Upcoming Plans

I have lived here in Guatemala for a little over two years now so you would think that my Spanish would be decent, but that isn’t the case. Between doing online college classes at home, living so close to Antigua which is a huge tourist area, and having sisters who have picked up on Spanish very quickly, I haven’t been forced to learn and use Spanish as much as you would think. I have taken lessons and I know a lot of information, but applying that to real situations is extremely hard for me. I am extremely timid and even afraid to speak Spanish so I let my sisters do the talking whenever possible.

For a while now, I have been looking into options that would force me to use what I know and push me to learn more. I talked to some different friends of ours about trying to find a host family for me to live with, but it wasn't working out and I kind of gave up on that idea. I have hit a point in my schooling where I need to observe in special education classrooms, but my Spanish needs to be better in order to do so. This prompted me to start looking into more possibilities. That was when my mom remembered about Casa Bernabe.

Casa Bernabe is an orphanage that my parents had visited before we moved. I found the website for the orphanage and wrote some emails to see if it would even be a possibility for me to get involved. We scheduled a visit to see the campus and to learn more about how I could help.

The orphanage has close to 100 kids that are living there now, but it is set up in seven different homes. There is a baby house, a toddler house, two girls’ houses with a variety of ages, and three boys’ houses split up by age. Each of these houses has a set of house parents and a helper that live in the home with the kids (the number of kids in each house varies).

     

I absolutely love it there! After working it all out with my school and the orphanage, it has been decided that I am going to move in on May 31^st and be there for about six months which would have be back home right before Thanksgiving. Over this time, I will be taking a break from my classes so that I will be able to focus on Spanish and just getting to do ministry and be involved in the lives of the children there at the orphanage.

I am going to be living in one of the girls’ homes as a helper. This means that I will be like a big sister (so not a whole lot different than at home). I will be helping with all kinds of things from helping the girls get ready in the mornings to helping clean the house to helping with homework in the afternoon as well as other odds and ends throughout the day.

School and soccer field

There is also a school at the orphanage so I am planning to help out there a few days a week. They don’t have a special education teacher, but there is a teacher who works one on one with some of the kids who have learning disabilities. They said that I can help that teacher out, help in some of the regular classes, or I could teach English class because their English teacher is leaving. I will have every other weekend off, but other than that, my time off would be during school hours so I am praying about what all I should be involved in during that time.

I am just so excited for this opportunity to be involved in children’s ministry while also getting the chance to work on my Spanish. I know that this is going to be a great opportunity for me to grow and learn. I can’t wait to see what God is going to do in and through me throughout my time there.

Praise: I asked for a deal on the financial part of it and they have accepted the offer because my family and I are already missionaries here so that is a huge praise!

Prayer: 

…that I will have a smooth transition into the home

…that Spanish will come naturally and that I will be bold and confident when using it

…that God will show me how much He wants me to be involved in the school (I want to be involved, but school time would be my time off so I don’t want to be too overwhelmed)

…that I will be a positive influence on the girls in the home 

Krishauna Fulp