Reflections on 2014

As we reflect back on 2014, our hearts fill with praise to the Lord for His great mercy and grace, and fulfillment of His promises!

"They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

Praise the Lord for many life events to celebrate in the Hogar de Vida family during 2014.

• Twelve children participated in graduation from their level of education: One from Kindergarten, three from elementary, five from middle school and three from High School. We are so proud of them!
• Two young ladies celebrated their Quinceañera, 15th birthday. This is a very special birthday here in Guatemala and arrangements were made to make these young ladies feel like the daughters of the King that they are!
• Everyone had a birthday this year! We all shared in a yummy dessert made on their special day and then had a big Birthday Party Bash quarterly for everyone who had a birthday in that quarter.
• This year, Hogar de Vida hosted its first wedding and following celebration! Luis, the oldest son of the Directors, Sebastian and Oralia, married his lovely bride, Marisol, in December. The ceremony and reception were held at the home. It was a beautiful, God glorifying event.
• The most important of all celebrations was celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Gifts were given in remembrance of God's greatest gift given to us, His Son.

"I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.'"

God blessed us greatly this year through 10 short-term mission teams that came from the United States. They painted, landscaped, did dental work, dug a drainage system, built cribs, made necessary repairs, and brought Christmas presents. Most importantly, each team poured love into the children of the Home. They played with them, held them, chatted with them, and made them feel special. Each team left a visible impact on the home, but even more importantly, they left an unseen spiritual impact.  

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

"The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him."

~Vickie Sutton

LifePlan Update

We want to thank each of you who have given to LifePlan. In November, two of our young men, Mingo and Edyn, graduated from High School. Mingo is now working full-time in construction. Edyn has interest in training to be a chef and right now is working part time as a cook.

This year we have six students in High School. Private high school is the only choice in this area and each student must choose a track to study. Wendy and Cata are in the college prep track, Santos and Bartolo in computers and Blanca in pre-school education. Julio is in his second and final year of military prep high school.

Looking forward to 2015

Thank you for your faithful support of this ministry. Through your prayers and financial support, the Lord has provided for all of our needs. Recently we had to increase staffing and raise wages to stay in line with government labor regulations. God blessed us with four wonderful new staff members, but this has increased our operating budget by about $525 per month.

With the purchase of the LifePlan House completed, there will be additional expenses of $3,000 to renovate and furnish the home. That will include laying tile, repainting the home inside and out, installing a secure gate/garage door, and purchasing the necessary appliances and furniture so that Santos, Mingo, Julio and Manuel can move in.

In light of these needs, we are praying and seeking the Lord for His financial provision. Would you join us prayer and consider:

• Beginning or increasing a monthly financial commitment to support the increased staffing
• Or perhaps a special one-time gift to renovate and furnish LifePlan House.

Juana's Story

Recently, as I was looking through pictures on the Homes of Life website, a young face jumped out at me. "I know that little girl," I thought. Upon closer observation, I realized that the little girl is now a beautiful young lady and one of our staff members. Her name is Juana. When I showed her the picture, it brought tears to her eyes because she doesn't have many pictures of herself as a little girl.  

The picture of seven year old Juana was taken when a missions team was ministering at a nearby school.   Juana remembers the North Americans visiting her school when she was in 2nd grade. She remembers them washing and braiding her hair. Most of all she remembers watching a drama that portrayed a young lady being tempted with different things of the world such as drinking, money, appearance, and violence. In the drama a man helped the young lady escape and be free from these things. At first Juana didn't understand who the helper was, but then her teacher explained that we have a God who helps us, is there for us, and sends other people to help us as well. The seed was planted.

Juana is now 16 years old and has been working at the Home of Life for a year. After Juana completed 8th grade, her family could no longer afford to send her to school, so she got a job for a year with a local family. When the year was up, she heard that the Home of Life was looking for workers so she applied. Juana started working and learning her responsibilities, but more importantly, Juana started learning more about Jesus. Juana knows and understands what Jesus has done for her, but has not yet taken the big step to ask Him into her heart. Please pray for Juana, that she will soon take that big step and accept the greatest gift of all, salvation through the blood of Jesus!