Beth
Hello friends!
A small chorus
group of orphan children from many countries just sang at our church, and my
eyes couldn’t help but water for their futures.
Do my girls know how much they are loved? In 2008, I joined my church’s youth group
trip to Eagle’s Nest International in Solola, Guatemala. It was a fantastic week of serving; even
though I spent more time doing laundry and painting a black wrought iron fence
with my friend, Dorothy, than I did holding babies. My expectations weren’t quite matched with my
experiences, but I was happy to serve! I
couldn’t wait to return someday, and I’m happy to share that day is coming in
June. And this time, I couldn’t be more
thrilled to have Nicole and Morgan experience a foreign ministry with me. We will be joining the youth group from
Antioch Christian Church in Odessa, TX. A
friend is now the youth minister, and his wife, Julie, was on my trip in
2008. I’m also excited that Dorothy has
chosen this trip again! We’ll see if
that fence needs a touchup…
In 2008, I quickly
became attached to one little baby boy, Kevin.
He was always so content. While I
loved all of the children, Kevin’s sweet smile tugged at my heart. Several of the kids were in the process of
adoption, but Kevin was not. Our current
youth pastor was able to bring home his daughter from the orphanage in 2008,
but soon after, Guatemala closed its doors to foreign adoption. Our family has helped support Kevin’s care
since I left, and the included photo on the left has been hanging on our fridge
for 7 years to remind us to pray for him.
I can’t wait to see his sweet smile in person again.
I’ve been thinking
about returning for years, and I can’t wait to spend some special time with my
daughters before Nicole heads off to college this fall. I know God has great plans for her future as
she’s still deciding upon her college choice.
Morgan is in her freshman year of high school, and I look forward to
giving them special memories together of this trip. Our trip expenses will be $1300 each, and we
are trusting God to help us raise this almost $4000. And even more than the expenses, we are
trusting God for prayer partners that will surround us with His protection and
pray for His blessings on our team. In
2008, many members of my team became ill with a stomach virus that kept them in
bed for many days. It is my prayer that God would allow us to fully participate
in all opportunities during our special week of serving.
We will also send
you a letter after our trip with our experiences and memories. Actual details of the trip
are still being planned, but the week will include serving the orphans with
babysitting and maintenance around the facilities. Morgan can practice her Spanish by getting to
know Kevin in person, while I brush off my rusty Spanish, and Nicole learns a
new language. I’m excited just thinking
about our time together using our hands and hearts to serve Christ.
If
you would like to join us this ministry opportunity, we would appreciate you
filling out the form and returning it us by April 30th. I will be organizing all of our funds and
turning them into Grace as a packet to make accounting easy on our
secretary. Thank you so much for your
consideration to minister to orphans in Guatemala. Children at this facility have a stable
environment that teaches them about Jesus Christ and God’s plan for them. You can learn more by visiting www.eaglesnestint.org
Hey, I’m
Nicole! I am currently seventeen. My final semester of senior year has been going well so
far, and I have some important college decisions to make within the next few
months. I am beyond excited to head to Guatemala in June, because it will be my
first time out of the continental United States, other than a trip to Puerto
Rico in 6th grade. I cannot wait to meet and love on all of the
children at Eagle’s Nest Orphanage, especially little Kevin, who we have been
sponsoring for years. One of my favorite aspects of attending a boarding school
has been my exposure to many different cultures, and I hope that Guatemala will
also open my eyes to the cultures of the world. Though I do not speak Spanish
(I’ve been studying Japanese for three years), I still look forward to
interacting with the children of all ages.
Hey,
I’m Morgan, and I’m a freshman. Or, hola, me llamo Morgan y soy una
estudiante de primer año en Olympia. One of the things I’m looking forward to
in Guatemala is being able to try out my new Spanish skills. I’m enjoying
learning a new language and am so excited to be able to apply it. I also can’t
wait to meet all of the children at Eagle’s Nest. I’ve seen pictures of them
since my mom got back from a trip down there in 2008, and I’m looking forward
to finally being able to meet them in person, especially Kevin! I can’t wait to
see how God will work through us on our mission’s trip down to Guatemala.
I
discovered our old blog from our first family trip in 2009 to Puerto Rico. Nicole was in 6th grade and did a
fantastic job of sharing her experiences, so hopefully we can use it again this
summer! I don’t know how much internet
access we will have during our week, yet we will try to update with photos and experiences.
www.tobysfamilyadventures.blogspot.com
Partners
in Serving Guatemala
June 8 – 14, 2015
_____ I will faithfully pray for the plans of this
trip.
_____ I would like to contribute financially in the
amount of ________________. Donations are tax deductible. Checks payable to Grace Church, and do not write anything in the memo.
Name:
__________________________________________________________
Address: ________________________________________________________
Email:___________________________________________________________
I would prefer
future information by (please circle one):
USPS Mail Email
