February 24, 2017
I have now been in the States for a little over 5 weeks. As I mentioned before, this is for classes toward my BSN that could not be taken online. Surely God has his hand on this timing because I will also be present for the birth of 2 nieces, one of whom is expected any day. So there has been sweet reunion with my family, and many friends although I have many friends yet to be seen. This time has been refreshing and sweet.
I have had the opportunity to share about Hope for Home Ministries at a few churches, which is always a blessing. This time however, I was twice blessed with time to share through the entire service. This is challenging because I am not gifted with words, not am I a teacher or preacher. So I did what any former bible quizzer would do, and tried to incorporate as much scripture as possible to say what needed to be said beyond describing the ministry. God really pushed me in the preparation of this, and it was a rich time studying.
While I am here, I will be shadowing at a wound care center to train some for the wounds we see in Guatemala, although I have hit some roadblocks here and setting this up has taken far longer than I anticipated.
I have been staying with my younger brother and his wife who are now a few days past their baby’s due date. This has been helpful for them and for myself as I have been able to help with some organization before miss Shyloh arrives. This arrangement has benefited me greatly because their apartment is 7 minutes from my campus, or a 45 minute walk. While I have been staying with them, I have taken part in the ministries they participate in here in Fairborn Ohio. The most notable of these is their involvement with International Friendship Incorporated. This is a ministry which works with international students who come to Dayton to attend university as Wright State University, and other local campuses. This ministry had the ability to reach and minister to students from all around the world. Many of these students can then return home and share the gospel in areas where no foreign missionary would be able to go.
This is how I found myself once again sitting next to someone with whom I could not communicate. Many of the students went to BDubs after their prayer meeting, and invited friends who had not been at the meeting. I arrived late, and sat with my brother and sister-in-law next to a young man from Egypt who had not yet learned much English. So we used our phones to ask basic questions between English and Arabic. Technology is an incredible tool for witnessing.
April 26, 2017
It has been a while since my last update since I have been state side. To be honest, I have really put off writing this because by writing about everything that has happened, I have to relive it over again, and I have not wanted to do that. But feelings aside, here we go!
On February 2, Genesis arrived at the home. She is three years old, and has cerebral palsy. Though I have not met her yet, I am told that she is very sweet and loving. She has adopted Ruavis’s old wheelchair while Ruavis not sits in Humberto’s old chair, and Humberto has a new chair to accommodate these two growing boys!
On March 8, all within our ministry were shocked when we learned that our dear friend, and codirector in the ministry, Manuel Moran had been murdered in near his home in Chimaltenango. The best we can tell is that this was possibly a gang initiation. I’m afraid I really can’t go into detail, so I’ll share Daryl’s post. http://hopeforhome.blogspot.com/2017/03/murder-fires-and-hope.html To be honest, I still do not understand why God chose to call him home early. He was an incredible man of God who was so good at meeting families where they were to minister to their needs physical, and spiritual. He was also a good father, involved in the lives of his family, and devoted to his wife. He was a dear friend. I loved traveling with him to the remote villages. For the first several months we couldn’t even communicate because he did not speak Spanish, and I had not yet learned Spanish. But you do not need words to communicate love or friendship. So, I do not understand God’s timing. But I know that he knows what he is doing, and all this is in his hands.
Earlier
that same day, an orphanage near Guatemala city was set on fire, and
burned. Nearly 40 teenaged girls were killed. Again, there is much
more to this, but I’ll again divert you to the director’s blog
http://hopeforhome.blogspot.com/2017/03/murder-fires-and-hope.html
Due
to the overcrowding, nearly 750 children occupied this orphanage
built for 400. As more and more information came out, it became clear
that Hogar Sergio was responsible for great neglect, abuse, and
trafficking. As terrible as the fire, were the reports of what the
children had been subjected to in what should have been a place of
refuge. To be honest, I have struggled a lot with anger that a place
like this had been allowed to continue for so long.
I really cannot go into more detail about these things myself because to be honest, it still hurts so much. So I am sharing what others have posted because I have really put off writing this for weeks and weeks.
These events culminating on the same day were simply crippling. In the home, normally when tragedies happen, or when we have lost a child, the pain is near, but we must continue to work and care for our other children. We are surrounded by the love of family, and we help each other grieve. It has been very difficult to be so far away from the family during all of this. Friends and family are amazing and speak many healing words. But it was hard for them to understand a loss of people whom had never met. But I think God looks out for every small detail. When I learned of these tragedies, I was with a team from my home church who were fixing up a few old houses in Tennessee to be used by a ministry called Cross Style. The houses would be used to house men and women newly released from prison. They had been discipled while in prison, and would now continue in the program to re integrate, but most importantly, to learn how Christ wanted to use their lives. The ministry also reaches out to the homeless population. This was a week of good, hard work. So you can see that God sent days of physical work and encouragement when I needed it the most. There is nothing like working with your hands. God truly used this time, and those surrounding me to encourage me when I was away from my families.
And now to some of the results from these events. Many homes across Guatemala responded with love offering to take in many of the children twice (or more) uprooted from their homes. Our home agreed to take two boys with special needs from the home. Which would put the home at 15 children in the home originally intended for 10. During this time also, our ministry, together with PGN (the equivalent to child protective services), pushed to open our second home immediately. Within a few weeks, the home was licensed, and open. This was a true testament to the church and Christians who stepped up and donated funds, and supplies to furnish the new home. Within a few days, much of what was needed had been pledged. Praise God for this near miracle. In addition, the staff for the new home, were selected, and began training. We have been blessed by these staff members who had previously volunteered their time to love on children with special needs both in our home, and in the villages. We were blessed to be able to hire Guatemalan friends who both needed the job, and who will love our children genuinely.
Joel, the director’s son-in-law, and his wife Brittney, have moved from San Pablo la Laguna, where they were ministering to their neighbors, back to San Antonio Aguas Calientes, where Hogar de la Esperanza is located. Joel will be phasing in to the responsibilities that Manuel had so faithfully fulfilled. He will be transporting kids to hearings in courts all around, and will be taking children to Dr’s appointments. He will be leading the team into the rural villages, and so so much more.
I really cannot go into more detail about these things myself because to be honest, it still hurts so much. So I am sharing what others have posted because I have really put off writing this for weeks and weeks.
These events culminating on the same day were simply crippling. In the home, normally when tragedies happen, or when we have lost a child, the pain is near, but we must continue to work and care for our other children. We are surrounded by the love of family, and we help each other grieve. It has been very difficult to be so far away from the family during all of this. Friends and family are amazing and speak many healing words. But it was hard for them to understand a loss of people whom had never met. But I think God looks out for every small detail. When I learned of these tragedies, I was with a team from my home church who were fixing up a few old houses in Tennessee to be used by a ministry called Cross Style. The houses would be used to house men and women newly released from prison. They had been discipled while in prison, and would now continue in the program to re integrate, but most importantly, to learn how Christ wanted to use their lives. The ministry also reaches out to the homeless population. This was a week of good, hard work. So you can see that God sent days of physical work and encouragement when I needed it the most. There is nothing like working with your hands. God truly used this time, and those surrounding me to encourage me when I was away from my families.
And now to some of the results from these events. Many homes across Guatemala responded with love offering to take in many of the children twice (or more) uprooted from their homes. Our home agreed to take two boys with special needs from the home. Which would put the home at 15 children in the home originally intended for 10. During this time also, our ministry, together with PGN (the equivalent to child protective services), pushed to open our second home immediately. Within a few weeks, the home was licensed, and open. This was a true testament to the church and Christians who stepped up and donated funds, and supplies to furnish the new home. Within a few days, much of what was needed had been pledged. Praise God for this near miracle. In addition, the staff for the new home, were selected, and began training. We have been blessed by these staff members who had previously volunteered their time to love on children with special needs both in our home, and in the villages. We were blessed to be able to hire Guatemalan friends who both needed the job, and who will love our children genuinely.
Joel, the director’s son-in-law, and his wife Brittney, have moved from San Pablo la Laguna, where they were ministering to their neighbors, back to San Antonio Aguas Calientes, where Hogar de la Esperanza is located. Joel will be phasing in to the responsibilities that Manuel had so faithfully fulfilled. He will be transporting kids to hearings in courts all around, and will be taking children to Dr’s appointments. He will be leading the team into the rural villages, and so so much more.
Carissa and Taryn Fulp, the director’s daughters who had previously been pursuing ministry in Uganda, returned to Guatemala in a hurry to become the directors of this new home. Now here is where God is good. Carissa has been living in Uganda seeking to open a group home for children with disabilities for nearly 2 years, and God had been closing door after door. It seemed confusing that things simply were not progressing there until this home was opened in a hurry and was in need of an experienced head. Where God closes doors, he opens opportunities to trust him. God is so good.
This
new home, Hogar de la Fe, or home of the faith (to match our home of
the hope), is located within eyesight of our existing home. The
original plan was for Michael and Kelly Gross to open this home in
another year or so when they have had time to learn the language and
culture better. But now that it is open so early, Carissa and Taryn
will run the home until January when Michael and Kelly will have
phased into leadership of the home. At this time, they will become
the directors of Hogar de la Fe. Carissa recently announced that in
January, she will move to Liberia to join Don and Melanie Riley in
Hope for Home Liberia, and she will work to open a group home there
for children with special needs. Their layout will look a little
different from Guatemala because they will have a large compound
housing several small group homes consisting of five children, and a
house mother or parents.
While
all these things are incredible, there are still major struggles.
Specifically, corruption and confusion within the government.
Initially, after the fire, there was a push for homes for the
children of hogar sergio. However, the two boys expected by Hogar de
la Esperanza, did not come. They could not find them. Today, over a
month after the fire, they still have not come to the home, and to
our knowledge, they are still missing (although while I am stateside,
I am a little behind on receiving information). Further, although PGN
helped rush our new home into existence, the president signed an
order to remove all children from private run homes, and place them
into government run orphanages. This is appalling to think of kids in
quality homes moving to these government systems that are already
overcrowded. Although our social worker assures us that this will not
actually happen, the judge over two of our kids asked for their
paperwork. Nothing is ever clear in Guatemala, and as this confusion.
Continues, we sit with an open and empty home completely furnished
and staffed, but without any children.
About
two weeks ago, while baby edy was having another run of bad days, he
stopped breathing for 2.5-3 minutes. His bad days are growing longer
and longer while his good days are fewer and fewer. We know that he
is dying, but it is always hard to see him struggling. For me this
raises more conflict. When I hugged him goodbye in January, I
prepared myself that that would be last time I held him. But now that
I have less than a month left in the states, and he is still alive, I
had begun to let myself home I’ll get to hold him again. So the
night I heard that we was doing so poorly, I felt the rush of
emotions about losing him all over again. They are such conflicting
feelings because to wish for a child who suffers so much to stay with
us and suffer even more would be so selfish. But to think of the day
when he is no longer ours to hold is hard to bear. It is a beautiful
and hard thing to love a child home to Jesus.
PGN
has recently asked us to accept a 2 month old baby girl named Analia
into Hogar de la Fe to be their first child. I don’t know all of
her diagnoses, but I do know that she is likely terminal and is
expected to live only around a year. Although this is very hard, I
know that the entire team has great love for God’s children, and
baby Carmen will be loved dearly until her last breath. It is a
beautiful thing for a child to be carried into the arms of Jesus by a
family that loves her rather than through an overcrowded hospital
(though they also may be staffed by caring staff).
Well,
having shared all of this, I think I would just ask for prayers for
everyone involved. This includes prayers for the international
ministry (IFI) in Dayton, and Cross Styles ministry in Tennessee, and
for the growing ministry in Liberia. Pray for Manuel’s wife, and
his two sons. Pray for the children affected by the fire, and for
babies Edy and Analia, that they would feel loved until their final
breaths. Pray also for the staff, new and old at Hope for Home
Guatemala who have experienced such a great loss of a friend, and
fellow worker, and for their unity and strength for the trials to
come.
Most
of all we praise God for his provision. The last few months have been
overwhelming. But God shows time and time again how he provides for
all our needs great and small.
May
10, 2017
--Update!
Baby Analia had finally arrived in her new home Hogar de la Fe!!--
