Guatemalan Journey: April 2015

A Home for Hope

We have been so very blessed by the house we have been renting for the past two and a half years. Our lease is up in November, and it has become apparent that it is time to purchase our own building.

There are numerous reasons to do this, and I'll share a few:

First and foremost, it seems to be the direction God would have our ministry take at this point.
Owning a facility will provide stability and sustainability for our community living ministry, and provide a permanent base from which to manage our other ministries.
Owning our own facility would decrease our monthly operating costs when the facility is paid off.

It is our desire to buy or build a home debt free, but we recognize that, even if we must take out a mortgage, it is better stewardship of the funds we receive. In the almost five years I have been in Guatemala, our ministry has spent over $55,000 in rent alone. (It's not as inexpensive to live here as one might think--especially when we need a particular type of home to accommodate wheelchairs.)

If we own a building, we can make physical changes to improve wheelchair accessibility, especially to the kitchen and bathroom areas. If we build, we can build to meet our unique needs.
We currently have four young people (two young men and two young women) who would like to leave the institution in which they are living and come to live with us. Our current facility would not accommodate these additional residents.

I have been looking at houses and land with a local realtor, and have been astonished at how expensive land is here in Guatemala. A 20 ft. x 40 ft. land located in a community sells for between $65,000 and $68,000. Land in more rural areas is less expensive, but this isolates our residents from others, and allowing them access to the community in which they live is part of the reason we began our home.

Shortly before I left for the US, I received a call from our realtor, telling me I needed to look at a house she had just seen. This newly constructed single level home has 2000 sq. ft. of living space and has a open concept design which I have never seen in Guatemala. We have made an offer on the house, and are currently waiting to hear back from our realtor. There are two other families interested in buying this property, and, while we were the first to see it, our special financing needs may make another offer look more attractive to the sellers. Update: May 11, 2015: We have made an offer on the house and it has been accepted. We currently have $54,000 toward this purchase, leaving a remaing balance of $116,000 which we need to raise to purchase this home and remain debt free. We take possession of the house in October (when our current lease is up), and have until February, 2016 to make our final payment.

Click here to get more details about this possible purchase,

So, we are praying and waiting for God's will to be done in this situation. We are holding our desires with open hands, knowing if this is not the house for us, God has something better. We are excited to see what that is, wherever it might be. Please join us in praying for His will to be done!

While this purchase has been quite a roller-coaster ride, we trust God is leading us in this direction, and are excited to see what He will do next to enable us to make this purchase! Please continue to pray for us as we move forward.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Eph. 3: 20-21

A Sweet Taste of Guatemala

Causa de Esperanza held its second annual Taste of Guatemala dinner on April 25 at Westside Church in Omaha. This was an amazing night of friendship and fellowship which allowed us to share with our supporters what God has done through our ministry during our almost five years in Guatemala.

The approximately 120 people who attended enjoyed a typical Guatemalan supper of black beans and rice, purchased Guatemalan handicraft items, and raised more than $24,000 for the building fund to purchase a permanent home for Casa de Esperanza, our community living home.

A sincere thank-you to all who prayed for this event, joined with us this night, and especially those who served in any capacity to make this evening happen. I so enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting some new ones. Your generosity through this event left me literally speechless (those who know me can testify that this is a rare occurrence.)