Construction Pics

Here are some pictures showing the construction progress...


This is a picture of the new roof of the extended bedrooms downstairs. We built a roof (this roof) connecting the main house to the fence that goes around the yard. Under this roof will be more bedrooms. Hopefully soon!


This is the view of that same roof from the above picture. Except now you can locate what side of the house it's on. It's on the left side of the patio.

This is the fence in the front yard...




The last four pictures were the various different angles of the front of the house.

This is, or was, the volleyball court and in the background is the back fence. It is almost done...

This is what I meant by almost, there's just that little section at the end that needs to be built.

Woohoo!!

Legally Done!!!

Tessa and Hanna’s mom signed the papers! They can now stay at Casa Hogar without legal difficulties. Very exciting! Their mother looked very happy. Very peaceful about what she did today. I’m so glad she has realized that what she is doing is going to benefit her girls greatly. Thank you God!!!! His plan always works out well in the end. The paper she signed today gives Casa Hogar Eirene legal permission to take care of her girls and it also says that no one but her can take her girls out of here. Which is a good thing. The papers for the birth certificates are in process. First they have to file a paper that proves that they are not already registered. Once that is done, the mom will go to Cocula and sign the papers and DONE. They do not have one yet because neither of them was born in a hospital and the mom never bothered to register them. Please continue to pray for everyone. Please pray that the mom shows up when it is time to sign for the certificates, please pray for Hanna and her adjustment to our house and life. We also need to get the birth certificates for Luis, Javi, and Pati. We have been waiting for almost a year for their birth certificates. They finally found Laura’s about 2 months ago!
God is so good!

...and then their were 13!

The papers are signed!!! The girls are here and the mother got to see them today. She was very pleased at how well the girls are doing and happy to have them continue to stay somewhere safe. Please keep praying. There is one more step to take this week and all the papers should be set. Please pray that these last details will be tied up with no snags. Also please pray for all of us through this adjustment. The Cummings have had Hannah for almost two years and this is going to be a difficult transition for all involved. It is hard enough to make an adjustment to a new living situation when you come from a bad situation but it is even more difficult when you have to leave a home of love. We could feel your support of prayer today. Thank you so much and please keep going until Friday night.

Tessa and Hanna

We found Tessa and Hanna’s mom. She has to find her i.d. card before Wednesday at 10 a.m. when she is supposed to have a meeting where she will sign some papers so that the girls can legally stay here at the Casa Hogar. She has had to show up for a couple other meetings like this before but hasn’t. Also, if she doesn’t have her i.d. she can’t sign the papers that give Tessa and Hanna legal permission to be at the Casa Hogar. We need everyone’s prayers please!! This lady has to sign the papers before the end of the year or the girls will have to either be taken by the State and never seen again or go back to their grandma’s house where they were severely abused. Please pray that their mother will feel a burden to need to do the best thing for her girls, to protect them. Please pray that the person who has this lady’s papers will actually give them to her because at past times they have been held hostage by the lady’s mom. Please pray that she will feel the obligation she has as a mother to her girls!! Only with God’s help can this be accomplished!!! Thank you so much! We know that when God’s people pray He listens!!! May His will be done!

Acosta Adventures September 2009!

Benefit Concert – If any of you live near or would like to visit New York City, there will be a benefit concert to support our children’s shelter, Casa Hogar. The name of the concert is ‘Songs for Shoes’. We would love for you to be able to attend! It will be on November 8th at St. Mark’s Church in The East Village. Please let us know if you would like to attend or if you have any questions.

Elotizas
In our town there is an elote (grilled corn on the cob) season. It lasts about 3 weeks max before the corn gets too hard to prepare this way. During that time, Chuy likes to invite large groups of people over to enjoy this once a year treat. One of the groups that came was our church from Guadalajara. About 120 people in all attended, not only from church but also some of the youth of our home town of Camichines. We had a volleyball tournament and it was a blast! The next day an orphanage from the city came for the afternoon, ate elotes and played on the trampoline. In total on those two days 700 elotes were eaten or taken home!

Visitors
This month Lacy arrived! She will be here for 10 months! She is a huge help and has adjusted quickly! The Thennes family is also here visiting from McHenry, IL! They can only stay for a little while but we are thrilled to have them here!

Youth Group
Youth Group has been great! Last week, 22 youth (ages 12-18) attended! This was the most yet. This week we had the Ramirez family come from Guadalajara to lead youth group. It was good time!

Kids Club
Kids Club is also doing well. We have some new kids coming since we had Vacation Bible School in August. There are an average of 40 children that come every week. Wow! Those kids are sooo cute!! Right now they are learning about serving others according to Christ’s example and about being salt and light in this world. We always try to give ideas of how to behave like Christ. Please pray for the children as they really undergo much teasing for coming here. Our prayer is that the changes that occur in their lives will be why more children want to come and learn about Jesus and how much He loves them.

Construction
This month we didn’t do very much construction. We did work on the outer fence quite a bit, but that’s about it. We are trying to finish the fence before moving on to other projects because, if we don’t have a fence, Casa Hogar will not pass inspection.

Children
Please pray for the children who are in our care at the moment. Laura, Luis, Javier and Pati (siblings) have now been here over 9 months. They are doing very well and learning to read and do basic math. We saw Luis finally turn a corner this summer and become a bit more confident. He really is terribly nervous and always seemed afraid but we see much change in him, Praise God! We still do not have any birth certificates for them. This means that, according to the government, they do not exist. That means we cannot ever place them in a school (not that we mind home schooling), or find families to adopt them. Their mother disappeared in February but we feel she may show up when the new municipal president gets into office and try to claim the children. Please pray that all the papers will be in order so that she will need to get the help she needs before they even think about letting her see them. The new president of our municipality is one of the people responsible for the slanderous article written about Eirene A.C. (the non-profit organization with which we work) and Chuy. They claimed that DIF only took her children away because they were poor. This is not the truth, as you know. They were very neglected and abused.

Tessa has been here since June and is thriving. We are at a critical point with her situation (and her sister Hannah who is still with the Cummings family). It will not be possible for the Cummings family to adopt the girls due to the girls’ family members causing problems and not allowing the mom to get birth certificates for them nor sign them over for adoption. We now have to press formal charges for the abuse the children endured before they were rescued. Please, please pray the officials will see the truth, do their job, and allow the girls to stay here. The other options are that they will have to go to an orphanage in the city or back with the family that caused them so much pain.

Our Psalm of Encouragement in these matters…
Psalm 37: 3-9 - Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret- it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

Prayer Requests
Please pray regarding all the above mentioned situations and that:
We will be sensitive to following God’s plans and not our own.
We will be continually in His Word.
God will work in the heart of those needed to serve.
God will supply volunteers to teach, care for children, and most urgent, help finish the construction.
All will stay healthy during the present cold season.
God will heal Chuy’s wrist, Amy’s back, and T.J.’s knee.
God will bless the Cummings and their new baby with rest and health.
The new plant of the church in the city will go smoothly. For wisdom for the Robertson family in this process.

Kooky Beliefs of Camichines: If you eat cucumbers and drink milk in the same meal you will surely die.

Construction Pictures July August 2009

WOW! Stairs!!!

Newsletter (Acosta Adventures) July August 2009

Hi All, Arlene wrote the newsletter this month with pics and all! and we could not send it so we sent it as text. We will get new pics on the blog of the construction and children on Thursday and Friday so check it out!
Our other blog address is http://casahogareirene.blogspot.com/

Volunteers!
This summer we were blessed with some great people who came to volunteer. There was Jenny who was not only a great teacher for the kids of the Casa Hogar but also a great help around the house. There was also Katie who was a fabulous help with whatever mom needed done. She also helped out a lot with the kids. Evan also came this summer and he helped with tutoring and such. Liz just left today. She helped out and learned much. Lacy is soon to come. There were also a couple groups that came down. The one from Virginia came down for a week and did construction in the morning and VBS in the afternoon. While they were here they put up the patio roof!!!! Now even when it’s raining we can have Kid’s Club outside. They also did a couple other little projects. The VBS went great! On the first day there were 68 and on the last day there were 90!! That is a lot of kids considering that in the beginning of this year pretty much the whole town was against us due to the children coming to live here. A doctor group from NJ came for one day and saw people for general health checks and dental work. Then, there was a group that came from Guadalajara. They were here for a few hours last Saturday and got a lot accomplished! They helped dig the foundation for an outdoor bathroom. Which will be used for the ministry. They cut and straightened some rebars to be used in construction, moved sand, and painted the garbage cans. Plus a couple other little projects! Some albañiles from Santa Ana came for a few days this past week and also got a lot accomplished. They worked on the foundation for the outdoor bathroom, plastered the stair way, and put up some second story walls!

Construction
Since I already mentioned what was accomplished construction-wise above, here I will just write what is to come. Which is pretty much the same thing in every newsletter… finish the upstairs so that we have more room for kids, then start another building in the yard. We also want to finish the outdoor bathrooms. I said bathrooms because there will be one for girls and one for boys.

Kiddos
The kids are doing great! Learning and speaking a ton of English now. With the whole situation we are still just waiting for the Consejo Familiar to come and inspect everything. In the mean time the kids are just playing, learning and being normal kids. Well, as normal as you can get at our house, which isn’t very normal. : )

Prayer requests·
That we will grow in the Lord and follow His plan for our lives.· For mom because she is in physical pain right now which in turn is stressful for her (and everyone else….when mom is down are we not all down??)· For the kids, the little ones and the big ones, and the little kids’ situation in general.· For health for everyone.· For the youth of Camichines, just that God will soften their hearts and give them a desire for Him.

If you feel God is leading you to partner in this ministry…How can you help?Prayers are first on the list, God is in control and we appreciate all prayers sent His way concerning the ministry here! Please note that there are now 2 different donation options. One is for the basic ministry here and the Acosta family and the other is specifically for building and supporting the orphanage.If you feel that God is leading you to support our family and all the other ministries in Camichines: Checks can be made and mailed to:
New Vision Community Church – Laredo
3119 N. Meadow Ave
Laredo, Texas 78040
Please attach a typed note stating that it is a donation for The Acosta Family in Camichines, Jalisco Mexico and your personal information (Name, address, phone and email address.) Also, if you could email us to let us know that you sent something (unless you would like to be anonymous), that would help.
If you are interested in sending a donation for the construction/support of the orphanage/foster care, you can make a check to and send it to:
Reforma Ministries
10 Gate House Road
Ft Lauderdale, FL 33308
Please put “Eirene – Orphanage” in the memo.

This is a registered 501c3 and can also be a tax deductible donation as is the church.

You are all part of the ministry here. The work could not be done without your prayers and support. Thank you so very much and may God Bless You! The Acosta Family <><

A Roof on the Patio!

This past week we had an amazing team from Virginia come to Camichines. They were a huge blessing. They helped us put a roof on the patio, start another fence, and did V.B.S. for the kids in town. Between 67 and 90 kids came every day to V.B.S..

This is a pic of the beams that hold up the patio roof.

This is a pic of the patio roof all done (well, very, very close to done)

This is a pic of the fence.

This is a pic of V.B.S., this was the first day.

Good news! (I think)

We have all our paperwork in order for now. Now pray that the Consejo Familiar will feel that it is ok for them to stay here with us. They have the final word. They are the office in charge of placing all the children in shelters or for adoption. This is the beginning of what we hope will be a good relationship with them.

Prayers Please!!!

PLEASE PRAY! The gov officials FINALLY came to take some of the report of the children BUT it is now very possible that they will have to go to an institution in the city where they will probably be split up. God is in control! Please pray for what is best for them and that all will be in order with papers, etc. That we pass inspection(s)....This is a step that HAD to happen. We are grateful we had 7 months with them instead of only the one we were expecting and pray for more. It will break our hearts if they have to go but we knew it was a possibility from the start. Please pray for strength and knowledge for us as we go through this process. There is a chance they can stay but as this is all new to everyone in this area, we shall see. Our biggest desire is that they can be adopted by a christian family, all 4 together someday. Not an easy thing here but as I said before God is in control!!!

Thank you,
Amy and Chuy