Although neither of us would call ourselves master chefs, we decided to put our cooking skills to the test in the challenge of a lifetime: feeding the Hope for Tomorrow family. Blanca does it flawlessly every day; however, we found a path with a few more bumps in the road still turns out okay as well.

It started on Friday with a rainy trip to the super market with Edwin and Miguel. We ran around Wal-Mart, translating the recipe, comparing prices, and simply trying to find the items we needed. The trip was full of laughs, as we were all happy to spend time together working to accomplish step one of our cooking escapade.

Sunday our skills were truly put the test. After church and a walk with the kids, we decided to assist Blanca in making lunch to practice for the big dinner. She shared a few tricks that helped dramatically when we began our preparations for dinner later that afternoon. We started by letting each of the kids pour out the bags of noodles we would use for our Pasta Bake. Then, Lidia and Amelia joined us to cook the meat, boil the noodles, and assemble our casseroles. We lost a few noodles along the way to hungry, curious kids but most of them made it safely into the dish.

Once the casseroles were prepared, the girls loaded them carefully into the oven. Then Bethany and the girls made a mad dash to the super market for bread while Katherine and Edwin stayed behind to set the table and wash dishes. Excitement arose as the aroma of cheesy pasta filled the house. The casseroles were done just in the knick of time and served to a hungry, eager family. The smiles, “yums”, and begging for seconds proved our dinner was a success! We showered Blanca with gratitude for the challenge she faces every day of not just one meal but three fantastic meals. We truly are blessed!

-Katherine and Bethany

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My name is Katherine Clark and I am a short term volunteer here at Hope For Tomorrow. I wanted to share a memorable experience from my trip in hopes of inspiring potential ideas for future volunteers!

I have been a member of the Clark County YMCA of Southern Indiana for more than eight years. I have worked throughout this particular branch for nearly five years, spending the majority of my time in the Kids’ Adventure Room. In the KAR, my job consists of playing with and caring for the children while their parents exercise.

YMCA Preschool drawing pictures for Hope for Tomorrow

Needless to say, the YMCA holds a special place in my heart. When Y members and staff heard of my plans to volunteer with Hope For Tomorrow, they were eager to help and support my efforts in any way they could. Numerous members and staff alike participated in the Mark’s Feed Store Fundraiser I initiated for Hope For Tomorrow. My YMCA family also offered countless prayers, positive thoughts, and good vibes directed to my new family at Hope For Tomorrow.

At the YMCA, I also spend a lot of time working in their preschool program. I was so excited when they invited me to talk about Hope For Tomorrow and to teach the kids a short Spanish lesson. The Y preschoolers colored beautiful pictures for me to bring to the children of Hope For Tomorrow. Each of them wrote the phrase: “Que Dios le te bendiga” which translates to “God bless you” on the top of their cards.

The children drawing back to the YMCA Preschool

When I presented the children from Hope For Tomorrow with the pictures drawn by the YMCA preschoolers, they were bursting with joy and excitement. Rosa was especially pleased, as she brought every picture to her school the next day in order to show her teachers and friends the beautiful drawings she had received.

The children from Hope For Tomorrow immediately wished to return the favor by coloring pictures for the Y preschoolers. The kids and I had a blast drawing pictures and decorating their cards with stickers galore! I cannot wait to present the YMCA preschoolers with the cards that the children at Hope For Tomorrow have made for them in return.

This easy activity proved to serve as a bridge to combine two very important parts of my life. I am blessed to have the opportunity to serve here as I continue to grow and develop spiritually.

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The summer here at Hope for Tomorrow is revving up to be a big one. God has blessed us with an abundance of people who care about our kids and desire to serve with us. From individual volunteers to large groups, our summer line-up is full of amazing people. Following is a brief preview of what the next three months look like for our ministry:

• May 26^th – July 27^th we have a returning volunteer, Bethany, working with us as our volunteer and group coordinator.

• May 31^st – June 10^th Katherine, a short-term volunteer, will be working in the home assisting with the children and teaching English lessons at Hope Preschool.

• June 16^th – June 23^rd our first church group, First Christian Bowling Green, will be working with us on construction projects at our new property as well as at one of our caregiver’s homes.

• June 25^th – August 30^th Will, a long-term volunteer, will be working with teams, fostering discipleship in the children, and assisting with administrative work.

• June 25^th – July 5^th co-founder Jennifer Grisham-Brown and her students from the University of Kentucky will do evaluations with our children and the preschoolers.

• June 30^th – July 4^th Kristina, another returning volunteer, will be assisting with child-care and spending time with the children.

• July 5^th – 22^nd Muldraugh Baptist Church will work on construction projects at the new property as well as do therapy and bible studies with the children.

• July 7^th – August 7^th Marisa will be here to spend time with the kids and assist with the needs of the ministry.

• July 15^th – 22^nd Grace Community Baptist Church will be working on construction projects at the new property.

• July 24^th – August 2^nd McGregor Baptist Church will be traveling to work on construction projects and assist in medical clinics in Santiago.

• August 4^th – 10^th Brookdale will be working on construction at the new property.

• August 16^th – 23^rd Hope Community Church will be demonstrating parenting workshops for the caregivers and doing Bible studies with the children.

We cannot thank each of these groups enough for the work they will be doing with us this summer. We are incredibly blessed to have such great people supporting our ministry. As we prepare for an eventful summer, please pray for everyone involved.

• Pray for the daily life at the home, that it would continue to flow and thrive through the busyness of groups and activities.
• Also be praying for the groups and volunteers, that they would be effective in their work and they would see God working through them to impact each of our kids.
• We also desire each of the volunteers to be transformed through their work here; be praying for God to use our ministry to bless and grow them as much as they bless us.
• Also be praying for the safety of the groups as they work on construction projects. May they meet all of their goals for each project and bless every place they work.
• Last but not least, continue to pray for our new property. We are stepping out in faith in beginning construction projects before we officially own the house. Pray that the building license would come through so that we can begin work and that God would provide the finances to make payments on the house.

We are so excited for the work God will do this summer through each group and volunteer here at Hope for Tomorrow!

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On Sunday Miguel, Amelia, Lidia, Katy and I spent the afternoon in the kitchen.  I have always loved to bake, and I am thoroughly convinced that there is no better bonding experience than enjoying delicious food together.  Therefore the decision to make cake balls with these kids was an easy one to make.  Cake balls have become a fairly popular phenomenon in the United States, but no one here had ever heard of them before.  The best translation I could find for these tasty little treats was “pelotitas de pastel.”  I showed the kids a picture of the finished project to convince them that it was a good idea.  Luckily it did not take too much convincing.

Mixing together the oil, eggs, water and cake mix went smoothly.  Except for having to translate the directions on the back of the box to English, I might as well have been in my own kitchen at home.  However, our baking skills were truly put to the test when we had to cook the cakes in an oven that only has one temperature – hot.  Amazingly enough we managed to pull the cakes out before the smell of burnt cake filled the whole house, and we only had to pick off a few black edges.  It was a miracle!

Once the cakes were done I told the kids to break apart the cake into a bowl.  I truly wish I had a picture of their faces at this moment.  Every one of them (as well as Blanca the cook) was looking at me like I was crazy.  They could not understand why we would break apart a perfectly good-looking cake.  In my broken Spanish, I tried to assure them that the finished product would be worth it.

We had a great time breaking, mixing, rolling and dipping the pelotitas de pastel.  The hardest part for the kids was all of the waiting that was required as we let the mixture firm up in the freezer.  Thankfully, though, we had enough leftover icing and chocolate chips to get us through that long break.  There were plenty of cake balls to go around, so we shared with everyone at dinner on Sunday night.  We had a lot of fun and, as always, I loved getting to spend a bit of quality time with the older kids!

Cake Balls in the freezer

Amelia and Miguel rolling the cake balls

Lidia and Katy making cake balls

Katy having fun

Chef Miguel

Lidia

Amelia breaking the cake apart

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Hi, my name is Caroline, and I am a new volunteer here at Hope for Tomorrow Children’s Home.  I have the awesome opportunity to spend the next month here, and I am so excited to see what the Lord has in store.  I am about to begin my junior year at Baylor University in the fall.  Although my major is International Studies, my heart is in education.  Shortly after graduating from high school, I got the chance to come to Guatemala with a mission team from my home church in Nashville, Tennessee.  I loved this country, and I had a strong feeling that I would return someday.  Well, here I am!  About a year ago, I began searching for opportunities to spend part of my summer in Guatemala.  After a few months, God led me to the Hope for Tomorrow Children’s Home website.  I knew right away that this was the place God had for me.

When I arrived here on Wednesday, Kenneth asked me what my expectations were.  It was not until he asked me this question that I came to the realization that I only had one expectation: to see my God at work in the hearts and lives of the people here.  I hope that I might be able to impact these precious children’s lives in some way; however, I know that God is the only one who can make a real difference in their hearts.  While I was still in Nashville praying for them, God was here already working in each of their lives.  I am humbled and so thankful that such a big God would allow me to be a part of His great plan.

God has already opened my eyes to the reality of His presence at Hope for Tomorrow Children’s Home.  It did not take long for me to recognize that each child is unique.  I have only been here a few days, but I can already see the different qualities that make each child special.  Every child has come from a different background.  Most of them have already experienced more hardship than I can even imagine.  That thought makes my heart break, but I know that the God who created each of them individually has good plans for their lives.  My prayer is that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, they might come to understand the depth of His love and believe that He has a purpose for them.  I cannot wait to spend more time with these precious children and see the work of our perfect Creator in them.  I am confident that the Lord has great things in store for this month!

-Caroline

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This month we had the pleasure of welcoming back our co-founder, Brenda, with a group from her church, Good Shepherd, in Lexington, Kentucky. Their group came down and spent a week bonding with our kids as well as fixing up our home. Their group made our home even more beautiful by enhancing every wall with a new coat of paint. After they were done painting in the mornings, they led VBS with the kids in the afternoons. The kids had all kinds of songs, bible stories, crafts, and games to look forward to when they arrived home from school every day. Along with their group came a doctor who blessed our kids with medical check-ups.

The biggest project the group took on was the construction of a study room for the older kids. This room is such a crucial space to have in our home, as it gives our older children a place of their own. Not only is this study room a place where they can study and focus on their school work, away from the chaos of the smaller children, but also it is also a private, quiet place for them to relax and listen to music, play games, practice piano, etc. They finally have a place where they can sit back and be teenagers, away from the running, playing children. The group painted the walls, put together furniture, put up blinds and cork-board, and constructed desk areas for the children in the study room.We are so thankful for all the hard work their group did improving our home and building bonds with our children.

The group with the kids in the new study room

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Sitting down to write my last blog post while here in Guatemala, I am filled with a plethora of emotions. I think what I’m feeling right now is the definition of bittersweet. My heart is so overjoyed to be back with my family and friends, but so grieved to be leaving behind the people here. God is again instilling in my heart that we only have these people on Earth for a small amount of time, but He is eternal.

One verse that really struck a chord with me during my time here is something Jesus says to His disciples after His encounter with the rich young ruler. In Luke 18:29 He says, “Truly I tell you…no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.” This verse is such an encouragement to me, that, though I left my home and my family, my desires, and my plans, I am receiving so much more in the comforts of God’s spirit and in having a relationship and communion with Him in this short time on Earth, as well as for eternity! Not only that, but I have had the chance to bless others and be blessed by them in my time here. The kids, the moms, Kenneth, Diana, and everyone I’ve met in my time here have had such a huge impact on who I’ve become in the past 6 months. I have been so blessed to be a part of such a great ministry and can’t wait to see what God does with this connection in the future (I do plan on staying involved and coming back…a lot!!)

While I am continuing to trade my plans and desires for the desire’s of God’s heart, I am so blessed to be returning to my family and home. My longing for my parents and my family during this season has opened my eyes to only a portion of what these precious children feel. That pain I feel when I just want my mom to hold me, when I just want to know that my dad is there to protect me, grieves my heart so much and these children feel that, and more, on a deeper level than I can even imagine. However, I know they have a heavenly father who loves them and cherishes them deeply. Psalm 27:10 says, “Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.” Though the situations are reversed, both that verse and the verse from Luke end with the hope of God.  I leave these kids and this ministry with a heavy heart, but knowing fully that God has great plans for all of us and that this is not the end; I plan on returning to Hope for Tomorrow in the near future and can’t wait to see how the kids grow and flourish in the love of Christ while I am away.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. -John 16:33

-Bethany

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