Hope House Christmas
Surprise: A Challenge
UPDATE: December 2. We had a Shopping Trip to Guadalajara on Friday, and I asked Rodney for some suggestions for gifts for the boys. His reply:
It's always good to hear from you Karen! As for a few small gift ideas
the boys would enjoy: small bottles of cologne, wallets, leather
bracelets, watches and anything with the soccer team from Guadalajara
"Las Chivas" logo.
So if you want to help out this Christmas, now you know what presents would be welcome. Again, you can drop them off at Casa Bullock (#12) in El Dorado, and our December participants can just bring gifts or donations to the seminar! Thanks to everyone for your help!
November 2011
By Karen McConnaughey
The October 29 Focus on Mexico group surpassed our greatest
hopes and delivered a wealth of Secret Santa 2011 gifts for our boys at Hope
House. Rodney Dutro, President and Co-Founder, Casa Hogar Una Esperanza en el Corazón, A. C., expressed his
gratitude in a letter below.
However…more is needed! And Rodney’s response to my
insistent question was:
Thank you. Karen. You also asked what else what we might
need based on the tremendous response we had to your first article.
School supplies are always welcome!
The other items we are currently low on are medicines: children's cough syrup,
children's Tylenol, children's cold medicine, pepto-bismol, etc.
Of course, clothes, tennis shoes
and donations are appreciated (and needed) as well!
So let’s see what we can do to make this a wonderful
Christmas.
Rodney Dutro's gratitude is expressed to the participants who brought items to our October 29th program:
The Hope House has been
tremendously blessed by the outpouring of generosity of the November Focus on Mexico group. A
simple "thank-you" doesn't adequately express our gratitude. This
amazing group donated a literal "mountain" of school supplies for our
boys. Their donation could not have been more timely and included several items
such as: felt pens, pencils, ball-point pens, highlighters, sharpeners, 20
calculators, pocket folders, dry erase markers, art supplies, pencil cases, 22
fantastic backpacks and a donation of $100 Mexican pesos. Every item we
desperately needed and were thrilled to receive. Public education in Mexico is not
free and we often struggle to meet each school's required lists of supplies.
These lists often include supplies for the school as well, such as: pens for
the teacher to grade papers with, copy paper for the school office and toilet
paper for the bathrooms.
L to R: Walt & Nancy Heine, Hope House, Steve and Greki Rosenberg, Rachel McKinney
The Hope House, located in Ixtlahuacan de los Membrillos, Jalisco, Mexico, is
dedicated to providing abandoned, abused, orphaned and poverty-stricken young
men ages 8 to 18 with a safe and loving home, the opportunity to receive an
education and a Christ-centered foundation so that they can have the hope of a
better future. The Hope House is a faith-based, non-profit, community outreach
founded by Shepherd’s Heart Ministries, Inc. in the Lake Chapala Region of
Jalisco, Mexico
and, as such, relies on the generosity of its supporters to continue providing
this much needed service in the area.
The generosity that sprang from the hearts of the November Focus on Mexico group is
making it possible to continue to positively impact our next generation. May
God richly bless you for your kindness.
Thank you, Focus! You guys are amazing.
Dios te bendiga,
Rodney
By Karen McConnaughey October 2011
All of us at Focus on Mexico are proud to be a part of
something bigger than ourselves once again this Christmas! We have a special
project going for the boys at Hope House
for whom we have a special fondness.
Hope House provides a safe and loving
home for boys that have been abandoned, orphaned and poverty-stricken and gives
them the education they need for a better future.
Those of you who live in the Lake Chapala
area know how easy it is to become a part of the community and help out in ways
you would never have imagined.
For instance…
- The Lake Chapala Baptist
Church is the
"milk church" for Hope House. They supply the milk for the home
as their congregation brings milk or donates money to purchase milk.
- Three Rotary Clubs (not including Rotary
International) (Langley,
British Columbia, Canada and Lake Chapala)
have donated many items, including a van and workshop tools to the boys of
Hope House. They were: Rotary Club of Ajijic, Rotary Club of Langley,
Canada and Rotary Club of Langley Central, Canada. Focus on Mexico is so pleased and proud that David
Truman (a Focus Alumni), when he was on the Focus Program in 2008,
heard from one of our Guest Speakers about the Hope House Orphanage and
went back to Canada and managed to raise funds between the Rotary in B C
and the one here in Lake Chapala, to the tune of $42,000 U.S. and then
another $10,000 U.S. a little later. By the way, the three Rotary Clubs applied for a "matching fund grant" through Rotary International.
It is a very giving community. 
At Christmastime, however, it’s a challenge to make
sure that all the boys have a present to open and some good cheer during the
holidays. That’s where we come in…Focus on Mexico participants and alumni have
been instrumental in collecting items for the boys in the past, and we want to
make their Christmas extra special this year…our own unique Operation Santa
2011!
If you would like to donate to this worthy cause, we
have included a link to a PDF attachment of the boy’s ages and sizes. As a
clarification, the boys’ shoe sizes are listed in centimeters. Most shoe
boxes now in the United States
and Canada
have more than one sizing options on the box…showing standard sizes as well as
the size in centimeters. It shouldn’t be hard to find shoes to fit. For the
clothing, it might be best to go by the ages of the boys.
Melissa, an upcoming Focus on Mexico participant in the October program made an excellent suggestion:
Might I
suggest people let you know who and what they choose so that each boy
get something? I have coordinated several events like this for foster
kids so would be glad to help in any way I can
Melissa
Love, laugh, live
So, let us know what you will be bringing so we can coordinate to make sure every boy has something. Gosh, Melissa, you're not even here yet, and already you've added to our lives. Way to go!
IMPORTANT:
School Supplies. The boys definitely need all school supplies EXCEPT notebooks. The Ministry of
Education requires the schools to use a standard size.
If you would prefer to donate money, and help make
one of these boy’s dreams come true, go to HOPE HOUSE website where you can pay through PayPal. HOPE
HOUSE has the 501(c)(3) designation, which makes your
donation eligible for a tax benefit in the United
States and we’re double-checking with regard to Canada.
Designate your donation “Christmas.”
See below for more links to information on giving donations.
.jpg "Welcome from the boys of Hope House")
If you have time, look at the Hope House blog,
you will find many touching stories of the boys’ lives at Hope
House and realize what an awesome organization this is.
If you donate money, it will be used for
Christmas dinner for the boys and volunteers, as well as toys, clothes and
school supplies.
By the way, you can either donate through the web site or,
if you live in the Lake Chapala area, you can drop a check off at Casa
Bullock (Ray & Marie’s house in El
Dorado, #12).
If you want to donate clothes, shoes and supplies, Marie
and Ray will keep a box in their front entryway for donations other than money.
Feel free to drop your donations in there.
The box will be available until December 16, at which time
it will be given to the Hope House volunteers.
Thank you very much for your generosity and helping us to
make a few boys’ lives a little bit happier this holiday season.
We marvel at how God is touching lives at the Hope House, not only the boys, but the
staff and those who are in contact with the boys. In the words of Co-Founder
Kina Dutro: “It is an honor to work with
the boys. They give us so much and we pray that we are being used to give to
them.”
We hope you enjoy these wonderful photos of a visit
Focus on Mexico made with participants to Hope House.
The boys at Hope House were very pleased that we took the time to visit.
They showed off their skills to us.
The men who take of the boys showed their loving spirits too.
The boys couldn't stop smiling all day - radiant smiles!
They were proud to show us their bedrooms.
The cubbies where they keep their clothes. One of our Focus on Mexico alumni, Walt Heine, built these for them. It gives the boys a sense of ownership.
We visited their eating area and kitchen...
And marveled at the organizational skills!!
Their laundry facilities get used a lot...they're very organized about it too!
The boys added their special touches to
sprucing up the decor at Hope House, Lake Chapala.
Wonderful young men at Hope House - their second chance for a great life!
Lots of smiles that day!...
Smiles and laughter...
From all of us! It was a great day. We need to do it again!
Merry (early) Christmas!
Blessed is the season which
engages the whole
world in a conspiracy of love.--Hamilton Wright Mabie
"How to Donate" .pdf file: http://db.tt/dJPmojo2
The Shepherd's Heart website lists other ways of donating to Hope House as well: www.shmius.org.
Karen
McConnaughey:
Operations Manager for FocusOnMexico.
Focus On Mexico offers 8-Day
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