House Beautiful!

We've been waiting so long to get pictures of Evelia's house and they finally arrived via email this week! Let's remember where we began. Here is Evelia's old house:
And here is the house that YOU built!

There are fancy houses in magazines and in neighborhoods across the country. Sure these houses are pretty, but we've never seen one as beautiful as this!


This house was built with your donations and prayers, and your love and compassion for a family you don’t even know. You asked God for his provision and He provided! Thanks for demonstrating Christ’s love to Evelia. Now each of you has a small piece of Nicaragua in your hearts. Your love is shown in every brick, in every smear or mortar, and in each steel cross beam.

Thank YOU for providing Evelia with a safe home for her family. You have given much and have changed her life forever. We can’t express our gratitude enough. It truly is the most beautiful house we've ever seen! Much love and thanks, Jenna and Sarah

Huge, and I mean HUGE NEWS people!

We just got confirmation that we received an extremely generous donation from a church that will cover the rest of the financial cost to build Evelia's House!!!! This is a HUGE deal and a MAJOR answer to prayer. I can't even begin to tell you how floored I am!

Here is the even better news! The donation was large enough that we are able to not only construct Evelia's house, but also with the donations from the blitz that came in over the weekend are now able to fix and rebuild the bathroom and latrine! This was a big concern to Jenna and I having looked at it in person. Could it get any better? Oh yes it could! Because of the amount of donations that came in from you, our faithful friends we now have EXCESS funds!!!! So here's the fun part. Now that we know we have extras we can use the money for food, clothing, pots and pans, bedding, whatever Evelia and her kids may need. Can you believe this is happening!?!??!?!? I know there are some of you who haven't donated but had planned on it. We still could use some additional funds to buy these little extras that we are so blessed to be able to give Evelia.

The blitz total came to $760 dollars over the course of this past week. With the latrine and bathroom the project total moved to $6,165. With all the donations we received we have $204 EXTRA dollars to spend on things that the family needs to furnish their new home. I will be updating this blog with pictures of the progress as I get them! As you know they stepped out in faith with a team to start the work when we didn't have all the money. Thanks Father for bringing in all the money and blessing us with extra!

On a personal note I would like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I'm overwhelmed by your love, your prayers, and your generosity, for a family you don't know. I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am to all of you for making this blessing to Evelia possible. Not only were we able to give Evelia a new house, but we are able to give her things to fill the space to make it a home for her family. Thank you for stepping out in faith, for giving when I know many of you have hardships of your own. I am thankful for every dollar, but mostly I am thankful for you.

To Jenna, my partner in all of this. I'm so glad you said something that day on the bus as we were driving away from Evelia's house. Thanks for always reassuring that God would find the money for us, for walking next to me through this whole project, and for your friendship.

And to my Lord, who I wrestled with, who I didn't always trust with my best, but who was always FAITHFUL to me. He is so amazing, and as I sang on Sunday, "with all creation I sing, Praise to the King of Kings, You are my everything, and I will adore you!"

the good, the bad, and the super scary

I unexpectedly ran into Sarah, or Saraita, or Otra Sarah, or Nicaragua Sarah, how ever you may know her, and she updated me on the progress of Evelia's house. She let me know that they have a team lined up for the project and have sent some money down to begin Evelia's house (GOOD!). I mentioned the fact that all the funds aren't in (BAD), but she told me that they were going to step out in faith and begin the work (SUPER SCARY) because of desperation of the situation. I physically went through that "good, bad, super scary" range of emotions as we were talking. Suddenly I felt the weight of the whole project resting on my shoulders, and the urgency set in.

When I set out to help with this project I didn't really know what to expect. I do remember thinking that $5,000 was such a small amount to give someone a proper roof, and to give a mom the peace of mind that her two kids would be safe and warm and dry. I can't imagine standing in her shoes each day, wondering what each day will bring. Will there be enough food for today? Will I be able to provide for my kids today? Am I a good mom even though our house could collapse at any moment?

These are the things that keep me awake at night, wondering if Evelia is okay, wondering if they were able to eat today, wondering if they can just hang on until this house is built. Sometimes I have trouble trusting God. My timing for this project was yesterday while His seems to be a bit longer. In this moment I'm really trying to trust that He has a plan. He knew Evelia long before I did. He loved her before I did. I'm trying to remember that.

In this moment I am asking you to trust with me. If God has laid Evelia on your heart I ask you to please give. Please give so that this mom will be able to go to sleep at night knowing that her kids are safe. Please help me in trusting that God will provide for Evelia who he loves very much.

Progress Report

A BIG, HUGE, ENORMOUS, HEARTFELT THANK YOU to all who have donated in the last few weeks! Your support for this project has been tremendous! For those who haven't had a chance to donate yet there is still time! Our total donations collected so far equals $1,238.00. We are so excited to have passed the $1,000 mark! We still have much work to do as we have $3,762.00 left to raise. Please help us raise this money to build Evelia and her family a new home! No donation is too small!

I thought it might be a good idea to share an email we got a month or so ago that paints a really vivid picture of Evelia's situation. I think it's easy for me to want to help with this project because I've stood inside her home. I've seen the conditions in which her family lives, but I understand that sometimes at a distance it's difficult to really comprehend what her struggles are.

This email is from a local missionary who we met while visiting.

Dear Sarah, Jenna, Wayne

Just wanted you to know that the first 2 donations have come in to NRN for this house! I am thrilled that you have taken on this challenge and this privilege of raising funds to build a house for "Francisca" as I call her. I am glad to know her full name. For two years, I have been praying that God would provide a suitable place for Francisca and her daughter to live with some measure of dignity. I have watched Francisca live daily, looking for any kind of work that she can find, in order to provide for her family. On occasions, she has brought gifts of fruit to me as I have been working in the community of Los Brasiles. It has been very humbling for me. Her eyes are always full of expectancy and love, even though you might think that those things would have been extinguished a long time ago because of the extremely difficult life that Francisca lives, having a grown daughter with mental disabilities that leave her functioning at the level of a small child. I would be shocked if Francisca could read and write, I have never asked about those things. Last week, as I was driving through the community, Francisca hailed me in my van and very shyly asked me if I could provide underwear for her and her daughter, as they had none. The next day I was able to deliver to her a bag full of women's clothing and some new underwear for her and her daughter, thanks be to God.

Anyway, I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking this on and I pray that God will stir any hearts to help you reach your goal.

Blessings,
Ginny

Please consider giving a donation if you haven't already. Please help us change a life!
Here are a couple more pictures of the inside sleeping area and outdoor cooking stove.

Project Updates

This blog was set up to give updates on the progress of the house project for Evelia in Managua, Nicaragua. If you don't know the story here's some background.

In January a team from Grace College set out on a cross-cultural field experience to Nicaragua. Our lives were forever changed when a few of us were invited to deliver food to families in need. On that day we met a woman named Evelia. When we arrived at her home (through the help of her pastor) she graciously invited us in, and accepted the gift of food with tears and smiles. It was evident that she was in great need and it didn't stop at merely the need for food.

Evelia lives in a one room dirt floor shack with her two children, a boy of 15 and a beautiful daughter who has special needs. Although we were in a very poor neighborhood, Evelia's house was clearly in the worst condition we'd seen that day, and frankly, throughout the entire trip. As we stood together inside her home we began to ask questions about her life. Evelia works very hard chopping wood and gathering peanuts to make ends meet. Her son does not attend school so that he can help work to provide for the family and help support his sister. There are no special needs programs in Nicaragua so Evelia and her son are her only support. Evelia was widowed several years ago and has taken up the burden to feed, and shelter her family. She's doing a wonderful job, but she needs our help!

Before we left we asked if there was anything she would like us to pray for. She asked us to pray that God would provide her the ability to fix her home. She told us that she was very concerned for the rainy season (June-August) and was worried that her house would fall down. I have to admit, as I stood there looking up the walls to the ceiling, and down to the floor I was concerned too. It was clear that in an effort to provide shelter for her children any and all things "usable" were fixed together to create their home. Cracks, rotting wood, holes, and missing pieces were becoming too evident. Surely the rainy season would wash them out.

As we left that day, I couldn't help but feel a sense of hopelessness. What would they do? How would they survive? I think that sometimes it's easy to dismiss a face that you see on the tv screen or a picture that you see in a newspaper, but how could I dismiss this? How could I turn away when I know her name? When I've held her hand? When I've seen her tears? When she's kissed my face? How could I walk away and give her nothing? It's funny how God works. Sometimes he not only stirs the heart of one, but of many. As we left her waving at the gate that day God also stirred the heart of my friend Jenna, and together we are working to give Evelia and her family a brighter future.

A fund has been set up through the Nicaraguan Resourse Network to build Evelia a new house. We are so excited to be a part of this project. Already we've seen God move people to donate and we can't wait to see him bring us through to the end. To build Evelia a new home will cost $5,000. This will build her a home that is in keeping with her neighborhood. It will be a one room home (that the family will section off themselves with fabric and sheets) with cement floors a roof that doesn't leak, and will provide security to the family. Evelia doesn't know that we're raising money, and we can't wait to hear about her reaction when she finds out!

So far we've raised over $600, so we've got some work to do. We recieved an email from Nicaragua yesterday that stated the urgency of the situation. Work teams are already available we just need the funds! Please consider donating to this cause. The rainy season is fast approaching and we hope to have the funds completed by then. I've added a DONATE NOW button via Paypal. Paypal is very secure and if you wish to donate in that way the money will be transfered to NRN. Please, please consider a donation. No donation is too small!

I'll be updating as we go so please check back frequently. Please also feel free to ask questions in the comment section. Thanks for coming along for the ride!

Here are some photos more will be uploaded later.


Jenna, Evelia, Sarah Evelia's House The front of the house



A View from Inside


Jenna with the whole family