The Big Transition(s)

This is a jpeg image of our newsletter we sent out just before getting married. I think you should be able to click on it to see an enlarged image. Let me know if you have any problems.

Blessings,
Ginny

Leaving...But Not on a Jet Plane!

Today is my last official day here at Casa Aleluya. At the end of this month my fiance and I will be married and join together in ministry with Missionary Ventures, overseeing the team housing and working with teams to minister to the indigenous communities of Guatemala, in order to assist and enable them to both reach their own people for Christ as well as lead them out on short-term missions themselves. We are so excited about ministering together and the opportunities the Lord has ahead. I'm also very glad that we'll only be living about a mile away from Casa, so I'll still be able to come and visit! Thank God for that!

It has been pretty crazy lately, but I wanted to share with you all some of the highlights from the past few weeks.

A couple of weeks ago, I was rehearsing for a choreography/drama the Pueblo leaders were preparing for this past Sunday. I had a basic idea for the "script" to communicate the main idea of lesson to the little kids, but after we put it to music, there was still a good chunk of song left. I told them they could just cut it off, but they wanted to work with it. So instead of just having a skit where a boy is playing with friends and has to resist temptation to join them in bad choices (choosing Jesus instead,) they were able to share with the kids that the boy then goes on to lead his friends to Christ and in the end they are all there praying and praising the Lord together. I was so proud of the leaders, and so excited for what it means for the program that they take that kind of initiative and grow what was given them into a better end product!
Also with Pueblo, the leadership team officially elected Jose Estuardo and Victor 1 as the head leaders for the program from now on. I met with them and to go over all they need to know, and the past couple of weeks, I've been trying to stand more in the background, letting them run the Sunday morning program and the weekly meetings. I've been impressed already with what they bring to the group with their leadership. They have a great advantage in knowing from personal experience how to relate both to the little kids, as well as the other leaders--about this, I'm very excited. They both also show a lot of maturity and responsibility. They seem to have it down pretty well, but please keep them in your prayers as they make this transition and step into a larger leadership role.
What can I say, except that I feel it has really come to the point of the "kids" here at Casa Aleluya taking full ownership of the program, as the foreign leadership steps out of the picture. This being our vision and desire for Casa Aleluya as a whole, seeing this one piece of the picture come to fruition is great encouragement and fresh air for the soul. I pray you rejoice with us in this (though it may seem small, it is indeed big!) victory!

As I type, Marlin from the University girls dorm is moving her stuff into the apartment of our dorm, and later today Norma and Ingrid will move their stuff in as well, with the trio overseeing the precious young ladies in our dorm. I'm so thankful to know we have such good young ladies to take care of the rest in the dorm and make sure everything is running smoothly. Please pray for them all--the new dorm mentors and the rest of the girls living here, as they make this transition.

These girls have truly been a blessing to me over the past year and a half. We've definitely had our moments when they were not exactly angels (but then I've had my moments like that too!) but by and large, they have blessed me greatly.
I was blessed with the funds, because of many of your generosity, to be able to take them out to a nice dinner last Thursday. We went to this little, very genuine, Italian restaurant in Antigua, where they prepared a special meal just for us. It was such a sweet time, and we pretty much had the place to ourselves, so we really enjoyed our time together and had a chance to tell each other at least a little bit of what we mean to each other--and yes, I cried, but thankfully not too much, so that we could all still enjoy the very tasty food!
I'm going to miss these girls a lot.
Last night I went upstairs to say goodnight and make sure everyone was inside, and I got a chance to sit and talk with Vivian and Ludy for a little bit. Those are some of the sweetest times, just chatting and enjoying each other's company. At one point I started to cry. Vivian held me, and then she and Ludy told me "No, no don't cry Ginny--think of the good times and funny moments, so you'll laugh and not be sad." They are such sweet girls. I love them so much and am so thankful for the time I've gotten to spend here with them. I've tried to tell them at some points how they've likely blessed me in a greater way than I have them--well, there are also 16 of them! Seriously though, they are beautiful young women in so many ways.
Please keep them in our prayers--for their school, interpersonal relationships (including the romantic ones!), their relationship with the Lord--pray they would grow ever-closer with Him and allow Him to tear down walls of fear, pain, hardness, and whatever things they've used other than the Lord to cope with the struggles they've encountered in their lives so far.
My prayers for them are healing, freedom from spiritual bondage, growth and intimacy with the Lord, success (though not necessarily the world's definition of it,) and that in everything, they would be light and salt to the world around them, both here at Casa Aleluya and beyond these gates, and that they would always see and know the Lord's hand and blessing with them in everything they do. Please join me in praying this for them.

Thank you all for your faithfulness, love, time, prayers, material provisions and generosity in giving to these girls, the staff here, me personally, all the kids, and this ministry as a whole. It has been a blessing to work with you, and may our Lord bless you richly in everything. (Numbers 6:24-26)

in His hands,
Ginny

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