Missions, School and Graduating...

On Tuesday I dropped off a mission team at the airport.  It has been almost 3 years since the last time I did that.  We had an incredible time with a group of 8 men and women from Beaverton Oregon.  I almost forgot how fun, encouraging and exhausting these times are.  The team did a fantastic job helping demo, remodel and prep our buildings for the school we will be starting on September 5th.

Yes, I did say school.  House of Blessing has an incredible opportunity to partner with our local church and the community to open a private christian school on our campus.  A little back story to how this came about.  Long before the Pandemic, we had a desire to start a school first and foremost for our kiddos at the orphanage and then as an opportunity to reach out to the community.  Plans were drawn up for additional buildings, online classes were taken to open a school and things were moving in the right direction.  Once COVID hit and changed everything, the school was lost in the background.

Earlier this year I was walking our property just thinking, praying and wondering.  What in the world is going to happen to this beautiful and large property and campus the Lord has given us and built?  Surely a Pandemic won’t be the complete end to House of Blessing and the work here.  It was made obvious and clear that the orphanage would not reopen as that is no longer the need here.  I pleaded with God to reveal and show how we can use this place to continue our mission and desire to care for kids, partner with families and invest in our community.  Well either that day of the next I received a phone call from my aunt who simply asked “have you been thinking about a school at all lately?” It was something that had been greatly on her mind for quite some time. That phone call was the opening to many more conversations, meetings, prayers, planning and seeking God. Is this what you would have for us?  Officially start a school?

Jackie and I were excited, our board of directors were excited, our church in Bachinvia was excited.  It seemed that this was a good direction to move in.  However, we began to wonder, “would people be excited and actually enroll they're kids?”  We held an open house and invited people to come and hear the mission, vision and our desire for the school.  Over 50 adults and kids came out.  It was a beautiful evening.  Obviously from that night there was an interest, however, would people actually enroll their kids when the time came?

We had enrollment for a week the beginning of this month.  By the 3rd day we had 20+ enrolled.  As of now, we have over 50 kindergarten through jr high students enrolled, and the number keeps growing.  What an amazing confirmation that this is the next chapter.  I am thrilled that House of Blessing gets to play an intricate part of the school as well as continue to focus on our other areas of caring for kids and families.  There are so many more details and stories to share with you all  that we hope to do so over the coming weeks and months.

Please be praying for us, our team, our new teaching staff, the kids registered and anything else you can think of.  This is also a huge step of faith financially as opening a school in this magnitude is a huge financial undertaking.  Walking our property that day, praying and looking at our beautiful facilities and property, I was quickly reminded that it has been God who has provided ALL that we have needed and more. And He can do the same for this next chapter. So many of you have been a part of that provision through your donations, support and visits.

If you would like more details about the school or learn of ways you can partner with us and sponsor a child’s tuition, please email or text me (jason@thehouseofblessing.org, 915.316.9496.

Lastly, I am SO EXCITED to announce that Maria Carolina has finished high school and will be graduating today.  Caro first came to the orphanage over 6 years ago.  When the orphanage closed during the Pandemic, Caro and Natalia moved into our house and have been living with us since then.  Caro will be the first in her family who not only has finished all her schooling and graduated, but will continue her studies.  After looking at a number of different colleges and universities in the surrounding area, she has decided to spend her first year after high school studying at a Bible Institute near Ensenada Baja California.  She was officially accepted last week and is absolutely THRILLED for this new opportunity. We couldn’t be more proud of Maria Carolina Caraveo Rascon!

Hope you all have a wonderful rest of your week and Happy 4th of July!

Jason

Father's Day and Golf...

Father’s Day and golf have gone hand in hand for a very, very long time. In fact since the 1970’s, the final round of the very exciting US Open has always landed on Father’s Day (with the exception of the 2020 tournament during COVID). Im very much looking forward to tomorrow. My comfy man chair recliner, good food (7 layer bean dip to be exact), maybe a few presents and an exciting final round of the tournament.

Speaking of golf, I am equally excited about our up and coming House of Blessing Golf Tournaments. After an incredible success last year (over $16,000 raised), we once again will be hosting 2 tournaments. Our Washington tournament will be held again at the The Classic Golf Club on Saturday August 27th. Our Florida tournament will be at the Fountains Country Club on Saturday October 1st.

We would love to have you come out and join us for one of these special events. Whether that’d be playing, volunteering, helping, hanging out, etc, we’d love to have you. You can find all the information about the tournaments and getting involved at our golf website, www.hobgolf.org. If you don’t live in WA or FL , there are still ways you can still help us make these events a big success. We are always in need of sponsors, donors, donations, raffle prizes etc. If you are interested in getting involved that way, please email us, golf@thehouseofblessing.org.

I hope your weekend is going well thus far and for all you dads reading this, have a wonderful, blessed, relaxing day tomorrow!

Jason

Green, Apples, And A Lot Of Teenagers...

For the past month or so we have been enjoying Phase 4 (Green) of the Pandemic.  This is the longest we have stayed green since the Pandemic started over 2 years ago.  Kids are back in school full time, mandates are being lifted and life has seemed to return back to normal.  We just started Semana Santa (Holy Week) or Spring Break.  Who knows what changes that might bring with all the vacationers, travelers, etc.  But for now, we are absolutely enjoying the beauty of green and the weather.

Last month we had to say goodbye to one of our dear workers, Meny.  We have had the honor and privilege of working with Meny for almost 7 years.  He has been a “MacGyver” type individual who seems to be able to fix anything and build everything.  He always has a joyful attitude and a smile on his face.  Meny is engaged to my cousin Leticia and soon to be married in the fall.  He received an amazing job offer to manage and run a large apple orchard.  One of those type of offers that you can’t really refuse.  Apples are one of the biggest products and job providers down here in our area.  Although we are sad to see him go, we are very excited for this new opportunity and thankful that we can still serve alongside him at our church.

Life has returned to our campus once again in the form of 70 + youth and leaders.  Churches from all over the state of Chihuahua have gathered here for a 3 day youth retreat.  What a blessing it is to be able to use our facilities and property to accommodate and bless these young individuals.  My role for this week is working in the coffee shop and leading worship. I have always loved coffee and have worked in the coffee industry since high school. However, I was definitely pushed to the limit this afternoon making 80 or so iced lattes, mochas and americanos. Thankfully I had a wonderful team of people to help.  The highlight of my day has definitely been the worship times. Singing together in a room full of young men and women has been such a joy and very powerful.

Please be praying for us over the next few days, the youth, leaders, speakers, cooks, servants and volunteers.  It takes quite the effort to run a youth camp.