Day 2 Photos

lunch in chituc:

 kids enjoying crackers:

Precious Yessica

Todd playing peek-a-boo with Yessica

Twins!

Sweet Jessica

Adjacent lot for sale 

Girls dancing to praise music 

Day 2 Vision Trip

This morning we talked about teams coming on short term mission trips to VOH. We talked about pros/cons of such trips and how VOH sets guidelines so the teams' interactions are beneficial to the families and helpful to VOH. When teams arrive the Blocks provide a 1-2 hr orientation for what a short term mission at VOH will look like.  They want to protect the sense of family and avoid creating a type of "petting zoo" atmosphere. Really just want to have the children treated the way we would treat our own children, as persons not things.

We talked about outreach to the community and how to do that well. The Blocks have strived to build friendships rather than encourage a handout mentality. Previous ministries have made promises that have not been kept so it is not easy to earn trust. As the relationships with these families has grown, the Blocks want to come alongside those in need just like we would do for our friends. In order to receive help the families have to qualify through a home visit, working or seeking employment, cannot be an addict, kids need to be in school, and they cannot have large appliances like large screen TVs. Once the family is in the the program, they receive one bag a week. It's not enough to sustain them but gives then a little help, while encouraging a good work ethic and allowing them to keep their dignity. Many want to work but it is hard to find a job. Even those with education find it hard to secure employment. The food is delivered weekly by teams, VOH staff, the Block family, or the older kids from VOH when they are on break from school.

VOH has helped families by providing water filters, prenatal care, wheelchairs, stoves, school supplies, medical/dental needs, and in some cases assistance with building a home. Think cinder block. One example of needed help is when Jessica was released from the hospital at midnight. The buses were no longer running so the family needed to use money for a taxi. When her younger brother had problems with his teeth they had no money left to help him. Even though there is free medical care you still need to pay for medicine. VOH helped with the dental expenses because that is what you would do for a friend. They are careful to keep these visits from becoming "poverty tourism." The families have told them that they love the visits and prayers because they don't get visitors very often. Some even like their picture taken because they want someone to know they exist.

Next we talked about the budget. We went over current expenses, increased expenses as the ministry grows and the cost for needed items as well as future plans.

We finished our time of meetings with testimonies from Julio and Kimberly. Julio shared that everything he sees here at VOH shows the hand of God. He grew up in an orphanage and now at 26 years old he is living in a transition home getting ready to move out for the first time. Two of the things he noticed when he first started working for VOH is that they don't have favorites and they don't punish kids or hurt kids, but instead they use words that build them up and correct them. He said the kids at VOH know everything will be okay because God is for them that everybody touched by the ministry at VOH is very thankful. Amy then shared that he works so hard, he is honest, he has a heart for the kids, he is an absolute blessing and they don't know what they would do without him.

Kimberly, who is 14 years old, is thankful that God gave her an opportunity to come to VOH. Before that she lived on the street was helped by a lady she called grandma. they prayed for a Christian children's home who would take a child with HIV. Through tears she said that she has found all of her family here and God is faithful. Before coming to VOH she did not have a mom or a dad that loves her but here has a mom and a dad, a family. She also said she is so glad she can dance here "for the Holy Spirit". Amy said that they are blessed because she lives here and God will do something big in her life. They are so proud of her.

Today we walked to the village of Chituc for lunch in a Guatemalan home. VOH helped 2 women set up the equivalent of a restaurant out of their home. The Blocks take every team for lunch and the women earn an income to support their families. They serve fried chicken, rice, tortillas, and chocolate covered frozen fruit. The food is delicious and most say it's the best fried chicken around. The women love to see the teams and we always enjoy their hospitality.

After lunch we went into the community to deliver the weekly food bags to the families in the outreach program. Neil got to see Yessica and her family in person, Jessica and her sisters, and the other families we visited on past trips. [Neil: There are some things you can't know from photos. It's different when you are here and experience the smells, see the scale of the poverty, the size and condition of their home, the dirt floor, the trash, the hard life they live. It is humbling and sad. Especially knowing the possibility of improving their condition is remote. And yet they don't complain, but rather are thankful for the food and the friendship.]

After dinner the children wanted to present us with a drama and dance as a gift. The drama was powerful as it represented the way the Enemy uses shame, lies, hate, etc to keep us in bondage but that Jesus has the power to break those chains and make us new. And because He rescues us our response is to worship and love Him. The girls then performed a dance of worship. They used streamers and flags to beautifully honor Jesus through dance. These kids love to worship Jesus because they are so grateful for what He has done in each one of their lives. They were truly without hope where they can from and didn't believe God loved them. But the mercy and grace of our loving Savior changed their lives and you can now see hope and joy. It is a blessing to spend time with these kids.

~Christine & Neil

Day 1 pictures

Thursday photos:

Casa 1 having lunch:

Casa 1 & 2 vines looking good!

Michel & Bela:

Baby Andrea:

Day 1 VOH Vision Trip

1/22/15

After an uneventful day of travel, bags searched and being questioned by the customs agents about the keyboard, boom boxes and crockpot, we were happy to see Julio and Bayron waiting for us just outside the doors of the airport. Since we needed to wait for another team member to arrive we went to get a coke and catch up with each other. Seeing these guys is like hanging out with old friends. We talked about what we did for Christmas and New Year's, caught up on family and heard updates on all that's been going on at Village of Hope. Though this was the first time Neil had met them he found them easy to get to know.

We then picked up a guy from Canada and headed up the hill to San Lucas. We met up  with the rest of the team that had already arrived and started talking instead of going to bed like we knew we should. Each person on the team has a story about how the Lord brought them to VOH.

It was so good to be back. The air was moist and cool, the dogs were barking and even the rooster remembered to crow at his unusual midnight hour. There is something special about this place. Maybe the memories, maybe the stories of redemption written in the lives of the children or maybe the camaraderie of being together with other brothers and sisters who share a heart for the orphan.

Today was spent with Todd, Amy and Addisyn going over daily operations; their initial plans for VOH and how God enlarged those plans; what the intake of children looks like; and future plans for a transition home. Then we heard testimonies form Luis and Alejandra (the sub directors) and Jessica who was the first teenager to come to VOH. She came as a 14-year old with a baby out of a government institution where she experienced abuse. She shared how she is thankful that God had mercy on her and Ruby by bringing them to VOH where she now knows that He has a plan for her life. She is a fighter, a survivor, a good mom, looked up to by the other kids, a blessing to all who know her, and she hopes to be an attorney one day.

After lunch (and can I just say I love the food in Guatemala?) we toured the grounds and saw the preparations for the 2 teams that will soon be here to pour a huge concrete driveway. And they they probably won't order a concrete truck, but will mix it in a small portable mixer. 

We then met together again to talk about why VOH is different than the institutionalized care. Their goal is Faith, Family, and Future for each child the Lord brings to VOH. Most importantly they introduce the children to Jesus. The kids usually come to VOH saying they want nothing to do with Jesus. They come from hard places and have never felt His presence. But here they hear the Gospel and see it lived out. How??

Each child is now part of a family with a mom and dad who care about them individually. They have someone to listen to them, to see them.

And now they can dream about a future. Most of these kids were just concerned about surviving the day. Here they have the opportunity to heal, receive an education, learn various skills and trades, and find their gifts and passions.

Lastly Addisyn shared about the Pure Hope ministry. In an effort to keep families together, VOH started taking Moms with their children. So instead of Moms and children being separated, they both come to VOH. And this program also helps the young teenage moms learn how to be moms and equip them with life skills.

Lastly we were joined by Jedd Medefind who is the president of the Christian Alliance for the Orphan. His family has been serving in Central America. He shared about how he has seen God working in Guatemala and Central America, and how encouraged he is to see how VOH has been changing lives by putting orphans into families and by keeping families (Pure Hope moms and their kids) together. It was a nice surprise (didn't know he was coming) to hear him share his thoughts and desire to live out the gospel by caring for these vulnerable children and moms.

More to share but that's all for tonight. Thank you for your prayers!

~Christine & Neil

Vision Trip 2015

Neil and I will be traveling to Village of Hope tomorrow to hear about the future plans, visions, and budget, as well as see first hand the day to day operations of VOH and its outreach programs.

We look forward to our time and would love your prayers! ~Christine

The Ministry of Village of Hope

For those of you who are not familiar with Village of Hope (VOH), we wanted to share about their ministry and how we got involved.

From the Village of Hope Facebook page...

“The purpose of Village of Hope is to provide family, faith and a future to the least of these. We are doing this by providing holistic orphan care to special needs orphans, primarily focused on those living with HIV/AIDS in a family style setting. Each family style unit will consist of house parents as well as 6-8 children in the home. Our hope is to create a family unit as God intended -- a family to provide life-long support as well as teach the children to have life values. The goal is to avoid institutional living and prevent children from being thrown out on the streets when they are 18. Because adoptions are closed in Guatemala there is little hope of the children ever being adopted into families of their own. One part of our vision is to develop relationships in the Guatemalan Evangelical churches, to come alongside of them, educating them on God’s heart for the orphan, as well as open their eyes to the gift of adoption.”

It has been a privilege to serve at VOH. Our first trip was in April of 2013 when 3 of us signed up for a Mother/Daughter mission trip. At that time VOH was still in the process of completing the duplexes and getting ready to welcome children. 16 moms and daughters from coast to coast met in Guatemala for the first time to spend a week painting, reaching out to the local school and community, delivering food to families in the community, washing feet and giving new shoes to a neighboring village, and getting to know the Block family (the missionary family that founded VOH). When we returned home we knew we wanted to take a team back and we of course wanted to meet the children that we knew would soon call VOH a home.

So in April of 2014 the Lord brought a team of 16 together, again from coast to coast. It was another unforgettable week. We assembled furniture and varnished, completed a landscaping project to bring beauty to the grounds and the duplexes, served the homeless in Antigua, delivered food to the community (seeing many of the families we delivered food to on the first trip), and built relationships with the children now living at VOH.

Each of the children had come from tough situations. Each story unique yet equally heartbreaking.  But all that changed when they came to VOH. Here they found safety, food, shelter, love, medical help, and HOPE. They were introduced to a Heavenly Father who loved them and a Savior who died for them. They found a home where there is a Dad and Mom (Guatemalan house parents) who would actually be a Dad and Mom in their lives. The stories of their lives began to change from hopeless to hopeful. These are the children we met and grew to love that week. We also got to spend time with the Block family and staff at VOH. We saw people passionate about children in need and the spread of the Gospel. We knew this was a ministry we wanted to be a part of on a regular basis.

With our desire to partner with VOH and deepen our relationships with them we returned 6 months later to continue to build friendships and serve alongside the missionaries. And the pictures and updates from that trip are in the posts below.

We already have a trip planned for April, 2015 and can’t wait to see everyone again.

If you would like to know more about their ministry please visit their Facebook page or Lifesong for Orphans.

And please remember VOH in your prayers! ~Christine

Friday at VOH update

[see pictures in previous post]

Friday was our day in Antigua. We started off zip lining through the beautiful scenery which consisted of lots of trees and an amazing view of the volcano, smoke and all! We got to experience God's amazing work through his gorgeous creation. Afterwards we took lots of pictures in front of the view of the city below and the 2 volcanos in the distance.

Next Julio and Byron took us to a new spot. We stood on a hill overlooking the city of Antigua and the volcano with a large cross behind us. After enjoying the amazing view we headed to lunch at The Sky Cafe. We were so blessed to have a day committed to relaxing and getting to know Julio and Byron better. Seeing God's creation on such a massive scale reminded me that our God is so great, He is the source of our strength. (Psalms 84:5a "blessed are those whose strength is found in you...") ~Kailey

When we returned to VOH it was already time for dinner. I don't think any of us were ready to eat after such a huge and delicious lunch, but we all managed to eat a bit more because the food at VOH is always delicious too.

We then made preparations for movie night with all of the kids. Jen had some more crafts ready for the children when they arrived. All of us sang the Happy Birthday song to Julio for his 25th birthday, in English and Spanish -- and in the Spanish version we all counted to 25 with great applause. 

Byron and Julio set up a screen and projector for the movie, and after a bit of scrambling around, plugging in, unplugging, and reconfiguring the wires every which way we finally got the movie playing. We watched God's Not Dead in Spanish with English subtitles so everyone could enjoy the experience. The movie emphasized that our Living God guides and cares for His people in the midst of a culture that denies Him, and that He calls us to be light in this dark culture. Some of the toddlers and babies dozed to sleep during the film but the elementary children on up watched with rapt attention. We all ate popcorn prepared for us by the young ladies in our team. After the movie came to an end, we had a special time with the VOH young ones and staff. We were able to pray for them and tell them how much we and the Father love them. ~Rafe

After Rafe prayed I shared with the children that Kelsey and I made our first trip to VOH before the buildings were completed or any children were here. I shared how we worked on their homes and prayed for the children that God would bring. Then we met them for the first time in April and they were the answer to our prayers. I told them it was special to see them again and they have a special place in our hearts and that’s why we love them. Lord willing, a team will be back in 6 months to see them again.

After that Julio said that they wanted to tell us something too.

One of the fun-loving house dads, followed by sweet 14-year old Warner, 6-year old Vilma (she completely stole our hearts), and the precious new house mom all shared how thankful they were for our team; how we showed them the love of God, and how they could see Jesus in us as we loved them.

It was an emotional evening as we shared our hearts and realized what a special bond was formed between the team and everyone at VOH. Next came the tearful goodbyes and hugs. There were few dry eyes as we embraced one another and shared sweet sentiments.

There are more stories to tell and I will ask the team (hint, hint) to send me their recollections of our trip so we can continue to share more of the trip with you.

We would love to hear from you, so please leave the team a comment or a question about the trip! I moderate all comments so if you would prefer I don’t post you comment publicly just let me know.

Praising the Lord for a great time in Guatemala and safe return! ~Christine