The New Year

As we begin this New Year, we do so with a lot of joy, gratefulness and hope. The Lord has been faithful in taking us through some of the challenges that we have faced over the last little while, and we are confident that He will continue to guide us through the rest into the future.

There was an outpouring of generosity on the part of different people over the holiday season, and it was great to see the kids receive love from different groups and individuals through visits, programs and gifts. I have not been a close observer of past Christmases in the orphanage, but it seemed to me to be a great one for them. I was present for one of the Christmas programs done by a church with singing and acting and video. It was a clear explanation of the significance of the Nativity, and it was the quietest I had even seen the kids during a presentation. One night they even went out caroling on the bus and visited the central plaza in Trujillo to see the lights. This was the noisiest that I have ever seen the kids. Most buses here are loud because of mechanical issues, the lack of a muffler, etc, but this bus was noisy for other reasons as they pulled up to different houses and sang/shouted Christmas carols to different homes of people they know.

Administrative Help

As we start this New Year, it is also with a bit more uncertainty than normal. On January 1st, we entered into the unknown as far as finances are concerned. We wondered what the response would be, and we have to say, we are thankful for those who have given gifts that will more than take care of our first couple of months operating costs. This is wonderful, and we will take that as an encouragement from the Lord to continue to work on getting our act together and make sure that we are operating as efficiently as possible. To that end, we have been contacted by an accountant/administrator who has done several projects before, even working with orphanages in order to help them organize and wade through the regulations set up by the government here. His name is Filiberto Castillo. He came to us out of the blue, having heard about the difficulties here, and offered to help. He attends the Alliance church here in Trujillo, and his wife works for the government organization that oversees orphanages. Please pray for Filiberto and the rest of us as we work through the different issue and try and figure out what would be best for the children and the orphanage in general. There are often decisions that can be made which, although they would help the institution, may not be the best for the people involved. So, we want to be sure that we can go forward on all fronts, bettering both the institution and the care for the kids and those working with us.

New Way to Donate

We also have an important announcement to make in regard to your ability to help the children here. We have recently been introduced to a ministry in Tennessee called “Orphanos” and you can find out a bit more about them at their web site: http://www.orphanos.org/ In short, they are an organization that provides all the administration necessary for overseas children’s ministries that are receiving donations from North America. These people love the Lord and are serving Him sacrificially in this way and relieving others of the burden of trying to start up their own non-profit in the US. After a couple of meetings they have agreed to partner with us here and receive donations on our behalf. They are focused on children at risk ministries and so have an understanding of what we are trying to do. They are committed to checking in on us and providing an accountability that is appreciated. Another important fact is that because they are a fully supported ministry they offer their services without requiring any administration fee on your donations. We trust that those of you who are supporting Hogar de Esperanza will take advantage of this service. It has an obvious advantage in the donation process, but unfortunately, they cannot offer receipts for income tax to those of us who live in Canada.

Please continue to pray for us as we feel the pinch of not having volunteers during these months of summer vacations. They kids are not in school and it is hard to run summer programs when you are understaffed. We are also continuing to work on all of the other issues, the accreditation, security and land. Most of all, please pray the kids would come to understand the love that their Heavenly Father has for them through all that is being done for them here.

Steve Twinem (Board of Hogar de Esperanza)

Que Dios les bendiga,