Our family is hosting a two year old little girl named Ariana along with her mother (Maria) and interperter(Eunice) from Ecuador. Ariana is here through Samaritan's Purse Children's Heart Project for heart surgery. They arrived on Nov. 4 to our home and Ariana had a successful surgery
on Nov. 8. She will be released from the hospital on Nov. 13 to come back to our home to recover until Dec. 10 before flying back home.Maria met Mel Graham (cousin of Franklin Graham) while Mel and Franklin were in Ecuador. Maria works at a hotel and was cleaning Mel Graham's room when she started telling him (through lots of sign language because neither of them speak the same language) about her daughter needing heart surgery. Well, Mel got an interpreter and told Maria that he would do
what he could to help Ariana. Ariana was not expected to live longer than three days after she was born. Maria and her husband, Santiago, were expecting to take her home with them from the hospital after she was born to die. They prayed for her constantly and put her in God's hands. God placed Mel and Maria in the same room at the right time. A month after Maria and Mel met they were on a plane to Rochester, MN for a surgery that would save little Ariana's life. Praise the Lord!!We are having a great time getting to know them. We are practicing our spanish and learning some new words too. It is such a blessing to be able to be a part of helping Samaritan's Purse and all they do. Thank you for your conti
nued praye
rs for Ariana and her family. 