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| March 2009 (Special Guatemala Trip Update) |
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| Greetings! |
 How do you summarize a life changing experience in a few words? Our Hope for Home Ministry Team has just returned from Guatemala where we spent nine wonderful and challenging days ministering to children in several settings, including a hospital, an orphanage, and a school for very poor children. Lives were touched and we all came home changed.
One of the greatest changes occured in me as God broke my heart for the incredible needs of Guatemala's children. That impact was so profound that it produced the following commitment from me...I have cancelled all ministry trips to all other countries until the conditions in Guatemala improve. Hope for Home will instead be sponsoring four trips a year beginning in July to address these needs.
Unlike many other ministry trips, our focus will not be to build or paint. Instead we will focus on love expressed through holding, touching, feeding, playing with, and speaking to little ones who so desperately need that love.
Whether you are a high school student, a senior citizen, or somewhere between, we need you. Please join us on one of our life changing trips. Simply go to www.hopeforhome.org/trips.html and click on the link titled ministry trip info. Our next two trips are scheduled for July 18 - 25 and October 31 - November 8, so get on board to change lives! | |
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| Hermano Pedro...Between Heaven and Hell |
 During our first full day ministering in Hermano Pedro, I turned to one of our team members and said, "This is the closest place to Heaven and the closest place to hell I had ever been."
Such a statement seems to be a contradiction, but it is not. Hermano Pedro is a hospital in La Antigua, Guatemala that houses and cares for children, teens, and adults with Cerebral Palsy and malnutrition. The 240 residents are fed, clothed, washed, and treated, but due to an overwhelmed nursing staff they receive little genuine affection and love. These children of God spend approximately 20 hours a day in stainless steel cribs. The other four hours are often spent parked in a wheelchair next to that same crib. They are frequently medicated to keep them from crying. Cloth diapers are changed twice a day, usually after their clothes and bedding are urine soaked.
Our team went to simply love them in Jesus' name. We spent time just being with these precious ones and showing them affection and attention. And our team walked away changed.
Now from this description, it is easy to see how this place might be seen as "close to hell", but where does the heaven part come into play? The answer lies in the eyes of those we loved and the priviledge we had to love them. The heaven was in seeing a glimmer of hope replace despair. It was in seeing smiles and laughter replace a blank stare. And it was in knowing that this kind of change is what Jesus created us to bring to a desperate world.
Our team has now departed, but Hope for Home will return with more teams. In the meantime, there are warriors of love who remain and continue to bring hope. Please visit their sites, pray for them, and consider joining them in their work through future Hope for Home ministry teams.
Melissa Davis - My friend who is a lover of the forgotten and who has shown
me how God sees Guatemala
Dick Rutgers - A true Christ-follower who provides wheelchairs,
specialized equipment and lots of love to those trapped in Hermano Pedro
Mary Margaret Scott - An angel who takes most evenings to love the children of
Hermano Pedro with the love of Jesus
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| Kairos Christian School - Vieja, Antigua |
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 The next time you are tempted to believe that one person cannot make a difference I want you to remember a lady named Mayra and her small family that is changing their city.
Their ministry began a few years back when Mayra noticed her elderly mother was slipping away each day around lunch time. Concerned for her safety, she followed her one day and discovered that she was going to the house of four children whose parents were alcoholics and feeding them lunch. Maryra and her family decided to bring the children to their home so her mom would not have to walk dangerous streets each day. Through that series of events arose a feeding program that fed 70 children each day.
But as their program grew they realized that they were not addressing the root of poverty and hunger...a lack of education. The public schools in Guatemala are horrible. As a result, only the wealthy who can afford private schools get good jobs. Gradually the middle class is disappearing and the poor are getting poorer. So in early 2009 they opened the doors of Kairos Christian School. In faith they hired three teachers, rented a piece of property, and remodeled classrooms while building additional ones. And lives are being changed.
As we worked in this wonderful school we saw peace, joy, and hope in the faces of more than 40 children from the worst of circumstances. We saw incredible teachers who loved the kids while using modern teaching techniques to drive home their lessons. And we saw children being led to the Savior.
Their current budget is $6000.00 a month, and presently they only have $700.00 a month pledged. But God is faithful and every penny has been provided. Please pray for Mayra, her family, and Kairos Christian School. And, while you are at it, consider sponsoring them on a monthly basis. Contact Mayra at guatemalatreck@yahoo.com for more information or to get involved. |
| Amor del Nino - A Place Where Hope Lives |
 Steve and Shyrel Osborn left their home in Texas over 12 years ago to minister to the orphans of Guatemala. Through God's vision and a lot of sweat and tears they gave birth to Amor del Nino, an orphanage that cares for between 40 and 50 children in need of a home. As our team ministered there we saw children healing and learning what love is.
This was my third trip to AdN and one of the things that struck me was the changes in a nine year old girl named Tonya. When I first met her in June of 2007 she was believed to be autistic. She never smiled, shunned physical contact, was aggressive with both children and adults, and could not speak. She spent much of her time alone. Today, however, she is a very different girl. She smiles and laughs frequently, engages others in play, and has a growing vocabulary. We now believe Tonya was not autistic but instead was suffering post traumatic stress from years of abuse. But Amor del Nino has changed all that through the love of Christ.
As you roam through their facilities you see open spaces filled with colors and toys. You see a team of loving nannies feeding, changing, and playing with the children. And you see Mommy Shyrel and Poppy Steve with children in tow wherever they are.
Like other ministries of faith they face a large monthly shortfall in their budget, yet each month what they need is there. Currently they have around $3000.00 a month pledged toward a $10,000.00 need. Yet each month the budget is met by God's hand.
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| Pray for Jose |
 Jose is a 2 1/2 year old boy who was brought into Hermano Pedro hospital suffering from malnourishment and weighing only 10 lbs. He is struggling to eat and keep down food and desperately needs to gain weight.
He is not adoptable as Guatemalan adoptions are completely shut down, but we can pray for him. Please pray that he will be able to keep down nourishment and get stronger quickly. His life depends on it. |
| Daryl Has a Blog |
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After lots of rambling on Facebook and numerous requests from friends and supporters I have finally started a blog. The focus of the writing is on seeking God's heart for the world in general and orphans in particular.
If you would like to become a follower you can do so by visiting www.hopeforhome.blogspot.com and clicking the "Follow" link in the right column. | |
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Daryl Fulp,
Director
Hope for Home Ministries
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