Prayer requests

For a full update, read the post below. Just a few things to be praying for the team still in Guatemala:

1. Jill Rumbarger received a ring from one of the boys that she sponsors; it was a bit too big and fell off. Please pray that she is able to find this special keepsake.

2. The team already has a 7-8 hour layover tomorrow at the Dallas/Fortworth airport. Currently huge flakes of snow are coming down here in Michigan; please pray for no further delays for the team. Please pray also for safe travels (ride to the airport, plane ride, and ride home.)

3. Once again, please pray for all of the team members living in the houses today. They had a 16 hour day in the houses yesterday and another 16 hour day today. Pray also that the staff on the retreat is refreshed and that good decisions are made for the orphanage.

God bless you all! Your loved ones will be home soon.

Dia 9 (Day 10, but full day 9)

Buenas noches, otra vez!

Much has happened in the last two days! Group trip to Lake Atitlan, the despedida, and the start to the team's stays in the children's homes, and much more. There have been many tears, of joy and of pain. Our group shared a wonderful time of debriefing last night and prayed over the McDaniel's in the loss of their son's mother-in-law; we prayed over Kayla as she has been experiencing stomach pain; they prayed over the Muhleck family this morning for our travels home today; and they prayed over me (Dayna) as I have two days to recoop and prepare for my first semester away at school. Our team has grown so close, and it was sad for our family (the Muhleck's) to leave the rest of our family today. I look forward now, as you all do, to hearing what today and tomorrow will and have held for the rest of the team.

So, beginning with Tuesday: Tuesday was our team trip to Lake Atitlan. It was a fantastic team-bonding trip. We awoke in the 5am-ish range. We had a 3 hour drive there. Our bus driver Mario made it around some very sharp turns with lots of steep cliffs on the opposing side and thorugh a lot of sharp turns on tiny village roadways as he tried to figure out how to get the rest of the way to our destination. Much applause to him for his driving skills in Guatemala! We had many nerveracking moments on the way there and especially back, but God got us to our destinations safely.

Lake Atitlan is a lake surrounded by 3 volcanoes. It is absolutely breathtaking! We took a boat ride to three different villages. There are 12 villages total around the lake, and you can choose 3 to travel to. The first village was a good start to learn how persistent in selling items the Guatemalans are and how we must be able to say no; it was also an intro lesson to bartering. The second village was an experience; it seemed as though we were originally greeted warmly, but when we would buy no more there were young children that were talking very rudely at us. Please pray for that village. They need Jesus. The third village was the biggest of the three. We ate lunch before shopping there. Jane arrived at the lunch place in style; Tom found her a taxi to take her up the steep incline. Jane has been a great trooper on this trip with all the hills and steps that are to be traversed. She's a conquerer with Jesus! We all enjoyed nice meals and very clean bathrooms. We spent the most time in this village shopping.

We had a 3 hour wild drive back home. The bumpy bus ride was taking a toll on people's bodies, but we made it back safe. We enjoyed Taco Bell for dinner (they have play places in the Taco Bells in Guatemala.) Kevin saved his money for a feast of food; his tray was packed! The rest of the Forster family accidentally got their meals super-sized; the man behind the counter seemed to be getting a kick out of our minimal Spanish skills.

Wednesday was a day full of hard times and good times. This was the day the McDaniel's received the news about their son's mother-in-law. Please pray for comfort for their family. God is with them.

In the baby house, Marcia Forster finished helping the house mom put together a packet of information for all of the helpers that come to the house. That is a huge stepping stone for having consistency in how the baby house is run for years to come. Dayna and Kristen had a difficult time in the baby house in the morning, as it seemed that the house mom was trying to pass many responsibilities off in preparation for the retreat. The babies were completely resistent to listening to anyone but the Guatemalan helpers and the house mom. Please pray that that is not the case for the workers in the baby house for the last day of retreat tomorrow (Mike Rettler, Josh Rumbarger, Jill Rumbarger, Kayla Brown, and the SBU shift rotators.) The afternoon shift on Wednesday, Jane sang "Jesus Loves Me" for over an hour until her voice went hoarse to keep the children calm during their nap.

The men finished painting the school on Wednesday!! It looks amazing! Kevin, Kayla, and I think possibly someone else finished dusting out the library and reorganizing books. Mr. Rumbarger made a comment that it always seems like they run out of time before all the work is done. I know our team and SBU dug the trenches for the wall; hopefully SBU and the Guatemalan workers will be able to start constructing that soon.

Bryan Raycraft did something very special for the orphanage Wednesday. He went out with Mike Rumbarger, Tom, Edgar, and David; Bryan bought the soccer team new Jerseys and soccer socks. He also bought them a new soccer ball and was able to buy 5 pairs of cleats. Many of the players don't have cleats and have just been playing in regular shoes; not necessarily tennis shoes, but skateboarding shoes. This equipment is a huge blessing! When Edgar told the team the news, the boys surrounded Bryan with hugs.

Wednesday evening was the despedida. Each house made something and gifted us with a performance of sorts. Casa Promesa did a Hebrew dance. Casa Esperanza had a group of guys go up and dance; they looked like adorabl monkies. The baby house mom went up with one of the little boys who had drawn the picture on the card for our group, and the baby house mom sang a song for the group that, significantly, was the song she would sing the boy who drew the picture to sleep when he used to scream at night. Casa Alabanza had all the girls go up with their new shoes and sparkling sunglasses and model them for everyone. Casa Lamar had a young woman go up and do a worship dance solo for us that drew everyone into worship. Dayna and Kristen choreographed a dance for Casa Ester and performed it with them (they caught on so fast and danced beautifully!) I cannot recall was Casa Samuel did. I know that Casa Nuevo Pacto along with all the houses, whether they did something or just got up and said something, made a card for the group. The soccer team got up and gave a special thanks to the guys who have been playing soccer with them, and specifically to Bryan for the new equipment, giving him a jersey with al their names signed on it.

It was a beautiful night! The children are so precious and so loving. At the end of the night, children from Casa Samuel came around and grabbed each and every one of us and took us up to the front of the stage to be prayed over. It was hard to say good-bye at the end of the night.

My family and I (the Muhleck's) are home safe now! There were no glitches in travel whatsoever. We are praying for that same efficiency for the group coming home on Saturday, Tom McCarthy coming home on Monday, and Dana, Kayla, and Mrs. Rumbarger coming home on January 20th. One more day for retreat. Please pray for energy for the whole team. Please pray that the children's hearts would be softened and receptive to the instruction our teammates give. Please pray that the language barrier would not be an issue and that the children in the house would work with those from our team that are leading in the houses.

Ken and Jane McDaniels are in Casa Lamar (Girls 12-18)
Marcia and Dan Forster are in Casa Ester (Girls 12-18)
Bryan Raycraft and Kevin Forster are in Casa Nuevo Pacto (Boys 12-18)
Dana Rumbarger and (?) are in Casa Alabanza
Kristen Forster and Justin Rumbarger are in Casa Samuel (Boys and Girls post-toddler to 11?)
Mike McDonald and (?) are in Casa Esperanza
Mike Rettler, Josh Rumbarger, Jill Rumbarger, and Kayla brown are in Casa de los Anjelitos (the baby house)
Please forgive me. I cannot recall where Jon Forster, Mike Rumbarger. I'm sure one of them is in Esperanza and the other Alabanza.

Thank you for your continued prayers! I, Dayna, now pass of the responsibility of blogging to Mrs. Rumbarger. I look forward to hearing of their continued adventures at Casa Bernabe and how Jesus further touches the children's lives.

Please pray for each and every member as we come home that the changes in our heart would remain as we are reintroduced to the fast-paced and individualistic ways of the U.S.; pray that the changes in our hearts would take root and be permanent; that we would not slip back into the daily routine of things as they were before we left; that we would allow this experience to fully change us as God desires; that we would be the ones to take initiative and encourage community amongst our neighbors.

Blessings to all!

Dia 7

Buenas Noches!

Currently, we are waiting around to debrief as a group (as we try to do every night). Some of the members are still in the children's houses. During the staff meeting tonight, all the team members went to the houses they will be staying in during the staff retreat to keep an eye on the children.

Tomorrow we are looking forward to our team day adventure to Lake Atilcan. We will have a three hour bus drive (leaving at 6am) and then spend the day taking a boat ride from island to island and visiting different villages. It should be quite a cultural experience. Please pray for safety for the team.

Each day Dana has been serving in Casa Alabanza, helping take care of the children (toddler age.) Today, Mrs. Rumbarger bought crafts for them to make for their sponsors.

The guys almost finished painting the school. SBU should be able to finish it tomorrow. They also finished pouring concrete over the pipe that they were working on yesterday. Their initials are now etched in the concrete here at Casa Bernabe.

Mrs. Rumbarger and Dayna Muhleck started cleaning the library. Hopefully that project will be able to be finished Wednesday. The books are covered with dust from the new roofing job that was done on the school prior to our coming here.

There continue to be daily soccer games. Lately they have been mixing the teams: Guatemalans, Cornerstone, and SBU. The teams are much more equal now.

Last night, Mr. and Mrs. Rumbarger went to watch Casa Lamar while the house parents went out. They watched "How to Train A Dragon." Mrs. Rumbarger had a very special time with the girls, and specifically one of their sponsored girls.

Mike Rettler, Mike McDonald, and Bryan Raycraft conquered a gorge the other day. Major props to them and praise God for safety! Today Matt Muhleck, Jon Forster, Mike McDonald, Kristen Forster, and Dayna Muhleck took a crack at it. God really had his hands on all that tried this feat. Dayna and Kristen couldn't get past a certain unstable point, so Mike McDonald helped us get back to the top and hoisted us up... that was enough of an adventure in itself.

Ken McDaniels continue to gets through the houses with dentistry. Kristen took the first half of the day to translate for him, and Dana took the second half. Our team works so well together! God is good! All the time!

Kristen and Dayna started teaching the girls in Casa Ester a dance tonight to "Correre" on a Spanish Hillsong CD called "Con Todo." The girls loved it! We will teach them the rest on Wednesday, and they would like to perform it for the group at the despedida ("farewell" party) on Wednesday.

I hope this update finds you all well. Thank you for your support and continued prayers. Dios te bendiga! (God bless you!)

IMPORTANT: To see PICTURES, check out Laura Muhleck's facebook.

Dia 6

Hola! Feliz ano nuevo!

This is our 6th full day here, 7th day total. We are more than halfway through our missions trip; so far it feels as though we have been here forever, but I bet the second half of this trip is going to fly by, and coming back home is going to come oh so soon. Sounds wonderful to see everyone again, but hard to think of the day we have to say good-bye to these children, not knowing when we will see them again.

The New Year's Eve party was a huge success! Mass chaos, but so fun! The preparation was a bit stressful for the food as well as the entertainment, but it all came together. Many of the team members went to the houses they will be staying at during the staff retreat for dinner. A group of us also stayed in the normal eating area with our guests: Jesus de mi Cristo. It was so wonderful to see them again! They were ecstatic to see us again!

For the games New Year's Eve: There were four stations of games set up and four groups of children that came around to them. Only 2 of the games really worked: Duck duck goose (Pato, pato, gonzo) and playing with the parachute. Where's my chicken and a relay race with balls turned into chaos. The kids had so much fun, though. We had ages toddlers to 12 year olds until 9pm, then the older children came. When the older children came, we played Ninja and the kids caught on fast. Shortly after, we played a game of charades where Josh Rumbarger, Jon and Kevin Forster, Bryan Raycraft, and Mike Rettler were all contestants and they had to guess in Spanish what the chosen child was acting out. The catch is that not all of them know Spanish, so they had to ask the audience what certain things mean in English. They were very funny! After that game, Matt and Mike McDonald came up as "Minnie and Mickey." Basically, Matt had a girl's shirt on and, well, Mike was a guy as he normally is. Then two of the young men at the orphanage were blindfolded and they were Matt's and Mike's hands. Mike had to eat cereal with milk, shave his face, drink water, brush his teeth, and gel his hair. Matt (Minnie) had to eat breakfast, put make-up on, drink water, and brush his teeth. Matt's and Mike's facial expressions were hilarious and the young men being their arms did a good job getting them messy. After that, they played a few rounds of Airplane and Samurai and all the young and old kids gathered together and worshiped. Dana Rumbarger, Kayla, Josh Rumbarger, and a couple of the workers here led worship. After a couple of songs, different people would get up in pray; there was a mixture of English and Spanish prayers. Then at midnight, we went down to the soccer field and at exactly 12am they set fireworks off. They were incredible! It was a very unique way to bring in the New Year.

The first sicknesses have been experienced on our team. Dana Rumbarger was out yesterday with a headache, body aches, and the chills. Kayla came back to the room after serving in the baby house last night with a headache and chills; both Dana and Kayla are back to normal today. Mike Rettler and Mike McDonald experienced the same last night, and they are better today. And Kristen Forster got either food poisoning or another bug; she woke up sick at 5am and has been sleeping the whole day. As I write, she is getting back on her feet. 2 of the SBU team memebers experienced the same as Kristen; it's hard to say if it is a 24 hour flu or a reaction to the food. Please pray against these bugs spreading and against food poisoning.

The men got a slow start yesterday morning; it took them a while to find out their assignments and that was hard on them. However, once they got rolling, they all seemed to be doing great. Mike Rumbarger, Bob Muhleck, Bryan Raycraft, Mike Rettler, and Mike McDonald were all mixing and pouring cement over a pipe to keep it from getting damaged. They worked so well together and helped each other keep the momentum going; many great quotes were coming from that time. One off the top of my head: Bob Muhleck pointing to Mike Rettler and Mike's response, "Best from the west." "Beast from the east." The rest of the men did more trenching. Not to mention, every day when they take a break, they play with the children.

Yesterday Mrs. Rumbarger distributed the sponsor gifts. How beautiful! The children's faces light up! To them, sponsors are more than sponsors. It means so much to them to receive gifts and letters. All of the girls came in and sat around in Casa Lamar while each girl received their gift. They were all excited for each other, as well as excited for receiving the gifts. Kristen Forster and one of the workers took turns translating the English letters. There was so much joy! In Casa Alabanza the children started playing with their gifts right away. The letters meant so much! One little girl could not leave her letter sitting anywhere. She had to carry it all around with her. I now see how important it is to the children to have a relationship with their sponsors. It means the world to them!

A lot of euchre has been happening in the evenings, so that was enjoyed by many last night after the kids went to bed. Mrs. Rumbarger and Dana baby-sat the children of the house parents of Casa Alabanza (toddlers) while they went out; what a sweet treat for them. Dayna Muhleck and Kristen Forster spent a couple extra hours in the baby house last night watching two 4 month olds while the night shift lady went to a movie. That was a big change of pace in the baby house when usually we are all used to children and noise EVERYWHERE; it was silent.

Last night a group of 6 of us went down to the soccer field: Mike Rettler, Mike McDonald, Bryan Raycraft, Kevin Forster, Kristen Forster, and Dayna Muhleck. We experienced star crashing and had some great laughs about it! We took turns picking out a star to look at and spinning around as fast as we could, then when we could take no more, having a light shined in our face; you drop right to the ground when that happens. It was really funny to see how everyone spins in circles.

Every night the boys have story time with Mr. McDaniels in their room. Sounds like last night's story was quite a hit. He has been formulating stories throughout the day since to prepare for their nightly "story time."

Today is Sunday, so everyone has the day off of work, which means more play time with the children. We all took a walk with Casa Ester (girls 12-18 years old) to a look out where there is a beautiful view of the volcanoes and a valley below. Mr. McDaniels was picking flowers and putting them in all of the girl's hair. On our way back to the orphanage, we stopped at a little shop to get pop in a bag; literally they were bags like what you would put a goldfish in, and we drank pop out of them. Most of the pop stayed in the bags, but Mr. Forster had a little spill. The girls are precious! Mr. and Mrs. Forster are looking forward to staying with them during the staff retreat.

Earlier today we experienced a church service here. There was a translator, so the sermon was half as long as it could be, but it sounds like it was really good. Many of the women from our team along with women from SBU went down to the baby house to help bring all the children up to the church service. All 3 babies fell asleep during the service. They stayed through the praise music and then went back to the house during the sermon. The toddlers left at that time as well; Kayla, Dayna, and 3 SBU members played outside with them until the service was over.

Somehow despite the little sleep we all get, we all seem to be finding waves of energy. God is good!

Blessings to all!

Dia 4

Hola amigos!

We are into day four here at Casa Bernabe and in some ways it feels like it has been double that time. Our group continues to grow closer every day and the group continues to grow closer to the children.

Currently I can hear the praise band practicing for tonight's New Year's party, and I see our team and SBU all putting together large dishes of dinner for every house. The kitchen ladies made us breakfast and lunch, but after lunch they had the rest of the day off and we have been preparing dinner. Our team members have signed up for which houses they would like to stay the night at during the staff retreat (January 6th and 7th), so tonight, we will take dinner to and eat with the houses we will be staying at those two days.

Two of our teammates now have experienced dehydration: Bryan Raycraft (Tuesday over the period when he dealt with the barbed wire instance) and Kevin Forster (Wednesday after working all day and playing sports for almost 4 hours.) We are all reminded and taking very seriously how important drinking enough water is. Aside from some minor scrapes among some of the men, the other injury our team has experienced is Mr. McDaniel's sprained ankle last night. Today he is walking around, working fervently as a dentist, and helping in the kitchen. God has been good to us, blessing us with Marcia Forster as our nurse, as well as keeping His healing hand upon those injured. Please pray for no more injuries.

Edgar, the leading work man, arrived Tuesday. The men have had their hands full since. Yesterday SBU and the Cornerstone men were working hard in the trenches, preparing to put the wall up. Some have been back at that day, and some of us have been painting the school. A washer and dryer amongst other items were picked up from a woman yesterday. In the same day, the baby house mom had said how their house would be needing a new washer very soon. Praise God for a need met!

Daily, SBU is playing the Guatemalan's in soccer. The Guatemalan's always beat SBU, but yesterday's game came down to a tie--Guatemala did score the last point, though. Our experienced soccer players, Mike Rettler, Kevin Forster, and Bryan Raycraft, have been a huge asset to their team.

Emotions ran high yesterday. It was a very difficult day in the baby house for all the women, but we praise God for the trials He is putting us through. There were many powerful praying sessions among the women yesterday. God is revealing His truth, and we pray that it is revealed to the women in the baby house as well.

On a higher note, we had a wonderful time at Casa Nuevo Pacto (boys 12-18) last night. We had a bonfire, made banana boats, and watched "Fireproof." A few of us played Monopoly during the movie with one of the young boys as well.

Mr. McDaniels has been busy doing dentistry for three days in a row now. Kristen Forster has been helping him translate. They were having fun with the girls from Casa Lamar and Casa Ester today, listening to music while they worked and dancing around. Mr. McDaniels has seen more than 5 of the houses, pulling teeth and doing dental examinations. What a blessing his gift has been to the orphanage!

I hope this blog finds you all doing well! Tomorrow we will have crossed into the New Year! We will be thinking of you all back home as many of us celebrate the New Year in a new way this year. God bless you all! Feliz Ano Nuevo!

Prayer requests:

• Prepare our hearts and the children's for the staff retreat as we will be in the homes with a book of rules, but no house parents.
• The barrier between the staff workers in the baby house to be gone.
• No more injuries.
• God is bigger than any communication barrier; please pray that God inspires new ways for those of us who don't speak any or much Spanish to connect with the children and workers.
• Specifically, that we would be able to reach out to and minister to the staff.
  
• Pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and His joy.
• Energy for the team as we are all growing tired; pray that we will not grow weary (Thank you for posting Isaiah 40!)
  

Un Dia

Saludos de Guatemala!

After a long day of travel, we safely arrived at Casa Bernabe Orphanage around 3:30pm (4:30pm Michigan time) yesterday. Our team met at Cornerstone at 2:30am; our first flight left at 6:30am; and by 9:30am when we arrived in Miami, it felt like more than half the day had gone by already. Many of us had no sleep or were on only a few hours worth during our travels. God has been gracious to us in restoring our energy and keeping our moods uplifted. Getting through the airport security, customs, etc. was completely uneventful, quick, and flowed smoothly. Praise God!

Upon our arrival, the Rumbarger family was warmly greeted by smiling faces and hugs from the children that know their faces and their hearts so very well. Our team received a tour of the orphanage. It is beautiful here! Rolling hills, warmth, sunshine, singing birds, and laughing children. There is joy everywhere! That joy can't help but be contagious. Each and every one of these children have a heartbreaking story; they have experienced things that no person should ever have to endure, but they are in a place where they are experiencing love and healing. God has blessed this orphanage mightily!

After the tour, the whole team spent some time in the baby house playing with children from 4 months old to 3 years old. During that time, Tony came and took a group of 6 (Kayla, Kristen Forster, Mike McDonald, and Matt, Laura, and Dayna Muhleck) to Jesus De Mi Casa, an orphanage about 30 minutes away. There are 12 children from the ages of 5 to 12 there. They do not receive many visitors, so Tony makes a point to visit them every couple of weeks and we were blessed to be a part of his trip there. The home is beautiful! The house parents are so kind, tender-hearted and loving! We played different renditions of dominoes with the children while Laura took individual sponsor pictures of the children. The house parents kindly shared a deliciously sweet Guatemalan beverage with us during that play time, then Tony had brought Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for the children to watch and the house parents served us all popcorn and pop. Tony and Matt took turns giving the children 3 possible flying rides, which he developed hand motions for them to tell him which ride they wanted. At the end of the evening, Mike ended up being an amusement park as well. Kristen and Kayla were warmly welcomed by one of the older girls in the orphanage; she was showing them all of her things and desired to gift them to Kristen and Kayla. Of course they declined, but what a beautiful change of pace from the greediness that we so often see at home.

While the 6 of us were at Jesus De Mi Casa, the rest of the team spent time playing outside with the children at Casa Bernabe and enjoying a delicious welcome meal.

Today, we were all up and going at 7am. For the most part, the whole team slept very well. Marcia and Dayna (me) took on the morning baby house shift. Laura Muhleck and Jane McDaniels are currently in their now. By later this afternoon Bob Muhleck and Justin Rumbarger had gone through 3 pick axes already, and another gentleman encountered the first team injury; his arm battled a spoke of barbed wire while moving rocks. Nurse Marcia Forster bandaged him up and aside from his arm aching a bit, the gentleman is well. The men were working extremely hard, wheelbarrowing heavy loads of rocks and dirt from one hill top to another to repair eroded landscape. Also, we are all learning the importance of staying hydrated.

While the men on our team waited for more work tools, Josh Rumbarger found himself battling the tickling of his mom and some of the little boys from Casa Esperanza. That eventually turned into a tickle war amongst many of the boys on our team (Mike Rettler, Mike McDonald, Josh Rumbarger, Justin Rumbarger, Kevin Forster, Jon Forster, Matt Muhleck, Bryan Raycraft, and Mr. Forster.) Mr. Forster brought about the idea of being a horse and the boys began claiming the men on our team as their horses saying, "Eres un caballo! Vamos a la guerra!" Translation: "You are a horse! Lets go to war!" Their playing and loving on the boys of Casa Esperanza was so beautiful to watch! The men on our team will be tired tonight, to say the least, but those memories made will be lasting.

The shoes that were donated were distributed today. Thank you for blessing the orphanage! Almost every child was able to get a pair of church shoes and play shoes. The house parents and their children were blessed by the shoe donations as well. There are approximately 10 that did not receive shoes that we will go out and buy shoes for.

Blessings to you all at home! You are loved and appreciated!

Prayer:

• For continual energy and refreshment.
• For the language not to be a communication barrier. (We are very thankful for those on our team that can speak Spanish and help translate; every little bit helps.)
• That the children from Jesus De Mi Casa can join Casa Bernabe on New Year's Eve for our party.
• For whatever needs need to be met at Casa Bernabe, to be met.
• For continual flexibility.
• For continual team bonding.
• Reprieve and refreshment for the house parents, especially the baby house mom.

"And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Romans 10:15




Greetings supporters!

48 days and counting until our team of 21 people from Cornerstone EPC travels to Casa Bernabe orphanage in Guatemala to serve alongside a team of 28 people from Southwest Baptist University. In the days leading up to our departure we are bonding as a team, prayerful about what God has in store for Casa Bernabe orphanage and our service there, learning about Guatemala, and raising funds as well as donations for the orphanage.

What will be doing in Guatemala? While we are there, we will be building a concrete wall around the perimeter of the orphanage by the medical clinic; assisting the house parents with the babies, toddlers, and young children; holding a New Year's Eve gathering for the children with games and a time of worship as we enter the new year; providing respite to the staff as they go on retreat for 2 days; and fulfilling any needs that may arise while we are there.

How can you help?

Please pray for us! Pray for team unity as we unite with the Southwest Baptist University. Pray for good relationships to be formed with the children and the staff at Casa Bernabe. Also pray that the language will not be a barrier. As we prepare for our time of service please pray that God will continue to grow our team and prepare our hearts for the work He has for us to do. Please pray that we would be open and flexibile to serving whatever needs arise at Casa Bernabe while we are there.

"Blessed are the flexibile for they shall not break." -Anonymous

Donate - Please consider the following items that are most needed at Casa Bernabe:

• NEW church or tennis shoes-sizes toddler through adult size 8. We are especially in need of larger sizes and boys shoes. No sandals please.
• Craft items
• Games that can be played with the Spanish speakers (i.e. Connect 4, Yahtzee, cards)
• Outdoor games (i.e. jump ropes, frisbees, soccer balls, sidewalk chalk)
• Band and music equipment (please contact for detailed list)
• Spanish-English dictionaries (pocket-sized)
• Spanish books and G rated movies
• Spanish Christian music
• Hair ties and barettes
• Kitchen Towels and Dish rags
• Backpacks and messenger bags
• Monetary donations for purchase of an industrial sized mixer and 2 microwaves for the orphanage.
• ALL DONATIONS will be collected via bins at the church entrances through December 12th.

Thank you so much for your support as we pursue God's calling to serve Him and share the love of Christ at Casa Bernabe Orphanage. We look forward to sharing more of the exciting things that God is doing with our team, through our team, and at Casa Bernabe.

Blessings,

Dayna Muhleck - Team blogger