Day 5 - Thursday

 “My favorite moment of this week was time I spent today with one of the girls who attends high school outside of VOH. As she arrived home today she was willing to sit with me and show me her books. My teacher mode kicked in, I confess.  One class is for shorthand! When I discovered she was learning English, we looked over some of her work. I was able to explain a few concepts she was working on and help her with some pronunciations. She was a good sport to carry on the conversation in mostly English telling me about her goals after she graduates. As she left to start her homework, she thanked us for coming and told me that we are a blessing to them. Such an example of their polite, gentle and warm spirits.” - Suzy

“Today I completed my hour of prayer for the kids. They had written prayer requests on cards, some with names, some without. When I first heard about the hour of prayer, I must say I found it rather daunting. A whole hour, praying! I had never prayed for more than about two minutes before today. I was considerably worried and kept thinking “I’ll do it tomorrow” or “Too bad I forgot to check the sheet today.” However, I knew that at some point I would just have to suffer through it. Or so I thought. Two nights ago, the devotion was on prayer. One of our team members talked about how we often see prayer as an “extra” thing to do, and that we often do not believe that what we pray for, God answers. One of the themes of VOH is “praying and dreaming big.” The Blocks have prayed and dreamed big and continue to, which is why VOH is here. I pray the minimum amount I have to, and my prayers are mostly something along the lines of, “Please heal this person” but then thinking that it probably won’t happen. I knew in my head it was important, but in my heart I considered it more a waste of time. However, the devotion really encouraged me. He talked about how important prayer really is, and that it is really more important than going out and trying to solve whatever you are praying about. Anyways, today I took the prayer cards and went up into our big meeting room. I sat down in a rocking chair and started going through the cards and praying. In the beginning, my prayers were rather interrupted by glancing at the clock, thinking through how long I would have to spend on each card to use up the whole hour, but I soon found that it did not help and was not needed. I actually found myself with a whole lot of cards left and fifteen minutes left. I had to rush to get through them all, spending less time on them than I wished. Several team members had mentioned during devotions different prayer requests that struck them, and I also found myself struck by the same ones. “The Lord knows my prayers. Amen” said one. There were none of the typical  prayer requests, just that simple truth. I was reminded that before we say a word, God already knows. I also read many requests asking for safety, healing, and salvation for family members, mentioning them specifically. I often think of the children as being “VOH kids” but do not think about the families and homes they left behind, whatever situations they may have been in. These kids have not forgotten, and they continue to think about their families and homes. Behind the happy faces we see playing games, there are stories and they are very much a hard reality. Reading through these cards gave me a totally new perspective. It is encouraging to see the ways in which they have grown since coming to VOH, and I am thankful  to be a part of what is going on here by praying for the needs they listed. It was really a blessing and privilege for me to be able to pray for the kids, staff, and house parents here. I am so thankful I did.” - Anon

 new paint and bedding

“Tuesday the room redecorating crew (Suzy, Linda, Christine, me, and sometimes Kelsey, and sometimes Mark) finished the first (green) bedroom -- paint and window treatment, and put one coat of blue paint in the other bedroom. Wednesday we did a final coat of blue paint and installed two window treatments. Today we mounted photo picture frames, put in the new duvets and throw pillows, touched up paint on doors and trim, fixed squeaking bunk beds, modified a toddler bed into a trundle bed, and built a bassinet stand. The rooms look very bright and breezy, and we hope it helps make their rooms happy and comfortable. Redecorating a few rooms may seem to us like a small thing, but it is hopefully a way to bless the teenage moms and their little ones.” - Neil

manual labor

more manual labor

 necklaces and bracelets made by 3 of the teenage girls this afternoon

ongoing work on the solar panels

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Cafe La Esperanza

100% Guatemalan Ground Dark Roast

$12/bag

If you would like to buy a bag of coffee, please let me know!