Thank You LORD!

I am glad to tell ya that all the remaining funds for casa have been raised! Yippee! So thank you so much to all for your money, time, and prayers. We are still needing to get funds to get the childrens home up and running. So if anyone would like to support a child please let me know and I can get the details to you. God amazes me over and over again with the way He works and always seems to work things out, even when it seems impossible to the rest of us.

Things here at Casa are coming along. I think we finally got most of the painting done maybe a few things here and there left to do. Today me, Jen, and Jen went out to casa and cleaned and got stuff ready to be moved in and Kaite painted outside touching a few things up. So before we know it hopefully we will be up and running with lots of kiddos to love on. It is going to be so good. I am already can picture the kids laying there head on a pillow at night or running down the hallway or snuggled up on the couch. Oh and I am sure that there is so much more. Although, there are definitly some obstacles that have got in the way but that makes me think oh so much better things are going to be. Satan works hard when things are going to be GOOD! And it is going to be oh so good. Thank you so much for all of your continually prayers and support. Although so much has been given we still need around 10,000 or so to finish it all. So if any of you can continue to support or know anyone who can please let me know. As I always say I know that God will continue to provide. The past two weeks things have been at a stand still and no workers b/c of the money situation. So the things that have gotten done in the past couple of weeks are from me, Jen, Kluges and others that have helped. But it will come......

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. Hope that all of you had a good holiday. Christmas here was good but different. Not what I am use to at all, but it was good to be here and away from all of the stress and hustle and bustle that comes with Christmas. Although it was hard to be away from my friends and family for Christmas, I miss you all of you.
Hondurans celebrate Christmas in a whole other way. They celebrate all night Christmas Eve and then sleep most of Christmas Day. It was very loud and hard to sleep here Christmas Eve. The neighbors here had loud music and lots of fire crackers. It was going on all night but it really got loud around midnight. Starting at midnight I think is when the partying really starts. Then we went out for a little while on Christmas day to go to church and it was dead. There were not many people out at all.
Then the day after Christmas we headed to a childrens home, Center of Hope. We took the kids there some Christmas boxes from Healing Hands. Healing Hands International had shipped down a whole container of boxes. The boxes were passed out to the area churches to give out. Then what was left we took and passed out. The kids there at the center were 1 & half - 7 years old and there were about 20 or so kids. It was a neat place. As always it is good to get to go and see how different children homes run. Here are some pics below with the kiddos. Enjoy!

Alex, isn't he cute!

Juile and me

This is Juile, she came running to me when i first got there. She was so happy with all she got in her Christmas box. Most of all she was so happy with her underwear. She ran to the bathroom to put on her new underwear and then had to model them to all of us. Right here in this picture she is showing us all her toothbrush she got. It is so neat to see the little things like that that these kids are so content and happy with.

Center of Hope...another sweet kiddo

Christmas Boxes

This is all of the kiddos opening their Christmas boxes that we brought to them from Healing Hands International.

Alex

This is my little budd that clung to me the childrens home we went to. How cute. Don't ya just want to squeez those cheeks.

Laundry Day...washing out clothes on the rock

Slient Night Glow Worm

Paint

Main Entrance-Hallway
Kitchen-Kids side
Eating Area
Boys Bathroom
Girls Bathroom
Girls Bedroom
Boys Bedroom
Playroom/Living Room
Playroom/Dining Area

Didasko/Housing Building

This is the family that we built onto their house for them. Mancho had helped build the childrens home and he is such a hard worker. What a blessing it was to beable to give something to him and his family. He was continually thanking God. Above is the house the family was currently living in we just bulit on from there and gave them a house double the size. My sweet buddy Brian from Didasko. Too cute! By the way Marc McKain your buddy Junior says hello and that he is waiting on a letter.
We built a house for a family in Santa Ana and the there children to the left are the ones that we bulit the house for and other little guy was just a friend. Seeing what they lived in and that they didn't really have much the still had smiles on their faces and full of joy.
This is my new buddy at Didasko, his name is Brian. Another one of the children had cut his foot with a machete the day before we came. So while all of the other chilldren were playing and interacting with all of us he was having to lay in this bench. So I came to his rescue and got him some candy and toys and became buddies quick.
My sweet Emma that i made friends with last April at Didasko.
Lionel, a kiddo from Didasko is reading a letter that Rebekah and the boys sent him.
Monday we spent the afternoon at another childrens home, Didasko. Rick wanted to go see his Norma and love on her. I think that it was good for both of them. Then Tuesday we spent the day building a houes in Santa Ana for a sweet family. Then we have been spending the rest of our time at the childrens home painting. I will put pics on here soon on how it all looks.

Dedication

The logo for Casa de Esperanza "Making a difference one child at a time."


Sweet little kiddos "helping" tile








Today we set aside some time to dedicate the childrens home. We worked most of the day sanding the stucco, cleaning up trash on the property, and other odds and ends jobs. Chicken was bought for all of the workers today for lunch in appreciation for all that they have done thus far and are going to do on the childrens home. It has been so good to see everything coming together piece by piece. God is good and He continually provides for each and every little thing. Also we painted the outside of the childrens home yesterday and it looks really good. Next week we will hopefully paint all of the inside and get the odds and ends of tile put together.

Sweet lil Dennis who is our little helper. His dad is the block maker and he is there everyday. Also he has such a sweet mom who has come to be such a sweet friend.














The workers putting the final coat of stucco on the wall.















The tile guy Caleb, laying some tile in our apartment.












My dad and some other great friends from home got here safe yesterday. From the airport we took them straight to the childrens home. They spent alot of time just soaking it all up and prosessing it all that they were seeing. But it is good to have them here with us and we can share these good moments and memories with them. Progress on the childrens home is still coming along. Yesterday they were working on the elec, windows, roof, and tile. Today we are going to start painting. So little by little it is coming together.

We went out to Santa Ana for a little bit today after we picked Tim and the boys up from the airport. Things are still coming along. This Wednesday there are two people from the states coming in to lay the tile. We picked up the tile today and had a rough time getting it to Santa Ana but it got there eventually. Also they are still working on the roof and welding it together. They have poured almost all of the floor so the floor will be ready for the people when they come to lay the tile. They are working on putting the last layer of stucco on. In the pictures you will see that there is one wall that has the final stucco coat on it and it looks really good. They were also putting the electrical boxes in the walls today and just other little things. It is coming along. It will be neat to actually see the roof and the floor done. Hopefully within the next week both of those will be done. I know that you all are anxiously awaiting more construction pictures, so here ya have it......

More housing building pics

The blog would not let me post any more pictures on my last blog so here are a few more.

Nueva Oriental...Building a House

The day after Thanksgiving the Kluge's along with the rest of their family that had came in and a few of us went to Nueva Oriental to build a house. The house they were currently living in was made of wooden palets and plastic. So when we first arrived on the site we had to tear down the exsiting house. Which didn't take to much time at all. Then we were there for a good part of the day building the house. The chainsaws that we had were not being very cooperative so it slowed us down a little. We had lots of kids who were willing to help whether carrying boards or nailing a nail. One little kid Oscar was helping me with nailing. He got the hang of it and before long it only took him like 3 hits to get the nail it. That is him in the picture above nailing the floor boards down.
Also in the one picture you will see where the kids were sliding down a hillside. They had taken old pop bottles and were sliding down the hillside on them.
As always experiences like that have a way of lifting your spirit. The joy on the ladies face that we built the house for was beaming. She was hugging all of our necks and saying thank you over and over and God bless you. The day she was approached and was asked if she wanted a house built for her she started crying not believing what she was hearing. What a blessing this house will be to her and her family.