3 years... the dust has settled

Wow, whew, & my goodness... GCH's 3 year celebration was all that!
The winds greeted us early in the morning with a dust storm so strong the tables flew through the air. The decorations, bounce houses, and "frills" were all ready, but it wasn't in GOD'S plan. In fact, something very different happened...
After weathering the tremendous winds and dust, we managed to assemble a few tables. The winds calmed just enough to set up a mic and allow a "ceremony" with the government and social services officials that braved the winds to join us.
The focus quickly landed on the children and ALL GOD has done in this place. (What's cool is 2 local TV stations & 1 newspaper picked up the story).
As our children shared their testimonies and praised God in their songs and dance, the name of Jesus was lifted high!

Here are the testimonies of the 4 children who shared on the mic that day...

Flor said – “Que Dios les bendiga. Mi nombre es Flor y tengo 13 anos. Quiero agradecerles por darme lo que yo necesito y a mis patrocinadores que me estan apoyando. Tambien quiero agradecerles a mis tios que me estan apoyando en mis tareas y que me dan mucho amor. Tambien doy gracias al Senor por tener unas hermanas tan hermosas. Gracias por asistir aquí en la Casa Hogar de la Gracia. Que Dios les Bendiga.”

Translation: May God bless you. My name is Flor and I’m 13 years old. I want to thank you for giving me what I need and for my sponsors that are supporting me. I also want to thank my aunts and uncles that help me in my homework and show me much love. I also thank the Lord for giving me such beautiful sisters. Thank you for attending here in Grace Children’s Home. May God bless you.

Juan Marcos said – “Bienvenidos a la Casa Hogar. Me llamo Juan Marcos y tengo 9 anos. Estoy muy feliz porque estoy en la Casa Hogar y Dios me trajo aquí para alabarle. Hace mas de un ano tuve una operación en mi pie y me senti bien. Ahora puedo correr, caminar y andar en bicis. Y cuando me pongo los zapatos, ya no tengo problemas. Quiero decirles que Dios los ama. Que Dios les bendiga.”

Translation: Welcome to the Children’s Home. My name is Juan Marcos and I’m 9 years old. I’m very happy because I’m in the Children’s Home and God has brought me here to worship Him. A little over a year ago I had an operation on my foot/ leg and I felt good. Now I can run, walk and ride bikes. And when I put on my shoes, I no longer have any problems. I want to tell you that God loves you. May God bless you.

Jennifer said – “Hola. Que Dios les bendiga. Mi nombre es Jennifer y tengo 12 anos. Quiero compartirles lo que dios hizo por mi. Estoy muy agradecida porque me permitio estar en la Casa Hogar con mis hermanos y por sus bendiciones. Tambien por habernos salvado y ser Su hija y por las personas que nos ayudan y nos apoyan en todo. Nunca tenia una familia antes. Dios nunca me dejo y siempre esta conmigo. Que se la pasen bien el dia con nosotros. Gracias por ayudarnos."

Translation: Hello. God bless you. My name is Jennifer and I’m 12 years old. I want to share with you what God has done for me. I’m very grateful that God has allowed me to be in the Children’s Home with my brother and sisters and for His blessings; Also, for saving us and making me His daughter and for the people who support and help us. I never had a family like this before. God has never left me and He is always with me. May you have a great day with us. Thank you for helping us.

Leo said (in English) – “Hi. I hope you’re having a great morning. My name is Leo and I’m 10 years old. I’ve been here since Grace Children’s Home opened. I learned English from the Americans that come here. I like all the brothers and sisters God gave me. Thanks for helping us. Have a great day today.”

A special thank you to Jeff W., VCHS, Faith Bible Church, our personal supporting churches, Yugo Ministries and all who helped and attended on this very important day in life of our home! We appreciate you so much!

Current Needs List

Here's our current needs list for April. Thanks for praying and giving!

Grace Children’s Home Current Needs List (updated 4/08)

Gift cards: Costco, Wal-Mart, Home Depot

Funding:
1. To continue construction of the Education Center
2. To pay off land for Senior center & Church/ community center ($60,000 approx.)
3. For on-going monthly needs (water - $600/mo., electricity $500/mo., food - $700/week, transportation - $300/mo., medicine $50/mo., etc)
4. To construct the water & sewer systems for the Ed. Center ($10,000 approx.)
5. To send more children to a bilingual school next Aug. ($3,000 per child for the school year). Four additional sponsors are needed.

Food: spaghetti sauce, pinto beans, noodles, canned fruit, canned corn, wheat sandwich bread, butter, canned tuna & chicken, canned fruit, pancake mix, maple syrup, peanut butter, rice, oatmeal, cooking oil, potatoes & tomatoes, cheese, chicken, hamburger meat, beef for stew, roasts, bacon, sausage, cilantro, fresh fruits & veggies, eggs, sandwich meat, maseca, ketchup, mayo, flour tortillas, sugar, salt

Cleaning/ Household supplies: laundry soap, clorox, oxy-clean, Ajax, dish soap, pinesol, fabuloso, disinfecting spray, spray bottles, fabric softener sheets, household foggers (bug bombs)

Paper products: paper plates, napkins, Kleenex, surgical gloves, gallon size Ziploc bags, sandwich size bags, plastic spoons and forks, paper cups, toilet paper, large black garbage bags, medium kitchen size garbage bags, bathroom size garbage bags

Personal Hygiene: body lotion, shampoo, detangling spray, hair gel, diapers (size 6), diaper wipes, deodorant, purrell

Clothes: black school shoes & mostly white athletic shoes (boys sizes 3-5 youth), sturdy play shoes (little girls’ sizes 10-12), boys’ beige dockers style pants (sizes 12 – 16), shoe polish (black & white)

School supplies: erasers, glue sticks, child-size scissors, hard back & CD-Rom Encyclopedias in Spanish (for 8+ yr olds), coloring books, CD player, sharpies (black & colored), packaging tape

Vehicles:
1. Trailer for intern housing – good condition, electrical/ water working

Other: 2 new or almost new energy-efficient refrigs. (or funds to purchase it at Costco – approx. $1,200 each), 1 upright freezer (energy-effic.), 36” gas stove with center burner (good condit.), car-port size canopy (for shade for our kids in the outside), 2 twin bed mattresses, 4 sturdy kitchen table chairs, baseball T

Ana Esmeralda

Ana Esmeralda (aka Belen) is one of our great kids at GCH. She's obviously happy and playful, and a joy to be around. As you can assume, Ana wasn't always doing so well, but we thank God that she is now.

Please keep praying for our kids! God is doing so much in their lives and it's a joy to watch them thrive and grow.