Help a Family Rebuild After Unexpected Relocation

Dear Friends,

I’m reaching out with a heavy heart to ask for your support for a dear family who are going through an incredibly difficult time. After living, working, and building a life in the United States for the past two years, they’ve been forced to leave the country due to circumstances beyond their control. They leave with trust in God’s providence and confidence that He will take care of them through people of good will.

I first met Jesús “Joe” Rodríguez over 15 years ago when he came as a young clarinetist from Venezuela to participate in an international youth orchestra event we held, with the mission of creating cultural bridges between countries.

Due to the economic, political and social crisis in Venezuela, Joe decided to seek a better life for his family in the United States, and with the generous sponsorship and assistance from family friends dating back to his first visit, he moved his wife Zurveli and his little girl Isabel to Virginia through a program that was available to Venezuelans and Ukrainians. This program is no longer available and any visa adjustments are now unavailable through the new administration.

Joe had been working as a music teacher for LCPS and is beloved both by his students and colleagues. He leaves a void in his school which will be hard to fill.

The Rodriguez have had to abandon the home, community, and stability they worked so hard to create—and now, with little more than hope and courage, they are starting over in an unfamiliar place. This transition is heartbreaking and exhausting, especially for their six-year-old child who is struggling to understand why everything familiar has suddenly disappeared.

This family has always been generous, humble, and hardworking. Now, they need help. Your donation—no matter how small—can make a world of difference as they find housing, enroll their child in school, and begin to rebuild from scratch. Even if you’re unable to give financially, your prayers, shares, and kind words mean so much.

Let’s come together and show them that they are not alone in this.

With love and gratitude,

Gabriela Bohnett