Casa de Esperanza Update

Well, we’re moved in (sort of) and slowly acquiring the furniture we need to get this house going.  The kitchen is fully equipped now with the beautiful stove I found at half price.  It is supposed to have a dent somewhere, but I have not really been able to see it, hence the reduced price.  I can’t help but think this is another gift from God to us.

The dining room is fitted with a large table and chairs, thanks to Mari.  She hasn’t been using this table and has offered it to us for as long as we need it.

We still need a sofa and entertainment center to make the living room complete, but it is serving us well so far.  Dick’s kids manage to find enough places to sit (or sleep when they stay over after youth group), and we really don’t need too much furniture here since many for our residents will have wheelchairs.

Progress is being made on filling up the house.  Until January 15, Scott and Linda Harvey, friends from Kansas City who are here working with a ministry in Jocotenango, will be staying with me.  It’s nice not to be rattling around in this big house all by myself and they are good company to boot.

 

 

 

Cesar’s parents praying over him at his graduation from “Basico” last October.

 

 

 

 

The beginning of January Cesar, on of Dick’s boys, will move in to serve as an assistant and also go to school at INVAL, outside of Antigua to study to be a PE teacher.  This is a double win, since he needs an Antigua address to attend this school (one of the few which offer this course of study) and I need a reliable worker and leader here in the home.  Cesar is a remarkable young man, already coaching a soccer team of his peers, often translating for Dick, and frequently helping with wheelchair repairs and distributions.  A bonus is that he and the young men from Hermano Pedro we hope to have living here are already great friends.  Cesar said the other day that I am his “second mama.”  I have to admit that brought tears to my eyes, especially since he comes from a wonderful, though very poor family.

Fernando holding Lisvi, a starving 6 year old
when I first met him in 2009.

Also moving in during the first part of January is Fernando, another of Dick’s kids.  Fernando’s mom has been in the US since he was very young, and he has been living with relatives.  This past year the family he has been living with has pretty much left him to care for himself, and as a result, he did not pass our equivalent of 8th grade.  When Dick talked with him about this, he said he just felt like he needed to live somewhere where he would receive more direction.  When Dick asked him how he would feel about coming to live with me, he jumped at the idea. (Months before, when I was still in the small house, I had told Dick I’d take Fernando in in a heartbeat if I had the room.  Fernando was the first of Dick’s kids whom I met, and he has always been very special to me.  Once again, God gives me a desire of my heart!)  This past week we spoke with his mother in the US, and she gave permission for him to live here during the week and visit his relatives in Chimaltenango during the weekends.  So, come January 3rd, I’ll be looking at schools for him to attend.  Fernando is also a wonderful friend to the Hermano Pedro boys and will be a wonderful assistant to them when they move in.

Fernando obviously feels at home enough here to take a nap in the room that he will soon share with other male residents.

 

 

I had said that I had hoped to have time with some of the assistants living in the house before we have residents move in, and God seems to have worked this out.  Dick’s boys are a wonderful source of assistants since they already know and love for the guys at Hermano Pedro, and Dick has trained them well in caring for them.  I know these young men and have great confidence in and affection for them.  Another way God has been preparing for this house before I even knew it!

Miguel, Cesar’s brother, at lunch with Maynor, one of the residents at Hermano Pedro.  I hope to be able to hire Miguel in the future to serve as one of our assistants.

A most exciting step toward receiving residents occurred today.  Fidel, who first showed me the need for a home such as this, came to visit today with Xiomara, the volunteer director at Hermano Pedro, and her friend Vicki.  More than a year ago, when Fidel was at a very dark place spiritually, I first mentioned the idea of this house to him.  I told him this could only happen by the grace of God and asked him to start praying for a house we could live in.  He reluctantly agreed.  It was amazing to see the delight in his eyes today as he realized God not only answered our prayers, but did so abundantly.  He kept saying, over and over as we moved through the house, “Muy bonito.” (Very pretty.) When I asked him to say the blessing over the food today, and he immediately agreed.  Fidel struggles to speak due to his cerebral palsy, but his prayer was one of the most eloquent I have heard, as he thanked God for our house, for bringing me to Guatemala, and for bringing me into his life.  Needless to say, I was moved to tears once again.

Vicki, Fidel, and Xiomara at lunch today

Xiomara has agreed to talk with Social Work to see what exactly Fidel’s legal status is (he came to Hermano Pedro as a child, and they therefore have had guardianship over him) and also to advocate with Padre Jose, the administrator of Hermano Pedro, to get the ball rolling to move Fidel in.  Vicki, her friend, is a psychologist who offered her services to us whenever we need them, as well as saying she will talk with her father, an attorney in Guatemala City, to see if he can help us with our legal work. 

It’s coming together!  I continue to be amazed by our wonderful God who has orchestrated all this, to give us the desires of our hearts.  To Him is the glory.