A very quick update

Greetings!
I apologize for the amount of grammatical/spelling errors in the last post! I re-read it, and was very embarrassed at the amount of mistakes I made! I went back and edited the post, so hopefully it will be more understandable for everyone now!
It’s been a long while since I’ve written, and I apologize yet again. As I’m sure many of you know, I came down with a virus called Dengue. The virus has slowed me down considerably, and has definitely made day to day life quite a bit more difficult. I am recovering very well, and I expect to be back to business within the next day or so. I really appreciate all the prayer support, without which I’m sure my recovery would have been less speedy.

There is quite a bit of new news, so I’ll jump right in and get started.
About two weeks ago we had a new arrival, a thirteen year old girl, seven months pregnant. Her name is Merlina, and she is an absolutely gorgeous girl. Her baby is due September 1st, so unfortunately Chaunte and I won’t be here to welcome the new boy or girl. Merlina is very happy to be here at Casa Grande. I rarely see her without a smile on her face, and I can tell that she has adjusted very quickly. The other girls were very friendly and receptive towards her, and they include her in all the daily activities. Merlina is a very shy girl, so it took me a while to break the ice with her. I believe the Coke and chips I bought her is what finally did it! Shortly thereafter she started greeting me every day (by the title “Tia Leandrie), and giving me hugs. We are able to hold short conversations, but my Spanish is still a little rough! It has been so nice to get to know her. Her story is very sad, and one that I unfortunately don’t have time to share at this moment.

We have had two new mission teams come and go. The first team did dental work on all the girls, and the children, and spent most of their time at Casa Grande. This is unusual for a team to do, because Barry and Penny Compton run two other big projects as well. Usually the teams divide their time between the feeding station, orphanage, and girl’s home, but this team’s main focus was to spend time with the girls. The next team was a construction team that took a HUGE chunk out of the work that was being done at the orphanage. They completely tiled two casitas, and put in toilets and sinks. They were here at the girl’s home some of the time, but their main focus was to get the construction projects finished. There is one more team coming in- a team ballet dancers. They arrive tomorrow, and plan on teaching the girls a dance, which the girls will hopefully be able to learn in time to perform before the team has to leave. These dancers are all teenage girls, who compete on a national level in the States. The girls here at the Casa Grande are ecstatic about the chance to learn a dance. Chaunte and I are also very excited to meet the girls, and can’t wait to see their dancing!

The house mother, Tia Nilda, as returned from her vacation quite refreshed. She has unfortunately come down with a stomach bug of some sort, so if you could keep her in your prayers, that would be fantastic. The girls are almost done with school for the summer, and I can tell they are getting very restless. Many of them are slacking on their school work, and it has been a struggle to keep them motivated. Hopefully they will realize the importance of finishing their school year strong, and with good grades. Their education is after all a very important part of their futures. Without it they will just return to the same situations and messes they were in before Gates of Hope.

I don’t have time to write all I want to, but I hope that this post has given you a good overview of where we’re standing.

We love you, and are so thankful for all the support!
Dios Le Bendiga!