Do it all for the Glory of God

This past week we have had the opportunity to look at six different houses. They have been quite the range in styles and prices. The highest was Q8,000 ($1,100) a month, which was trying to get us to bite as gringos (white people) to see if we would pay that. The prices dropped all the way down to Q1000/month (around $135). The styles ranged from a place with one large finished room and bathroom, along with two extra rooms under construction, to a house with lots of plants, flowers, and a large area of grass. We are trusting God that He will lead us to the place that He wants us to be in. We ask that you continue be praying for our decision process.

We are now spending twice a week with our neighbor kids, Monday and Thursday afternoons. They come at 2:00 and usually spend 2 ½ -3 hours with us. We are looking forward to being able to grow this into a thriving after-school program. As we have been looking at houses we have been envisioning what an after-school program will look like in those places. With that in mind we know that the price we pay for rent will be a combination of living space and ministry space.  We also know that as the program grows we will need to increase our school supplies, games, materials, sports equipment, shelving, and storage. This is the reason we need people to partner with us. We are currently only 58% funded of our $3,200/month goal. If we were fully funded, we would be able to purchase those supplies, not be as limited on our rent budget, and could have more freedom to make certain expenditures. If you are interested in donating some games, supplies, or sports equipment that would be amazing. Christopher, (in the picture) one of our neighbor kids, loves building and creating things. We were drawing mazes the other day, and he was using dominoes to build towers. He asked if we had any puzzles or Legos and we had to say no. If you are interested in donating some of those types of games or activities they would be put to great use! Right now, we have been playing Dutch Blitz, Trouble, Go Fish, Jenga, Junk Art, and Dominoes to name a few.

However, we also need ongoing monthly gifts. We have been trying to decide if we should include a lunch or only a snack for the after-school program. It would be so amazing if one or two people decided to give to provide lunch for the kids once or twice a week. (A quick estimate of cost for 15 kids for two days a week would be $85/month) Then the decision would be made for us and God would be using your funds to allow us to more time to build relationships with these kids. Monthly gifts would also cover the constant expense of replacing sports equipment. Soccer balls get destroyed, t-shirts for the kids to differentiate teams get ruined, basketballs, cones, all different types of plastic and softer balls, rope, and anything else you can imagine. God has sent us to Guatemala with a passion and vision to spread His love to kids and their families through the gifts and abilities He has blessed us with. During this season of beginning our after-school program we will be spending time in prayer specifically asking that God will provide the funds we need to complete our budget. If you want your gift to go toward something specifically, be sure to designate your gift so we can be sure to use it in the way you wish.

Will you be a part of God’s work in Guatemala by joining with us in prayer and supporting us financially over this time of transition and beginnings? God has some amazing things in store in the next few months as we move into a new house and as we see Him work. Let’s go! We are so excited just thinking about all the possibilities. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Our hope is that our actions and relationships with these kids and their families will bring glory to God. We trust God that He will use as his priests to bring others to His throne so that they can find Him. All the glory to God!

We also wanted to say we are so thankful for those who pray for us and give financially. You are a blessing to us and we wouldn’t be here without you.

If there are specific ways we can be covering you or your family in prayer we would love to be talking to God about you as well. Send us an e-mail (abrubaker@pushtherock.org or krishauna@hopeforhome.org) or Facebook message and we will be in contact.

                                                     Andi and Krishauna

I carry you in my heart

It has been a while since I've written. I haven't forgotten. I'm not too busy. I just couldn't write. I couldn't find the words and I didn't really want to try. But here it is…

I have been struggling.

The last few months have been hard. On February 22nd, we got great news that I was pregnant. We went into our 8-week appointment on March 18th to find out I had what is called a molar pregnancy. Having only half of the chromosomes meant that the baby couldn't form correctly, but instead, a clump of cells was growing at an accelerated rate. So, after some blood tests, a D&C was scheduled for three days later on March 21st. The operation went smoothly and the doctor was very optimistic that everything was removed, but it took a couple months and multiple blood tests every few weeks to verify that no further action would be required. Physically, I am doing great and my levels are back to normal. Praise God!

Emotionally, it has been difficult. We have lost a child and that isn't an easy thing to deal with. I have been a mess (Ask Andi… he was right by me through it all).

Now, before anyone tries to tell me that it wasn't a child, just stop. I don't need to hear that. It isn't helpful (I have multiple reasons for why I believe it was a child and I would love to share those with anyone who would like to hear them, but I won't go into that now). No matter what you believe about when a life begins and what happens in a molar pregnancy, we still lost the future of having this child in our family and it hurts.

My necklace reminder of our baby

I am slowly healing from this. God has sent many people into my life who have been such an encouragement to me. There are people who have just sat and listened to me, some have shared their experiences with me, and others have given pieces of advice and encouragement. It still hurts and I won't ever fully get over the hurt of losing this child, but God is working in me and that feels good.

I could still use prayer. Some days, the emotions hit harder and I feel depressed and angry that we are having to go through this. Other

days, I am able to give it all to God 

and trust Him and His timing for 

our lives.

Thank you for all those who have been praying for us and encouraging us through this time!

Krishauna (and Andi)

Photo Journey

Here is a photo journey of our last couple weeks in PA (which I promised in my last blog) along with our first couple weeks being back in Guatemala :)

We attended a Harrisburg Senators baseball game against the Reading Phillies (thus the reason I am wearing Phillies gear!) with my parents and some of my brothers!


One of Shauna's friends recently moved to NYC and so we took a day-trip up to the city to visit her. Neither of us had been to NYC before so we also spent some time seeing parts of the city.

 

 

I was privileged to stand beside my brother, Chad, during his wedding to Emily. (We don't have photos yet so in the next update, I will be sure to include one)

 I was also honored to stand beside my college roommate Eric, during his wedding to Lauren. I also got a picture with my beautiful date :)

We were also able to attend our friends', Matthew and Adorae's, wedding. 

                                       
Back in Guatemala
Our first couple days back we spent almost the whole time cleaning and unpacking. Almost everything had either spider webs or a thin layer of volcanic ash covering it. Pictured below are some piles of ash from our patio/courtyard.

We took a trip with Joel and Brittney (Shauna's sister and husband) to visit some families for a day. The pictures below show some points of view :)
             

                     

                     

                                      

On Thursday last week some of our neighbor kids came over. We played some board games, had a little snack, played tag, and ran around in our courtyard.

      

We transferred the title to our truck and will become in possession of it on Tuesday! Woo-hoo!

We spent 3 1/2 hours sitting in SAT (the name is ironic right?) to obtain a NIT (number identification for taxes) number for me in order to purchase the truck. SAT is the government organization that deals with taxes, vehicles, and customs. We also spent multiple hours visiting RENAP offices to obtain paperwork to try and change Shauna's name on her DPI card (Personal ID card). We weren't in the greatest moods after those visits as you might guess.

We ask for continued prayer to find a house that suits are needs for ministry space, living space, and parking area. We also are continuing to raise support to reach our goal of $3,200 a month. If you feel God laying on your heart to support us financially feel free to send either of us an e-mail and we would be glad to talk about it with you.

From the words of a book I am reading, called Foolish No More by Ted Haggard,

"Go into your world- the whole world. Take your blessings and bless others. "

Andi and Shauna

Prayer requests

As we sit here in the Panama airport here are some ways you can be praying for us as we adjust back into life in Guatemala. If you would like to see a different version with more color and less detail you can follow this link to see slides on Google drive. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6ft-6Q6FjP9a0NBUXlNWmMxQlE

Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement as we were back in the U.S. In the next few days I will be posting some pictures and fun we had with family and friends.

General topics:

• ·       A house with an area/courtyard to park our vehicle
• ·       A place to hold our after-school program
• ·       Motivation to press forward in ministry even when things get discouraging (to stay on task as  we begin and start-up our respective ministries)
• ·       Continued and growing friendships
• ·       More connections with other ministries and opportunities to pour into people

Andi with Push The Rock after-school program:

• ·       Volunteers/Adults to help with the program
• ·       Committed attendance from kids
• ·       Spanish would not be a hindrance to expressing myself and communicating
• ·       Discipleship opportunities with the kids as a group and as individuals
• ·       Christ’s love would show in my life and that would spread.

Krishauna with Hope for Home Ministries Teacher training program:

• ·       God would make this program successful in spite of me and my weaknesses
• ·       Finances and materials will be available when needed
• ·       Few roadblocks as we start this ministry
• ·       Good connections will be made with others who can help us
• ·       God will send the right people to the program
• ·       That this program will not only meet educational needs, but that God will use it to touch people’s hearts and lives and spread His love

Muchas Gracias,
Andi and Krishauna

Jesus did not call me to be comfortable

On Monday we will have been here in PA for three weeks. Crazy how time flies. We have been catching up with friends, enjoying meals with grandparents, hanging out with my brothers and parents, seeing other relatives, and meeting with ministry partners and supporters. To you this probably sounds like a great time, but there are a lot of emotions that come with spending time with people in this area. Being here, we both have sensed a feeling of being comfortable. As I was playing in a church softball game this past week, it felt comfortable for the 10th summer in a row. I had the privilege of leading a worship team at Dillsburg BIC this past Sunday. It felt comfortable to be back in that role after the hundreds of times I’ve been on that stage. I have been able to help my brothers with their mowing business a few days. It felt comfortable to get my boots on, mow, weed wack, and run a blower. I was able to hang out and play some basketball and spike ball with some of my college friends last weekend. My friends are who I feel comfortable around, speaking the language that I am comfortable with. I have to constantly remind myself that...

JESUS DID NOT CALL ME TO BE COMFORTABLE.

He called me to take up my cross and follow Him. 

In Matthew 16:24 Jesus tells his disciples, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” (Berean Study Bible)

“Radical obedience to Christ is not easy... It's not comfort, not health, not wealth, and not prosperity in this world. Radical obedience to Christ risks losing all these things. But in the end, such risk finds its reward in Christ. And he is more than enough for us.” – David Platt

“I could not help but think that somewhere along the way we had missed what was radical about our faith and replaced it with what is comfortable.” – David Platt

Being a follower of Christ I should not be comfortable – I don’t know what will come and so the only thing I can do next is to trust God. I have a vision and plans to start an after-school program as one of the first steps with Push The Rock. Krishauna has plans to start a special education training program for teachers. Do we both have all the details laid out? Absolutely not. Do we have vision and passion? Absolutely. Do we know what both ministries will look like next year at this time? Nope. Are we afraid, anxious, worried, and uncomfortable? Oh yeah. Are we the most qualified? Highly doubtful. Do we enjoy asking people for their money? Ha, yeah so much fun *sarcasm*. Do we believe God will provide no matter how much our budget is? Well we have to or else we aren’t putting our full trust in Him, but it's so hard. Has God called us? Well, we probably wouldn’t be in Guatemala if it wasn’t for His calling and our obedience to that call.

You don’t know how much it means to hear those of you who have said, 'we have been reading your updates' or 'we have been praying for you.' We are so thankful for your excitement to see us and to give us hugs. If you didn’t realize, the Holy Spirit is speaking through you to encourage us whether it is through audible words, a hug, a smile, or message or e-mail.

Our first steps as we head back are to find a new house to rent and finalize and sign paperwork to purchase our vehicle. We need to move houses because there is not a garage or place to park the vehicle where we currently live. We will be staying in the area we live now. We came to that decision because of connections with have made with different ministries and people, the very friendly town and area, accessibility to the city, Antigua, and the airport, and the amount of resources that are nearby. Lord willing, my residency paperwork will be completed and we can take the next steps to getting a DPI card (ID card) and Guatemalan driver’s license. These two items we are also currently working on for Shauna because of her name change. We ask for your prayers for these things!

I will be posting again before we leave, hopefully with many more photos of our time here, and also more specific details of what plans will be for the after-school program and vision of Push The Rock Guatemala!

This weekend I will be cheering on Dillsburg BIC quizzers at the national finals. Brings back lots of great memories, but one of the greatest memories was in the championship quiz in California in 2012. I jumped on a question, was able to finish the question and give the answer early in the quiz, and will never forget what that question was, "What is living and active?" THE WORD OF GOD. Keep in mind that The Word of God is not just a book, but is His Word to us, and it is constantly around us.

Jesus did not call me to be comfortable,

Andi

Ministry Update!

Well, like I said in my last update we had big news regarding ministry to share with you! We are now officially partnered with Push The Rock! Woo-hoo. The past couple months we have had many e-mails, video calls, letters, and details to work out, but now there will officially be a Push The Rock Guatemala office! Tuesday we visited the main headquarters here in PA and talked through some final items, We also were able to join for a staff picnic to meet many of the other employees too!

So to answer some of the questions you may have regarding working with both organizations keep on reading!

• Where do I give money to support you? 

• All donations and monies will continue to flow through Hope for Home Ministries (via www.hopeforhome.org or by sending donations to P.O. Box 393 Troy Ohio, 45373). Both organizations met and decided that this was the best course of action. Be sure to designate your gift to 'The Brubakers', 'Andi and Krishauna', or 'Push The Rock'.
• I am financially supporting you now, but I want to have more information about Push the Rock as an organization in general. How do I do that?
• Let us know and we can send your information and name to Push The Rock so that you can recieve updates and communication directly from them.
• Can I donate through the Push The Rock website to you?
• No, all donations will flow through Hope for Home. However, we will be listed on the website as staff and partners under the Guatemala section (this part of the website is currently being worked on.)
• Did your budget rise?
• Yes, because of joining Push The Rock along with living expenses and ministry expenses that we know will increase our budget has increased to $3,200 a month.
• What will you use the new money in your increased budget for?
• We are purchasing a vehicle in August so expenses that are associated with a vehicle, for example, insurance, gas, maintenence and upkeep. Slightly higher rent and utility costs as we look for a new house that has a garage or courtyard to park the vehicle inside. Ministry expenses as we both begin our respective ministries. Taxes due to increase in budget/salary.

We will be posting another update very soon about our trip back to PA and what we have been up to as well as how both of our visions for ministry have progressed.

We also still have a few bags of coffee and some scarves if anybody is interested!

For anyone who has questions or needs more explanation feel free to contact us via e-mail or Andi's cell 717-502-2183.

Andi and Krishauna