Buen Provecho, Paca, and Children's Church, among other things

Well it's been a little while, but things are going well for us here in the Career Girls dorm. The girls just took off for classes this afternoon. They are all (well, most of them are) studying hard now, as they have their first round of test coming up. Please lift them up as they prepare and take their exams. This year it's a little different, in that they have less exams, but several quizzes, throughout each grading period. Hopefully this will prove to be a better setup.

Ludy came to me about a week ago and asked if she could store something in my fridge for a month. Then she handed me a large jar of what looks like pineapple in pineapple juice, or something similar. "It's a science experiment," she informed me. Well, at least it's good to know she's not trying to start a career of making preserves or something! Today she had to take the jar to class and told me she'd gotten in trouble for forgetting to take it yesterday, like she was supposed to. Her punishment? To taste it. Bon appetite! (or as we say here in Guatemala, "Buen Provecho!")

At the beginning of February, we started a budget system in our dorm...with monopoly money (thanks, Mom, for that great idea!) So far it's been going great, and I think the girls are really enjoying it. I "pay" them every Saturday (their pay is earned by going to school & doing their assigned work, doing their weekly chores, and being faithful in their volunteer job a Casa, which was designed as a very specific and practical way for the older kids to give back and sort of earn their keep here.) A while back, Mike helped me come up with some rough numbers of what the regular expenses are here at Casa Aleluya and more or less what the per-person cost come out to be, so I used those figures to come up with the girls weekly/monthly dues: Rent, Electric, Gas, Water, Food, Medical, Tuition, Clothing, Toiletries and Cleaning Supplies, and we even have a section for them to give an offering to God. Although I didn't assign a specific amount to that, I explained to them what a tithe is and how tithes and offerings look in both the Old and New Testaments, so with that knowledge, the amount is up to them. That has been interesting...I'm pondering an idea of tracking their tithes and giving more in their pay every now and then to those who tithe more generously, to help teach them how the Lord provides for us when we're faithful to give to Him first.

The girls earn a little more each month than they need to pay their bills, so they're allowed to save for rewards/prizes, and "buying" from me (so far we've done coffee, snacks, and clothing, which was definitely the most interesting!) Over the past several months, many of you have generously donated clothes, and even some shoes, to for me to give to the girls. I've been hanging on to them with the idea of using them for good behavior rewards, but I think we've found the best outlet in letting the girls buy the donated items with their monopoly money. I should've taken a picture of it! We organized the clothes and all out on the bed, and they all shouted "Paca!" which is the using clothing area of the market. "Our clothing," I informed them, "is better than Paca, as a lot of it is new, and the used items are still nice." Well, the buying and bargaining experience WAS like being in the market! I couldn't believe how much they really wanted to bargain with me! It was a good learning experience for at least one of them though, as she nearly spent herself penniless. But that means this budget program is accomplishing exactly what I was hoping for: that it would give them a chance to practice responsibility in money management and bill paying, to prepare them for "real" life, once they move on from Casa. I'm also seeing it raise their awareness of the costs they incur here at Casa (especially electricity--they get charged a fine for leaving the lights on unattended...funny how they seem to turn the lights off when they leave the room more and more now.)

My only regret is that I didn't get on the ball to start this sooner. Hopefully whoever takes over the dorm will be able to carry it on. (Please continue to pray for that person/people whoever it may be, as well as for the girls and me, as we move closer to making that transition.)

Pueblo de la Verdad, aka Children's Church for Los Angelitos' preschoolers, has been going well. I'm really focusing on preparing the leadership team to take over once I leave. I have no doubt that they can do it, but I am a little concerned about them keeping the team and program motivated. At this point, they pretty much lead the program, but with me overseeing it, I help keep them on track. Please pray the Lord would raise up one of the kids to take on that role now, or even that they'd all share it.

Some fun news about Pueblo is that, because of someone's generous donation, I was able to purchase a second microphone (especially helpful for puppets) and a guitar for the Pueblo program specifically. Until now, we've been using my guitar and extra mic, so now they'll be set. Elvis has been toying with learning to play guitar for a while now, so he will be in charge of the guitar, and hopefully we'll have some time to sit down and at least go over the basics. The songs we play in children's church a really simple, so I think he'll be able to learn them fairly easily. He was pretty excited about the guitar though!

Please do keep praying for this program and the upcoming transition in leadership. The kids have really taken ownership of it and over the past year or so have built relationships with the children in their small groups, so I know they are making a difference there, and the children are learning more about God's truth in His word, particularly Old Testament stories that most of them have never heard before. My hope and prayer is that this program be able to continue and to grow even stronger than it is now, and that these teens who're leading it will grow and be stretching into strong, equipped disciples of Christ, actively serving Him.

Rene and I would also love it if you would lift us up as we prepare for this transition in our life together, especially as we get closer to the date...just a couple more months!

Many blessings to you all!
love,
Ginny

Merry Christmas 2008 y Prospero Año 2009!

Merry Christmas Everyone!
I hope this letter finds you all well and that you are able to spend this Christmas and New Year’s with those closest to your heart. This year has been a full one for me in many ways. I want to share some of the highlights with you.

Ministry with the girls in our dorm at Casa Aleluya (Casa, for short) has been an incredible blessing, as well as challenging in many ways. The girls continue to grow closer to my heart as my little sisters (19 young ladies total, ages 16-22,) and over the past year they have been opening up their hearts more and more, learning more deeply how to give and receive love. We have enjoyed many late night hang out times in my living room, watching movies, sometimes snacking, and sometimes just talking—something that they and I are both good at! I’ve had the privilege of answering their questions from the goofy to the serious heart matters. To give you an idea, here are a few I’ve faced: “How do you know if a guy is a good guy or not?” , “How did you come to know Jesus?” , “Should I continue in my academic study plan, or should I look into vocational training?” , “Will you teach me to play guitar?” , “How do we prepare this lesson for children’s church?” , “How do you cook…(insert tasty food here)?” I can tell you from experience, each answer is only by the grace of God. It’s so awesome to look back and see the steps through which He led me in order to prepare and equip me in just the right way for this role, but it’s also exciting to see that He still has so much more in store.

A few of the girls from our dorm, along with several other teenage kids from Casa have been volunteering to help out with our children’s church program for the 3-6 year-olds. They have grown in their leadership skills to the point where they are now heading up the program in many ways, with my leadership role stepping more into the background. In addition to leading the Sunday program, they also give their time to attend a couple of planning meetings each week, and I am seeing them take increasing ownership in the program as a whole. This is very exciting, as our heart among the staff at Casa is that the teen leaders would grow in ownership and responsibility to the point where they are fully leading and developing the program, with the adults eventually bowing out completely. This would be an awesome area of fruition of the Casa Aleluya Vision Statement, which reflects our heart to equip the children as disciples of Christ, that they may one day take over the reins of Casa and go out into all Guatemala (and all the world) as lights and witnesses of Christ, carrying out the Great Commission by leading and raising up the next generation of His disciples.

I was also blessed this year with some wonderful visitors who came down to Guatemala from the US, some individually and a few as a team in May. It is always so refreshing to see familiar faces and have around you those who know you so well and know where you’re from. Thank you to all who came and to all who made it possible for these visitors to make the trip.

After spending last Christmas with the girls (an incredibly sweet time,) I am able to spend this Christmas with my family. As I write, mid-trip, I have already had the pleasure of meeting and catching up with many friends, new and old, as well as many members of my family. I also had the privilege, with my parents, of seeing my little brother graduate from Texas Tech University—Congrats H.B.!

In addition to all of this, God has blessed me with a church home in Guatemala City, Union Church of Guatemala, where I’ve been able to have a community outside of Casa (helps me stay balanced!) and both be fed and give back. I was also able to buy a car in August, thanks to the generosity of many of you, and this has been a great help in providing transportation to and from church on Sunday nights. In all of this, I am feeling Guatemala more and more as my home now, and thankful for it!

And finally, the most exciting and sweetest blessing of them all…René. I met this wonderful man back in January, when he answered the phone that Sunday afternoon and gave me directions to our church. We hit it off right away, and since then we have been enjoying and growing together in the natural ease of friendship the Lord has given us, as well as growing and stretching in some areas that have not come as naturally. We’ve been enjoying more and more the blessing of working together as a team, as he has come to help out some at Casa, I’ve been able to help out a little with the youth at Union Church (where he is the youth director,) and we’ve had the privilege of helping with music once a month at our Sunday evening worship service. So with all this in mind, and feeling it was time to take the next step, on Thanksgiving, we got engaged!!! We are both so excited and can’t wait to start this new phase of our life together. After careful consideration, we’ve decided that I will be joining him in his mission, Missionary Ventures (MV), with whom he is serving as the recruiting director, building relationships with Guatemalan pastors and their churches, and helping to equip and encourage them as they begin sending people from their own congregations to go out on short-term missions (initially.) René works with the youth at church in addition to his work with MV. We are working with MV to explore other opportunities to serve with the mission as a couple after we get married. Sadly, this does mean I will be leaving Casa once René and I are married. It is a transition I feel the Lord confirming, as we see His hand working out the details and leading us to walk by faith, yet I will be very sad to leave these girls who have found such a special place in my heart. Please pray with us as we prepare for this transition and all that entails, and specifically pray for the girls and someone to come into Casa or rise up from within to take over leadership in our dorm.

Friends, thank you so incredibly much for your love, support, friendship, prayers, giving (in SO many ways!), and faithfulness over the past year. You are all an incredible blessing to me, to the girls, and now to René as well. Please continue to hold us in your hearts, as we hold you all in ours. May our Lord bless you beyond belief and open all your senses so you miss not a morsel of His grandiose blessings and kindness poured out on you. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and May His abundant life be fully yours!

I remain in His hands and yours,
Ginny Vine

1 Year Anniversary!!!

Well, it has been just over a year now since I moved down here to finally live in Guatemala, after seeing the Lord faithfully provide for me to take that step in His timing. Let me say I have already been challenged in many ways and learned much in this first year here. Hey, even in the past few days! I have also been blessed immensely in different ways along this road. Allow me to share with you a few highlights:

With the girls...
We've been able to go through a couple of Bible studies, the most recent one on the book of Ruth. I was blessed with the help of my bilingual boyfriend (more on that subject later) in translating the notes to make sure the message was clearly communicated, and that was followed with the blessing of seeing a few of the girls really grasp onto a couple of the subjects we covered in the study. I love that "ah-ha!" moment of seeing the light go on!
They've had several projects in school, and some of them have worked so hard to make the grade and do quality work. Others need a little more encouragement. One huge challenge for me in this area has been in how to motivate them to study and be diligent in their schoolwork. One huge blessing has been to see those who excel in school voluntarily taking the time and energy to tutor those who struggle more.
Naturally, in a dorm of 18 teen girls, there will be some conflicts of interest. It has been a blessing to see some girls from different cliques integrating with other groups. They have also had to work together on a couple of projects, like their latest school projects for this week preceding Guatemala's Independence Day (September 15th,) in which they've prepared food, costumes, miniature replicas of important sites in Guatemalan History. (The food, by the way, was delicious!)



Within our staff...
We have been blessed to see the addition of the Parker family, who is heading up youth ministry and community outreach (more on that later,) to our Casa community. Please keep them in your prayers as they gear up in this new aspect of ministry here, and also as Carla Parker has just lost her father. They are currently in the States with their family and are expected to return soon.
Staff unity and communication continues to be a struggle for us, although the blessing is that we are struggling at it now. This month we began a training on parenting children with Attachment Disorder (AD,) led by Jan Morrison, our semi-permanent resident psychologist, who has years and truckloads of experience in teaching on the subject, as well as in working with and ministering to children with AD and who've lived through traumatic experiences. We are thankful to have her. The training sessions have proved a valuable time for discussion and problem solving as a staff, so please continue to lift us up in prayer in this area. We also pray that through this training, we can be better equipped to minister to our children here.

In "Baby" Church...

In an effort to minister more intentionally to the youngest crowd at Casa Aleluya, we separated out the preschool children from the older little ones on Sunday mornings, starting up "Pueblo de la Verdad" (Village of Truth,) in accompaniment to the "Cuidad de la Verdad" (City of Truth) for the older young children. The leaders were originally only from our dorm, but have now expanded to include a few of the teenage boys as well. One challenge for me in this area has been organization, as I have seen firsthand how my organizational skills, or lack thereof, set the example for the leaders' attitude. One blessing for me has been seeing the program come together a little more cohesively over the past few weeks, and seeing the leaders step up to take initiative in planning and preparation. One of the goals since starting the program has been that the teen leaders would eventually be able to run the program independently of any adult leader.

Regarding Teen Leadership, Growth in Faith & Church Community, and Outreach to Surrounding Communities (and much answered prayer!)...
As I shared with many of you a few months ago, in March the teens began holding their own voluntary praise and worship services on Monday and Friday nights. Out of this new ministry came an outpouring of new salvations, renewed commitments to the Lord, and much deeper and intimate relationships with the Lord. During this season, we also saw the Lord provide for Genesis, our little 10 year-old Braveheart, to finally have her kidney transplant at just the right time to remove her about-to-rupture appendix. We have now watched Him carry her through her required 90-day isolation period post-operation, and now see her running around so happy and healthy--praise God! The faith of so many staff and children was grown exponentially through this trial we underwent as the Casa Aleluya community. Another blessing through this trial was seeing the kids band together to pray and uphold Genesis, and then each other in prayer for other issues and trials they were struggling through.
In the most recent months, we have seen both the teens continuing to step up into leadership roles, and God continuing to answer prayers that we as a community have lifted up:
• The safe arrival of the Mike and Carla Parker family, as a permanent Casa Aleluya fixture, who have now begun to lead the older kids in youth ministry and several outreach events to our surrounding communities, at which the Casa teens had the opportunity not only to share the gospel, but also to lead several people to trust Christ as their Savior.
• The provision of the property and funds to build a church adjacent to Casa Aleluya, with the purpose of reaching out to our neighboring communities. This church will be led and even designed (to a certain extent) by the teens of Casa. They wanted it; they prayed for it; many gave towards it; and we all had the privilege of seeing God answer and provide! What a testimony to the kids' faith and to God's faithfulness! Mike (Clark) has just purchased the property, so now we'll be preparing the land to start building.
• Several of our older boys and even a couple of girls have said they know the Lord has called them into full time ministry, in one area or another. For the girls, this is often a more challenging step of faith in the more male-dominated culture of Guatemala--please understand this is not my personal political viewpoint, but rather a realistic description of the cultural environment in this country, meant to communicate the extra joy that comes from seeing Guatemalan teenage girls voluntarily step into a position of leadership, especially for the Lord. We have even seen one of these older boys, Esdras, take his first pastorship in a rural community church about 2 hours away from here. Please keep him in your prayers especially.
All of these events, with regards to the older "children" stepping up into leadership are pieces of the larger answer to prayer, as we see the Lord bring about the fruition of the Casa Aleluya vision: " to impart Christ's perfect love to broken innocence and create an equipped follower of Jesus who is transformed into a powerful witness of God's grace and mercy to the world." Our heart is to see these kids' hearts and lives transformed by the power of Christ, that they would then go out as a light and witness to transform the lives of others, both in San Bartolomé Milpas Altas, and in all Guatemala and Central America, and even to the remotest part of the earth. (See Acts 1:8) And so we rejoice.

In my personal/extra-Casa life...
A huge blessing to me was in May, to have a team from the 20s groups at PBCC come down for a week and serve here at Casa, as well as in a few other capacities around our area. We were even blessed with the chance to spend time with my friend Christine, who's serving in the Peace Corps near Lake Atitlan and see what life is like in a small, traditional Maya community.
As I shared with many of you in March, I have been blessed with a church home in Guatemala City, Union Church of Guatemala, which strives to reach out to the English-speaking community of Guatemala. We are truly an international and interdenominational community, coming from many different backgrounds to grow together in the Lord and His word, ministering and fellowshipping together. This has been a sweet "extra-Casa" circle the Lord has provided as a refuge for me.
An added blessing of this Union Church circle has been the sweet man the Lord has brought into my life, René. After meeting the first night I visited Union, we've been dating for a couple of months now, both growing and learning together, and hopefully encouraging and blessing one another towards greater an more fruitful ministry. He is currently serving as the Sending Director for Missionary Ventures Latin America, as they aim to equip the locals of Guatemala to go out as missionaries to other parts of the world. As a part of that goal, he is also serving as the youth pastor at Union Church. He is indeed a sweetness and blessing to me, and even to the girls, for which I am so thankful. We have also been blessed with the opportunity to serve the community of Union by helping out with music one night a month. It has been sweet being able to minister together in that way.

Another answer to prayer, I finally bought a car! Oh it is so sweet to have my own personal transportation! And believe me, the girls did not miss a beat! The moment I announced the happy news, they were already asking about taking it out for its christening! Oh how they love that I now have my own transportation! But seriously, it is a blessing of freedom to be able to take them places, both the necessary and the just-for-fun. Thank you to all who gave towards that purchase!


In closing, let me say that if there's one thing I've learned, it's that this ministry would never be possible without, first and foremost, the Lord Almighty leading the way, but secondly, without the enormous community of believers who support it by prayer, finance, material supplies, time, even input and feedback (and I'm sure there are ways I'm forgetting) throughout all the ups an downs and all that goes on here each day. I am so thankful for the opportunity to get to share in this ministry with you all! You are all a blessing to me in a way you may never even know, and even to kids and other adults you may never even meet. May our Lord God, who is rich in mercy and abounding in love, bless you and keep you always, make His face to shine upon you, and give you peace...

Forever in His beautiful hands, your sister,
Ginny :)

As Jesus Washed the Disciples' Feet...

This morning, I walked out of my apartment at 5:30am to open the door for the girls who work Sundays in the kitchen, and into an interesting (and thankfully rare) situation. Apparently, one of the girls was doing her chore of sweeping the (metal) stairs, making enough noise that I'd heard it in my apartment, and continued to sweep noisily when a couple of the other girls started yelling at her for making too much noise so early. It ended up that one of the girls who was yelling came downstairs, and the 2 of them got into a fight of words and actions. Meanwhile, the other girl threw the mop towel down the stairs. So, I tried to get the facts in order, which is a challenge when it's everyone else's fault, but I think I got the story straight, at least for the most part.

I was praying about what to do for discipline, and trying to think of things that would lead them to serve one another, since the main issue at hand here was a major lack of respect for one another. Then the Lord gave me this idea from His example to us in how He served His disciples and told us to do the same, when He washed their feet.

It really went beautifully, thank God. Right after lunch, I got together the soap and towels and warm water in 3 wash basins (trying to avoid any rude comments about sharing someone else's foot germs here,) then went and called the 3 ladies into my apartment. I had them read John 13:1-17, so they would know where this lesson was coming from. (Good for them to read it to keep them more personally involved and less like me preaching at them, but also because their Spanish reading skills are obviously much further advanced than mine!)

After reading, I told them, so just as Jesus did, so we are going to do. Confirmation that it would be an excellent discipline for them came as I brought out the wash basins for their feet, and they started suggesting that I assign them a task of something to go scrub with the water in the tubs instead of carrying out our foot-washing lesson. It was honestly a good lesson for me too (rarely are we given the responsibility of disciplining another without being personally challenged in the process.) I washed each girl's feet first and then had the other two girls put lotion on each of the other two. Afterwards, I talked to them a little more about the love the Lord showed us and how that is how we treat each other in our home, that we are a family here; although we're unrelated by blood, we are sisters in Christ, and so this is how we treat each other. I told them how I know they are beautiful ladies--that that is who they really are--and how I want to see that come out in their behavior. As I spoke these words to them, I started to get choked up, as I was confronted with the love the Father has given me for the beautiful young ladies, which includes the desire to see them grow, blossom, and live to their fullest potential, as the Lord has created them.

It ended with each of us praying together and with them apologizing to each other and agreeing to treat one another with respect, to not fight, and to come to me with problems when they're in over their heads in the future (and with me leaving them lowered a couple of privilege levels.) So I am thankful for our resolution, for the Lord's wisdom in how to handle this situation, and also for the fact that this is the first incident of this nature since we moved in--pretty good for 10 months together with 17-20 teen girls! (A year at a residential rehabilitation center for teen girls always helps to keep these things in perspective!) Praise God for working all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose! (Rom.8:28)