My house is decorated, most gifts are wrapped, the holiday cards are on order and it all served the purpose of working through the grief that found our family a few days before Thanksgiving. Holiday rituals are like that; they take over your mind while your hands work the same habitual patterns, year after year. The decorations haven’t changed much for at my house. My family likes the familiar, the traditional.
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| Candalaria in former home |
Candalaria’s family is no different. Her five children gave up expectation of participating in the typical Guatemalan Christmas festivities several years ago, when their father abandoned the family. As the only wage earner, the loss of a father meant the mother and children lived on what little money Candalaria makes washing clothes for neighbors. Five Christmas seasons went by, and the family had little hope for anything different, with the exception of a daily meal, and scholastic support for the children, provided by Finding Freedom.
Until Jenni and Rob in Texas decided to create significant change for this family.
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| Former kitchen |
This Christmas, Candalaria and her children have the best possible present: hope. With the donation of this new, waterproof house with a concrete floor and smoke free stove, Candalaria can now use the $10-$15 she earns per month to purchase candles, soap, and some clothing for her children. Jenni and her husband gave Candalaria and her children intangible gifts this holiday season: wonder that a family they have never met would care for them, hope for a better future, security against possible eviction.
There are no better gifts.
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| New home for Christmas |
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| New Stove |
My house is decorated, most gifts are wrapped, the holiday cards are on order and it all served the purpose of working through the grief that found our family a few days before Thanksgiving. Holiday rituals are like that; they take over your mind while your hands work the same habitual patterns, year after year. The decorations haven’t changed much for at my house. My family likes the familiar, the traditional. 
