We're in our new home!

After 4 years of living in the boys' home, we have finally moved into our new home at GCH. We're still on the GCH property, but now we're on the top floor of the Education Center.
THANK YOU to all who have helped us in the construction of the Education Center and our home! It is such a blessing to be there and I know as we finish up the rest of the building, it will be a blessing to others.

Here's a picture of the building... we're on the top level.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope this Thanksgiving you'll have the opportunity to recognize and thank God for the things He has given you.

As for us, our GCH family will be celebrating it on Friday evening. In anticipation of the event the children are busy making decorations and each child is memorizing a different memory verse to share at our meal.

Here's a picture of Fernanda making a turkey centerpiece...

GCH website

Want to read more about GCH or find out how you can get involved? Go to our new website (thanks to Juan & Alicia) at http://www.gchmexico.org.

Christmas Giving Opportunity

“I don’t say this because I want a gift from you.

Rather, I want you to receive a reward for your kindness.”

Philippians 4:17

Are you wondering what to get the person who has everything? Consider giving a practical gift with eternal rewards this Christmas Season.

Grace Children’s Home has nearly completed their new

Education Center. In order to finish the job the building needs to be equipped and furnished. Many of the needed items are listed in the 

Wal-Mart Gift Registry.

Please pray about giving a gift to GCH in the

name of a friend or loved one this Christmas.

http://www.walmart.com/wishlist

First name: GCH Last name: YUGO

Online giving is also available at:

http://www.gchmexico.org

Our November prayer letter

November 2008

Dear Friends and Supporters,

We hope this letter finds you and your family well! We have enjoyed a busy fall season, with the start of school, continued construction on the Education Center and breaking ground of our newest project, Grace Babies’ Home. It never ceases to amaze us to see all that God is doing at Grace Children’s Home (GCH).

In August of this year, we were able to send 13 children from GCH (plus our own kids) to private schools (some of them are in the photo above). This opportunity has been provided by several sponsors who understand the value of providing our children with a good education, something that is very limited at the local public schools. Through such generous donors, our kids are receiving an excellent education, completely changing the course of their lives and equipping them to be leaders and lights for Christ in this society.

We are also on the verge of opening the Education Center. This 3 ½ story building has been under construction for 3 years and will provide space for a multitude of activities – tutoring, computer instruction, dental/medical facilities, dorms for teams, outreach, etc. What is amazing is that the building has been built through the generosity of God’s people who have given of their finances, time and talents – one donation at a time, one group at a time.

Additionally, we began breaking ground on Grace Babies’ Home (GBH). Located across the street from the children’s home and GBH will house up to 20 abandoned and needy babies. There is a huge need in Tijuana for facilities to care for these babies. GBH hopes to be part of the solution. You too can be part of the solution!

On Saturday, January 31, 2009 we will host our first Grace Children’s Home Gala Fundraiser Event, benefiting the baby home construction project. It will be a dinner and auction held at El Adobe de Capistrano in San Juan Capistrano from 6:00 – 9:00 pm. If you would like more information or can attend this event, please let us know. We’d love to send you an invitation! As Isaiah 1:17 says “Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows”.

Finally, as we approach the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, we pray the peace of our Lord will fill your home and heart. While the current events today would tell us to worry and fret, we trust God holds our lives in His hands. We really do have much to be thankful for and we can rely on the God who laid down His life for us!

Gratefully your partners in Mexico,

George and Stacey Palau
Directors of Grace Children’s Home

That same day...

Grace Children's Home expanded it's play area! We had truckloads of fill dirt and a tractor come in to expand our soccer field and bike area. Some day we will landscape this area and make a nice soccer field, with a bike path circling it. It seems that as our kids get bigger, they need more space to spread out (funny how that happens). Lots going on here today!... we were grateful the other activities we had scheduled for GCH today got cancelled.

Pouring the footings...

Today started with a bang at 6:00am, when the cement trucks began to come in one after another to pour the footings for Grace Babies Home. It was exciting to see this happen and realize that God is building this home for the babies.

Here's a picture of George and Marcus (our youngest son) on the baby property, with the cement being poured behind them.

Juan and Alicia (GBH directors) were here to watch as the foundation of their home was started. They wrote a verse on a paper, which was later buried under the cement.

Our fall party for our neighbors...

Last night GCH hosted it's second annual fall party and outreach for our neighbors. The "Tias" and "Tios" of GCH worked hard to plan a fun-filled, Christ centered event in our homes.
It was an absolute delight to see our neighbors pour in, with all their kids. We had games, "bobbing for cookies", worship songs, salvation bracelets, New Testaments to hand out, etc. It was WONDERFUL!
In the photo you get a partial look at some of our kids and the neighbor kids singing "Si, Senor" ("Yes, Lord"). They jumped and sang with all their might, as many of our unreached neighbors looked on.
The highlight for me was when a couple approached me to find out more about GCH and the kids here. They asked if I knew anything about this place (I had to laugh inside!... this place is my life). They live on the other side of Tijuana, but were visiting a family member in our neighborhood who said they should come.
After opening up to me about some struggles they have, it was clear they needed eternal HOPE. I was able to share with them a bit of all the amazing things God is doing here. They said the joy and love that exudes from our kids is obvious. They wanted that kind of peace and joy in their lives!
I called George over and then we had the privilege of leading Jose and Irene in a prayer in which they received the Lord as their Savior! It was a beautiful (and tearful) moment watching 2 needy people come to Christ.
I've mentioned before that it never ceases to amaze me all that God is doing through GCH. We once thought it was just about the kids who live here, yet God has made it so much more. The kids were the "lights" that the Lord used to show Jose and Irene His love; And He keeps using them and this place to reach more for His Kingdom.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support of Grace Children's Home... God is obviously using it for His glory! We have much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving season.