BLOG CHANGES

Hello everyone!

We want to inform you of some changes we are making. We are updating the blog which will include changing title, layout, and other details. This blog will now be primarily used to update you on our ministry here in Guatemala instead of using two separate blogs because of the way ministry and vision has changed since we started our updates. As we merge the two blogs together, you will receive emails about old posts that we are transferring from one blog to the other. These are not new posts and we apologize for the extra emails.

See how God is moving in our lives!

(If you are viewing this update in an e-mail and the format is messed up, click the name of the post or the title at the top of the page to go directly to the actual online blog.) 

SYIS workship:

We were supposed to be in Orlando, Florida this week for a "Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills" workshop. However, as most of you have probably heard, there was a hurricane that hit Florida exactly when we were supposed to travel. So due to weather the conference was cancelled and we will be attending the one in February. 

Opportunity to use the gifts God has given me:

I had the opportunity to lead games and a devotional for a group of 20 kids last Saturday. This was my first time leading a devotional completely in Spanish. We talked about putting our trust in God even when it is hard or something we don't want to do. It made me step out of my comfort zone, but it was a good challenge! This was in partnership with a ministry called BuildinGuate. They work with these kids and families who live and work in a large garbage dump. The pictures below are from that day.

                           
                      
                                     
                           

New house:

The part you've all been waiting to hear about! We signed a contract/lease on a new house this past Saturday! The owner has to do some work before we move in, but October 1st is the date, Lord willing, we will move in! We have already started planning how our after-school program will work here as well as where certain pieces of furniture will be placed! After looking at seven different places and running into many different roadblocks we are so excited to be making this next step! This place has two bedrooms, two bathrooms (we will be working on another 1/2 bathroom), a large room for our after-school program, and a large room that we will be using as a kitchen/living room combo. It also has an amazing back patio, along with some grassy area, and a place to park our truck.

Looking from the back patio through the house

Front of the house

Room inside the front door

Back yard/patio

Push The Rock After-School Program:

I had the opportunity to write an article for PTR's upcoming fall newsletter. Here is a snippet of what I wrote regarding our program.

"With this program, our vision is to provide educational support, lead English lessons, teach new sports and activities, but most importantly, show these kids the love of Jesus Christ. We will strive to show them Jesus through Bible lessons, character building times, and the way we act and live. We not only want to develop relationships with the kids that attend, but with their families as well. We also want to train and equip Guatemalans to serve and take leadership roles in the program."

If you don't receive newsletters from Push The Rock and would be interested, let me know and I can send them your contact information.

Next week I will begin having weekly meetings with PTR to talk about vision, challenges we are having, times of prayer, encouragement and support, accountability, and administrative items.

Please Pray:

- That our landlord would be able to finish the work on the house and we would able to move in at the beginning of October

-Kids would begin to get excited in the neighborhood as we start spreading word of this after-school program

-For continued improvement in Spanish

-That friendships would continue to grow deeper  with people at our church so that we can be challenged, be vulnerable and be held accountable

Thanking Jesus: 

-  That He has provided a house

- That He has opened doors for partnering with other ministries, along with possibilities to lead more sports/activities in the future

Thank You:

For providing some one-time gifts as we start our after-school program and as we move into a new house. We are also so thankful for your prayers and support as we seek to share the love and message of Jesus Christ to the people here in Guatemala. 


-Andi and Krishauna

Building Relationships

Our neighbor kids have been so much fun to get to know! We have them over every Monday and Thursday afternoons to play games, hang out, and have a snack. There are three kids who have been consistent in coming over and others who occasionally show up. A few weeks ago, they began asking if we had puzzles, legos, or any new games to play (they seemed to be getting a little board with some of the games we had) so we began looking for more things to do with them. We borrowed some puzzles from my brothers, my sister gave us some legos sets that weren’t being used at her house, and we bought some other fun activities to do. Thank you to those who are supporting us and making it possible to get new games and toys! Our neighbor kids love it and so do we!

Here are some of the new things we have been able to buy: 

     - Chalk
     - Puzzle
     - Balls
     - Cones
     - Legos
     - Crayons
     - Small blocks
     - Educational game

 

When Andi’s parents visited back in January, they brought supplies to make Ninja Stress Balls, but the kids weren’t showing up around that time because school was just starting. We just recently remembered about it so we pulled it out one day for the kids to make and take home with them. They really enjoyed it and we made a big mess with the flour which is always fun!

We are also really excited that we have been getting to know the mom of a couple of the kids who come over. She is the first parent with whom we have had the opportunity to interact much. Just the other night, she sent her son to bring us a special treat they had made. This meant so much to us! She has shown us multiple times how much it means to her that we are investing in the lives of her son and daughter. We hope that this relationship will continue to grow!

A couple quick updates: First, our truck has been great! Thank you again to all who gave so we could purchase it! Second, an update about our house search will be coming soon so keep an eye out! :) 

Thank you for your prayers! 

Krishauna and Andi

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