Prayers and Help Needed

What a month this has been! The Beyer family arrived, we hosted four days of physical and occupational therapy clinics, we added three more villages and 16 children to our rural village ministry, and I still have a little bit of sanity left. (At least I think so. But a crazy person really isn’t a good judge of sanity.)

In spite of my best efforts to slow down the growth of this ministry, I find things moving beyond my control as we find more and more children and families in desperate situations. I have not yet figured out how to say no to a parent whose child is in serious crisis, so I keep saying yes and trusting God to provide.

During our PT/OT clinics we were led to 16 new families in need of assistance. This also led us into three new villages that are each giving my 4-runner a workout. When we returned from our Las Palma/La Gomera/Sipicate trip on Friday it was difficult to tell that my vehicle was black and not mud brown. In addition, I think some members of our ministry team may be suffering the effects of shaken baby syndrome. We endured heat and humidity, mosquitos, mud and long days, but had a blast doing it.

The longer I do this ministry the more the size of the needs become real to me, and the more I commit myself to giving my all to ease suffering and share Jesus. I am so grateful that God has given me a great team of people to assist with that work.

So, I am coming to you once again with a list of prayer requests followed by a list of children/adults needing sponsorship. I feel bad as I am so often asking for support for these precious ones and their families. At the same time, I take consolation in knowing that I never ask for financial support for our ministry, only for specific children. Many ministries that I respect and love frequently fundraise and beg for donations. We do not. We instead take our ministry’s financial needs to God and trust Him to provide…and He always does. And when you sponsor a child, 100% of your donation goes directly to that child’s needs.

So, with that in mind, I want to share with you a few prayer requests:

• Our group home continues to await our licensing. We have been told for weeks that it should come any day, but we face ongoing barriers from CNA. Four times now they have come back to us to request information that we have already submitted to them. Over and over again they delay without reason. Meanwhile, I have heard from three different orphanages in the last few weeks wanting to know if our home is open because children with special needs have been placed in their homes since there is no room for them elsewhere. These directors do not feel equipped to care for these children, so I am working with them to train them in how to address their needs. And all of this occurs as CNA continues to delay our opening. Would you please pray that God will either change those who are blocking our licensing or remove them from their positions?
• The Beyer family continues to get settled and have begun Spanish lessons. One big area that still needs to be addressed is the purchase of a vehicle for their family. Because Dale will be assisting with our rural village ministry, they are seeking a 4-wheel drive vehicle that will endure the rough travel we do on a regular basis. Will you please pray that we find the right vehicle soon for a good price?
• As our ministry grows, we are struggling to find the necessary storage space to accommodate our supplies and equipment. Each month we purchase and sort over 1000 pounds of food that then awaits distribution to different homes in 20 different villages. Add to that the medicines, wheelchairs, diapers, walkers, crutches and other supplies and we have quite a mountain of stuff on any give day. We are praying for and seeking creative solutions to alleviate this crowding. Please pray that God will direct us.
• Currently we are taking three Guatemalan families with us to church every Sunday in addition to two young men. This means that on the typical week we have 10 Fulps plus 15 Guatemalans squeezing into one 15 passenger van and one Toyota 4-Runner. When we have a visiting team, as we did this week, those numbers increase. (This past Sunday we were scheduled to take 39 people to church until our plans were thwarted by a Catholic procession that closed down our street and blocked us in for the morning.) Those numbers will increase even more when our group home opens. So, will you please pray that God will provide us with another 15 passenger van and a place to park it?

Now, on to the children and adults who are awaiting sponsorship. Some of these need a one time sponsorship for a wheelchair. Some need monthly sponsorship for formula, diapers or medicine. Some need both. If you would like to help, please contact me at daryl@hopeforhome.org.

Manuel lives in La Gomera and has cerebral palsy. He is 12 years old and has a wheelchair that is made for adults and is missing its back. They have placed two straps across the back to keep him from falling backward and he slouches to the side because he has no lateral support. He desperately needs a new wheelchair that is the right size for him and that will provide the support he needs.

I would like to place him in a custom chair which would cost $250.00 US, but we need a sponsor to cover that expense.

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Marvin is 8 years old and lives in a very rural village about 30 minutes outside La Gomera. He currently has a Hope Haven chair, but the footrest has broken off and the high humidity has rusted it badly. So, he needs a replacement.

The cost for a new chair will be $250.00 US.

We also need a monthly sponsor for formula for him. His current weight is only 23 pounds and we need to help him fatten up. Monthly cost: $14.00 US.

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The following family is particularly challenging as there are four adult sibling who all have special needs. We are focusing on two of these siblings, each of whom are suffering from the effects of polio that they had as a child.

Gloria is 51 years old and has been bedridden since age 4 when she had polio. She is unable to sit upright and requires a special wheelchair to give her mobility. However, we are so grateful to God and to Bethel Ministries because they are donating her chair to us at no cost.

However, Gloria is on three types of medicine which cost the family around $150 a month. While I do not expect for find a sponsor for that entire amount, we would like to help with $50 or $75 each month. If you are interested in helping, please write to me.

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Lorena is 41 years old and also had polio when she was four. She is unable to walk without assistance and does not have the necessary balance to use a walker. She needs a standard wheelchair to give her some much needed mobility. The sponsorship for this wheelchair is $150.00 US.

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Leslie is 7 years old and suffers from cerebral palsy. She has a wheelchair that Dick Rutgers provided for her and is working well, although we did perform some maintenance on it while we were there.

However, Leslie is very thin and needs to gain weight, so we would like a sponsor to provide the monthly formula she needs. The cost is $14.00 US each month.

 

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Dorcas is 7 years old as well and has cerebral palsy. Her mother has to carry her everywhere as she has no wheelchair. While that was not a problem when she was younger, as she is getting older her mother is struggling. We would like to provide a custom chair for her if we can find a sponsor. The cost for sponsorship is a one-time expense of $250.00 US.

We would also like a monthly sponsor to provide diapers for her as this cost is difficult for the family. The monthly sponsorship for this is $5.50 US.

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Maria Jose is a precious little 4 year old girl. Like so many, she suffers from cerebral palsy and is under-weight. She needs a custom wheelchair to give her the support and stability she requires. The cost is $250.00 US.

We also need a monthly sponsor for formula for her. The cost is $14.00 US a month.

 

 

As I look back over this list of people awaiting help, it is easy to become overwhelmed. If my math is correct, we need $1150.00 for wheelchairs and $122.50 of new monthly sponsorship. However, I take great comfort in knowing that each of the adults and children are God’s children. He loves them greatly and is the perfect provider. Will you please join me in praying that He will meet each and every one of these needs?

Okay, I think I have written more than enough for now. Blessings from Guatemala!

Daryl

Another Picture Blog

Time has gotten away from me and I realized this morning that it has been over three weeks since my last blog. I apologize for my delinquency and want to catch you up on some of the details of life and ministry. However, because of the tightness of time, I will let pictures do most of the talking.

First, on May 27th we welcomed the Beyer family to our team! This has been long awaited and prayed for, so we are thrilled that they are actually on the ground. They have found a home right here in town and signed a lease, and we expect them to make the move from our place to theirs in the next few days (if I can ever find the time to take them to do the shopping that needs to be done prior to the move). Our dinner table has been crowded with them joining us, but we love it because we love the Beyer clan. We are actually a little sad to see them leave and head to their own home.

As I write this they are meeting with their Spanish teacher to set-up lessons. They will be immersed in language study for the next couple of months.

We made it up to San Pablo La Laguna on May 31st and June 1st. It was an encouraging trip as we saw several of our children making significant progress.

Little Marta gained 2 1/2 pounds in the last month, bringing this 12 year old up to a whopping 19 pounds (up from her original weight of 14 1/2 pounds)! This is significant progress in the last three months.

 

 

 

 

Little Lucia continues to improve. It has been two months since her last seizure and she is now able to sit comfortably. (When we found her she was nearly doubled backward and unable to sit or lie flat.)

 

 

 

 

With each passing month we are more warmly received in the community of San Pablo. Little Maria’s family first met us with coldness and distrust. We are now welcomed warmly and as part of the family. They even invited us to Maria’s birthday party.

 

 

 

 

On the down side, when we visited Oscar we found his bedsores to be much worse. I was confused by this since the local health center had been coming in to treat him every day. Yet I found the sores deeper and infected. I discovered the reason later when we ran into the nurse from the health center. He asked us if we could come with him back to Oscar’s house to answer questions. When we arrived he looked at me and asked me how to treat bedsores. So, we spent the next half-hour teaching him the basics of pressure sore treatment. Hopefully we will see improvement as a result.

Over the last week we have been working with a wonderful team of occupational and physical therapists from Xavier University in Cincinnati. We were contacted by Steve Osborn from Amor del Niño, who has worked with them for years, and asked if we could arrange several clinics in different communities in which we work. Of course our answer was “Yes!” So, we had two days of therapy clinic in our town on Monday and Tuesday. Then, we went down to La Gomera for a one day clinic on Thursday and to Sipicate for a one day clinic on Friday. It was a wonderful and exhausting week of 14 hour days for me. God used these times to build our relationship with the communities in which we work and truly touch lives.

During these days our ministry picked up 15 new families who need assistance. We will be doing follow-up with them later this week.

Once particularly difficult situation was a young lady named Katerin. She is 16 years old and has cerebral palsy. Her mother showed up seeking therapy, but as soon as I saw her I realized that she was in crisis. She was malnourished, seizing and too weak for therapy. So, we did a quick assessment. The mother explained that she could not afford the medicine for seizures that the doctor had prescribed. Neither could she afford formula. I made a quick run to the local pharmacy for both meds and formula. I am thrilled to say that we have found a sponsor for her to provide these things every month. Please pray for her.

Sipacate is only a stone’s throw from the Pacific Ocean, so in spite of my fatigue after a long week I yielded to their pleas and we did a detour to the shore as we were leaving town. We were all greatly entertained as the ladies of the team were taken by surprise by a large wave while taking a group photo. (I am still trying to get all the sand out of my van.) At my insistence we moved further up the shore before I joined them for a couple of photos, one yielding the Xavier X. I am so thankful for this wonderful group of therapists and the time we had together.

One of our areas of ministry has been through our local church. I preach about once each month, and we have been bringing three Guatemalan families with us each Sunday. That has made transportation interesting as we have filled both our van and our 4-Runner to overflowing to get everyone to and from the service. And this is prior to the opening of our group home which will add even more to those number. So, we have begun praying for a second van to assist with transportation. In the meantime, we may resort to having our kids ride on the luggage rack up top.

My daughter, Krishauna, is safely settled in at Casa Bernabe, an orphanage on the other side of Guatemala City. Today is her birthday and we are really missing being with her. However, she will be home this weekend, so we will celebrate together then.

My daughter, Carissa, is safely in London now for a layover during her trip home from Uganda. We will pick her up from the airport tomorrow evening and enjoy a little time with her before she begins fundraising to return full-time to Uganda.

And my daughter, Teisha, is settled into the community of Troy, OH where she is working full-time and saving for school in the fall. She will celebrate her birthday on Thursday, so we are feeling her absence as well.

We are hoping to have four of the five Musketeer Fulp Girls back together for a brief time over the holidays (minus Ashley who cannot come). Until then, we will pray for and miss all of them who are not with us.

Well, that is all for now. Blessings from Guatemala!

Daryl, Wanda and the Crew