Rain, Rain, Go Away!

How do I even begin to summarize all the events that have taken place the past 10 days?  I probably need to start with this amazing verse found in the Psalms, because I have had to cling to it with my everything.

"From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I" (Psalms 61:2).

My heart has been beyond overwhelmed in light of all the difficult trials that have come across our path here at the orphanage.  We are in the heart of the rainy season and it has been one of the worst ones yet.  The rains have brought massive storms, flooding and destruction.

It all seemed to start about a week and a half ago when our truck and 15 passenger van got stuck in the mud and water.  It had rained so much that the rivers breached the banks and flooded our fields, creating a flash flood which began washing away our road.  We were able to pull out the vehicles with Pastor Luis' giant 4x4 truck (nicknamed "Black Beauty").  However, that night seemed to set forth in motion a week of vehicles getting stuck over 15 times, somewhere on our property.

One of those was the Coca Cola truck that delivers our bottled water.  It was as if he had hit quicksand.  His truck quickly sank about 3 feet in the middle of our road.  For the next 3 days, all sorts of trucks, tractors, backhoes, tow trucks, and a slew of people tried to get the massive truck out, but to no avail.

Fortunately, last Friday they were finally able to get the truck out of the road and to safety.  Unfortunately, what suffered the most during this whole ordeal was our poor little road, which is no longer a road.  It is completely destroyed and undriveable.  We now have to park both of our 15 passenger vans out near the main road and walk back and forth to get the kids to and from school, as well as bring supplies in to the orphanage.  Boy, do wheelbarrows come in handy when you’re hauling groceries, propane tanks, bottled water, and other supplies back to the house.

Our new route to walk to the vans.

Coca Cola bought pallets and created a new walking path for the children!

One little ray of hope we received during this time was a new 15 passenger van.  We’ve desperately been in need of another one for our growing family and had been earnestly praying and searching for one.  It’s kind of funny how right in the midst of chaos, the Lord blesses us with a new van.  It reminds me of what Job cried out….

“…the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

The Lord gave us a new van…and also took away our road.  Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Our new van, Rhonda!

The other major problem that came as a result of the massive rain, involved our septic tank system.  The girls’ side septic tank is now completely destroyed as well.  It all started one night as Jackie, another worker, and myself spent 4 hours cleaning up septic water that had backed up into our building.  There was so much rain and water that it not only flooded our tanks but also lifted one up about 5 feet above ground.  This of course broke other pipes and important pieces, which has now left us operating on a broken system on life support.  Fortunately, somehow (basically by a miracle), the one remaining tank is still functioning a little, which is allowing us to still use the bathrooms, showers, etc.

Unfortunately, we don’t have any water because our main water line busted as well.  During the whole fiasco of trying to get trucks unstuck from our road, one of the back hoes sank and busted the main water line…which is now in the process of being repaired.

So, yes, it has definitely been a rough week and a half.  Yes, we feel beat up and discouraged.  BUT…we are hopeful in our Lord!

"We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;  persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed" (2 Corinthians 4:8).

There are so many other stories to share, prayer requests, and needs.  Please continue to follow along our adventure via the blog and especially Facebook.  Thank you so much to you all for your kind words, and especially for your prayers.  They are definitely felt and needed.  It’s amazing to see the continual support we have from people all over the world!

Many of you have asked specifically of how you might be able to help aside from praying.  All of these challenges have brought up a number of unexpected expenses.  If you would like to donate specifically for the repairs that are being done OR needed to be done, you can do so through our website, www.thehouseofblessing.org or mail a check, made out to HOB, to the following address, 1902 South Meridian Puyallup WA 98371.

Thanks so much...talk with you soon!

Back To School...

Summer is drawing to a close here for the children of CDB as they prepare to start school this coming Monday.  I don’t think any of our kids would actually “admit” they are excited for school, however, you can tell that they are.  

The summer was fairly busy, though pretty relaxing as well.  Most of our children got to spend some of their vacation with family and relatives.  We only had a few missions teams serve with us this summer.  My wife was able to go on a missions trip to China with a church from El Paso.  Ayantu and I flew up to Seattle for our annual golf tournament in which we raised $6300 for the orphanage.  And then, we met up with Jackie as well as all my siblings and their families for our family reunion in Lincoln City, Oregon.  What a great time that was.

When school finished in July, we had 14 children in the home.  Now with school starting we have 18.  The Lord was faithful to bring us 4 more children to care for and minister to, 3 of those having come this past week.

Some of you might remember Valeria, the sweet little gal with a squeaky voice that lived with us last year for 6 months.  Her mom decided to pull her from the home after Christmas break.  Honestly, we were all heartbroken and missed this precious gal very much.  What made it even harder was the fact that Valeria wasn’t even staying with her mom.  She was living here in town with her grandparents in horrible living conditions. 

I hadn’t seen Valeria since she left until Jairo and Jessie’s wedding in June.  Valeria came with her grandparents and greeted me with the biggest hug ever.  Towards the end of the wedding, Valeria came up and whispered something in my ear.  I couldn’t understand at first but then realized what she was saying…”can I please come live with you guys again.”  My heart was overwhelmed with emotions and all I wanted to do was take this precious girl home with us.  Sure it was justified, right?  I mean, her mom was neglecting her again, her living environment was very unhealthy, it all made sense to me.

However the Lord quickly spoke and reminded me that as much as I wanted to intervene, I needed to “be still, and know that He is God.” He was in control and would work something out.

Well, the Lord was faithful (as always) to do that.  We received a call from Valeria’s mom asking us to please take her daughter back.  She realized she made a mistake taking her out of the orphanage in the first place and once again was not in a place to take care of her.  Of course we said yes and Valeria is as happy as she was when she left…if not a little bit more.  It is SO wonderful to have her with us again.  Valeria will be starting 1st grade on Monday.

We also received a little guy named Edgar.  Edgar is 5 years old and has a mom and dad.  They are actually a really neat family and we are so thankful the Lord brought them into our lives to help and minister to.  Their story goes like a lot of the other stories.  Both parents are working hard to survive and due to their long work days, 6, sometimes 7, days a week, they aren’t able to nor do they have anyone else to care for Edgar.  Edgar’s parents are thrilled that he will be able to get an education (starting 1st grade on Monday), learn about the Lord, be cared for in a healthy environment, and that they will be able to visit or spend time with him on weekends.

The 3rd child that came to us is a young lady named Carolina.  She is the younger sister of Erasmo and Maria Ana.  We have known her since our very first trip up to their little village in the mountains, 3 years ago.  Carolina finished elementary school in her town and her mom now wants her to continue her schooling along with Erasmo and Maria Ana.  Carolina is very shy, but is already coming out of her shell.  She is a huge help with things around the house and is excited to start school.  She will start 7th grade on Monday.

So, including our daughter Ayantu, we now have 19 children in the house.  WOW…sounds a little crazy even as I read and write it.   Yes, it seems a little overwhelming right now as we change up room arrangements, build new beds, buy more clothes, food, etc.  But what an absolute joy and honor to help care for God’s precious children.

Please, please, please, continue to pray for us, especially over the next week as we get all 19 children settled in school.  Please pray for Valeria, Edgar and Carolina as they adjust to their new home.  Also, please pray for continual finances.  With the additional children as well school supplies, uniforms, back to school clothes, etc. that need to be purchased, we are trusting and excited to see in which ways the Lord chooses to provide.

We are also in great need of sponsors for most of our children.  I will be sharing a bit more about that here in the next few weeks regarding ways that you can partner with us and a child here at the orphanage.

Thank you for your faithfulness in taking the time to read the things the Lord is doing here!

Blessings!

Maria Teresa...

It has been a week since our newest child, Maria Teresa, has joined the Casa family and she is doing wonderful.  Teresa (as she likes to be called) is 7 years old and comes from a small little village in the Sierra Madres.  In fact it is so small and hidden you can only walk to get there.

She was actually brought to the orphanage by her father.  He is in a very difficult situation as he needs to travel around in search of work and must leave his daughter with her mother.  Sadly, Teresa’s mother is an alcoholic and spends more time out in the nearby towns then she does taking care of her 7 year old.

Upon returning to their village after being gone for over 3 months, Teresa’s father learned of more bad things that had taken place while he was away.  Enough is enough and with the encouragement of Teresa’s grandmother, he took Teresa and headed to Corarayvo.

Corareyvo, if you recall, is the small town where Maria Ana and Erasmo are from (about 7 hours away).  One of their cousins, who still lives there, suggested Lazaro bring Teresa here.  With no other options, Lazaro boarded the train and began the trek to the orphanage.

They showed up at our doorstep last week, with only a small backpack and a blanket.  We spent a few hours in my office listening to their story, asking questions and coming up with a game plan as to how we could help and minister to this family.

It was agreed by all parties, including the government after talking with them, that we should try to find Teresa’s mom and share what was desired for Teresa’s future.  I was a bit skeptical of this at first because it was clear she didn’t want NOR cared for her daughter anymore.  However, since she is legally her mother and didn’t know where her daughter was, it was important to at least try to find her.  Even more so, we were praying for an opportunity to share the Lord with this lost and struggling woman.  And so the decision was made to make the 3 hour trek to San Rafael to try to find where she was.

Thank the Lord everything worked out Just fine.  The team that went were able to find Teresa’s mother and share what we all desired for her.  She had little response and was quick to sign the paperwork for her daughter to come into our care.

Our children have done a wonderful job of making Tersa feel loved and welcomed.  She is very bright and bubbly but also feisty and aggressive.  We were able to enroll her in the school for next year and she will be in the same class with our daughter Ayantu.

Please join us as we continue to pray for this sweet girl, her transition to our family and especially for both her mom and dad!