Hogar de Esperanza continues to grow every month.  We are reaching and loving more kids, providing more jobs, giving water to those in need and bringing hope to the otherwise hopeless.  As the ministry grows, you may notice some changes.  In Peru, this means new staff, different kids, more volunteers and new programs.  In the United States it means that things may look a little different.

This past month we have updated our website.  A team of staff and volunteers worked on updating information, text and pictures.  This was a big task.  Please visit our page at www.hogardeesperanza.com and check out the updates.  I am grateful to Paul Roy who created and designed our original webpage and volunteered to keep it updated for so many years and is now working on the development of another web site for me.  Our website is an important tool to spreading the work of the orphanage.  THANK YOU!

Tim and Andrea Brooks adopted three daughters from the orphanage four years ago. The adopted daughters have taken on a project to help other orphans around the world. A television news crew came to their house and shot the following video and it really made my day.  http://illinoishomepage.net/media_player.php?media_id=43231.

I was in Peru this month, and there was a show down at the OK Coral between the Hatfields and the McCoys.  As it developed, it got serious. The hatred between the two sides of people receiving potable water is enormous, and they will do about anything to cause grief. Lately, the McCoys seized the pipeline and turned off the water to the Hatfields completely. The Hatfields’ leader threatened the McCoys with a pistol, and the police picked her up and threw her in jail for a month.  The Hatfields asked me if we could find a way to get them water service, again.  I thought of a plan where both the McCoys and the Hatfields could have water service – without the McCoys knowing about it. So, one night I went up with Alex, the Director of Projects, and some workers, and we started to change the system. It took us longer than we had thought, the McCoys discovered us, and they sent a mob.  The Hatfields tried to help by calling the police, but it is hard to control a mob throwing rocks. I got into the truck and took off. The policeman took my director to the police station and tried to calm the mob. The policeman could not figure out what was going on, so they made us stop work and wait for a court order. The problem with that is the McCoys do not care about the police nor court orders and, after the police left, they stole all of the tubing that would connect the Hatfields. I am now working with a lawyer to get an order from the court to hook up the Hatfields to the water system. It is so hard for me to see people so angry and out of control that they would deny water to others. I will keep you updated.

Next month, we hope to send out this newsletter a little differently. Our email list is growing and to help manage that, we will be using an email server to help send it out.  The message will still be my own, but we will be able to send the newsletter more efficiently and include pictures. Look for it coming from hogardeesperanza@gmail.com. In the meantime, for those who are familiar with RSS feeds, you can subscribe to our RSS feed on our website to get the latest newsletter delivered to your favorite RSS reader.

With all the appearances of change, please know that the heart of the ministry is still the same – giving a home to countless street children, sharing the love of Christ with those in need and preparing them for their future.  Thank you for your continued support.