Jennifer, our 1st Junior high'er

Jennifer is our first child to reach Junior High. We were blessed to find space for her at a local private school, which gives her a lot of extra attention, instruction, and care.

Before school started she was nervous, wondering if she would get lost in the crowd or simply be able to keep up. But from day one we all knew this school was the perfect fit for her; and we love watching her thoroughly enjoy and take advantage of this new opportunity!

We thank God for provisions just like this -- the perfect school and the donor who made financing this education possible.

Our new puppy, Sunny!

The children of GCH are thrilled to welcome our newest addition, Sunny! Sunny (short for Sunshine) is a sweet puppy given to us by one of our workers. With all the kids holding her, she hardly touches the ground. Like we say, dogs are like therapy for the kids! Here's a picture of her getting her first bath.

Juan Carlos

Juan Carlos is our hired laborer. He is a good worker and has become a huge blessing to us. While he's not a contractor, he knows a lot about construction, which has helped us develop some of the infrastructure around the Education Center.

In this photo, he's on the scaffold 3 stories up, sealing cracks around the windows of the Education Center.

Juan is a new brother in the Lord and a father of 4 children. With his wife and kids, he lives in a tiny, humble home. It has been a blessing to be able to employ such a hard-working, faithful worker.

One by one, God seems to bring the right people here at the right time!

1st day of school!

Today was the first day back to school for the children! They were SO excited that most of them were up at the crack of dawn.

We thank God for the many sponsors who help us provide the children with a good education!

We also now have all the supplies, uniforms and backpacks needed for the school year. Thanks to all who helped meet those needs.

Now we just have one little girl here in the mornings... it feels strangely quiet! I'm counting the minutes until the first group comes home from school.

Please continue to pray for our children, their teachers, and the opportunity they have to learn and grow more.

Tom Maier - Our "Food Run" Man

Tom Maier, fellow Yugo missionary, has recently taken up the task of handling our Thursday "food run".

He drives out from Mexico every Wed. evening, drives 3 hours to a food bank in the U.S., and sleeps in the van for the night.

Thursday morning, he's already in line awaiting our weekly food supply.

While this load doesn't supply ALL of GCH's food needs, it is a HUGE blessing to us.

Thanks, Tom, for your efforts to help the children of GCH!

Update on back to school needs...

Our wonderful friend, Alicia Strutton, co-director of Grace Babies' Home, has set up a gift registry for our back-to-school needs. Simply go to www.walmart.com, go to "wish list", in the "First Name" box, type "GCH". In the "Last Name" box, type "YUGO Ministries". When you place your order, select shipping to "YUGO Ministries". That's it!

Of course you can still send financial gifts to GCH, through Yugo Ministries (as mentioned on the prior blog). You may send a check or do an e-gift through www.yugo.org, via pay pal. Make sure to CLEARLY designate that your gift is for GCH back to school needs.

THANKS FOR HELPING!!

Back to School Time

The children of GCH have enjoyed a wonderful summer! We were so blessed by the many teams that came to serve here.

As vacation time draws to close, we are ramping up for the new school year. Classes resume August 18th, and we have lots of preparations to do before that time. We need to get uniforms, backpacks, supplies and schedules all in order. This year all expect one of the GCH kids will be school age -- that means getting 28 children ready for school. Yikes!

Here's how you can help...

1. Pray for our kids and their teachers - that they will have a successful year

2. Gather backpacks, supplies and uniforms to send or bring down to us

3. Send us a gift card to Wal-Mart, where we can buy all these school items

4. Make a donation to Yugo Ministries, PO Box 25, San Dimas, CA 91773-0025 and CLEARLY designate that it's for school costs for the children of Grace Children's Home

Our school uniforms consist of:

Boys - beige or navy docker style pants sizes 6 - 16; solid white collared shirts sizes 6 - 16; navy clip-on ties; mostly white athletic shoes and solid black school shoes sizes 12 child - 5 youth; solid navy light-weight coats.

Girls - solid white collared shirts sizes 4T - ladies medium; mostly white athletic shoes and solid black school shoes sizes 11 child - ladies 7 1/2; solid white or navy knee high socks; solid navy light-weight coats; dark colored tight fitting shorts/ leggings (to wear under skirts) sizes 4T - ladies medium

Some supplies needed:

clear plastic contact paper to cover books, glue sticks, heavy duty & large back packs, geometric sets (protractor, compass, ruler, right-angle ruler, etc), erasers, drip-proof water bottles, collapseable lunch boxes, pencil sharpeners

Please send items or gift cards to: Yugo Ministries, att: the Palaus, 241 W. 35th st., Suite A, National City, CA 91950

Any bit you can do to help is greatly appreciated! Please also pass on the word. Thanks!