Multiply

If you recieve this update via e-mail and the formatting is messed up, feel free to click the blog title which will take you directly to our webpage. You can also click on any photo to enlarge it. 

Whew what a crazy month that seemed to fly by! We hosted Andi’s parents for a week while they visited, we moved to four days a week for the after-school program, we found out the gender of our baby, we spent a week in Florida at a workshop, and are now getting back into routine here.  

Andi’s parents were able to see our new house in person for the first time and were able to help with two days of the after-school program. We were able to show them some of our favorite places to eat, take them to our church, and find a beautiful lookout over Antigua! It was a great time of encouragement, help, and refreshment to have them here (minus the four hours in traffic and missing their flight on the day they left).  They also brought down some more donations of games and books for the after-school program along with Christmas gifts, and Push The Rock Guatemala T-shirts!

 As we moved to four days a week with the after-school program it has been a smooth transition. We now have 15 kids signed up as participants with each age-group (with a max capacity of 16). However, since we were used to having 20-22 kids each day, 12-15 kids (certain kids aren’t as consistent) each day lessens the stress and is easier to handle. We were able to play some kickball and knockout with the older group along with doing different English lessons based on the ages. This week we will have our 'mini libreria' (school supply store) up and running so kids can use their points to ‘buy’ some school supplies. We are super excited for the growth of the program as we continue to build relationships with these kids and share with them the love of Jesus! You can be praying that we can find possible interns or other staff as the ministry grows. 

   

We had a doctor’s appointment last week and we were learned the gender of our baby! The Brubaker tradition continues it’s a boy!! We are looking forward to July when we can meet him!

We spent a week in Sanford, Florida attending a Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills (SYIS) Workshop. Wow! We would highly recommend this workshop for anyone. It was a highly interactive, educational, and beneficial time. We were able to hear stories and wisdom from not only the facilitators, but also other missionaries, some of whom have been on the field for 30+ years. Some of the modules and topics that we learned the most from included: Loving Listening- the benefits of giving someone your full attention, Making Margin – the idea of setting aside time in your schedule to rest and refresh, Managing Conflict- tips and thoughts on ways to deal with conflict in your life, and Stressors – what are ways we can get rid of stress. There was so much to process, and the information will be able to be used the rest of our lives!

Our church’s theme for 2018 is ‘Multiply.’ It is a such a unique way to look at all aspects of life as we look to God at where He is leading us and what He is going to do in our lives. A quote from this past Sunday’s sermon that impacted us, “Multiply is what God is calling us toward. We can’t stay here.” This theme really goes along well with a book I (Andi) is reading called The Last Arrow by Erwin McManus. He states, “Am I still on the journey forward, or have I found myself settling when I should have been advancing?” We need to be willing to go where God is leading us and never get caught settling for less in the mundane or where we think we are safe or comfortable. Let us all step out and allow God to multiply our lives to be bigger and impact more people for his kingdom.

We are so blessed and want to say thank you to our new financial supporters who have joined our support team in the past couple of months along with those of you who have increased your support. As our lives ‘multiply’ so does our need for finances and we are so grateful. We are also so thankful for those of you who pray for us on a consistent basis. 

Let us advance the kingdom of God together!

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.

After-School Program

We wanted to give you an update on what the daily schedule of an after-school program looks like now that kids have started back to school. Currently we meet Monday and Thursday afternoons from 2:00-5:00. The first full week of February we will be launching into four days a week with the two different age groups. If you receive this update via e-mail and the formatting is messed up, feel free to click the blog title which will take you directly to our webpage.

 

When the kids arrive around 2:00 (there are points awarded for being on time – which we will talk about later in the post) they come in to our house and start working on homework with Shauna. If they don’t have homework they come back out to the street where Andi and some other volunteers usually kick around a soccer ball for 10 or so minutes until most of the kids arrive. At that point Andi leads the group of kids who do not have homework down to the court to play some group games, sports, and activities. When we divide age groups we will all be working on homework and other educational activities together before heading down to the court. We usually spend an hour or so at the court then make our way back up to the house where all the kids wash their hands and get ready for snack. We change up snack each day between packs of cookies, different fruits, and popcorn. Each day two of the kids help with handing out the snacks and drinks and we have another kid volunteer to pray. After snack we have the Bible story on the back patio. Each day we work through a story in the Beginner’s Bible and usually five to six kids help to read. We have discussion and questions throughout and at the end of the story. After the story is finished we head back inside and everyone gets their notebook and we teach some English and the Bible verse. They write down what we learned for that day in their notebook and practice the verse and their English at home, in order that they can say them to us the next time they come for the program. After we finish the English time we rotate between the activities that we do. We have board games, free-play Legos, Lego sets, puzzles, and other group games that we play in our back yard. After about 40 minutes of the activity it is time to clean up and we give any last announcements for the day before they leave. Hopefully that helps give you as idea of how our program works as you pray for our program and kids who attend 😊. 

Here in Guatemala, the culture is not time-sensitive for the most part. It is common for people to be ½ hour to an hour late to some events and parties. As kids came to the program some were on time, but others came 15-20 minutes late. We wanted to teach them that being on time is important, so we began brainstorming ways to reward them for being on time. We came up with our point reward system. Each day kids can receive points for attendance before 2:15 (bonus point for coming before 2:05), bringing their notebook, reciting their verse, using English, and paying attention. We also give out a maximum of 5 bonus points for kids who were extra helpful, answering questions, respecting others, and having great attitudes. The points that they earn can be redeemed in two different ways. The first way they can use their points is to ‘buy’ school supplies from our ‘store.’ We are still in the process of building our inventory for our ‘store.’ If you are interested in donating any type of school supply that would be beneficial for kids, it would be greatly appreciated. The other way they can redeem their points are by using them at our special party days. (We don’t have a great name for these days yet :P) We will have three days throughout the school year where we will have special snacks and activities. Depending on how many total points they receive for each part of the school year will determine what ‘level’ or amount of snack they receive.

Click photo to enlarge

                               

Short Thoughts and Updates

•        For those who haven’t heard Push The Rock Guatemala shirts have come in (We have a variety of colors and sizes)! Andi’s parents have them in Dillsburg, PA and will be bringing some down to Guatemala next week! If you are interested in purchasing one to support our ministry let us know!
•         Andi’s parents are coming for a visit on Wednesday for about a week!!! Woo-hoo!
•         We also have been able to set up our office space here in our house with the use of some Christmas gifts, which we are super excited about!
•         We have started purchasing some baby items in preparation for the new addition to our family in July. At our last doctor’s appointment, we were able to clearly see the baby’s fingers, arms, and head!

Ways you can be praying:

•         For the baby as he/she continues to grow.
•         Wisdom to know how to approach kids who aren’t attending the program on a consistent basis, while others are on a waiting list wanting to attend every day.
•         Continued growth in Spanish – we both have improved so much, but want to be able to communicate even better.
•        For kids to feel loved and welcome as they enter our house for the program and that the love of Jesus would flow through us and all the helpers and volunteers.
•         For God to call and raise up leaders, coaches, educators, and people who are interested in sports ministry to move to Guatemala long or short-term to partner with us to expand and grow our ministry.

“Forever God is faithful, forever God is strong, forever God is with us, forever.”

                         

Thanks for all your prayers and support.

Blessings,

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.

Feliz Navidad from the Brubakers

As Christmas and the end of the year approaches we would like to take some time to look back and many of the ways God has blessed us throughout 2017. If you receive this update via e-mail and the formatting is messed up, feel free to click the blog title which will take you directly to our webpage.

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 19^th. 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! 

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.