Hijas del Rey (Daughters of the King) Women's Home

We've had some resident changes and needed to hire additional staff, but with the arrival of Caty, a young woman who grew up in a children's home in Monjas, Jalapa in Guatemala, our women's home is complete--at least for now.

Living with women is very different from living with the men (DUH!).  There is such a strong sense of community and affection among the women that it is a delight to be with them.  Don't get me wrong.  Our men care about and are friends with each other, but have much more varied interests and different personalities, so tend to be more independent and go their own way.  Our women love being together, and are "off-balance" when someone goes home for a visit.

Debora with her son

Debora, our young woman who is deaf, has been home with her family since Easter.  While on her home visit she became ill with something which still is not identified, and her family felt it best if the were the ones to care for her.  I agree, though we miss her.  And I think it was especially hard for her to be separated from her son, even though he would visit often. Will she come back?  Time will tell.

Petronila on her arrival, with her mother and sister-in-law

Petronila was our first permanent resident, coming to us in January.  She is bright and very independent despite being in a wheelchair due to spina bifida.   I tell her she is my memory because she often keeps track of where I need to be and what I'm supposed to do.

Next came Griselda, who is the light of the house.  She has never met a stranger, and though she can be quite stubborn at times, is a delight to live with.  Gris surprises me with her abilities and understanding, though I have known her for six years at New Life School.

Chepa (Josefa) was our next resident, coming to us from a children's home in San Andres, Quiche.  I truly believe her presence is God ordained.  It began with a question from my friend, Norman Sutton (an Omaha resident who served as a missionary at the children's home with his wife Vicki) if I ever thought we could take Chepa.  The home now had mostly very young children, and her companion, Agelita, had gone to Jesus last year, so Chepa was well loved, but very along.  Now she is an essential part of our family and we are so glad.

Caty on her first visit, accompanied by Carroll Bishop,
the founder of the home where she grew up.

Caty completed our little community.  Caty had an extremely abusive early childhood before coming to the home in Jalapa, and the founder, Carroll Bishop thought of her as her own daughter.  The time had come, however, when they realized Caty needed more than they could provide, and came to us.  We were a bit concerned that her transition would be difficult, since a couple of trial placements with families had not been successful.   Her adjustment to living with us, after just one trial week with a caregiver from the home, could not have gone better and she really does "complete" our community.

Our program for the women, given their special needs, is much more structured than for the men's home.

We have regular classes in reading and math, as well as life skills.  A young woman from the community, Esmeralda, joins us on these mornings.  She herself has special needs and lives with another missionary family.

Griselda and Chepa working on recognizing their names.

Esme, who functions at about a 3rd to 4th grade level,
has her own individualized curriculum.

Basic cooking is also part of the program

And who doesn't love to lick the bowl?

Homemade French bread pizza is a favorite

No one really likes the clean up,
but somebody's got to do it.
Everyone gets their turn.

And there's no food to cook if you don't go to the market

And sometimes you just have to kick back at Pat's house
conveniently located just across the driveway

The girls have made many friends in our area. You can see Olivia, above, who enjoys spending time with our ladies.  Maya, the daughter of a missionary family in the area has developed a special affection for the women and they for her.

Going to the park with Maya is always a treat.

We were honored to attend the wedding of Edwin and Leah, a former housemate

We have been heartily welcomed by Calvary Chapel Antigua as our home church for the women.  They are two doors down from the house, and we are really included there, especially by Pastor Luis who knows each of the women by name, and makes sure to greet them personally each week.  There is no special "program" for them, they are just part of the church and participate as they wish.  It has been such a blessing and the girls eagerly wait for Sundays to roll around.

Casa de Esperanza

We are holding steady at four residents in our men's home, but even at that, we require 6 caregivers, working full-time shifts in rotations, to care for them.  God has blessed us with an amazing team of companion-caregivers who see our guys as a ministry opportunity as well as a "job."

Sometimes our patio looks like a junk yard, and
I feel I need to hang a disclaimer that the liquor bottles in the trash
are not from our consumption, but recycling!

Fidel is quite the entrepreneur.  He continues his recycling business, but invested some of the profits to begin selling small electronic accessories, such as phone cables and head phones.  Most of his first purchases were to our workers, but I hope he can make a go of it as people in the town find out what he is doing.

Osmi will graduate from high school this November after attending school on Saturdays in Santa Maria de Jesus.  He would love to attend university, but we are still trying to figure out how to make this happen.  The tuition, books, and fees would require quite a financial investment, and in addition, we would need to pay for special transportation for him into Antigua.  I don't doubt, for a moment, though, that if God wants this, He will make it happen.

Osmi in "white face" after participating in an activity
in Santa Maria de Jesus as a mime.

He sure doesn't show up this way, though,
when Ali, his girlfriend comes over.

Roberto is trying to earn a bit of money selling coconuts at the door to our home.  He buys 30 at a time, trims them down, pokes a hole in them and inserts a straw, and there you have a natural drink!  He still struggles with academic learning, and sometimes with his relationships with those in the home, but he really wants, and needs to be with us.

Roberto when we found him,
July 4, 2015

Roberto
August 5, 2019

Moises--what can I say about Moy?  No matter how tired or down I might feel, he always can make me laugh.  He does not have a "outside job" (he's much younger than the other guys) but helps out a lot in maintenance and cleaning of the home.  It's a standing joke that whenever I ask him to do something, he says, "No!" and immediately goes and does it.  I say he's 22 (can you believe that) going on twelve, but that's what happens when you grow up in an institution.

Yes, that's Mosis STANDING next to Fidel.
He now walks around the table three times before
each meal, and his balance, control and gait are improving.

With the other activities I'm responsible for, I don't see the guys as much as I used to, and I miss them.  God has provided a wonderful house-manager in Brenda, and she keeps me constantly appraised about what is going on.

The home church, Rey de Gloria, continues under the leadership of Derrick and Brittany Burden.  They are amazing, Biblically grounded, and genuinely love the guys.  About once a month, Pastor Harold Salvador, a national pastor, comes and visits and preaches.  They are being well discipled.

The Burden Family with some of our guys

As you can see, Derrick is not a small guy,
and has a playful nature.
Perfect for our men.

Pastor Harold "preaching".
I love that our guys get to hear from a Guatemalan just who Jesus really is.

Often I am approached about taking other residents, but have had to say no.  It breaks my heart, knowing that really there is nothing like our home anywhere in the country, but to add more people would make us become more and more a small "institution" (even if we call it a home) and less of a family.  We could easily start another home, though, if we had the funds and could find qualified staff.

Eight residents, seven staff members, two friends
made turning 67 much less painful!

So, there you have it!  Recently I celebrated my 67th birthday (at my age I don't hide it but am proud I'm still around) with both the men and women who live with us was well as the staff who serves us so well.  As I looked down the table at the dinner, Fidel and I reminisced about my birthday 6 years ago when there were 3 of us at the table our rented house in Antigua. Now there are 18, in a house with own.  Not a bad six years progress.

And my birthday cakes could have burned down
a small village!

Our Community Centers

In addition to the two community living homes we operate in Guatemala, Reason to Hope has become known as somewhere those with disabilities and their families can come for help in a number of areas.

Melanie, Jesus and Brayan study every Saturday
at Casa de Esperanza

A large emphasis at this time is our community outreach centers where we provide education and support to children and their families.  We began with one in San Pedro Las Huertas, at our men's home, Casa de Esperanza.

Petronila, one of our residents who has graduated high school.
working with Chepa on beginning math skills
and activities to build her fine motor skills

We expanded when we opened the women's home, Hijas del Rey (Daughters of the King) to serve those in the Antigua and Panorama area, as well as the women living in the home who continue to have special educational needs.

Two of our Santo Tomas students and their moms,
along with Gloria Donis,
the school psychologist with the vision to start this program

In February of this year I was contacted by the municipal psychologist for a neighboring village who asked if I would come and help her evaluate the needs of children she was serving.  We partnered with a team from Beeline Wheelchairs to provide communication support to a number of the children, but they needed more.  Would I come one afternoon every two weeks to work with them?

Teaching at the Women's Center in Santa Lucia
It became apparent we needed a permanent home
for our tutoring program

Soon, this grew to two afternoons a week, and it became clear we needed a permanent home for our center.  I was absolutely astounded when, through the social work program for the village, the mayor of the town offered me the use of a building, rent and utility-free. If you know anything about the social and political structure of Guatemala, can understand what a work of God this was.  This wasn't on my radar for 2019, but after consulting my "wise counsel" here and in the US, we accepted.  We trust if God opened a door so widely, He will provide to keep it open.

This is the entrance to our three room tutoring center,
the use of which is donated by
the city of Santa Lucia

We began negotiating a contract with the city council (are you beginning to see just how over my head I am?) and in June moved into a permanent facility, between the childcare center and the cemetery in the village of Santo Tomas.  (Read more about this here). 

We only have one classroom painted and pretty,
but it gets a lot of use.

We are currently serving about 12 children two days a week.  I have set the limit at 15 children until our budget permits us to hire a teacher for the center, so, like our homes, we are just about at capacity.  I continue to teach two mornings a week at the women's home, and Saturdays at the San Pedro location.  New Life School is still very important to me, but I have moved into a position of consultant rather than providing direct services to the children in Santa Maria.  This was a difficult decision, but I have learned there is only so much of me to go around!

While we don't present formal Bible lessons at the centers, our constant emphasis, through words and actions, is to help the children learn they are loved and valued, by us and more importantly by their Heavenly Father.  We talk about them using their God-given talents and abilities to fulfill His plan and purpose for their lives, and base all of our discipline and social skills instruction on Biblical principles using Bible verses and stories.

We do our best to support our parents.
Here, Estefany, a Peace Corp worker, volunteering with us,
talks with the mothers about school issues.

Many of our children and their families do not attend church and I love as I see their parents, who stay with them for they sessions to learn how to work with their children, listening as attentively as their children to what we are saying.  Since we are not a "church" even our Catholic families are open to what we teach.  It's an amazing privilege but also a heavy responsibility to be faithful to help them come to know Jesus personally, as more than a historic figure or religious icon.

The results we are seeing in this short time are overwhelming.  Mother after mother will tell me how the children do not like to go to school (where they are ignored, bullied or even abused) but ask almost daily when they get to see Seño Paty.  When a twelve year old boy on the autism spectrum cannot enter or leave the center without hugging me, I know they are experiencing love which comes not from my own heart, but straight from the Heart of the Father.  What an awesome place to be.

Our "wishlist"

School supplies

These are all things which we either cannot buy in Guatemala 

or are much more expensive

Fine and wide point
watercolor markers
(Crayola, Roseart preferred)

Glue sticks
(brand not important)

Two pocket folders

Plastic snap close envelopes

Laminating pouches (8.5" x 11")
available from
Amazon
Walmart
Office Depot
(brand not important)

If you would like to see more materials we could use for our outreach centers, you can go to our Amazon Wishlist.