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Update #1

Hello friends and family!

 

A couple of months we stepped out in faith and committed to serving with Cornerstone EPC (Brighton, MI) at an orphanage in Guatemala.  We are happy to report that through your support we have raised the $8400 we needed!  We are blown away by the blessing God has provided for us through your donations.

 

That is a LOT of money!  You may be wondering what the money will be used for...I know I did when I saw that price tag.  First of all, the airline tickets (and luggage) were approximately $1500 per person.  Additionally, it costs about $400 per person for sleeping arrangements and food (important!).  That actually only leaves a few hundred dollars extra per person.  The remaining funds will be used to purchase supplies for construction projects and food for distribution in the local community.

 

What will we be doing?  Our understanding as of right now (needs may change when we arrive):

 

  1. Rehab a house from top to bottom:  Over 20 years ago, our church built the first house in the orphanage.  It is in need of many updates and repairs as you can imagine. There are about 100 or so children at the orphanage that live amongst 10-12 houses in family units.  Each house has a Christian Guatemalan married couple that raises the children.
  2. Give the house parents times of respite by taking care of the children and forming relationships with them through play and serving.
  3. Gardening: I hear they have a pretty massive garden and we will get to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables from it each day
  4. New Year’s Eve Party!!:  This is the one opportunity for all of the staff, volunteers, and families to truly have a night off from all of their duties and just HAVE FUN!  We have planned a Bible skit about Jonah and the Big Fish, food, and activities.  I have heard that this is a highlight of the year for the orphanage, complete with fireworks!
  5. Day trips to poor villages near the orphanage to pass out rice, grain, and clothing that has been donated.

 

I know that some of you have already been praying for our team as we have been preparing, but here are more specifics if you feel led:

 

  1. Team:  Health, Safety, and Travel (red-eye flights both ways with several connections)
  2. Hannah:  Be able to use what Spanish she knows to help others; food; show God’s love to the children
  3. Timmy:  Food (not a fan of rice and beans – ha!); that he would find and be given ways to be useful (because of his age)
  4. Kara: I think I will be doing a lot of translating for the team and would like prayer for God to help me recall words and have effective and loving communication
  5. Caleb:  Language barrier
  6. Our family: It is always hard leaving Paisley after what happened to Hazel.  Please pray for her safety while we are gone!  She will be staying with her doggie family/the breeder

 

Thank you so much for your outpouring of love and support to make this trip possible for our family.  We hope to be the hands and feet of Jesus!

 

Sincerely,

Caleb, Kara, Hannah, and Timmy

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Day 1 - Surprise!

We are deeply saddened that one of our teammates became very ill and her and her husband can no longer join us on the mission trip. They have spent countless hours in meetings and preparations and our hearts are broken. A few hours after we found out this news, Caleb said, “Maybe Timmy and I should go?” An hour after that we were changing names on the airline tickets and doing laundry and they joined the team! God is full of surprises. I would never in a million years imagine this would have happened. I’m so excited to have our whole family serving together again! We have landed in Miami and are waiting for our connecting flight. Praise God for travel mercies!

Day 2

We were able to get started on projects today. Some of the team worked on building some reinforcement walls for the canal/water system which involved mixing lots of concrete by hand. The mixer was broken but one of our handy team members was able to get it fixed after a few hours. It’s so cool to see how the gifts of different people become highlighted on trips like these. Our family worked on painting some of the classrooms. They needed it!!! After lunch, we were invited by some house parents to their home because they wanted to pray for us before they leave. Their family’s last day will be December 31st and we have grown to be dear friends. Casa Bernabe will not be the same without them, but that’s how life goes, right? The ministry will continue and a new couple will carry on loving the boys in that house. Please pray for the transition for boys in the house and our friends who are starting a new chapter. We were so touched that THEY wanted to pray for US. This is just one shining e...

Day 3

These children are “Jesus with skin on.” They don’t care if you are tall, short, American, Guatemalan, fat, skinny, young, or old. They will walk right up to you, give you a hug, and take you by the hand as if you’ve been friends forever. We were able to attend church with the community here and it is always an uplifting time of hearing God’s Word. After church we had lunch and the team split into two groups - one to continue painting the school and the other to sort donations. I joined the donations group and the rest of my family was painting. The missionary liaison has a list of the needs for specific houses so we laid the clothing out in order and fulfilled their “orders.” Most of what YOU donated is going directly to a child and we will probably see them wearing the items tomorrow. It’s kinda cool. Our team raised some extra funds this year so we will be able to purchase the remaining needs at Walmart before we leave. I didn’t take a single picture today, but that’s a good thing b...