Newsletter
Please check out Jeremy Van Beelen's blog at www.xanga.com/childrenofhope to see the pictures for these newsletters.
March 2009
On February 7th the Brighten Youth team from
Many times people ask if it is hard on the children having
all the teams coming and going all the time. The truth is that just as one team
leaves the children eagerly look forward to the next team. The children will
miss those who they have just built a relationship with but they eagerly look forward
to seeing them another day. The team members who have come consecutive years in
a row can testify to this fact.
On February 14, Marcos and Manuela got married. Marcos
has been helping at Dulce Refugio since 2005 while Manuela has been helping in
the orphanage since 2006. It was a blessing to see these two volunteers get
married. The Mexican government doesn't recognize religious weddings so there
was a civil ceremony with lots of important legal activities like signing the
marriage certificate, witnesses and finger printing. This ceremony happened a
day before the church wedding.
The church ceremony was held in the kitchen/dinning
room building at the site of the new orphanage. There were about a hundred
and fifty people at the ceremony. The Steinbach team from
The Steinbach team served for about two weeks, from
February 13 to 28. They helped with many things from tiling to digging
foundations, pouring cement, painting, bending rebar and carpentry work.
Since the team came through the Samaritan’s Purse organisation,
they had the privilege of hosting six eye clinics in communities around
These clinics provide a way to improve people’s sight
but also for the local pastors to make better inroads into the communities by
bring people into their churches. Clinics are set up with pastors from
different church denominations within
About two weeks
ago, while the team was on their way to Guanajuato, one of the group vans broke
down. The automatic transmission blew a seal so we had to get the van towed
back to
PRAYER
REQUESTS:
We have had two teams cancel their mission trips with three others struggling to keep their trips alive. Please pray for the teams, that they will not become yet another casualty of our current global economic situation.
Please pray for
the financial situation of the orphanage and those who have to raise their own
support in order to help in this children’s ministry in
Marce, the director of Dulce Refugio, is on holidays for two weeks. Please pray for her, that she will have a relaxing time away from the demands of the children’s ministry.
December 2008
Dulce Refugio
had the privilege of hosting a youth team from
It is amazing to
see how God provides the right people at the right time for different needs at
Dulce Refugio. This month the Pauls family from
Shawn Pauls builds foundations for a living and so he fits in
perfectly forming and pouring the water cistern. It has been a bit of a
learning curve for everyone involved in this project since things are done
differently in
Jeremy Camplin is a carpenter. He will be building four cabinet units for the bathrooms in the girls’ dorm. He will also build kitchen cabinets in the three suites, as well as door frames and doors in the girls’ dorm. Jeremy has a big heart for the kids and the ministry and the most impressive thing is that Jeremy is actually deaf. He has a hearing aid that helps him hear. In the picture above Jeremy is visiting his old public high school raising awareness of the children’s ministry and helping other deaf children learn to make things out of wood. What a blessing it is to see a room full of carpentry machinery that Dulce Refugio will now be able to use to make its own cabinets and furniture in the future.
As everyone knows, Christmas is a very special day in the month of December, celebrating our Saviour’s birth. The children at Dulce Refugio were also very spoiled in this time. Many local schools, churches and companies came to drop off gifts and prepare a special meal for the kids. With so many people coming and giving gifts to the kids, Marce collects all the gifts and saves them until Christmas Eve. This is when a special Christmas party is held and Marce then hands the gifts out to all the kids.
Currently there
is a Chinese team from
Ana and I went to Pan de Vida for New Year’s so that we could spend some time there visiting all the people who have a special place in our hearts (see my blog for pictures). It was also a time to take a small break as Duane and Skip had pretty much everything under control at Dulce Refugio. It is a blessing to have such a dedicated group of people helping to make the ministry at Dulce Refugio a blessing for all those involved.
PRAYER
REQUEST:
Please pray for
the directors, leaders and volunteers who all work so diligently (some of them
24/7, 365 days a year) in the different children’s ministries in
NOVEMBER 2008
On October 29,
the FaithWorks team from
The team’s biggest projects were sealing the roof of the girls’ dorm, installing a water drainage system and preparing the driveway for paving bricks. The team also hosted an outreach event in a local neighbourhood to minister to the children in the community. A special thank-you goes to FaithWorks for putting this team together.
On November 15,
the “over 50” team from the Canadian Reformed church of
One blessing of having a team of such “young” professionals is that the team knew how to do many different trades. The team finished installing the rest of the plumbing in the girls’ dorm, a big job that took the full two weeks to complete. The kitchen was also cleared of all the fridges and stoves so the team could tile it. They finished installing the concrete sinks in each of the bathrooms for the dorm rooms.
Another project
that we are working on right now is building a water cistern for the girls’
dorm. This cistern will be used to hold the rain water and recycled shower
water. This water would then be used in the toilets and for irrigation. This cistern would help to reduce the water
consumption costs. To help with this project the Paul’s family, from
Yet another
project that is in the planning stages is raising funds for buying carpentry machinery
and materials in order to start building the cabinets needed in the girls’
dorm. Once again God put it in the heart of an individual to help with this
cause. Jeremy Camplin, a team member who came down this past year from
PRAYER
REQUESTS:
Please pray for
the
Please pray for the children who feel very alone and rejected by their families in this time of year. Christmas can be the hardest time of the year for the kids and some can’t wait till it is over.
Please pray for the Paul Family and Jeremy Camplin as they prepare for their time at Dulce Refugio.
Please pray for
the
The weather has turned a little chilly lately signifying that many of the kids at Dulce Refugio are now suffering from runny noses and coughs. It seems to have hit the orphanage rather hard this year with many kids getting colds all at once. Please pray for a quick recovery for those that are feeling under the weather.
September 2008
On September 16, Mexico celebrated its Independence Day. Marce organised a special dinner for all the kids. She set up five different tables with different Mexican foods and treats. The kids had tickets to try some food from each table (some managed to receive more somehow). It was a special day for the kids to be able to celebrate their independence with the rest of the country.
It has taken two and a half years to get to this point but finally we are working full time on finishing the inside of the girls' dorm. Skip, one of the long term volunteers from Calgary, is the expert painter and is great at the finishing work of painting, sanding and the like. She has been busy painting the dorm rooms a dark pink. You may also notice in the picture below that there are actually windows installed. Duane ordered the windows for two dorm room as well as for the basement of the girls' dorm. He also just started to lay the floor tiles for this dorm room. We hope to finish this room in time for the FaithWorks team that is arriving on October 29th from Ontario so the female team members can stay there.
I started tiling in the bathrooms in the kitchen building. It is the first bathroom that I have tiled so it has been a little challenging at times. I am about 2/3 done the boys' bathroom and then I will start on the girls' bathroom. After that there will be 8 more bathrooms to do in the girls' dorm about double the size. Not to mention the 8 dorm rooms, three family suites, the stairs and the list goes on. Anyone want to help?
On the last weekend of September, Ana and I had the privilege of going to Pan de Vida to partake in a 15 birthday party for 10 girls. This was a very special event for these girls so it was a privilege to have been a part of it. The girls were the center of attention and were spoiled with beautiful dresses, gifts, hugs and kisses.
Pan de Vida is working on finishing the second floor above the kitchen. There will be a number of suites for larger families to live in. The workers are installing the roof and finishing off the front patio. Hopefully it will be ready for the spring teams to finish off in a number of months.
On to a more serious subject, about two years ago Aguascalientes was rated as one of the better Mexican cities to live in. I am not sure if that is true anymore. This past year there has been an escalation in the drug violence in Aguascalientes. There have been many conflicts between the police and drug lords. We have heard of many rumours and stories of things that have been happening. About three weeks ago a number of municipal cops killing three Federal police north of town because the Federal police were trying to stop the drug trade. The governor got the army involved and ordered an internal review of all the Municipal police. Numerous good cops have been killed this year resulting in more of a police presence in the city. Fortunately no civilians have been caught in the cross fire.
We have never been in danger but the situation has got us a little concerned at times. We know that God is in control of all things and so we put our trust in him.
August 2008
On August 9th a mission team from my home church of Langley BC arrived. The team helped tie down the wire mesh for the third floor roof to prepare for the August 12th concrete pour. And what a great day it was! The weather was cloudy, just right so that the cement wouldn't dry out to fast. In four hours the whole third storey roof was poured. The team was instrumental in helping make the concrete pour go smoothly and efficiently.
We thank God for being able to reach this goal and for protecting all the workers who have helped on this project.
From August 13 to September 2 Ana, Benjamin and I visited Canada. We had a family reunion for a week which was the highlight of the trip. The visits to Canada always seem to go by so quick because of all that we have to do while we are there, from being in meetings, doing paperwork, giving presentations and hanging out with friends. However it is always a blessing to be back in my home country.
Dulce Refugio has just started to rent the home which is beside the girl's house. Now there are three homes that are being rented for the use of the kids.
The new house has two floors. On the second floor is where we have 2 classrooms for about 8 kids. These kids do not go to regular school because they are behind in their studies. These classrooms are a huge blessing since we didn't have any room in the other homes for a proper teaching environment. Ana, my wife, Jessica from Pan de Vida and Iliana are the teachers of the school. Marcos is also staying on the second floor since he now has more of a secretary roll in the orphanage. He also is just taking care of the older kids (over 8 years old), who are staying on the first floor of the home, instead of all of the boys like before.
The construction is coming along really well. With the completion of the third floor of the girl's dorm we can now start on finishing the inside of the building.
We expect that it will take about a year to finish completely the inside of the building. We are giving a year for this because we don't want to move the kids to the new site because of the disruption it will cause for the kids in their schooling. Also we have to build the office building in order to install the transformer for the property, which will go on the office roof. There are also other jobs that have to be done before the transition occurs. We have to dig water cisterns, finish the landscaping, start building the shops which will be used for storage initially and numerous other finishing details.
Even though we only have the girl's dorm built the boys will be moving on site as well. The older boys will stay in the basement of the girl's dorm and the youngest boys on the first floor. Most of the girls will be staying on the second floor of the girl's dorm.
A praise item: We have nine teams confirmed for next year with a possibility of 3 to 4 more signing on. What a blessing to have this interest in the Children's ministry. Pretty soon I will have to turn away teams since we won't have a time slot for them, something I am not looking forward to. If we don't then all the volunteers who have an active roll with the teams will get burnt out.
July 2008
On July 5 Dulce Refugio celebrated its 6th anniversary. Marce organized a celebration with some praise and worship along with a great dinner. It is great to see how much Dulce Refugio has grown and developed over the past six years. It was started with ten children and rented home. Now there are over thirty children, two rented facilities and a new orphanage being built. There have been many different challenges in these six years but none that were too great for our heavenly Father. We are very thankful to God in how he has provided for the needs of the orphanage.
Cliff Wiebe and his son came to visit for a week in the beginning of July. Cliff used to work for Samaritan's Purse and he helped send the first Samaritan's Purse teams to Dulce Refugio. Cliff wanted some father/son bonding time so he thought it would be a good idea to go on a mission trip. It was good to be able to show him first hand what was happening at Dulce Refugio. While he was here he gave a presentation on team management to some local pastors. I hope that the pastors found the presentation useful to their ministries.
Over the summer months a lot of volunteers come through the doors of Dulce Refugio to help. It is always sad to see them go because just as you are getting to know them they have to leave, however a lasting connection is made and memories worth a life time. And so we had to say goodbye to the Orphanos interns, who had a great time of learning and growing in the Lord, and at the same time we opened the doors to Nathan Moes from my home church in Langley BC as well as to Carolyn from Nova Scotia.
On July 12 Dulce Refugio had the privilege of hosting 100 employees from a local company called Softtek to help do some construction work. This company has 1000 employees in Aguascalientes and a total of 5000 in Mexico. They do the technical computer support work for General Electric. This company heard about Dulce Refugio 6 years ago through a radio program promoting the orphanage. They have helped in various ways ever since.
In three hours the basketball court and side walk in front of the girl's dorm were poured. What a blessing to have so many people to help to get this project done. We were concerned at first about the weather since it has been raining a lot but thankfully it was a sunny day. If it had rained while we were pouring then the concrete would have been damaged. Another issue we faced was that the city water supply was turned off so we were concerned that we would run out of water while we were making the cement. But God is good and the water came on again right as we started to make the cement. We give thanks to our heavenly father for making the day such a success!
Over the past month we have been making the concrete beams for the roof of the last floor of the girl's dorm. We are busy getting the roof prepared for the pour which we have planned for August 12th. The Nico Canadian Reformed team will be arriving Lord willing on August 9th so they will play a crucial roll in this big project. Duane and I are also looking forward to hosting this team since it is the first team to come from my home church. We pray that the team will learn many things in their time here.
June 2008
In the beginning of June we had to say goodbye to Sarah Godrey, a long time volunteer at Dulce Refugio. She moved back to the States to teach for a year. She was a great help teaching, taking care of Ricky and the other children and being a Christian example to those around her. We pray that Sarah will have a smooth transition to her life back in the States.
The children wrote goodbye messages on the balloons for Sarah (which they later had fun popping). Marce put on a goodbye puppet show and everyone enjoyed pizza and pop a little later on.
In June a very special day is celebrated at the local schools in Mexico. This day was Father's day. This meant that the four Dulce Refugio children who were in Kindergarten had a father's day party. However the rule was that they couldn't go to this party unless they took their fathers with them. The kids could not obviously do this since some of them do not even have a personal relationship with their fathers (I noticed later that this rule was not strictly enforced since there were other kids without their dads present). I was asked if I would be able to go, so from 9 to 11 o'clock I was the adopted Dad for the four kids. I felt really honoured to have that privilege, especially since this is my first year of celebrating being a Dad as well.
I felt a little awkward at first since I was the only white "dad" among all the Mexican Dads. The children sang to all the Dads and then each child made a card with their Dad. Little Juan grabbed my hand before anyone else could so I went with him to his class. I felt bad that I couldn't be with all the kids at once since they are in different class rooms. After the card making session there were sandwiches for everyone. I think that it is in times like these that the children feel alone and maybe betrayed by their parents for not being there for them.
Well the rainy season has come with a vengeance. We have had a number of thunder storms already so it looks like it will be a wet year. In front of our home that we are renting the street has been like a river because of so much rain falling during these thunder storms. Thankfully our home has not been in danger of flooding. For those who are wondering, June to November is the rainy season in Mexico. The summers are actually cooler then spring because the rains cool everything down. A nice relief after high 30 degree temperatures in the month of May!
On June 7th, Dulce Refugio welcomed two interns from the US who came through an organisation called Orphanos. This organisation also helps direct funding that comes from our American supporters to Children of Hope. These two interns will be here for about two months learning about how an orphanage works and getting their hands dirty with the many chores that have to be done.
On June 20 the Faith Evangelical Mission team from North Carolina arrived for a nine day mission trip. They were supposed to arrive the day before but they had an unexpected day layover in the Dallas airport. We were thankful that they arrived safely. They were busy with making lots of concrete, painting, digging, and sanding. One of the team members painted a beautiful mural on the outside of the kitchen building. We hope that it will stand up against the elements so we can enjoy it for many years to come.
May 2008
It has been a little over two years since the foundations for the girl's dorm were first dug. Thirteen teams from all over Canada and the United States have worked on this building since that time. I look at it and I am filled with awe at how God has provided. The text in Matthew 6: 25-34 is so applicable to how this building was built. It is our human nature to worry and not put our trust in God to provide. I know I have learned a lot from having the privilege to work on this building and to meet all the people who have helped build it.
Lord willing in about a year the building will be finished and the sound of children's voices will be reverberating through its walls. Wow what a blessing indeed!
A number of weeks ago Ana and I visited Pan de Vida after a lengthy absence. Pan de Vida has a very special place in our hearts so we enjoy visiting and catching up with everyone there.
Here is a portion of the Pan de Vida quarterly newsletter written by the director Dario Hilbrands.
This year we celebrate the conclusion of four years with our bachelor's degree in teaching. We have three students that have completed the entire program and will be awarded their teaching diploma. A very hearty "well done" to Yéssica, Rubén and Mónica! We are also very happy with the six students that have finished their high school (Irma, Gabriela, Lupillo, Lucy, Olimpia and Chayo) as well as the others who have finished their Jr. High, primary and kindergarten.
We have invited the president of Edinburg Theological Seminary, Acero Valencia, to be our graduation speaker the 28th of June at 11:00; all are invited to participate in the first graduation to be held in our new auditorium. We anticipate a glorious time, as usual, with all of the classes participating. This coming school year we have appointed a new rector for ILMES (our teacher ed. program), José Lucero. We are confident that his experience and proven ability will serve us well. I will continue to teach, but with a reduced administrative load.
This summer we are anticipating the arrival of several groups and individual volunteers as we are now in two homes. At our last writing we explained the possibility of moving the boys to another place that has been offered to us by the State Social Agency (DIF). Since that time we have moved 27 boys to the new home with plans to send the other 33 at the end of the school year. We are waiting for adequate transportation for both homes. We feel that this is a tremendous opportunity for growth and to impact the local government officials.
There is a couple who is taking care of the boys in this new home. Their names are Geno and Agustine. They have helped at Pan de Vida for a number of years now. It has been a huge leap of faith for them to go and help in this new home. They are the only couple living at the site taking care of the 27 boys. Thankfully the older boys, age 15 to 20 are taking on more responsibility and making sure the younger kids are dressed properly and ready for the day's events. To me this couple is such a living example of faith and the Christian walk. I am very grateful for my friendship with them.
April 2008
On April 5th Dulce Refugio welcomed the second team from the States. Nate and Trudy, a couple who helped previously on the construction project in 2006, brought a team down from their home church in Ohio. The team started tiling in the basement of the girl's dorm as well as helped pour over 100 feet of concrete beams for the third floor. In the week they were here they accomplished a lot of work. What a blessing!
On April 16 Brian Heppner lead a team from Pan de Vida to Dulce Refugio for a day to introduce them to the ministry. It was great to meet this team, most of whom were relatives of Brian or acquaintances. It is so important to increase the awareness of the work at Dulce Refugio so more people learn of what God is doing in this ministry. It is a huge blessing to be a part of seeing God working in taking care of the children in Mexico. A big THANK YOU goes to all those who have helped financially the work at Dulce Refugio and Pan de Vida. I pray that one day you can see first hand the impact of your donations.
At the end of April Ana and I took a number of days off to relax from the children's ministry. We went to the west coast of Mexico to absorb some sunshine on the many beaches in Mexico. While on this holiday we made a detour to visit a missionary working in Tepic, north of Puerto Vallarta. Pastor Richard Bout from the URC in Ontario is working on setting up a local church there. It was great to connect with him and his family and to build some connections. It was very uplifting to meet with those from the similar church background and to lift each other up in the Lord and in the work that we are involved in.
On May 3 Dulce Refugio hosted the "Day of the Child" an event that celebrates children. The event was hosted at the new site of the orphanage. The event started at 12:00 pm but neighbourhood families lined up for hours before. About 500 kids were treated to games, food, candy and most important of all, the gospel message. This has been the 5th year that Marce has hosted the party. There were about 5 or 6 different stations with different games. A big thank you goes to those volunteers who had to stand for hours under the hot sun supervising the kids.
We are very grateful to God for being able to put on an event like this. Dulce Refugio is blessed so much that it has enough not only for the 35 children in its own home but also for all the 500 children who came and visited. Praise the Lord!
All the bricks for the three floors of the girl's dorm have been laid. What a relief to get that part of the building project finished! Now only 80 meters of concrete beam need to be poured by hand and then the final roof can be installed! Currently there are only a few volunteers at the construction site. In the middle of June is when the summer rush of teams and volunteers will start so it is nice to have a little breather now.
March 2008
On March 15 the King's School mission team from Langley BC arrived. My Dad, who is the principal of this school, was helping to lead this team. Ana and I were obviously really looking forward to the arrival of this team since my parents would be coming as well. This was also their first time seeing their new grandson.
The team was very busy with laying bricks, preparing the walls of the kitchen and basement of the girl's dorm for painting, bending rebar, pouring cement and much more. The team had a very productive time and learned a lot from interacting with the kids, doing outreaches with local pastors and seeing the local sites.
One event that the team held, which stands out above them all, was the Easter egg hunt. On Good Friday, all the kids went to the construction site and were treated to an afternoon of games, food and fellowship. It was the first Easter egg hunt for most, if not all the kids. In Mexico there isn't much commercialism with the Easter holidays in terms of the Easter bunny and eggs.
With all the teams that have visited us over the past two months a lot has been accomplished on the construction site. The third floor of the girl's dorm is well on its way to having all its walls put up. We have been having some difficulty finding a Mexican worker. We hired a Mexican to lay the cinder block for the walls but he only lasted for a day and didn't come back. Despite this set back the teams stepped right in and laid about 3/4 of the walls, with very few of them having ever laid a brick before. We thank God for sending all the people to help us with this construction project.
