Mike was born in Quito. His mother died when he was in his mid-teens and his father abandoned him and his siblings when Mike was very young. Mike was on the streets for a couple of years, and during that time he encountered two organizations that reached out to him and introduced him to the Lord. He has been living at Casa Gabriel since he was 15 years old and in that time, the Lord has radically changed his life.

Mike is now a volunteer at his church working with the poor and with those living on the streets. This church is the first organization that reached out to him while he was actually on the streets. He has also transitioned to working as house-staff support at Casa Gabriel. He is a gifted leader and an incredible example to the rest of the boys in the ministry. He feels like he is called into being a missionary and is pursuing what that looks like.

Mike enjoys spending time in the Word and sharing his testimony with short-term teams who visit the ministry. He also likes to spend time with his sisters in Quito and play soccer with the other boys. Mike asks prayer for...

• patience in understanding others
• his family (One of Mike's older sisters, Hilda, works as a cook for Casa Gabriel.)
• growth in his faith in God
• his studies

You can send an email (Spanish only please) to Mike by clicking here.

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Juan Miguel
d.o.b. March 27, 1992

Juan Miguel was born in Ibarra, Ecuador. He has 2 sisters and 2 brothers. He comes from a very poor family. After his step father left the family and at age 14, he decided to leave home for try to help his family by earning money. Juan Miguel did juggling on the streets and returned frequently to give money to his mom to help care for his siblings. One day he was gone longer than usual. His family had left and nobody knew where they had gone.

Depressed he spent the money and continued his life on the street. Although he had many friends who robbed and had drug addictions, he never did. It didn't fill me, he says. He was impacted by seeing the change of life in one of his friends that became a Christian, and decided to try to be like him. He learned that he wasn't able to by himself, after some time he heard more of Jesus, and he decided to follow Him. At 15 he had a job and his own apartment. He started spending time at Casa Gabriel because it was a healthy and safe place. The ministry where he learned about Jesus recommended him for Casa Gabriel. Juan Miguel came to Casa Gabriel in the spring of 2007. He has a beautiful dog called Suca.

He likes worship, music, to read, and animals. Juan Miguel asks prayer for...

• His family and that he can find them again
• His Spiritual life to strengthen and grow
• His studies and job

Gustavo was born in Colombia. He has three brothers. When he was four years old his mother left his father after being beaten up several times. She escaped with her four children to Lago Agrio, a town at the Ecuadorian border.

Gustavo has many good memories of his mom. He was able to go to school and was doing good. One day he decided to jump on a bus, to have an adventure. When he came back home after some time, his family had been kicked out of their home, and he didn't know where they were. He began looking for them, but didn't find them. Very sad, without any idea of what to do, he decided to travel to Quito.

He lived with different families in Quito for several years. Finally he was taken to a center for homeless kids. He was doing good in the beginning, but due to harsh discipline he decided to leave. He started to live on the streets and came in contact with a Christian ministry that helps people on the street. He stayed with a Christian lady and learned more about God. He gave his life to Jesus while he stayed at the first center for street kids. Gustavo came to Casa Gabriel in the spring of 2007.

Gustavo is overcoming his low self esteem and realizing that God has given him everything he needs to succeed academically. We are fighting desperately to obtain legal documents for him. As of November 2007 we have not been successful in this. Gustavo still mourns the separation of his family and would love to see them again. Gustavo asks prayer for...

• his family, that God would protect and ccare for them, that he might find them
• to learn more of Gods word
• God's guidance in His purpose and plans for his life.
• getting his identification papers in order