Exciting New Chapter...

This week was VERY exciting for the House of Blessing. Sort of a new chapter as we launched two new outreaches both to the community as well as to some of the moms of the children we care for.

For the past 6 months we’ve had a young woman from Oregon, Jenna, who has done a fantastic job giving English classes to our kids.  They are learning very quickly.  Well, word sort of got out about these English classes and people in the community began to express a desire to learn English as well.  After much planning, prepping and posting fliers throughout the community, last night was our first of a 3-week series of classes.  We had 19 people initially sign up and 14 came out and joined us. It was a wonderful time and they are so eager for next weeks class AND are also inviting their friends to come as well.

This week we also launched our new sewing outreach.  One of the visions for the orphanage has been to not only minister to and care for the children, but also to their moms as well.  For a lot of women their children are here because they don’t have the money and resources to adequately care for them. 

For the past few years we have been able to purchase some very beautiful handmade goods from a few of our moms.  Things like bracelets, necklaces, baskets, other types of jewelry, tortilla warmers and even dresses.  Many of you have either purchased or received some of these wonderful items.  Any time I have a trip to the States I try to purchase as much as I can and then take them to sell.  We then are able to use the donated money to continue to help support these women and purchase more items.

As we have wanted to see this opportunity expand and grow, we decided to launch a sewing outreach. This will give a chance for some of these moms to come to the orphanage a few days a week to begin to be trained and learn how to sew with machines.  When we shared the idea and vision with two of our moms they were incredibly excited and eager to start. This past Tuesday was our first official day and Teresa and Mariela had a wonderful time. We have been caring for Sandra (Teresa’s daughter) for 5 years and Berta and Irene (Mariela’s daugher and step-daughter) for 1.5 years. 

Every Tuesday and Thursday, they will take the bus from a town about 30 minutes away and work from 9:30-2:30 PM.  Not only will this begin to provide a steady income for them, but also a chance to invest in their lives. Initially, they will be making tortilla warmers and drawstring back packs for our Golf Tournaments.  Our hope and desire is that there will be enough interest for these items and more, that we can continue to provide a steady job for as long as possible. My wife Jackie and Jenna will rotate taking are of their children so they can focus on the task at hand without any distractions.

Thank you for your continued prayers, encouragement AND financial support, which helps make new endeavors like these possible!

Christmas Opportunities At The Orphanage...

I imagine most of you are planning and prepping for Thanksgiving this week and the holiday season. We too are getting excited for Thanksgiving and for Christmas (especially the children).

Our team has also been working hard on preparations for Christmas. Each year we try to do something a little different for both our children and our staff. I am especially excited for this Christmas season because we are doing some new and exciting things.

This Christmas we will be having our first ever Christmas Program here at the orphanage. We will be inviting all the moms and families of our kids to come to the orphanage for an evening of food, desserts, entertainment and gifts. The kids will be working on Christmas songs this week to perform for their families, both in Spanish and English. Jenna Borrelli who is here serving with us from Oregon has been teaching the weekly English classes. She will be coordinating the program.

Also, this will be the first time that all of our kids will be spending Christmas with either their family or a family from our church here in town. One of our focuses this year has been working directly with the parents to help them to be more involved in the lives of their children. One of those ways is by helping the parents be able to spend some of the holidays and vacations with them. This is usually difficult for parents because of finances, getting time off work, transportation or honestly, just a lack of desire.

This year, we are hoping to not only bless our children but also their moms and families. We will be putting together care baskets containing items such as food, toiletries and a few gifts. This will help those who don’t have a lot of money for neither food nor presents. We will also be helping financially for bus fares, transportation, etc for the parents to come for the Christmas program and to get their children for vacation.

We are hoping to raise $1200 over the next 3 weeks to help cover the Christmas costs this year. The money raised will help with the costs of…

- presents and stockings for the kids

- the Christmas Program

- food and present baskets for the families

- transportation costs and other expenses for the children spending time with their families.

If you and your family would like to help us this year and donate, please let me know. You can either email me, jason@thehouseofblessing.org, or text, 915.316.9496. If you would like to purchase a present or stocking stuffers and mail it to our address in El Paso, please let me know as well.

Thank you very much and Happy Holidays!

Jason and the Casa de Bendicion family

English Class Update...

We wanted to take a moment to update you all on the exciting things that have been taking place during our Thursday night English classes.  If you recall, we started classes here about 2 months ago for our kids to begin to immerse them in English.  Kim and Jenna have been doing a wonderful job teaching and helping them.  One of the rules that they have during the class is that the children can only speak English.  No Spanish allowed.  

I asked Jenna to write a bit about what’s been going on.  Check it out.

For those of you who do not know me, my name is Jenna Borrelli. I am originally from Oregon, but am currently serving here at Casa De Bendicion for a year. While I am here, I am doing a variety of different things to help serve the orphanage and community. One of those things has been teaching English classes at the orphanage.

In July of 2018, I received my TEFL/ESL (Teaching English Foreign Language) certificate. Meaning I am certified to teach English to non-native English speakers. So coming here and being able to teach these kids has been an absolute dream. I’ve been teaming up with Kim Vargas, who is the administrator here at the orphanage, to help with the classes.

We have been teaching all the basics of English.  So far the kids have learned how to ask each other questions, such as “What is your name? How old are you? Where are you from? What is your favorite food? etc.”  They have learned the colors, fruits, numbers, family, and some animals.  In each lesson, they also learn songs in English and play fun activities to help them remember what they previously learned. The songs are great because the kids continue to sing them outside of class as well. It brings me so much joy when we are eating meals together, and the kids start asking each other questions in English. They are so intelligent and are learning very quickly.  I have no doubt they will be bilingual in the future. 

It is also exciting to see the kids using English in their daily activities. Whether they are playing, cleaning, helping in the kitchen or just hanging out, they are either full of questions about English or are eager to learn more words and phrases.

I count it a blessing to have this opportunity to be here and not only teach, but to speak truth into their precious lives and help them see themselves the way that our Lord Jesus sees them, and to love them with an unconditional love that has been gifted to me from Christ. The good work the Lord is doing here will only continue as we continue to seek Him. I humbly ask for prayers for the English classes, myself, the staff and volunteers, and every single kid that has walked through these doors of Casa De Bendicion.