We are looking to fill out our staff with two more full time positions. These are needs we’ve seen develop over the past few months. Bringing on two full-time staff members is a big financial commitment. We ask for your continued prayer and support on how we can best fill these roles.

Psychologist

Many of our kids come from difficult backgrounds and our desire is to help them work through whatever issues lie in their past as best we can. We’ve always had a psychologist on staff, but only on a part time basis. We feel very strongly that we need to make that position full time. In addition to the kids, we’re also hoping to have our psychologist work with our caregivers to guide them in how to best care for the children. We estimate the monthly cost of staffing this position to be $1500 including benefits.

Administrative Director

Keeping the business end of Love & Hope running is a full time job. From payroll to pension to driving passes, there is never a day without paperwork, forms and phone calls. Over the past several months we’ve worked hard to organize and document the paperwork and procedures that keep the wheels of Love & Hope turning and now we’re looking to bring in an Administrative Director, trained in exactly this kind of work, to make sure it continues to  run smoothly. We estimate the monthly cost of staffing this position to be $1200 including benefits.

Thank you for your continued love and support of this ministry. 

Last night we had a cookout with the kids in our new fire pit. We went through over fifty hotdogs and then we had roasted marshmallows and smores. The kids really loved it, and I think we’ll do it again soon. 

One of the many places the kids can get together to work on homework or play.

One of the rooms for the boys.

One of the rooms for the girls.

The spacious terrace.

View from the Terrace.

The new house has lots of great spaces for the kids to hang out.

The back of the house is just as beautiful and opens into a lovely courtyard.

The courtyard even has fruit trees.

Through the courtyard is a separate building perfect housing teams and long term volunteers.

Rachel talks briefly about moving to Planes de Rendero.

[vimeo 15179729 w=400 h=300]

Before moving into our new house in Los Planes de Renderos, we took all of the kids for a visit so they could see it for themselves. It’s a beautiful four story house in the neighborhood of Las Neblinas. It has a large kitchen and dining area, 10 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms, a courtyard with fruit trees and so much more. It has a large terrace with wonderful views and is just a short walk from both Balboa Park and Puerta del Diablo (the highest point around and great for climbing). Here is a quick video so you can see it too!

[vimeo 14945516 w=400 h=300]

Thank you so much for your prayers over the last couple of weeks. The kids are doing well and I think are beginning to appreciate the beauty of our new location. We are a lot higher up and the temperature is much cooler. Several of the kids, workers and Myself are sick with colds and sore throats, but besides that, the transition is going very well. There will be some pictures and video of the new home posted soon!

In August there was a news report on Love and Hope which is being
broadcast during the whole month of September. You can view it at
http://www.esmitv.com/vernoticia.aspx?id=32095

Thanks for your love and support!
Rachel

One??of my favorite places??in El Salvador is “La puerta del Diablo.”?? It’s about
a 25 minute ride from San Salvador and is a short hike up to a cliff with an
amazing view.?? When the clouds aren’t surrounding, you can see the ocean, lake
Ilopango, several volcanos, mountains, and the city all from the same spot.?? A
couple of miles away are two of the best children’s parks in El Salvador.????Near
the parks??there are pupusas,??and lots of other??salvadoran foods being sold.??
Right in between these parks and La Puerta del Diablo is a great big beautiful
house.?? This will very soon be home to the Love and Hope family.?? When I first
looked at the home I thought “why would anyone build such a big house?”?? It has
10 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms, a huge kitchen and dining room, 2 big garages, and a
lot of common areas.?? It will be a wonderful home for us during this time as we
begin to look for land to purchase and build a permenant location for our home.??
It is in a safe, somewhat touristy area with a very welcoming community.?? Thank
you for continuing to pray for us as we go through these exciting, but at times,
incredibly difficult changes.?? Please pray for the kids as moving is always
hard.?? There are a lot of mixed emotions in all of us.?? Pray for peace, for
wisdom, and for favour in this new community and that the kids would be loved
and supported well through this transition.?? Pictures of the new place will be
up soon!??

We have an urgent need for new transportation to get the kids to school.?? Our
van, which has 300,000 miles, is broken down once again!?? We hate to continue to
put money into fixing it as we know it is not going to last us much longer.??
This week we are renting a van and driving our SUV to take the kids to school.??
Ben is doing a great job of researching all our options as we begin the search
for the right vehicle for us.?? We are considering either one small bus that
would seat??30 people or 2 vans that would seat 15 each.?? Either way we go, it
looks like we are going to need to raise $25,000 to $30,000.?? Please pray for
wisdom for us as we look into our options and that the needed donations would
come in!?? If you are able to make a contribution you can send your donation to
Love and Hope International with a note attached??saying that??it is for
purchasing a vehicle.?? L&HI mailing address is 9555 Vista Parkway, Suite 230,
Cleveland, OH 44125.?? We greatly appreciate your prayers and support!

I had just pulled in the driveway after three hours of parent teacher
conferences.?? I was driving home feeling encouraged.?? Not everything the
teachers said was encouraging, but a lot of it was, and I felt excited about
brainstorming ways to support those kids who are not doing as well.?? I opened my

car door, or rather my car door was opened for me, by several people that had
something important to tell me or ask me.?? ???What time are we leaving to climb
the mountain?????? ???Who???s driving us to church?????? ???I just threw up.????? And then from

a care giver the story of how two of the girls had been disobedient and
disrespectful.?? All my excitement vanished and I felt overwhelmed and
frustrated.?? I responded as best as I could to all the questions, mostly by
saying ???I don???t know.????? I knew I had to address the situation with the two
girls, but I was feeling my heart beating fast and I thought ???I???VE GOT TO GET
ALONE.????? I came into the office and locked the door.?? When we are weak is when
God can make us strong.?? Sometimes all I can do is repeat over and over whatever

is on my heart at that moment until I feel like he gives me the strength to
stand up again.?? Sometimes it???s ???I can???t do this alone, I need you??? or ???I need
your wisdom??? or sometimes simply ???HELP.?????

Before calling the girls in to talk about what they???d done and what their
discipline would be, I decided to read My Utmost for His Highest. ??I???m always
shocked at how that devotional seems to say exactly what I need to hear.?? The
title for August 14th is ???The discipline of the Lord.????? Before I disciplined,
God wanted to talk to be about His discipline in my life.?? Hebrews 12:5 says,
???My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you
are rebuked by Him.????? Just like the kids, I am a work in progress, God, my
father loves me and is ever patient with me and that is why he disciples me.?? He

is at work creating a vessel to pour His son into.?? And actually, he???s already
poured Jesus into us, but there are still cracks and holes to patch up in order
for Jesus to fully live in us.??

My prayer is that God would continue the work he has started in me, and in our
children at Love and Hope, and in all of His children, that Jesus can live
again, now, through us.??

Over the last few days several of our kids have been sick.?? All day yesterday Brenda was in bed with a fever and the flu.?? I had Brenda sleep in my room so I could take care of her through the night.?? Since Brenda and Linda share a room Linda slept in my house too with the girls that sleep in the room next to me.?? Before going to sleep we read a story and prayed together.?? Linda told me she wanted to talk to me about something on her bed.?? I laid down beside her and she said, ???I feel a drop in my heart.?? I feel very sad.????? I asked her, ???is it like a tear drop?????? And she said yes.?? I asked her why she felt sad and she explained that it was because Brenda was sick and Brenda always does nice things for her and helps her to do things and now that Brenda was sick there was nothing she could do to help her.?? I asked what the one thing we could do for Brenda was and she said ???pray for her.????? Earlier that day Aly had asked if we could pray for Brenda and Linda had prayed with us.?? I reminded Linda that we had prayed for Brenda a couple of times and that she could pray for her again if she wanted.?? I told her that in the morning she could clean up Brenda???s stuff in their room and leave a note for her on Brenda???s bed to show her that she loves her.?? I asked her to go get me Brenda???s medicine and I think she was thrilled to even help in that way.?? She called me over to her bed again and said ???when I came back from getting Brenda???s medicine I told her that I loved her.????? This morning she wrote Brenda a note and asked me to give it to her. Here is what it said, ???For: Brenda, From: Linda.?? Hi Brenda.?? I am sorry that you???re sick.?? God is going to help you to be healed.?? I love you so much.?? You???re my best friend.?? You???re beautiful.?? I hope you can eat.?? I hope that you can be my friend and that we don???t fight and that you know that I love you with my whole heart.?? Don???t feel sad because you???re alone.?? God is with you.?? You have a beautiful face.?? I want to help you but I can???t.?? I don???t want to hurt your heart or your feelings.?? I love you Brenda.?? I love you so much.????? Last night I was reading No greater Love which is a book of reflections of Mother Theresa.?? She was talking about a crippled boy that she met in Venezuela.?? When she asked the mother the child???s name she said ???we call him teacher of love because he keeps on teaching us how to love.?? Everything we do for him is our love for God in action.????? I am so grateful for Linda, and all the other ???teachers of love??? that I am surrounded by.