I wanted to take a few moments to answer some of the frequently asked questions that many of you may have as well. If at any point you have questions of me regarding our ministry, please feel free to call or e-mail me and I will be happy to address them.

            1) What's with the big house?

If you have seen some of our past newsletters, my blog, or our Web site you have likely seen our new home. It is large and beautiful and, some would say, extravagant. As a result, some have asked us why we have rented such a large and gorgeous home if we are here to care for the poor and oppressed. That question is sometimes asked critically, but usually it is just an honest and good question that deserves an answer.

We spent 14 months searching for the right home in Guatemala. Our desire was to find a large but simple home that could accommodate our big family along with the children we would take in. Regular searches on the internet, calls and inquiries with friends in-country, as well as two visits by Wanda and I led us to the conclusion that such homes do not exist in Guatemala. In fact, besides this home the largest home we could find had only six bedrooms, was not handicapped accessible, and did not have a large enough living room or dining room to accommodate our family. And still that home rented for $650.00 a month.

When we saw our current home for the first time we were astounded by how perfectly it suited our needs. Not only was the first level large enough to house our entire family along with 10 other children, but it was wonderfully handicapped accessible. Combine that with the room upstairs to house our frequent teams and we realized that we had found the perfect location for Hogar de la Esperanza. With the regular income that teams will provide we realized that we could rent this home for less than $500 a month out of our general budget. More home, less money, and room for our teams. What a blessing God has provided to our ministry!

2) When will you begin taking in children?

That is a good question that we cannot answer. The licensing process for orphanages and group homes is both lengthy and expensive. If we go that route, we will likely be waiting for three to four years for our first child to enter. However, we are currently in dialogue with a couple of orphanages here that are considering allowing us to operate under their licenses. This would save a lot of money and time. But even that process takes time.  

We are currently building relationships with them that will enable us to trust one another. Such trust is important as orphan ministry in Guatemala is volatile and an infraction on our part or theirs could result in losing their license. Once the decision to partner is made, we still face home inspections and paperwork before we could officially receive our first child. So, it will likely be at least a year-and-a-half before we have our first new family member to Hogar de la Esperanza.

3) What are you doing in the meantime?

After reading the answer above, you might assume that we are simply living a wonderful vacation in a beautiful home. While we enjoy our new life here, it is anything but a vacation. While we are waiting for our license, we have more than enough to do:

• We are continuing intensive language studies to become proficient in Spanish. (We have a long way to go!)
• We are hosting regular teams from the states (our first team is here as I write this and our summer is almost completely filled).
• We regularly visit Hermano Pedro where we work with the children, teens, and adults.
• We will soon be volunteering weekly at Los Gozosos, a special needs group home in Chimaltenango, where I will be doing maintenance, Carissa will be teaching ballet, and the family will be helping with the children.
• We have a daily ministry to the children in our neighborhood. (Each day about 15 to 20 children and teens come to our home to play soccer and games or just visit. They are being drawn to Jesus.)
• Brittney and Krishauna are teaching English at Kairos Christian School, a private school for children from low-income families.
• And I continue as the Director of Hope for Home Ministries, fulfilling the responsibilities that go along with it. 

In reality, life is busier than ever before!

An Update on our Encarga Pastor Training Program

In our December Newsletter I shared that we had found a Director for our Encarga pastor training program. In November, Rev. Ron and Melanie Ecklebarger made the decision to move their family and join our Guatemala team. He will be leading that arm of our ministry, and we are excited to have him!

An added bonus is that Ron's parents, Bob and Jane Ecklebarger, have made the decision to join them in the move. Instead of using their retirement to kick back and relax, they have chosen to use their gifts and talents for God here in Guatemala. Bob will be assisting in a variety of areas of ministry, including our 4-wheel drive ministry, while Jane feels called to help in the education of the children. We welcome them to our team!

Ron and Melanie, along with seven of their eight children and Bob and Jane will be moving down on August 15^th. We are excited to have them join us. In the meantime, they are available to come and speak at your church. If you are interested, you can contact Ron at ron@hopeforhome.org.

As we continue our ministry both here and in the states, we have several prayer requests that we would like to share with you. A couple of these requests are financial in nature. We do not discuss our financial needs on a regular basis or make pleas for money, choosing instead to take our need to God through prayer. That is why we are choosing to share with you now, to ask you to take time to intercede on behalf of the need. 

• When we made our move to Guatemala in January we had secured the financial commitments from churches and individuals to adequately fund our ministry here and in the states. However, we have had a couple of large donors who have not followed through on their giving. We don't know the reasons for that. It could be that they are struggling financially themselves. But regardless of the reason, we have less coming in than is required. Would you please pray that God would meet our financial needs in this area while also praying for His provision for our donors?
• We are ready to take our first steps into rural village ministry through our 4-wheel drive ministry. The only thing we lack is our first 4-wheel drive vehicle. We will need approximately $10,000 to purchase a used vehicle and equip it for the rough terrain we will face. (Once again, this is NOT a request for funds, it is a request for the prayers of God's people.) Please pray that God will provide both the money and the right vehicle for our ministry.
• We are still seeking the right person to lead that 4-wheel drive ministry long-term. Will you please pray that God will raise up the right person for that role?
• We are immersed in language study that requires a lot of time and sharp minds, but our schedules are very full, making it difficult to find adequate time to study. Please pray that God helps us in our understanding, memory, and time management so that we can become adept in Spanish quickly. 

Name: Lan, Po-Sen 

Birthday: October 18, 2006

Keep up with the details of our transition to Guatemala and other Hope for Home happenings on Daryl's blog at  www.hopeforhome.blogspot.com.