Project News and Updates

When we started the Project and the Home we had many questions:

• How are we going to make it in a foreign land without a good paying job?
• How are we going to pay social workers, psychologists, accountants, and  lawyers?
• How are we going to be able to rent a house approved by the government to house many children?
• How are we going to feed the children?
• How are we going to pay helpers?
• How does it all work with the USA Govt and the Guatemala Govt?
• How are we going to buy formula, diapers, and baby wipes?
• In case of a medical emergency, how are we going to pay large medical bills?  What if we have to pay for a surgery?
• How are we going to make it to the remote areas where the families live?
• How are we going to pay the professional programs the government requires to have in place to operate as a home?
• Who will we run to for help?
• What spiritual battles and challenges will we face?
• What are we going to do for water? 
• Many, many questions that even now are not all answered, BUT

We know now that Jesus, the Maker and Owner of the ocean, the sky, the mountains, the rivers, and the universe chose YOU to make possible the impossible.

THANK YOU for staying afloat of today’s wave of apathy and hate and remaining close to  Jesus and His Word. THANK YOU for being light. THANK YOU for supporting us with prayer, money, and encouragement.

Whatever you do, keep the faith. Our God is bigger than the different challenges we all face, and He IS  in charge.  We pray for you every night and thank Him for your generosity and faithfulness.  May He give you strength, joy, peace, and endurance to continue the walk as “His chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a peculiar people.”

JEREMIAH 32:27
“BEHOLD, I AM THE LORD, THE GOD OF ALL FLESH;

July!!!!!!  Time is going by fast. This month marks a year that we are in Guatemala.

An intense year for sure.  We have seen the Lord work in unimaginable ways: miracles in front of our own eyes, deliverance, problems that turned out to be blessings, and a generous hand of provision day after day. Praise the Lord!

• We welcomed our first two children on November 25, 2019.
• Third child came on Thanksgiving 2019. He would have died if we would have not taken him to a city hospital right away. God weaved a tapestry of players and situations to get him to have surgery. Amazing connections of time and people that only He could orchestrate. Our God is an awesome God.
• A 9-month-old baby came on December 5. (I call this boy and the January baby listed below the 2 witnesses of Revelation.)
• A 2-month-old baby on January 6, 2020.
• April 30th, 2020, we moved to a different house in a close by town. The electricity bills were taxing, and the owner of the house did not want to renew the lease even if we fixed the wiring. The Lord gave us a better house with Q500 less rent per month. This location is nicer, quieter, and utilities and internet are less expensive.
• Early May, in the new location, God showed us there was water and 2 hard working men digged (looked it up, “digged” is an older form of “dug”) a well with lots of water that we have been using since then. Isaiah 41:17-18
• Late last year we became members of ASOCRIGUA, the Guatemalan Association of Christian Homes.  Another great blessing with professional, educated, compassionate staff who have been working with homes and children for longer than 10 years.  They give us sound Bible based advice and guidance on unusual situations. Most situations are unusual, I should say. 
• We just had a surprise virtual inspection from the C N A, the government agency that licenses us.  Their staff are helpful, caring, and available 24/7. Yes, a lot of paperwork and requirements; in the long run though, they turn out to be beneficial. 
• Our budget was enough to get us through June 2020. Here we are, July 2020, and we lack nothing.
• The airport in the city is still closed, we are not allowed to leave our small town, foreigners or nationals coming from abroad have to spend 15 days at a hospital, we are mandated to wear masks when not in our house, the courts are only dealing with emergencies, AND God is in His throne. 

May He continue to bless and protect you. Thank you for being part of each and every bullet on this list, and beyond. Thank you for being God’s emissaries to allow us to be here. Psalm 100:4

We were delivered a 13 month old boy on Thanksgiving day. Our boy was very sick and nobody had noticed!

He was unable to walk or talk any words and he was severely dehydrated. When we saw him we immediately took him to our little town's hospital. He was there for 2 days. No improvement despite very good care.

We decided to bring him to the city where he was admitted on an emergency basis and diagnosed with malnutrition and duodenal atresia.
In addition he had RSV, norovirus, and mycoplasma.

After the diagnoses were established, he had to be fed through the vein and stabilized to have surgery.

He had surgery on Friday Dec 6th and he is doing very well by the grace of God.

His medical care has been excellent. Not to mention the love he has received from so many people, medical and non medical.

The medical care has been inexpensive compared to the States. He has had imaging, endoscopy, surgery and many meds and 24 hour (excellent) care for $11,000 dollars; not expensive but a big blow to our budget.

We pray God will move hearts to help us replace that amount so we can continue taking care of the children God assigns to us. We have 3 kids at home, cared for our very efficient, loving staff.

Thank you for helping us.

 Thank you!!  We appreciate your support and prayers.

By the grace of God, Pastor Daniel Kwon, from A Cup of Water International, ACOWI, installed a clean water system in the home, and we were able to let the Guatemalan judges know we are ready to receive babies and children.

We opened our doors on September 18th!!!

Pastor Daniel is coming back to our town to explore how God will direct him to help our water situation. Please pray for Pastor Daniel, his family, and ministry.

The house has been furnished and fixed to be the home for 5 babies and 2-4 children not older than 12 years of age. This is the profile of the Isaiah 58 Home as established with the Consejo Nacional de Adopciones (C N A).

The license to open the Isaiah 58 Home is near. We had to have 3 different government agencies approve us. The Ministry of Education: approved. The Department of Health: approved. We are just waiting for approval of the Psychological Plan and the final physical inspection of the Home. We have had already one favorable inspection, when we were still painting the house.

The Ezra Project of Guatemala is a legal entity. We have The Ezra Project in the USA and we have formed the non-profit in Guatemala so we can be a legal entity. The SAT (Guatemala IRS version) procedures for non-profit status are almost completed.

 Through the process with the C.N.A. (Consejo Nacional de Adopciones) and other Guatemalan government agencies, we have met many capable, professional, and compassionate Guatemalans. We are thankful for their willingness to work with us and their encouragement and help to continue a very cumbersome process.