Almost there!

Praise God!  Hogar de la Esperanza is now getting very close, hopefully within a week, to being an officially licensed group home for special needs orphans!  We have been working on the licensing process for this ministry for quite some time.  And we are so excited that we are now getting close to the end of that process and to the beginning of this exciting ministry! 

This group home will be family based.  We will be bringing the children into our house and living with our family, as valuable members of the family.  They will eat at the table with us, have family devotions with us, go to church with us, etc.  Our goal is to live as a family, not as an institution.  This is not to imply that all institutions are bad; it is just to say that our desire/passion is to give these precious children a family, not a large institutional setting.  We believe that they can receive better care in a smaller setting.  Plus, every child deserves to be part of a family.

We are being licensed to take in children from birth to 12 years of age.  Although once they are in our home, they do not have to leave when they turn 13.  We will be specializing in children with moderate to severe Cerebral Palsy (like our daughter Kimmie), Spina Bifida (like our son Joshua), and Down’s Syndrome.  We will be licensed to take in up to 12 children.  But likely, depending on the severity of their needs, that number will be lower.

Although we want to stay small enough to keep the family feel, we also recognize that we need help in the home in order to give these children and our own children quality care and attention.  Therefore, we will hire help as necessary.  Our goal is to hire mothers of special needs children to help in our home…especially widowed/single mothers.  In preparation for the upcoming opening of the home, we have recently hired our first in-home worker.  Her name is Aura, and she is a single mother of eight beautiful daughters, one of which has some special needs.  She has already proved herself to be an honest and hard worker.  Right now she is cleaning and cooking  (Guatemalan food) for us.  But, as we start taking in children, she will also help with childcare…bathing, changing, feeding, and loving on the children.  She is a great blessing to us; and this job has already been a real blessing to her and her daughters, as she had no income previously.  We praise God for sending Aura to us.

Our family and the children who will be brought into our home will continue to live on the lower level of our house, while the second level will continue to be used for hosting others—ministry teams from the States, Guatemalan families with whom we work that need a place to stay when they come to the Antigua area for doctor’s appointments, and others as needs arrive.  We are very grateful that God has blessed us with this large home which we can use to minister to so many people.

This is such an exciting time for us, as we have been waiting and working a long time for this ministry to become reality.  Please pray with/for us:

                Praises:

1.      The licensing process is almost complete and the house is ready.

2.     That God started preparing us years ago, when He called us to do foster care and then to adopt special needs orphans.  Those experiences are helping to make this group home seem a little more possible and natural.

3.     That God has already sent us Aura as a valuable staff member in our home.

4.     That God has given us children that understand our call and want to help with the ministry.

                Requests:

1.     We recognize that with the opening of this home, our family life is going to change  significantly.  Please pray that we will transition as smoothly as possible into this new  family ministry.

2.     That even now, God will prepare the right children for us and prepare us for them.

3.     That Daryl and I will be able to successfully juggle our present responsibilities along with the new responsibilities of this added ministry.

Your prayers, encouragement, and support are greatly appreciated and needed.  Thank you to all who are ministering with us in these ways!   You are also valuable members of our team!