It has been a year and a half in the making, but it is now a reality. We have received our very first girl into the program of Rocsana's Hope and I invite you to read all about it in this special online newsletter. I hope that those of you who have just joined following us as well as those who have been with us from the beginning will be equally blessed by what we have to share in this very special letter.
Note- If you do not see the pictures included there is a link at the top of your email that says "External Images are not displayed: Display Now" Make sure to click on that "Display Now" link at the top of your email to see all the pictures.
Diana has been with us for two weeks now and we are so very happy.
The moment was everything I had hoped for and more. In what has been an announcement a year and a half in the making, we are beyond thrilled to announce that Rocsana’s Hope has finally received the very first young lady and accepted her into our program. Her name is Diana.
Diana has spent the last 8 years in an orphanage approximately two hours from our ministry headquarters in San Lucas. She actually left her orphanage after her 18th birthday hoping to find relatives who might help her. What she found instead were people who were trying to exploit her. After two months of hard living and having nowhere else to go, she reached out to her original orphanage for help. They were simply unable to take her back because of the possible risks it might bring to the other children, so they began searching for some place where she might be able to live but also have hope for a future. Again, there are no ministries like ours that are designed solely to help these precious girls once they turn 18. Somehow they heard about Rocsana’s Hope and reached out to me personally through Facebook and asked if there was any way we could take her.
The funny thing is this: I told Jeff and Esther as we prepared to return to the United States “I’ll bet you we will most likely receive our first girl while we are in the states.” Sure enough we were presented with Diana’s need. After some quick praying and assessing the situation the decision was made and I messaged the ladies from the other orphanage and told them to bring her to Rocsana’s Hope. I then contacted our Guatemalan staff and instructed them to prepare the first bed.
Diana arrived at approximately 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 5th. I was in the US but my heart ached to be there not just greet Diana and make her feel welcome but also for our staff who were a little nervous accepting the very first girl without us being there. God touched a precious lady at the First Baptist Church of Ark City, Kansas on Sunday the 7th and they purchased a plane ticket for me to return to Guatemala the very next day, which I have. I will only be here for three days but I have had the amazing privilege of being here to get to know Diana, help make her feel welcome, do some shopping for her, and also to provide leadership and encouragement to our staff. They were all grateful to see me and all greeted me so warmly. Finally Diana came out from the house and she just came right up to me and hugged me. We both cried and it was truly one of the most exciting and precious moments of my life.
Now of course the REAL work begins. We have to begin the process of assessing her needs, aptitudes, goals, dreams, abilities, and desires for her future, and then construct and implement a plan that will help her achieve her goals and provide her the opportunity to have a bright and shining future. We also need to address her past from a psychological and emotional standpoint and help her overcome any residual issues she is dealing with from being an orphan. We will gather as much information on her as possible to help us ascertain where she is educationally and see what we can do to get her moving forward in that area. Then we will work in conjunction with her to devise a plan for her future that will help her be successful and happy. In order to do that, we will introduce her to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ because He alone can transform a person’s life.
So now we need your prayers more than ever before, and so does Diana. Pray for her that she will thrive in our program and for us that we will be able to provide her with a future of real hope.
Getting Acclimated
It is my sincere desire that I ask you to add this precious gal to your prayer list. Like all young people, especially ones who have been orphaned, she craves the love and care that any parentless child would. As I have been speaking with her and getting to know her, she has already shared with me that all she has ever really wanted in life was to know the love of a father and a mother. She certainly received this at her orphanage, but now it falls on us to continue to show her the godly kind of love that every human being needs. This seems to be her greatest desire and need at this time. She is very sweet and precious and we want to see her not just survive but also to thrive in our home and program. Thank you in advance for your prayers. In the short time she has been here, Diana has already developed a deep bond with Rocsana. Rocsana has shared with me that she is so very excited to have Diana in our home and she is looking forward to not only having a sister relationship with her but also being something of a spiritual mentor to her as well. I have also spoken with Diana about Rocsana and she just beams when she talks about someone she is already referring to as her big sister. It is so much fun to watch these kinds of things develop and we are seeing it here.
Ministry is when God uses you to impact the lives of other people for eternity. That is our true goal here but we cannot make it happen apart from your prayers for us. Please pray that God will do what only He can do in us and through us.
The Return of Denise To Guatemala
For as many times as I have been back to Guatemala preparing for our eventual return and the opening of the ministry of Rocsana’s Hope, Denise has lovingly and faithfully been holding down a job here in the United States so that we could have money to live here and pay our cost of living in the US while I worked on building the ministry. That is why on all of these trips it has been only me going down. Well now that time has finally come to an end. Now that we finally have our home set up and are able to close out our affairs here, Denise quit her job and will be returning with us to Guatemala when we go on the 24th of April. She has yet to meet Selvin and Lucky and has not seen Rocsana for almost a year and a half. But now that it is finally here, she is so excited to finally get down there and not just be a part of the ministry, but be my right hand help and encouragement, which has always been her first desire in all the years we have been in ministry. Pray for Denise that her transition back to Guatemala will go smoothly and the God will use her mightily in the lives of the girls.
Need for Added Security
It is extremely difficult to share this need, but we have had to relocate our first young lady to an undisclosed location to protect her until we can get back and start adding security that is now a top priority. We have been crunching our need and the numbers and so in faith we are sharing this now. It is my desire that you interpret this sharing as us trusting God for His provision and not asking you directly. Therefore we ask you to give ONLY IF YOU FEEL LED TO DO SO. If you are not sure, click the link and read the description of exactly what we need and if you feel led, then do what the Lord lays on your heart. I am asking God to provide all of this by the time we return to Guatemala Wednesday night. With the increased intrusion issues our home has experienced and the need to temporarily relocate our girls, it has become an absolute priority to add some of the security features we were planning on adding much later. There are four specific things we need to do immediately. 1. Add a camera surveillance system, 2. Add an home intrusion system, 3. Secure our perimeter with razor wire, and 4. Hire a night security person. We have just started to discover how necessary these things are and are also discovering that most ministries near us have all of these things. Right now we are vulnerable. The total cost to add these things and pay for a guard for several months is $4,000.00. I know this is a lot and we were going to try and raise it over a long time, but now the need is critical. Message me directly if you have any questions whatsoever.
Many Areas of Need
Now that we have the house and headquarters, it is time to begin getting it ready as well as a few more big needs in order to operate fully. Below is a “Needs List” that is pretty lengthy but necessary. We are encouraging everyone to prayerfully be a part of helping meet one of or a part of one of these many areas of need. Some of the prices associated with our needs are approximate but as close as we can be without an exact price available until we get to Guatemala.
You can give to help a SPECIFIC need from this list by simply following these steps:
-Go to www.rocsanashope.org
-Click the “DONATE” button
-Select “One-Time and Special Projects”
-Select an amount and designate what specif-
ically from this list you want your gift to be
used for.
1. 2016 Toyota Hiace to handle all the transportation needs of Rocsana’s Hope—ONE TIME NEED—$23,000.00
2. 15 Sets of wooden bunk beds—15 units needed—$200.00 per unit or $3,000.00 TOTAL
3. 30 Mattresses for bunk beds—$100.00 per unit or $3,000.00 TOTAL
4. 15 Wood Armoire/Storage units for the girls rooms—$150.00 per unit or $2,250.00 TOTAL
5. 30 desktop or laptop computers - $250.00 per unit or $7,500.00 TOTAL
6. Living Room Furniture—Open Amount up to $1,000.00
7. Dining Room Table and Chairs—Open Amount up to $850.00
8. Classroom work stations for up to 30 girls—$95.00 per unit or up to $2,850.00
9. Commercial 8 Burner Stove—ONE TIME NEED—$775.00
10. Various Small Kitchen Appliances—Open Amount up to $1,350.00
11. Pots, Pans, Sheets, and Cooking Utensils—Open Amount up to $800.00
It is a little difficult to share such needs because of the sheer volume and cost involved. There is actually going to be much more in the way of need but the things listed above are some of the biggest needs we have. Not having everything is not going to stop us from opening our doors. We will make do with whatever we have. But I would say that the beds and the van are our greatest and most immediate needs. Both my pastor and our Program Developer have encouraged me to be specific in sharing our needs. I am taking their advice and sharing these specific needs with all of our friends. Would you consider being a part of helping with one or more of these needs? If so simply follow the instructions outlined above. All dollars given will be used for their specific purpose. Thank you ahead of time.
