Mission Report - Dulce Refugio, Aguascalientes, Mexico

The Dulce Refugio (Sweet Refuge) orphanage in Aguascalientes, Mexico provides abandoned and at-risk children an opportunity to get off the streets. These kids know hunger, they know cold, they know loss. They need a blanket, a bed, and the confidence that tomorrow, there will be food on their table. Dulce Refugio offers them hope for the future by providing clothing, food, and education. They need love that won’t let them down. Dulce Refugio seeks to disciple these children and share unfailing mercy. In June, a family team of nine and a youth team of twelve from Pathway combined forces to serve the children of Dulce Refugio.

Where is Dulce Refugio?

Aguascalientes is located on the High Plains, about 350 miles north of Mexico City. Its population is around 800,000 and is nowhere near any of the tourist areas…this is the REAL Mexico. The city’s altitude is about 6,000 feet, which is a bit higher than Denver, and the very hot, dry climate represented a big change for a bunch of Hoosiers!

What is Dulce Refugio like?

Currently, Dulce Refugio is home to 54 children, and the a new dorm is under construction which will house approximately fifty more. Frequently, children's homes are pressured to move beds closer together or add bunk beds to house more kids. But the construction planners at Dulce Refugio have been very deliberate in their desire to maintain a very high quality of life for these kids, designing the structure in such a way to ensure the kids have personal space and that they can never be overcrowded.

The main children's dorm was the first building completed, and is home to 24 children on each of the first two floors--six to a room. The third floor is a large rec room that also serves as a school room for some of the kids whose educational needs can't be met in the public schools.

In addition to the dorms, the plan for Dulce Refugio goes much further. An office building is nearly complete that will provide office space for the Director as well as a psychologist, medical staff, and several other workers. Work team dorm suites fill the ground floor of this building.

Additionally, the staff at Dulce Refugio is currently in negotiations with the city government to take ownership of a plot of adjacent land, where they plan to build a school, covered gym area, and a greenhouse and vegetable garden. All of these things will further help the kids of Aguascalientes and give them an opportunity to experience Jesus' love!

What is Pathway doing?

As part of our ongoing partnership with Dulce Refugio, Pathway teams has served at Dulce Refugio several times, and plans are in the works to return. This summer's Pathway teams assisted with construction and maintenance projects, as well as VBS and community outreach in some of the poorest areas of Aguascalientes.

Boys' Dorm: the team helped mix and pour 33 meters of concrete support beams, and helped cut, bend, set, and tie 100 re-bar rings in preparation for the next pour. This represents support for the ceiling for almost half of the first floor.

Dorm Bathroom Storage: the team replaced slider rails, refaced, and reinforced 112 drawers (also known to the boys as steps!) in six kids' bathrooms.

Irrigation Trenches: the youth team dug 40 meters of trenches in preparation for an irrigation system for the kids playground; not only will this give the kids a safe surface to play games and soccer, but it will also help reduce the dust flying around campus!

Window Bars: the team cut, fabricated, and painted 760 bars to make nineteen grates to be mounted on the windows of the current kids' dorm. This will protect kids from accidental falls!

Director's apartment: Part of the construction plan is building a one-bedroom apartment for Marcella, the Director of Dulce Refugio, who currently lives in a room in the Girls' dorm. The Pathway team helped build and trim out the two custom closet organizers (from scratch....no running down to Lowe's around here!!) for her beautiful and well-deserved new home.

Kid Lovin': every day, the team invested in 54 kids' lives at Dulce Refugio through playing soccer, pushing swings, giving piggy-back rides and sharing in their daily activites. The youth team ran four days of VBS lessons and crafts, and showed these kids that while they may feel forgotten by their own culture, God has not forgotten them. Even with all the work that the team has contributed, the relationships and the transformation of our own hearts is the most incredible part of this experience.

What can I do to help?

PRAY!

The foremost prayer is for each one of these kids to experience God in a real and transformational way, through the work of the staff, teams, and extended support network for Dulce Refugio.

More specific prayer requests are for progress on the construction plans, including the current negotiations for the adjacent land needed for the long-term campus plan, and for funds to purchase a reliable, gently used passenger van to transport the kids.

GO!

Get information and make plans to join a future trip to Aguascalientes; the variety of service opportunities and time with the kids and staff members make this mission opportunity well-suited for anyone with a heart for orphans.

GIVE!

Worship the Lord with a one-time gift to Dulce Refugio, or through sponsoring a child. Dulce Refugio is supported through Children of Hope in Canada, and the Orphanos Foundation in the US; all donations are tax deductible and are passed directly through to Dulce Refugio.

Daily details and photos from the Dulce Refugio mission trip can be found here.

Ethiopian Night - July 8

Come join the fun to celebrate Ethiopian Night in Fort Wayne on Friday, July 8 from 6:30 - 9:30 PM at Pine Hills Church!!

Guest speaker Tom Davis, of Children's HopeChest will speak, followed by Ethiopian dancing, music, desserts. The highlight of the evening will be a silent auction to raise money for Starved 4 Hope, a non-profit organization that helps meet the needs of 168 children in Awassa, Ethiopia. ALL proceeds (that's right, 100%) will be going to these precious children.

• Guest Speaker - Tom Davis, President of Children's HopeChest and author of "Scared" and "Fields of the Fatherless"
• Silent Auction - Vacation packages, sports memorabilia, Vera Bradley merchandise, artwork, and much much more
• Live Traditional Ethiopian Dancing
• Music and Desserts

For more information, contact Wendy Walz.

ps...Help promote this great event by clicking the facebook button below and sharing with all your friends!

Children All Over The World Need You!!

The True Vine Shopapalooza Garage Sale Team needs your help!!! We are looking for volunteers to help with the following:

• unload the trailer on Sunday, May 15, immediately following 3rd service (we’ll provide lunch!) :: we need approximately 60 individuals – 6 journey groups or 15 families!
• need a few strong men to set up the clothes racks on Monday morning :: we need at least 4 strong men willing to work from 10am-noon.
• help during the week with sorting the items :: we need at least 10 volunteers per day, working anytime between 8am-8am, Monday through Thursday.
• we need people willing to pick up large donated items and bring them to the church on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday :: we’d love to have the men from at least 3 journey groups!
• help during the sale on Friday, May 20, or Saturday, May 21 :: we need 15 fun-loving individuals each day!
• help clean up after the sale – pack everything up and load onto trucks at noon on Saturday :: we’ll take as many people as we can get! We also need some strong men to load and return the clothes racks between 12-2pm Saturday.

To sign up to volunteer, email Karin Bernard at klbernard@yahoo.com. Bring your small group and volunteer together! If you volunteer for at least 3 hours, we invite you to shop early!!! Volunteer Night is Thursday, May 19, from 6-8pm. Come shop before everyone else!

If you are unable to volunteer on any of these dates, but still want to help, we are asking for donations of bottled water, cans of pop and juice boxes, and yummy baked items that we can sell at our concession stand/bake sale. These items can be dropped off at Guest Services or at the office any time between now and Tuesday, May 17. Baked goods can be brought to the church on Thursday, 5/19 or Friday, 5/20.

Finally, don’t forget that we are still taking your donations of gently used and new items that we can sell at the garage sale. Drop items off at the trailer in the parking lot after any of the services. We couldn’t do any of this without you! And remember, all proceeds go to help Pathway families with adoption expenses.

***The Shopapalooza Team

Garage Sale 2011

It is time for the Second Annual Pathway Garage Sale! The long awaited date is May 20 and 21! You too can be a part of the planning committee, with each bi-monthly meeting packed with food and fun! To be a part of raising money to help families who are adopting contact Laura Williams mom4williams@yahoo.com

Question and Answer Social

Saturday, March 12, 5:30 there will be a Question and Answer Social at Pathway for those interested in adopting. We will start with an overview of True Vine and then break into 3 groups for questions and answers. Childcare provided.

1. Where do I start?
2. Money, Money, Money
3. Adoptive Grandparents Unite!

This will be a great evening to meet those who have adopted and see how God is at work! This will also be a time for Adoptive Grandparents to learn more and connect. Questions? Contact Jerry and Nancy Touchet jtouchet1@frontier.com

Adoption Night at the Y

FAMILY FUN NIGHT AT THE YMCA!

All adoptive Families and Foster Care families in Allen County are invited to a FREE Family night at the Parkview YMCA. This is a time to spend connecting with one another and having fun as a family! Swimming, racquetball, the rock wall, basketball, the kids area and the game room will all be open and available! The event is free, and you do not need to be a member of the YMCA to attend. The Family Fun Night is sponsored by True Vine, an adoption Ministry of Pathway community Church and the Parkview YMCA.

Saturday, January 29, 8-10p.m.
Parkview Family YMCA
10001 Dawsons Creek Blvd.
Fort Wayne, IN 46825

Questions? Laura Williams mom4williams@yahoo.com

This article was written by Laura Williams for information about starting an adoption ministry at your church so felt it would be good to share:

You and I have been given much. We have every comfort imaginable. I can sit in my warm home, eating whatever I want, while planning my family’s weekend adventures. The Word says that for those who have been given much, much will be required.

In 2010 there were 45 million orphans world wide. Combining the total population of New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago wouldn’t even equal half that amount, so you’d have to add in the population of the countries of Haiti, Portugal, Kuwait, and Switzerland! Can you imagine this many orphans with no comforts of a family? Many are hungry. Many will not be able to make one decision for themselves, let alone ever think about what to do with their families on a Friday night.

Today there are 45 million orphans … minus ONE. That one child is my beautiful Bella Mei. We brought her home from China a little more than a year ago. But this article isn’t about my adoption. It’s about how God is using my church to help the orphans and how God can use your church, too (see James 1:27).

True Vine Ministries, launched in the spring of 2009 at Pathway Community Church, followed the eight steps detailed in “Launching an Orphans Ministry in Your Church” by Hope for Orphans. The first step was easy enough for me and would be for you too—approach a key leader with your vision. This isn’t too hard when you’re married to the pastor! The next steps include inviting other passionate families to join you in prayer, dreaming together, planning and developing a leadership structure.

The first six months, my church followed the advice provided by Hope for Orphans and then launched the orphan ministry in November 2009. It has been exciting to see the church community step up as they become more aware of the needs of orphans. God has used True Vine Ministries to …

 develop a small group to help families who are considering adoption or already in the process;
 hold a community garage sale with proceeds benefitting adopting families;
 host socials to help adoptive families connect with each other;
 organize a “free family fun night” at the YMCA for all adoptive and foster care families in our county;
 collect and send shoes to orphans in our community and around the world;
 partner with Life Song to provide matching grants for adopting families.

If you think about it, adoption and foster care offer a child much more than a warm home on this earth. These are opportunities to give her the hope of eternal life, to share with him the love and peace that only comes from the one true God!

God has placed you in an optimal position to start an orphan ministry in your church. You can tailor it to match your community and delegate all you want. You can make a difference. Your church can say, “There are 45 million orphans … minus TWO!”