Adios Summer, Bienvenidos Fall...

I just realized that I haven’t written a blog post since our last one back in June. It was about our annual House of Blessing Golf Tournament. I guess it would be a perfect way to start this blog post by celebrating the successful tournament we had.

Golf Tournament…We are so pleased to announce that we raised over $16,000 dollars at the House of Blessing Golf Tournament this past July.  What a wonderful day it was.  Thank you to everyone that came out to play, serve and help make this day extra special.  Also, I wanted to thank all the businesses and individuals that sponsored the tournament and donated.  I am already looking forward to next years tournament, July 25th 2020 in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

Back to School…It’s been a little over a month since our children started school and everyone is off to a great start.  We were able to enroll 12 children, 2 boys and 10 girls, in 3 different schools.  This year we have 2 in first grade, 2 in second grade, 3 in fourth grade, 3 in fifth grade, 1 sixth grader and a sophomore in high school. The kids’ schools are about 5 minutes away from the orphanage.  Upon returning home from school, we have a wonderful team of staff and tutors to help the children with their homework and the areas of study that they are behind in.  Please pray for all our kids and their studies and especially for those that are struggling and behind.

Also, we wanted to say a HUGE thank you to all those who donated to our Back to School drive.  We raised over $1200 to help purchase supplies, clothes, uniforms and pay the school fees.  What a blessing!

New Addition…2 weeks ago, we took in another young girl named Valentina.  We were contacted by her mom, Yolanda, asking for assistance in caring for their daughter.  Valentina actually has a mom and a dad, which is very rare for the children we care for.  When Valentina was 3 years old, she fell from a water tower and cracked the back of her skull.  For about a year she experienced seizures, migraines and difficulty learning.  This made it all the more challenging for Yolanda and family to adequately care for Valentina while raising other children and working.  Yolanda was actually born in the United States and will be heading back there this weekend to begin the paperwork process to bring her family to the states.  Yolanda is also hoping to get some additional insight and direction regarding the medical tests for Valentina.

Valentina is a very sweet girl who is already coming out of her shyness.  She loves to play with dolls, color and talk. Lots of talking.  We were able to enroll her in first grade and she is already progressing well in her schooling.

House of Blessing has a wonderful sponsorship program where families and individuals can help support one of the kids here by praying for them, writing letters as well as supporting financially. We are in need of sponsors for our sweet Valentina. If you are interested in supporting here or would like more information, please contact me.

English Classes…We are very excited to have launched our English classes last week.  One of the things we have desired since the start of the orphanage was for our children AND staff to be bilingual in Spanish and English.  Some of our children have naturally picked it up especially when mission teams are here.  After much planning and prepping we started our English classes here at the orphanage on Thursday evenings.  Our kids are especially excited to have Kim Vargas and Jenna Borrelli as their teachers.  

Jenna is original from Oregon and will be serving with us for the next 8 months.  Jenna first came down to the orphanage on a mission trip, then completed our 3 month internship program, and now will be focusing on teaching our English classes.  Jenna received her Celta Certificate last year and is certified to teach non-native english speakers.

Thank you so much for your continued support, prayers, visits and encouraging words. Please continue them both for the children and our staff and volunteers!