Perfect 10

I count a lot here.
Don't worry, it's nothing too hard, just counting to see if we know where all the kids are. But over these 6 months, I constantly have to ask "how many kids do we have?" It's hard to know when to stop counting if you don't know the number your counting up to.

When I visited the Villa in June of 2009, there were 11 kids and 3 staff. When I returned in February 2010, there were the same 11 kids and the same 3 staff. Nothing had changed for 7 months and then...

...well the Villa became a bit like a revolving door.

Let me give you quick run down, starting with 11:

TEN
Then Betsy decided that Julio (who was 13) would be better off at her house with her teenage sons as role models

EIGHT
We found out in February that the mother of Vanessa and Genesis (ages 10 and 8) had died. Elvia took the girls into her house so that they would have a better time adjusting.

NINE
In March, Paola came to live with us. She is Julio's younger sister (11 years old) and had been living with her parents outside of Tegucigalpa. Although she was attending classes at Jericho school, we all felt that she would do much better at the Villa.

EIGHT
Jasmine (age 13) had been at the Villa for over a year even though she had family that was willing to take her in. But in April her aunt and uncle decided that they wanted Jasmine to live with them and away she went.


NINE
Add Sara into the mix. Sara came to us in May through a teacher at Jericho school. She was 16 and rebellious but has truly blossomed at the Villa.

ELEVEN
Maribel and Fernando came out to the Villa when I was in the States. Maribel (24) entered the program and brought her son (almost 1 year) with her.

TWELVE
With the arrival of Margarita at the beginning of July, we hit our highest number of "kids". Margarita (age 20) also entered into the program.

NINE
At the end of July while I was on a break, Margarita decided to leave Jericho. Maribel and Fernando followed four days later. We were so sad to see them leave, but we decided that it was the will of God and trusted in Him.

TEN
On Wednesday, Angie arrived bringing us up to a perfect 10! Angie is 14 and comes from the same community as Paola. She is beautiful and I think she will be a great addition to the family.

As far as the staff team, we are up to 5 now: Hae Young, Rosa, Eduardo, Miriam, and myself. With 10 kids and 5 staff, we fit just perfectly into our 15-passanger van!

What a wild ride on ins and outs...we know that it's God giving and taking away and we continue to rely on Him and trust in His plan for us!