Child: We are so excited to be celebrating Christmas this year with a new little blessing growing bigger and bigger every day! Baby Brubaker is due to arrive in early July! Early this year, we found out we were expecting our first child to arrive in late October, but got news shortly after that baby didn't make it. Although this new baby will never take away the pain we have experienced in loosing our first child, we are thanking God for a healthy pregnancy so far and we couldn't be more happy to be growing our family!
House: Early in the year we visited a couple other areas of Guatemala seeking
God’s will where He wanted us to settle long-term. After a few months we
decided to remain in the area and began keeping our eyes open for places to
live. We ended up looking at seven different properties with only two being
real possibilities due to space, location, and price. As we made some offers we
prayed that God would use the place we choose for His glory. When we first
settled on our decision, we still had some hesitancy, doubts, and fears that
were in the back of our minds. However, now after living in our house for over
two months, we can both confidentially say that this house is such a blessing
from God and has already become full of kids to minister too, visitors from the
states, friends, and family.
Residency and RENAP: After hours of sitting in different RENAP offices and multiple trips to Guatemala City, we have completed some very difficult processes. Andi finally got his residency and DPI card (Guatemalan ID card) to make him official. With this DPI card, he no longer has to use his passport for daily tasks like going to the bank and using his credit card. Krishauna has also completed the most difficult part (we hope) of name change and just has to apply for a new DPI card after the holidays. We are so thankful for these steps to be done!
Involvement: We began attending Shoreline City Antigua last November and have been so blessed by the church and everyone there. After getting our truck in August, opportunities to get more involved and serve opened up. Now, Andi is serving with the worship team about two times a month and Krishauna is serving with Shoreline Kids. We have also been involved in connect groups and Sisterhood (a monthly women's event) that have deepened friendships and been great encouragement to us.
Support: Without those of you who read our updates, support us financially, and pray for us, 2017 would have been a much more difficult year. God has blessed us through your notes of encouragement, prayers, messages, and financial gifts. Through officially joining Push The Rock and beginning the after-school program our budget increased. We have been blessed that our support has slightly increased as well. We are especially thankful for many of your large one-time donations that have helped with larger purchases such as our truck, furniture, equipment and supplies for the program, and sports equipment.
Truck: Our truck has been amazing!!! During the spring we began to look around
at vehicles for sale, and were keeping our eyes open on facebook and different
classified groups. We have been so blessed that God provided this truck in our
price range and in great condition. A family we knew was selling it because of
moving back to the states and it has been put to great use ever since!
Making Friends: The beginning of the year we were struggling to build friendships and get to know others our age. God has blessed us greatly as we have made many friends from our church and connect group, other interns and staff here with Hope for Home, and deepened friendships with other family members. We have had couples over to our house, gone out to coffee and meals one-on-one with other friends, and attended an ugly-sweater Christmas party as you can see in the photo :)
After-school program: Our Push The Rock after-school program
started on Thursday October 19th. That day we started out with three
kids (all three were neighbors from our old house). Up to that point we only had
informal game times at our old house twice a week. Now two months later we have
run out of space (with 34 kids who have attended at least once), and will be
dividing age groups when the school-year starts. The past three days we have
had between 15-21 kids. The growth of the program has been a huge answer to
prayer. God has blessed us with an opportunity to pour into the lives of these
kids on a regular basis, help them with their education, and show them His love
through games, activities, sports and Bible stories. This past week we did some special Christmas activities!
Spanish: This week Andi had his last official Spanish class! From the
beginning of the year until June he was taking classes three times a week, four
hours a day. Since we returned from the states in July classes were decreased to once a week for three hours. The past couple
of months classes have been mainly conversational based along with questions he takes to class. God has blessed both of us with ways to continue practicing a
new language and blessed Andi with a great teacher as well!
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| This photo was a part of the annual Hogar de la Esperanza Christmas countdown! |
2017 was a year full of struggles, growth, patience, and blessings. As we look back at each day, week, and month we can see that God was in the midst of it all. As 2018 approaches we are even more excited to see what God is going to do in our lives in order to make His name famous here in Guatemala and throughout the world. We hope that each of you can look back at 2017 and see the ways God has blessed you as well. From our family to yours.Feliz Navidad, Prospero Año y Felicidad!
Andi and Krishauna
If you have any questions or want to know more about our ministry and what we are doing in Guatemala send us an email at abrubaker@pushtherock.org or krishauna@hopeforhome.org.
If you feel God is calling you to support us financially you can go to hopeforhome.org/donate and designate your gift to Andi and Krishauna or pushtherock.org/donate and find Andi Brubaker on the drop down menu.
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