Dustin, a professional photographer and member of the Asbury group, took some spectacular Easter pictures of our children while the team was here.  The children loved getting dressed up in their Sunday best and they all looked so beautiful and handsome.   Here are the pictures.

Remember, once you click on an image and it enlarges, you can navigate to the next image by clicking on the right side of the image (a “NEXT” button appears) or return to the previous picture by clicking the left side of the image (a “PREV” button appears). When you are done, click the “CLOSE” button or click outside of the picture. 

Once again this year we had the privilege of having the youth ministry from Asbury United Methodist Church in Tulsa, OK serve at our children’s home.  This is the 4th year they have been here.  In previous years they put on a new roof over our patio, did an incredible mural, and repainted the entire home.   This year, we had some different projects lined up for them.

Storage Shed

First up was a new storage shed that we needed to be build on the second floor to hold our our tools, paint, and other maintenance items.  Our good friend Joe Brauer put together a wonderful design and in a few short days, put together the perfect storage shed, complete with a light, outlet, shelving, and hooks for everything you can imagine.

Joe with the completed tool shed

Laundry Room Shelves

We also had to tackle the installation of new shelving in our laundry room.  Some of the shelving was a cinch to put up since we were going through metal prefabricated walls.  But others were incredibly hard as we had to drill through what seemed to be drill-proof concrete.  It took two batteries, three concrete bits, and a lot of sweat and muscle to get those things in there.  Thankfully, man prevailed this time and the new shelves look incredible and will be very helpful to our staff.

Bunk Bed

The third project was the construction of a new bunk bed for the girls room.  The idea of the bunk beds have always been to give the kids more space in their rooms and not necessarily being able to take in more children.  But with the addition of Pamela and Joshua (who came while the team was here), a bunk bed became necessary.

One of the groups of students that help build the bunk bed

With a great group of guys and girls, we worked for the entire week on building this bed out of raw lumber.  No IKEA stuff here.  We found a beautiful design online, modified it to make it stronger, and then the team worked hard to bring it to life.  After 4 days of cutting, sanding, painting, sanding, painting, and some more sanding and painting, the bed was done and turned out beautifully.  I had always thought this would be a fun “weekend” project to do by myself, but after this week, I see it would have been virtually impossible to do this without their help.

The finished bunk bed

Extreme Room Makeover

The final but most important and involved project we had was the Extreme Home Makeovers we wanted to do in the children’s rooms.  Of course we wanted to do themes so a few monts back we had decided upon a girly theme for the girls room, a forest theme for the younger boys, a space theme for the older boys, and a sophisticated sports theme for Miguel’s room.  We gave the group complete creative freedom and what they came up with is simply breathtaking.

However these makeovers are about so much more than just a pretty room.  We had some very specific goals in mind with the design:

Individuality: In so many orphanages children become lost in the crowd.  ”Who am I?”  They have shared clothing and shared toys and really don’t have the opportunity to discover who they are.  But we know that each and every child is an incredibly unique creation, a masterpiece designed by God himself.  It’s great to share things, but having objects and spaces that are your own is also important.  We wanted to recreate this in the design with personalized spaces, and individual bookshelves and nightstands.

Importance and Belonging: One of the biggest struggles orphans deal with is abandonment and belonging.  ”If my family, the one group of people in the world that should love me, left me, then where do I belong?  Am I disposable?”  Of course, our children’s home is structured to combat these feelings by giving our children and family like environment.  But we wanted to bring this concept into their rooms as well.  Before the team came down they painted wood letters to make up each child’s name and then we placed these names on the walls.  Ideally, we wanted to place them by their beds, but because of lack of wall space, that wasn’t always possible.  However the idea remains.  Every child is important (even Joshua and Pamela, the newest children got their names as well) and they have a place to belong to.

Encouraging: As we thought of the designs, we wanted to encourage the children and give them places to show off their artwork, school work, letters, or whatever.  So we placed bulletin boards by each bed so they have an area they can “show off” their individual accomplishments and be reminded of how talented each person is.

Reading: We also wanted to design the space to encourage reading.  With shelves and night lights, the children can place their favorite books next to their bed and read them.  The more access they have to being able to read, the more likely they will actually do it.

Fun: Finally, we wanted the rooms to be fun.  We wanted them to wake up in the morning with a smile of their face.  When they look at the ceiling and see the planets floating, or when they open their eyes and see pink puff balls, or when Miguel throws the ball at his miniature basketball hoop from the comfort of his bed, we want it to bring a smile to their faces.

What makes Extreme Home Makeover on TV so watchable and lovable is that the show isn’t really about the house.  Sure they make it huge, and beautiful, and it meets the family’s needs, but it is never about just that.  It is always about the family, and how the house gives the family hope, peace, joy, happiness.  It connects with them on an intimate level.  The house is as much personalized to their emotional needs as it is to their physical ones.  That is why the show is so popular.  The human connection.  And this is exactly what Asbury achieved here.  They have connected with our children on an emotional level and through tangible items like paint and curtains have brought smiles to all their faces.  We are eternally grateful.

Finally, a special thanks to Fufi, Joe, Cindy, Chris, and Todd for making this all possible. God bless you all!

Here are some panoramic shots of each of the rooms to give a better idea of how they turned out.  You can move around and zoom in and out of each one.  I’ll be posting all the pictures late on.

Note: Having the panoramas embedded here was causing problems with certain people. We’ve replaced them with images that link to the actual panoramas.  Click them to see the panoramas on your computer, iPhone, or iPad.  

The Girl’s Room – Pink Girly Theme

The Young Boy’s Room – Forest Theme

The Older Boy’s Room – Space Theme

Miguel’s Room - Sophisticated Sports Theme

In mid March, Brenda and Jennifer, founders of Hope For Tomorrow Children’s Home, were here in Guatemala visiting.  For Brenda, who hadn’t been here for almost a year, it was especially wonderful because she was able to meet for the first time so many of our new children.  Here are some pictures from there trip.  Enjoy!

Remember, once you click on an image and it enlarges, you can navigate to the next image by clicking on the right side of the image (a “NEXT” button appears) or return to the previous picture by clicking the left side of the image (a “PREV” button appears). When you are done, click the “CLOSE” button or click outside of the picture. 

January has been quite the busy, but blessed month.  Proof of that is the same day Miguel got his tonsils out, 5 year old Vilma finally came to be part of our family!  I say “finally” because we had been trying to make this happen since December 28th, the day that Juana and Willie went home with their aunts and uncles.  Just hours after we returned from their court hearing, we received a phone call from an orphange wondering if we could receive Vilma.  Talk about incredible timing.  God in his infinite wisdom had allowed Juana and Willie to go home, opening up space in the Children’s Home for Vilma.  Awesome!  That afternoon Diana and drove down to the orphanage to get more information and meet Vilma and we both fell in love.

Meeting Vilma for the first time

She was a sweet, smiling, and energetic little girl and we knew she would be a perfect addition to the family (we have quite a few energetic children so she would fit right in!!!)  However as we learned more about her story our heart broke for her.  She had been abandoned at just 4 months old and then taken to an orphanage.  Things looked up when a few years later a Guatemalan woman decided to adopt her, but that was short lived and just 6 months later the adoptive mother decided she could no longer care for Vilma.  She was then taken to this last orphanage.  Unfortunately, this place was only set up to care for babies and they soon saw Vilma’s age and size to be problematic for the other children. They contacted us and wanted to know if we would be willing to take Vilma in. Of course!!  In short, Vilma at such a young age, has already been shuffled around between 4 different places.  Constantly adjusting, never knowing how long she will stay, wondering who will abandon her next.   We immediately knew that the Lord had called us to step in and change this siutation.  We had been given an opportunity to give hope, peace, and love to this little girl and there was no way we were going to say no.

Unfortunately, the transfer took longer than expected but on January 26th, as Miguel was in recovery, I received a phone call from the court saying the paperwork had finally be processed.  I left Diana with Miguel and rushed down to the courts and picked up the paperwork, and then went to the orphanage where Vilma was waiting.

Vilma and the girls

When I walked in she was standing by the door with a pretty Hello Kitty dress and a pink suitcase with her belongings.  She had the biggest grin on her face, but when she saw I was alone, she asked me very bluntly, “where’s the other lady?”  She was, of course, referring to Diana, and I explained that she was with Miguel.  That answer seemed to be good enough for her.   As I was getting some final instructions from the other director, I could tell she was excited about going.  In fact, as we were about to leave, she almost forgot to say goodbye to everyone!  But thankfully, it made for an easy transition.  We talked all the way home and the entire time she called me “Mister”, since she could quite get my name down.

Once we got to the home, all the other children were just in awe, and immediately I heard Lidia whisper over to Amelia, “she looks just like Teresita.”, another girl that was part of the children’s home a few years back.  Vilma met all the rest of the children and then started to play.   The Lord really was in the middle of all of this and we are so happy that Vilma is now part of the family.  It gives us great joy to be able to comfort her and tell her that she has finally found a family that will love her, care for her, and NEVER let her go.

You can learn more about Vilma and even sponsor her here.

Since 2011 we have had the privilege of partnering with The Shalom Foundation to get medical assistance for our children.  In February of last year, they helped coordinate Juan Jose and Carlos’ dental surgeries (read about it here, here, and here), something we had been trying to do for more than 2 years.  Since then they have brought teams of physical and occupational therapists to see Carlos, have done medical check ups on our children, and have been helped purchased clothing and even beds for new children when they come.  Already, they have been incredibly supportive of our ministry and last week they were there for us again with a team of surgeons that removed Miguel’s tonsils.

We found out about Miguel’s enlarged tonsils back in 2010 when Rebecca’s mother, Ruth Ann, came and did dental work on our children.  As she was working on Miguel she noticed that his tonsils were severely swollen, but thankfully not infected.  In fact, she said that in all her years of practice, she had never seen someone with tonsils that large!  Over the following months we looked into doing the surgery at a private hospital but they were much too expensive.   We even tried to contact surgical teams that were coming down to Guatemala but they were working outside the city and didn’t want to risk operating since tonsillectomies can bleed out and there weren’t hospitals nearby.  Thankfully, in December of last year, the Shalom Foundation informed us of a team of ENT’s that were coming in January to do surgeries at their recently constructed hospital, the Moore Pediatric Surgical Center.  We got Miguel signed up and a few short weeks later it was the day of his surgery.

Lidia and Katy hugging Miguel after he got back from his surgery

Ruth took Miguel bright and early to their hospital, but he was the last person to be scheduled since they were going by age.  He had not eaten anything as of lunch the day before and by the time he was up, he was hungry and bored!  Of course, he was also a bit nervous, but we had been praying with him a lot over the past days and that really helped to comfort him.   Once he went into the surgery, it took about an hour and 15 minutes until he was out.  Amazingly, even these doctors said he had the biggest tonsils they had ever removed before!  Thankfully, they also went ahead and took out his adenoids, something else that was swollen and making it hard for him to breath.

Because the surgery happened so late in the day, the doctors kept Miguel over night.  Ruth, Diana and I had been with him throughout the day, so Blanca, the cook, came and stayed the night with him.  The next morning we picked him up and brought him home.  When we opened the door, all the children were there waiting and had made get well soon cards for him.  It was a very touching moment and it’s amazing to see the love the children have for one another.

We want to thank all of you who were praying for Miguel before, during, and after his surgery.  His recovery has been without incident and he was back at school the following week.  And of course, we also want to thank The Shalom Foundation for their support and help with this entire process.  They have been instrumental in providing the medical care our children need and we are eternally grateful.

"We Love You Miguel" - the sign the children made for Miguel

Recently Jane, a friend of our ministry and adoptive mother, contacted us regarding her daughter who was turning 16 years old.  Usually, the family doesn’t do big birthday celebrations but this year was going to be differente because her daughter Jaqueline wanted to have a party and instead of asking for gifts for herself, wanted everyone to bring a donation for our children.  Here’s the letter she sent out to friends and family:

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope that you will join us in celebrating my 16th birthday.  I am thankful to be celebrating with you here in the United States.  I am blessed to have such a great family and friends that have accepted me when I joined the family through adoption.

There really isn’t anything I want or need for my birthday.  I am thankful for what I already have.  So, in honor of my birthday, I would like to help other children that were not as fortunate as me.  There are many children that were left behind in Guatemala without a family to call their own.  In addition there are many that are starving, have no shoes, clothes, or shelter.

I will be traveling to Guatemala on January 18th… While I am in Guatemala, I will have the opportunity to help other children in need.  I plan to spend time at Hope For Tomorrow orphanage.  My plan is to buy things the kids need and take them out for a day of fun.  Hopefully we can have a pizza party for them, go bowling, or anything else that we can arrange.

So, instead of a birthday present for me, I hope that you might consider contributing to my cause to that together, we can help those who were left behind.

Love,

Jacqueline

What an amazing story of self sacrifice and willingness to serve others.  In the words of her mother, “I am SO PROUD of her for wanting to do this.  She could get a lot of gifts/money at her party but she is willing to forgo that all for other children in Guatemala.”

Fast forward a few weeks and Jaqueline, her sister Karly, and her mother Jane were down in Guatemala celebrating with our children.  Through her birthday party she raised more than $1000 and with that money bought our children school supplies, clothes, and some wonderful gifts for Miguel’s 14th birthday (like an iPod nano!!).  But by far the best part of it all was taking all the children out with the family.  On a Saturday morning we packed the kids in the van and went bowling!  This is one activity we had never done before and the children were really excited.  After bowling and some pizza, we were all still excited and full of adrenaline so before heading home we took a detour to the park and spent some time there just hanging out and playing.  The entire day was incredible and the children had a blast.

We are all so thankful to people like Jaqueline who have put the children of our Home before their own personal wants or desires.  Being able to witness these incredible acts of kindess and grace is encouraging, not to mention the wonderful examples they are for our own children.  We pray that they will learn from people like Jaqueline what it means to “love your neighbor”.  Thank you Jaqueline for your passion, your sacrifice, and the example you are.

Here are some pictures from our bowling adventure.

On December 8th, we received a phone call regarding two children that had been removed from a neglectful and abusive environment. Even though it would put us above capacity, we knew the Lord was calling us to step in and that evening we welcomed Juanita (5 years old) and Willie (3 years old). These two children came to us in such horrible conditions that it broke our hearts and made us angry all at once. But in the middle of sadness and anger, we were just happy they were with us…even if it was for a short time. Just 20 days later, at their court hearing, their aunts and uncles, disgusted and ashamed at the treatment Juana and Willie’s mother have given them, came forward to care for these two precious children. They are now happily with them in a loving environment, but their smiles are still close to our hearts.

We share the following photos as a reminder of the condition so many children live in, but also to show the difference you are helping to make through our ministry.

Their Arrival

The Difference A Little Love Makes