Wait. I thought you adopted five?

Final fundraiser update coming. But first… our adoption story.

When we arrived in Guatemala, within one year, we applied for permanent residency.

We knew we were here for the long haul, so we invested time, money, and patience to get it.

Permanent residency took a year and a half and cost thousands of dollars.

We could open a bank account, sign contracts, and run our ministry without jumping through endless hoops. Ok. We still jump through endless hoops. But still.

Travel got easier too. No more leaving the country every 90 days just to reset a visa.

And. We could legally adopt.

Here’s the thing, we weren’t planning to adopt. We just wanted to be prepared.

International adoptions shut down in 2008. Most Americans don’t know why.

Before 2008, Guatemala had one of the highest rates of international adoptions in the world. But it wasn’t because there were that many orphans. The system was broken. And by broken I mean corrupt. Corrupt to the bone.

Some attorneys and agencies turned adoptions into a business. They found ways to pressure, trick, or even buy babies from desperate mothers. Some women were told their child was just going to foster care. Others were paid to get pregnant and give up their babies.

Guatemalan authorities—with support from the U.S. and the UN—led the investigations. They uncovered fraud, trafficking, and even cases of babies being stolen for adoption.

The international pressure grew, and in 2008, Guatemala shut it all down.

The overhauled system is designed to protect children from fraud and trafficking, making sure every adoption is ethical and legitimate.

It takes time because they investigate every detail. They verify backgrounds, ensure the child is truly in need of adoption, and confirm that adoptive parents meet strict requirements.

It’s not the broken system some claim it is—it’s a careful one.

To this day, international adoptions remain closed.

Six years ago, our family doubled... overnight.

Imagine you’re in the process of adopting two little ones.

Imagine you’ve fallen in love and you can’t wait to bring them home!

And then imagine getting a text from the director of the orphanage, “We found two younger brothers at another orphanage. They’re getting transferred here. Would you consider adopting all four?”

I read the message to Vonda and we just stared at each other. We knew what this meant. It’s the law in Guatemala that you can’t separate siblings. It’s a good law. Even so, everything had changed.

What that short text said was, “You can adopt all four or none of them.” Those were the options.

Maybe we should have prayed about it, but we didn’t. God had already led us to Joseph and Bella, so I guess we didn’t feel we had to pray. We just texted a single word.

“Yes.”

We didn’t know it at the time, but 2+2 doesn’t equal 4. When you’re adopting, 2+2 equals TEN.

With the paperwork signed, we loaded everyone into the van and began the long drive home. Our lives would never be the same.

The drive was exciting, and scary, and LOUD. Everyone was happy. Of course, the four littles had no idea what was happening. But neither did we. Not really.

We caught it on video! ♥️

Wait. I thought you adopted five?

Three years later, we got another message from the director.

“Do you have time this week to chat? I need to catch you up a little.”

We called the next day at 11 a.m.

“Your kids have two little sisters. One was at another orphanage but has been transferred here. The other is with a relative. We’ve heard their mom may have died, but we don’t know for sure.”

She continued, “I have to ask... would you consider adopting one or both girls?”

Vonda and I looked at each other with wide eyes.

We muted the phone.

I asked Vonda, “What do you think?”

We unmuted the phone and said, “Yes.”

On June 27th, 2022, the adoption was final, and Eliza Elle finally came home.

(Yes. They’re all biological siblings.)

Then Jesus told his disciples,

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

Humbling.

“Deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow Me.”
“Deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow Me.”
“Deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow Me.”

I'm not gonna lie. Adopting five is HARD.

Like, hard hard.

But carrying a cross was never supposed to be easy. Denying yourself isn’t supposed to be easy.

Knowing our littles won’t have to spend the rest of their lives in an institution makes it worth it.

Vonda and I pray together every morning.

We pray for the sick.
We pray for the poor.
We pray for the widows.
We pray for our five adopted littles.
We pray for our four biological bigs.
We pray for the boys at the academy.

But sometimes...

when you know deep in your heart it’s what you’re supposed to do, you don’t just pray.

You obey.

In case you’re curious, here's the abbreviated version of what it takes to adopt in Guatemala.

🔹 Sell everything and move to Guatemala.

🔹 Apply to become a permanent resident (takes about a year and a half)

🔹 Apply to be approved to adopt (takes about a year)

🔹 The adoption process itself takes about 2 years.

🔹 When the adoption is final, you can’t leave the country to live anywhere else for two years. They cannot travel without a Visa (more on that nightmare later)

🔹 The second adoption was quicker and took just over a year.

🔹 The two-year clock was reset. We could not live outside of Guatemala for two years.

🔹 Once Eliza’s two years had passed, we were able to get Guatemalan passports.

🔹 We got the Guatemalan passports so we could get a US Visa.

🔹 When we applied for a US Visa we were given an appointment for A YEAR AND A HALF later. January 2016.

🔹 Because of connections and attorneys, we were able to move that date up. I still have nightmares of the process. Please don’t make me get into it.

🔹 At the same time we applied for their U.S. visa, we also applied for their U.S. citizenship.

🔹 Once we had the visas, we had a three-month window to travel to the U.S. for their citizenship appointment. No big deal, right?

Except our appointment landed right in the middle of Hurricane Milton.

🔹 God opened up the Citezenship offices and we made it safely back to Guatemala.

Done right?

Wrong.

🔹 Our newly minted Citezens now had to go through the process of getting their US passports. Super quick. Again, with some strong connections we were able to get US passports within 30 days.

🔹 Last step. Social security numbers. “Welcome to America kids, now the U.S. government can keep track of you financially.”

If you’re from a large family you know that “5X” is the real 8th wonder of the world.

Clothes? 5X
Groceries? 5X
Tantrums? 5X
Doctor visits? 5X
Dentist appointment? 5X

Hugs, laughter, and love? 5X

How are things going now?

Clearly. We survived.

The first couple of years were brutal. They had to adjust and we had to adjust. Some days it felt like war. And believe me. Most days, they were winning.

Today, we’re all doing SO GOOD.

Bella, who was born deaf gets speech therapy twice a week, once in Spanish and once in English.

Four days a week she gets speech reinforcement. I think she’s come the farthest. She now has two Choclear implants and she’s curios. That’s the key to progress.

Joseph begins 7th grade this year, AT OUR BOYS ACADEMY! He’s 13 years old and maybe the most “teenage” child we’ve ever had. Too cool for mom and dad if you know what I mean. He has a beautiful dimpled smile and seems to be a naturally gifted kickboxer.

Timothy’s read through multiple kids Bibles and his currently reading his study Bible. I would put him against most adults as far as Biblical knowledge. That kid loves Jesus.

He has the biggest smile and the biggest heart. You can't give him enough hugs.

Israel is our boys boy. He loves to hit hard, play rough and pick on his older brothers. He’s the youngest and smallest of the three but man that kid can hold his own. Man, that smile!

Eliza Elle.

If adopting 2+2=10 then adopting Eliza was 4+1=3.

Listen, this isn’t our first rodeo. We know things can change on a dime, but she is a complete joy. She wakes up happy, comes out of her room, cuddles up with Vonda or me, and looks at us as if to say, “Does life get any better than this?”

We can often hear her singing at the top of her lungs in her room during quiet time.

Thank you for an amazing fundraiser.

Here are the results:

73 families gave.

$64,000 was donated to be matched—and you already know I don’t like to leave money on the table.

Every penny (and more) was matched!

And with the latest donation coming in just a few hours ago…

The final total: $148,827.

I shouldn’t be surprised. But somehow, every time, I am.

God took what felt like not enough and turned it into more than enough.

He moved hearts. He multiplied gifts. And here we are—staring at the overflow.

Thank you.

For trusting.
For giving.
For believing with us.

This ministry runs on faith—faith that God will provide and faith that people will step in to be part of the story. And you did.

I don’t know what your impossible looks like right now. But I know this—Jesus already knows what He’s going to do.

And when He moves? There will be leftovers.

All our love,

George and Vonda

PS: If you’d like to be added to our ministry newsletter I send it out once or twice a month. Mostly ministry stories from the mountains of Guatemala.

George Sisneros is a full-time missionary in Guatemala and the founder of Ordinary Missionaries and the El Rosario Christian Academy for Boys.

He’s been married to his wife, Vonda, for 26 years. He’s a father to nine children, five adopted.

In 2024, George and his wife expanded to Cuba, joining forces with nine pastors committed to transforming lives through the gospel.

You can get George’s bestselling book, Do You Love Me? Giving up the American Dream to Serve the Underprivileged, on Amazon.