Ingredients for Progress
Just over a year ago, our Board got together and had a ‘brainstorming’ session. Then we began to lay out some very exciting long, mid and short term plans for the ministry of Children’s Haven at out facility in Reynosa. We established priorities, such as ‘Project Makeover my Casita’ to remodel/update all of the houses that the children are currently living in. Since this is a rather large undertaking, we decided the best place to start would be with the extensions of the house parents private living quarters. Why there? Because our ‘Tios & Tias’ are the ones who provide the hands-on ‘loving Christian care to the needy children’CHI serves. For decades we had thought nothing about only providing a single room (measuring less than 350 sq.ft.) as their only private space to share with their own children. But in the last year, thanks to people like you (Donors, TEAMs, Winter Texan Work Crew) we’ve been able to double these quarters on three of the homes, by adding two small bedrooms.
Though their service to the Lord and to the children can never be adequately compensated, this has been a tremendous step in acknowledging the dedication & sacrifice of three of our longest serving couples: Casa #1- Tio Hugo & Tia Rosa (6 yrs.) Casa #4 -Tio Teo & Tia Elsa (5 yrs.) and Casa #5 Tio Bernabe & Tia Miriam (1Ω yrs.). Next up will be casa #2, and though these house parents have only been with us for 1 year, if you look at the picture below, it won’t be hard to see why the extra space will be so important to Tio Hiram, Tia Raquel, their two daughters and ‘?’ (expected to arrive at the end of June)
God’s perfect timing for the expansion of our elementary school ministry started over Christmas break with Cliff & the Bude TEAM putting up trusses for the school, which had been laying around for years. That same week, Kenny Frisbee, one of Randall’s friends from NC, came down with exactly enough money to purchase winter uniforms for our elementary students. In January, as Maestra Gloria was placing the order, she received a call we have been waiting for for years. Our school would finally be in our own name and would now be licensed to have accredited pre-school and kindergarten programs! No more Primaria Juan Escutia, but now ‘Colegio Refugio Internacional’! (It is what’s printed on the back of the kids jackets in the photo below). A week later, God helped us form an amazing new partnership with our Brother Dennis Maloney, General Director of Christian Resort Ministries International and our dear friends at Alamo Rec. RV. In less than 2 months, they had raised over $6500! Not only does that cover most of the expense for the two additional classrooms, but volunteers from their park, led by Lucian Schmidt, completed 85% of the labor in three weeks time!Talk about the Lord’s provision!
Prudence, prayer & patience have all played very important roles in the progress we have seen this year. We praise God for all that He has done. The possibility of providing educational opportunities to an additional 40 children excites us; as does the idea of improving the quality of living in our existing ‘Casitas’.
Please… pray, & play your part!
