It’s been 28 years, eight months and six days in the making, but on Aug.7 a young man from Guatemala was Client 10,000 at La Posada Providencia!

Twenty-eight-year-old “Elias” arrived the evening of Aug. 7. The next day he boarded a flight to Florida to rejoin his wife and son. Before leaving, however, Elias shared
his story.

Elias left his country because his family fell victim to gang persecution. Gang members kept extorting money from his wife, a small business owner. They kept demanding more money, forcing her to close her shop. In retaliation, the gang kidnapped his teenage daughter and asked for a ransom. Fortunately, his daughter managed to escape, and the family immediately fled.

It took Elias’ family 20 days to reach the United States. When the four crossed and surrendered themselves to authorities at the Texas-Mexico border, they were all taken to different detention centers. Elias was in three different facilities in Texas over a period of 70 days.

Elias will reunite with his wife and son, but his daughter remains in a detention center. Elias’ daughter was not released to him because he is not her biological father. His wife and her family are petitioning for the girl’s release and will not stop until the family is whole again.

Though there are still many challenges ahead, Elias is hopeful that he will receive asylum and then be permitted to work legally in the United States. He plans to support his wife and children, and help his brother and sister-in-law who still live in Guatemala. He also intends to become a U.S. citizen one day.

Though his stay was brief, Elias will always remember the kindness he received from the staff at La Posada.

“God is going to reward everything they do to help people like me,” Elias said. “I’m very grateful to them and all the other organizations that help us.”

La Posada Providencia hit a new milestone when “Elias” of Honduras arrived.