Uodate

Thank you for your patience! We’re excited to finally have the opportunity to post a news update। There have been so many exciting things happening ।

General : We now have 17 boys ranging in ages from 8 to 14 who keep us very busy! There are 3 boys attending the special needs school in Ixtlahuacan de los Membrillos in the morning, 2 who attend Jr। High in the morning, one in the afternoon and 10 who attend elementary school in the afternoon। You can imagine how much our van gets used each day!We also have a wonderful, dedicated staff working tirelessly to provide clean clothes, nutritious food and a little discipline. When you have a free moment stop by and get to know them, they are:Georgia (or Gina) is our office administrator। It is her voice you will probably hear when you call us। Our office hours are Monday - Friday 9 - 5:00 pm and the telephone number is: (376) 762-00-32.Mario, Annel, Nahum and Lupe work closely with all our boys as “orientadores”. They make sure the boys follow the rules, take baths, make their beds, complete homework, etc.Lupe, Linda, Edith work as cooks. They plan menus and provide delicious, nutritious meals for all of us.Graciela (or “Grandma”) is our resident teacher. She works each day one-on-one with the boys in their schoolwork, teaching to sew and mend clothing or how to iron, learning to recycle and the importance of doing so, etc.Jorge is our resident chaplain. He is responsible for personal counseling, staff development and the spiritual development of our boys.And there is another Jorge in charge of maintenance and upkeep. He keeps the house functioning.Ma Elena works part-time to help us keep the house clean and tidy, while Cheli and Havliah dedicate their time to washing, folding and maintaining the laundry. And there is always ALOT of laundry.And finally, Rodney serves as the general director. He is assigned the task of keeping the house running smoothly.COMPUTERSOur last post mentioned that the home of the Rodney and Kina Dutro was broken into while they were attending church in Chapala and among the items taken were their personal laptop computers. Unfortunately many important documents and files for the Hope House, including the financial records, were on those computers. Fortunately they had made a full backup of those files and only needed a computer to be able to “boot” the external harddrive and make a full recovery. Individuals from the United States heard of their break-in and donated the funds necessary to purchase new (and faster!) laptops for them both! Thank you to everyone who responded to this need. The Hope House office staff hasn’t missed a beat and is back to normal.LUIS ALBERTOAs many of you know, Luis came to us completely deaf in one ear and could barely hear in the other. We have been working closely with David Huff, our volunteer house physician, to provide him with a hearing aid. Thanks to his great efforts, the Lake Chapala Society has donated a hearing aid to Luis! Luis is thrilled that he can hear what is going on around him. His only complaint is that “everyone talks to me ALL the time now!” He had to turn it off during dinner so he could “eat in peace and quiet”! The Hope House staff has already noted a positive change in his behavior. Thank you David!PROPERTY PURCHASEThose who have visited the Hope House may recall a corner lot across the street marked by a chain-link fence. Because of a very generous donation from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous, we will be able to purchase the over 1,800 sq. mt. lot! Our desire is begin several workshops, such as carpentry, for our boys, plant and cultivate a small crop, raise chickens, provide staff housing and of course have more room for our boys to run and play. This property purchase has been very encouraging to the staff and the boys! Thank you!THRIFT STORE “SEMI-NUEVO”Many of you may have noticed the thrift store located on the highway in front of the 7-11 in Las Riberas. The Hope House helps to staff and maintain this store with the Lake Chapala School for the Deaf and we share the profits. So if you have anything in your house that has gone unused or “forgotten”, drop it off at the thrift store and know it will be sold to benefit TWO worthy organizations. And remember as you check off your Christmas list that the thrift store has many, many gently used items available for an excellent price! For more detailed information or to ask any question about the thrift store, please contact our volunteer coordinator Meme Thorpe at her home: (376) 762-16-86 or on her cell: (045) (333) 831-35-43.MILK, WAL-MART and FOCUS ON MEXICOWe are very thankful to Marcee, Pastor Bob and the congregation of the Lake Chapala Baptist Church for their commitment of providing 72 liters of milk EVERY WEEK! This has been a tremendous blessing for us! The boys are able to drink milk in the morning with breakfast and again in the evening with their “cena”. In addition, Focus on Mexico has also responded very generously to us, donating funds for special projects and the general operation of the house. And finally, thank you to the newly operational Wal-Mart in Las Riberas (and the children’s home “Ministerios de Amor” in Guadalajara who sponsored us in acquiring the donation) who graciously provide a donation (a very LARGE donation) every Friday of fruits, vegetables, breads, toys, cleaning supplies, canned goods, cereals, etc.CHRISTMASOur boys are finding it more difficult to contain their excitement about Christmas! They don’t know it yet, but because of many generous donors each boy will receive his own bicycle this year! Aqua Escondida, where we live, is a perfect area for bike riding. There is little to no traffic, wooded trails and miles and miles of road. A very big THANK YOU to everyone who made this is possible. This first Christmas will be very special for our boys.Also, we will be suspending our normal visitation hours during the Christmas and New Year holiday. Please feel free to stop by anytime during the day, just make sure to call us first, (376) 762-00-32 to make sure we are not out riding our new bicycles!