FIRST QUARTER REPORT

Wow, what a busy year it has been so far, and I am finally getting some time to share what has been going on here in San Luis with Caring Hearts.  God has placed a new vision in our hearts we are anxious to tell you about, but in this report I want to give a little review of what has happened in the year.  First of all, I want to encourage you to go to Facebook and ¨like¨ our Facebook page, if you haven´t already.  There you will find a lot of pictures of our Christmas season, in case you missed them.  I am trying to be more regular in my reporting via Facebook, it is easier and faster to do, but even with that, it goes on the back burner with all the other stuff that goes on.

After Christmas we started the new year with a group from Grace Methodist Church and IUP of Indiana PA.  As always had a great time of ministry and construction.  They helped finish a house that was started in November for one of our shut ins, and ministered in different areas.  Here are some pictures:

Our friend Staci and her fiancee came in for a visit.  She taught English for a week at Bethel while Ben worked with the boys at Oasis.

Starting in the end of January, we launched two large projects.  We assisted the city government with a new youth home for teen age boys and girls.  We built a basketball court, helped with paint and a wall, and also built kitchen cabinets.  We also laid a slab and built the walls for a dining room kitchen for the women´s rehab center.  

In February we had a short visit from the Miller family of Seattle and the Embry Riddle Chi Alpha group from Prescott AZ.  They were a huge blessing as they worked with a number of different ministries of Caring Hearts.  Juana and I had a time of R&R with Papa Harold in Florida which was refreshing.

March was a busy month as our best weather was greeted by four groups in a row.  Geneva College was first, with a visit from one of our ex-orphans, Rodolfo.  They painted a school and ministered throughout San Luis.

(sorry for all the soccer pics, they were too cool to not use!)

After that, our Dream Team construction group came led by our 82 year old director Harold McKamish. A week of long hours yielded the termination of the dining hall for the rehab center, a start to renovations of our classroom area and the building of trusses for a church. Whew!  All in all a tiring but satisfying trip.  Check out the video by our friend Chris Clarke.

After that a group of Students from Arizona State University came in for the weekend, and ministered to the children, boy´s home, garbage dump and shut ins.

Lastly, we hosted a group from Albany Oregon.  They spent three days in another town, and then blessed Caring Hearts with work on our classrooms, a trip to visit shut ins, Oasis,  and the dump.

And now we are in April, the kids will be on vacation the next two weeks, the weather is beautiful and we will have a break from groups for the next 6 weeks.  We hope to get caught up in a lot of different areas and we are working on a new project I will share with you shortly in a future report.  I am sure it will thrill your heart and motivate you to continue sharing YOUR caring heart.

Ken