Contact Information

Need to reach us?

You can email us at palaus@juno.com or call 011-52-664-215-7850 (when calling from North America).

Interns at GCH

Have you ever wondered if God has something special for you to do... something out of the ordinary? Do you think He might be calling you to cross cultural missions? Do you have a passion for loving children and telling them about Jesus? Maybe you should consider an internship at GCH!
In this photo is Erin Ortiz, an intern that currently serves at GCH. Erin would probably tell you her days are busy, but as you can tell from the photo, they're also full of joy!
Want to know more? Here's some info. to ponder or pass along...


WE NEED VOLUNTEER INTERNS!!!

Grace Children’s Home (GCH) is currently recruiting individuals interested in making a 2 month+ commitment to serve needy children in Tijuana, Mexico. Grace Children’s Home consists of 2 group homes and has approximately 30 children, ages 18 months to 12 years old.
Volunteer interns reside in the group homes at GCH and assist house parents in the care of the children as well as various aspects of the program. Interns should be at least 20 years of age, be committed Christians, and have prior experience volunteering in their local church and working with children. Basic Spanish is helpful, but not necessary. Interns may commit for 2 months to 12 months.

When: Summer 2007, June 22 – August 22 (some flexibility on dates can be arranged for school schedules) OR ANY other 2 month+ span during the year

Who: Committed Christians preferably 20 years or older, with prior experience in ministry and working with children. This individual will live in the group home and must have a passion for working with children and helping the house parents provide for the daily care of the children and running the homes.

Some duties would include: supervising/ playing with children, organizing activities, housing cleaning, meal preparation and serving, help with babies, assisting in children’s hygiene and health, assisting volunteers who visit the program, grounds maintenance, organizing supplies, encouraging spiritual growth and good behavior, etc.

Due to the intensity and demands of the children/ program, we seek emotionally and spiritually mature individuals who are able to be flexible, hard-working, self-initiators, caring, and receive direction with a great attitude. This is an incredibly challenging and rewarding ministry opportunity. It changes lives!

The process:
Interested individuals should contact the Yugo office at: (909)592-6621 to request an Application to volunteer at Grace Children’s Home. All requirements of the application process must be completed one month before arrival to GCH.
Individuals are responsible for raising funds &/or paying for the cost of housing, board, etc. The cost is $250 per month. Transportation, telephone & internet use, spending money, and the use of one’s personal vehicle are additional expenses beyond the $250/ month. (We will cover the expense of pick up in San Diego upon arrival and drop of for departure).

Grace Children’s Home is a project of Yugo Ministries, a Christian non-profit organization. For more information on Yugo Ministries and Grace Children’s Home visit: www.yugo.org, click on Mercy Ministries, then on Grace Children’s Home. You may contact the Yugo office at (909)592-6621 or PO Box 25, San Dimas, CA 91773.
To reach the GCH directors, George & Stacey Palau, contact: palaus@juno.com or 011-52-664-215-7850 or PO Box 439016, PMB H-110, San Ysidro, CA 92143; or see our personal site at www.gspalaublog.blogspot.com.

Babies, Seniors & the Struttons

As you may know, one dream of GCH is to someday open a home for babies & a home for seniors next door, giving the seniors the opportunity to help care for the babies. GCH has just 5 more monthly payments to pay off the land on which we hope to build the facilities.

As we began to share this vision, God began to place on the hearts of the Stutton family the desire to come serve in this project. The Struttons, Juan, Alicia, & their 4 children, are from Encinitas, CA.

We continue to pray with the Struttons for God's will and direction for their lives. We hope they'll be able to join us & implement this dream of GCH. Please pray with us for them as they seek God's will and prepare to serve Him.

Thanks Bill!

Bill Mulder, a good friend of GCH, has been faithfully spending his free time & resources wiring the Education Center of GCH. We are greatful for his expertise on this large project and all the wiring it entails. And when he's not pulling wires, he hangs our pinata for our monthly b-day party. THANKS BILL!!

GCH Needs List

Grace Children’s Home Current Needs List (updated 2/07)

Note: All bolded items are high priority needs

Gift cards: Costco, Wal-Mart, Home Depot
Funding:
1. To continue construction of the Education Center
2. To purchase land for Church/ community center
3. For on-going monthly needs (water, electricity, transportation, medicine, etc)

Food: butter, canned fruit, pancake mix, cooking oil, potatoes & tomatoes, cheese, chicken, hamburger meat, beef for stew, roasts, bacon, sausage, cilantro, fresh fruits & veggies, eggs, ham/ sandwich meat, hot dogs, maseca, jello, onion, ketchup, flour tortillas

Cleaning/ Household supplies: laundry soap, Clorox, stain remover for clothes, Ajax, dish soap, pinesol, fabuloso, disinfecting wipes, disinfecting spray, spray bottles, fabric softener sheets, mops w/ refills, foggers (bug bombs), household garbage cans, large Costco-size plastic containers, brooms & dust pans, commercial size pots & pans, rolling pins

Paper products: napkins, Kleenex!, paper towels, surgical gloves, gallon size Ziploc bags, plastic spoons and forks, lunch bags, large black garbage bags, medium kitchen size garbage bags, paper plates!, durable plastic bowls (individual size) & plastic cups

Personal Hygiene: lotion, chapstick/ blistex, shampoo, detangling spray, hair gel, diapers (sizes 6), diaper wipes, thick diaper ointment, deodorant, lice shampoo, feminine hygiene products, disposable razors, hair brushes, purrell,

Clothes: girls knee-hi navy socks (sizes 8-14) and white socks (size 6), knit solid navy sweaters & vests (boys & girls sizes 4T – 14 youth

School supplies: erasers, hard back & CD-Rom Encyclopedias in Spanish for young adults (10+ yr olds), basic English curriculum (w/ workbooks, etc) for teaching 8+yr olds

Vehicles:
1. Fairly new 15+ passenger van – low miles, reliable, good condition, pref. diesel
2. Trailer for intern housing – good condition, electrical/ water working

Other: Large book shelf size cabinet with doors, TV cabinet with doors, rectangle folding tables, folding chairs, large garden storage sheds (3), kids/youth 2 wheel bicycles (durable!), car-port size canopy, Bounce house (for monthly group b-day parties), Hillsong worship CD's in English or Spanish

DAD

As some of you know, my (Stacey's) dad, Don Ballard recently passed away. Thank you to all who have been praying and supporting our family during this time. Our comfort comes from knowing he is now pain-free & cancer-free and enjoying a great banquet in heaven with Jesus (Dad always loved a good party!).

Here is a photo of dad's second visit to GCH, when he and the rest of my family purchased 20+ bikes for the children for Christmas. Every child over 2 got a new bike, and to this day they adorn our yard and provide hours of entertainment! Dad loved to help needy children and I know this day was special to him as well.

We can't wait to see him in heaven!

View of GCH

Another angle of GCH... as seen from the property that will someday host our babies & senior homes. Pretty cool, isn't it? The murals on the sides of the building were done by Santa Cruz Bible Church young adults, under the direction of Brandon Johnson. This photo includes all the buildings that currently exist at GCH... but we have more buildings to come!

Thank you for your patience...

As with you, life sometimes gets busy and we can't get to all the things we'd like to do. Unfortunately, it's been a while since we could update our blog, but we hope to get back on track now so we can keep you updated on life at GCH, prayer requests, etc. Thanks for your patience and prayers!

So what's new at GCH...

Kids are busy in school, learning and growing. The church plant at GCH is growing and many new believers are learning about Christ. This photo is of the adults (& a few of the children) at the Bible study we host on Thursday evenings at GCH. During this time, we also have a program for the kids in the other house. Also, we have almost completed paying off the land where the new baby & senior homes will be built.

The Education Center keeps moving forward -- sheetrock & insulation are the priority right now, along with rough plumbing and exterior stucco. The building looks AMAZING and we can't wait to start using it... basically, we needed it YESTERDAY! God keeps providing the right people, resources and opportunities at the right time to implement the vision of GCH.

Prayer Requests...

1. Health for kids and staff -- many have been quite sick during this winter season.

2. Funds for construction costs -- the costs have exceeded our income.

3. Spiritual growth for our kids, neighbors/ people coming to the church plant, and our staff.