulfilling and Jose and Rocio are better friends. With a smile Rocio went on, “This house has helped us to learn to live in a home as a couple — and that everything is possible. Our relationship with God has taught us to trust people, and that has helped us a lot. I feel more organized here. It’s easier. I love my house — it’s comfortable — when I am in here I feel the warmth of all the hands that built it and know that I am not alone.” Jose could not stop smiling.
