September 19, 2013

So much has happened in this past month; thinking about it all makes my head spin. Gordon’s death caught all of us by surprise, and is something that we are all still reeling from and hurting from. None of us are able to sleep well, and it still feels like he is just away for awhile but will be coming back. Gordon was such a lively guy, and such a big part of our lives and our ministry here, that it is difficult to carry on without him, but we know that we need to continue the work that God has for us here. We feel strongly that God wants us to continue our ministry here, and know that He will provide everything we need, both emotionally and financially, for us to continue.

Having a house full of children has in some ways made things more difficult, but in a lot of ways, it has made dealing with our loss easier. While I might feel like curling up in a ball and sleeping for a week, there are a lot of little people who are also grieving and still need to be cared for. They have helped each of us work through our grief and they aren't afraid to ask some of the tough questions that people with more tact tend to avoid, which is helpful.

L-R, back to front: Darwin, Lisa, Aly, Jefer, Chantalle, Jessica, Natalie,

 Franklin, Eneyda, Kellyn, Cindy, Fatima, Estefany

We took 2 weeks off of school, but are back in classes full force. We only have one more semester left, and will be out of school on November 1st, with a graduation on November 2^nd. We are starting to make plans for next year and getting excited about some new things with the school. It has been great seeing children learn new things and kids who thought that they were stupid and worthless realizing that they actually are pretty smart and have a lot of potential. Our school is focused on kids with special needs, and we have students with physical, learning, and emotional issues. This takes a little bit more time and work, but we keep class sizes small enough that we can work individually with students when needed.  Most of our 25 students would not be able to attend class elsewhere if they were not in our program, and are very happy that they have a place where they can learn, get some good food, and feel loved and accepted.

Another big part of our ministry here, which has developed over the past few months, is our home. We started with just one, and then added 1 more, then 2 more, then 3 more, etc. and now we have 9 kids living with us. We have a different type of home than most of the children’s homes in the area. We want our home to continue being a family, and each child is here because they want to be here and their parents also want them here. Our goal is to provide discipleship and a safe, loving home, where the kids can flourish and grow to love and serve God in everything they do.  We do not feel equipped to take in kids who don’t want to be here or are hostile towards God. There is definitely a need for such a place, but we don’t feel like that is where God is leading us. So far, we have had positive relationships with all of the kids’ families, and the kids are free to visit their parents and vice versa. This is something that Gordon and I, along with our adult daughters, Alyssandra, Chantalle, and Natalie, had recently started, and Gordon was really enjoying.

We have received so much love and words of support along with some generous financial support this month, and we are grateful to each of you who has chosen to support us. What we are praying for now and asking you for, is more people committed to giving a set amount every month. After the support of our faithful monthly supporters, our shortfall is around $1750 per month. With this money, we are able to provide food, clothing, shelter, an education, and the medical and dental needs for each of the children in our home as well as clothing, education, and food for those in our school program. Most importantly, all of the teens and children are shown God’s love consistently, and we are able to impact them, their families, and our community in a positive way.

We are hoping that you will pray about supporting a child or our ministry each month on an ongoing basis. Without more supporters, we will not be able to continue this work, and we know that we are doing what God wants from us.

Ministry Needs:

*Still needing an electrician, but I think that one might be on his way down next month! We had a house fire last night, which is making this a more immediate and urgent need!

*For monthly supporters to support either a child in the school ($50/month), a child in our home ($150/month), or our ministry general needs – (any amount/month). We do our best to get letters to each sponsor whenever we’re able to, and we will also send photos. You are also welcome to visit us and them.

*For strength to get through the remainder of this school year and for the emotional healing that we all need.

*For sleep! We are all very tired and even the kids have had trouble sleeping.

*For funding for our residency - $500 per person for 5 years, so we need to raise $2000 to pay for this. We would like to apply in January. Again, without the residency, we won’t be able to continue the ministry.

*For teachers to help with the school! If you are at all interested in helping, please email or facebook us, and we will give you more information about this!

*For a bigger house! We have 3 people sleeping in most of our beds, and it would be nice to have more space and a yard for the kids to play in.  Gordon and I had just started looking at land and making plans for our “dream” ministry house, and would like to make this a reality.

*For someone (or a couple) to come to watch our kids while we go to the states. We would like to spend some time with family in the states and have a memorial service with famlly.

*For each of our kids, both in school and in our home! Kids in school: Ashlyn, Angel, Jadiel, Alex, Danny, Deyni, Jefer, Jessica, Maria, Chase, Cindy, Eneyda, Estefani, Estefany, Fatima, Gaby, Katerin, Kellyn, Maddie, Cecilia, Flor, Franklin, & Jennifer; Kids in our program but in different schools: Darwin, Eduin, Efren, Jessica, and Daisy; Kids in our home: Darwin, Franklin, & Jefer; Cindy, Eneyda, Estefani, Fatima, Jessica, & Kellyn.  Each of the kids in our home have prayed to accept Christ and have a desire to follow God, and we are SO excited about this! Some of them were really heading in a bad direction, and it has been exciting to see positive changes in their lives.

Thank you for the love and support that you have shown each of us during this most difficult time. We know that there are more rough days ahead, but thankfully, we know that Gordon was a strong man of God, and have no doubt where he is now. We are happy for him, but still missing him deeply, and the pain of losing him is heavy. It still feels like he should come walking in saying some silly thing.

If you would like to support our ministry here, you can do so via paypal – jesushelovesme@hotmail.com or you can donate thorough our missionary organization: www.shepstaff.org/eytzen.aspx

There are links to both on our blogspot.