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

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.

This Christmas our children were blessed to have three different groups of people donate gifts for their Christmas.  The first group was led by some friends of our from our church small group.  They spoke with friends and family member and raised fund to not only buy Christmas presents but to also have dinner and a piñata. We wrote about it before and you can read about the wonderful evening here.

On Christmas eve, we brought the rest of the presents over and celebrated Christmas with all the children.  We started the evening reading about the birth of Christ and explaining that this is the true meaning behind Christmas.  The gifts and presents, while exciting and fun, are meant to symbolize the greatest gift of all: the birth of Christ.  Diana did a wonderful job reading the story with passion and excitement and afterwards, we prayed with all the children.  Then after a brief photo session, we dove into the Christmas gifts.

The second group of gifts also came from our church, but this was organized by our Operation Christmas Child program.  If you aren’t familiar with it, church members fill a shoe box full of items for either a boy or a girl of a specific age.  Then these christmas boxes are delivered to children who might not have gotten a present.  Best of all, they include a personal note in the box, sharing about their families, favorite Bible verses, and what Christ means to them.  It truly is a wonderful program that puts smiles on faces of thousands of children around the world.  Thankfully, this year the program leaders selected us as one of the groups that would be receiving these gifts.  We picked them up from church and brought them over to the children on Christmas Eve and they loved them!  It’s amazing how much stuff can fit into a shoe box.

The third set of Christmas presents came from Diana’s sister that was in from Spain.  She and her husband graciously donated some gifts for all the children.  When we handed out these gifts all of the children were in awe of what they received, but no one more than Willie.  He received a plastic yellow truck and when he saw it he couldn’t contain his excitement.  He repeatedly went around to all of us showing his bright yellow truck with a smile that stretched ear to ear.  Even after handing out the other presents, he always went back to the truck and even when we left a few hours later, he was still running up and down the halls with it.

To us it’s always amazing how such small things can have the biggest impact in the lives of children.  While they of course love the gifts, what truly brings a smile to their faces is to know they aren’t forgotten.  They realized that there are people beyond the children’s home that love and pray for them.  That’s the greatest gift of all: to share hope, peace, love, and comfort to children that sometimes feel abandoned and ignored.

We would like to publicly thank all of the people that were involved in making this such a wonderful Christmas for our children.  People sacrificed time and money to bring a smile to our children’s faces and we can’t be more thankful.  I would also like to thank Diana publicly for contacting, planning and organizing the three different groups of presents.  She was the catalyst for all the gifts the children received.

Thank you all and God bless!

Here are some pictures from our Christmas

We are always looking for unique ways for people to support our ministry and with the help of a few friends (Susie, Christy, and Mary Louise), we have come up with the best yet: our Online Gift Catalog.  If you are looking for a unique way to give a gift to a friend or loved one, look no further than our gift catalog.  Our gift catalog has multiple gifts at different prices that all benefit the children of Hope For Tomorrow.  It’s a perfect way to give a gift that will not only bring a genuine smile to the recipient’s face but also impacts the lives of orphaned children in Guatemala.  Not to mention it saves you the time and trouble of searching for something he or she probably already has.  It’s a win win!

After choosing your gift, you also have the option of personalizing a card that explains the impact their gift has on our ministry.  It’s easy to email or print and is the perfect complement to the gift you have given.

To see our gift catalog, just click here or go to www.hope4tomorrow.net/gifts/

Of course, you can always continue to make an online donation or sponsor a child.  Our online gift catalog is just one more way  for you to support our children.

One final idea is to combine a Hope Birthday with our Online Gift Catalog.   The next time you have a birthday or anniversary party, instead of requesting gifts, point people to our online gift catalog and have them purchase their gifts for you there.  A Hope Birthday and our Online Gift Catalog is a match made in heaven!

This past week we had a few of our friends from church come over and celebrate Christmas with our children.  Two couples, Pablo and Wendy, and Byron and Jennifer, came by Friday afternoon with a few surprises.  They started off with dinner from Burger King, which the children just loved.  In fact, it was Juanita and Willie’s first cheeseburger ever, and they didn’t quite know what to do with it!  After dinner, they brought out a piñata for everyone to enjoy and one by one the children took turns whacking the paper mache Smurf.  Finally, for the main event, we moved to the living room where one by one the couples gave each child a Christmas gift.

The evening was quite special, not because of the food or gifts or presents, but because of the interaction between the children and our friends.  It’s not too often that Guatemalan’s come by and visit the children, but when they do, the connection between the two groups is always very special.  They understand each other cultural which is so important.  They speak the same language, share the same jokes, know the television shows, remember the same games they played when they were younger.  This, more than anything else, make these moments so important and inspiring.

So thank you to Pablo, Wendy, Byron, and Jennifer, and to all their friends that donated to make the evening possible.  It was wonderful!

Our friends took some pictures while they were there and we wanted to share them here.

Most people don’t look very forward to their 50^th birthday. I was certainly one of those people. However, my 50^th birthday turned out to be a red letter day for me. Co-Founder of Hope for Tomorrow, Brenda Riddle worked with my family and friends to throw me a surprise party that I will long remember. Around 50 of my family, friends, and co-workers surprised me at the Alumni House at the University of Kentucky on April 28^th. We had wonderful hors devours, birthday cake, and a special slide show developed by my “longest” friend, Rita Rector. The biggest surprise of the evening was a special performance by my second family; the children of Hope for Tomorrow. They sang “Happy Birthday” to me in both Spanish and English. The children prepared a choreographed dance for me and each child introduced him or herself to my friends in Lexington. I felt so blessed to share this important day with my entire family. In honor of the occasion, Brenda asked that attendees make a donation to Hope for Tomorrow in lieu of birthday gifts. I am excited to report that my HOPE Birthday party raised nearly $2,000 for the children’s home.

This was not the first HOPE Birthday party in my family. When our son Kendall turned 11, he decided to forego gifts and asks friends to make a donation in his honor to Hope for Tomorrow. With the help of party-planner and steering committee member Diane Haynes, we had a carnival at my sister’s farm and invited his entire 5^th grade class. The children played “roulette”, corn hole, and other carnival games. In return for their success at the games, children earned tickets that they could “cash in” at the store we set up. There they could “buy” candy, toys, and trinkets with their tickets. At Kendall’s party, $400 was raised.

If you are looking for a creative way to celebrate someone’s special birthday, consider a Hope Birthday Party. It is a wonderful way to honor someone’s commitment to children in a way they will never forget. Please contact any of us on the steering committee if you need ideas!

Jennifer's 50th Birthday Invitation

Kendall's HOPE Birthday Party