Our March prayer letter, early

GCH is CELEBRATING and YOU’RE INVITED!

March 2008


Dear Friends and Family,

Can you believe it? It has been 3 years since GCH opened its doors. Since that time, we have seen good times and hard times, miracles and hurdles, and MANY lives blessed and changed by the place we now call home. We’ve seen GOD grow our initial vision of serving children to also include babies, seniors, our neighbors, planting a church, etc. So MUCH has happened in just 3 short years!

As we pondered this time and all God has in store for us, we decided IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE! And we would be truly HONORED if YOU would come!!! Mexican officials, pastors, people who support GCH, our kids, our neighbors, YOU and ANYONE who wants to attend are INVITED. Please say you’ll come?!!!

Date: Sat, April 12th. 10:30am – 4:30pm. Ceremonies begin promptly at 11:00am.

Part of the activities will include a dedication of the Education Center, a ground breaking ceremony of the baby-senior-church land, testimonies from some of our kids, bounce houses, a musical presentation from the children of GCH, carnival games, GOOD food, LOTS of fun, & live music. (George & I plan to be part of the music too… you gotta come see George play drums!).

On a personal note, it has almost been 4 years since we moved to Mexico. While it has been hard to leave so many of you, we can see daily why God has brought us here. When we first came down, we thought God had just a few handful of kids for us to care for. What’s amazing is how much He has expanded our vision…

We are in the midst of building the Education Center, we’re buying the land for the baby-senior complex & we’re in the process of starting a church with our neighbors. We’re praying for our neighbors who want to leave addictions (to be able to provide a Christ-based addiction program for them), and we hope to someday purchase a property to establish a Christian pre-school/Kindergarten (plus other adjacent properties that would give us so much more opportunities). And we hope there’s more to come!!!!

Clearly, God has done so much and has so much for the future! PLEASE come CELEBRATE with us… you are so important to us and we’d be SO blessed to have you here.

For more information about our celebration, please call our cell phones or email us at palaus@juno.com, or look for more information at www.gspalaublog.blogspot.com. We’d also be glad to give you information on local lodging, if you’d like to stay the night. PLEASE COME!!!

Blessings to you and your family,


The Palau Family

HUGE water tank needed...

GCH has recently started the large task of building a water cistern that can hold over 20,000 gallons. Why so much you ask?

The answer is complex...

1. We don't have a regular water source (that is, we don't have piped in city water. We depend on a truck that brings us water every day, at $21 per day);

2. We are constructing a few large buildings, which require fire sprinkler systems (to protect lives and the buildings); and

3. Water delivery is unpredictable (we can go days without water delivery... what would you do without water for a few days?... multiply that by 30+ kids & adults!).

Please pray with us for this important infrastructure for GCH! We know it's vital for our homes, our future, etc.

We are especially grateful for Mark Mesiti-Miller and his engineering company (in Santa Cruz, CA) for volunteering their skills in helping us to build the tank (as they did with construction of the Ed. Center). Once again, they are walking us through a difficult task.

Our adopted dog, Shirley

Couldn't resist taking a photo of our most recent adoptee, Shirley. You couldn't count her bones when she arrived.

As you can see, now she's healthy and relaxed... just like our kids!

Our Handy-men!

All of us are wired up differently, and a special few can be called a "Jack of all trades"... so it is with Tio Lionel (fellow missionary from Canada) and Misael (one of our boys). What never ceases to amaze me is their incredibly strong work ethic and desire to get the job done. They truly delight in fixing things and making it work. What's great is that Misael has such a fantastic mentor who also loves the Lord, like Misael does. Check them out in the photo!!!

SAVE THE DATE!!!

GCH will celebrate it's 3 year anniversay soon! It has been 3 years since we opened our doors to the children of Mexico. Since that time God has done MUCH MORE than we could have EVER imagined! We've come to understand it's about the children AND our staff, our neighbors, the babies, the seniors, and all the people whom God wants to reach and heal. SO, let's CELEBRATE!!!!

On Saturday, April 12th, you, and anyone you want to invite, are invited to our party. We'll have a mid-day event, filled with live music, bounce houses, testimonies from our kids and neighbors, dedications of our Ed. Center and baby-senior land, words from our local authorities, face painting, good food, popcorn, games, a look back on the past few years, a look at the future, and lots of fun! WE REALLY HOPE YOU CAN MAKE IT!!!

More details are coming, but in the meantime, please INK us in on your calendar!