New Church Building

On Saturday October 25, Amor y Vida inaugurated our new church building. We have officially moved out of the community center and into our own building. We had a huge celebration with many special guests and the whole church. We have so many people to thank including Orphan Outreach, ACEMH, and Washington Cathedral who have been involved in various ways.

The construction team that funded most of the building is from Heritage Family Church located in Fort Worth, Texas. They do not have their own building yet but meet in a school. They were in the middle of a building campaign for their own church when the pastor visited our project in Honduras. On his return to the church, he announced that they would begin construction on a new building. The church began applauding thinking that the building was for them. Yet the pastor told them the new building was going to be about 2500 miles south. He explained our project and vision and the church was in agreement to build our church first. It was a tremendous sacrifice and one we do not take lightly.

Spiritual formation is at the center of the transformation process. We believe that unless God is in the center of the process, it will inevitable fail. Our church is fusing two different communities together. It has not been easy but God has worked miracles which are evident on the first visit to our church. We serve families connected to the garbage dump which most of society has ostracized. But God is doing a work in their lives that is impacting the whole garbage dump community. We have started ‘small´ groups in three different locations but they have all grown to over 50. The new building was a definite need as we were standing room only in our old location.

Please pray for our church, our pastors, leaders, and members.

Update

We have great news to announce on all fronts. After a couple set backs, Daniella’s kidney is beginning to function properly. All the levels that are suppose to be down, are down and vice versa. The doctor said her levels are the best they have been since before she started dialysis. She is still in the hospital but could be home in a couple weeks if she continues to progress.
Jessy feels good enough to leave the house every once in a while now. She is still weakened by the procedure and all her medication but she came to our new church inauguration. The church was so happy to see her up an about.

Ellen had her hip and leg surgery on Thursday. They put a screw in her hip. The procedure was a complete success. Ellen was sent home on Sunday. She is still feeling a lot of pain but with a month of recover she should be fine. Valesqa is back at school. Her back is still bruised but the doctor gave her clearance to get about. We are so happy to see her walking and smiling like usual.

Transplant update and another prayer request

Jessy is home and feeling very good. We visited her on Friday afternoon and she looked great. She is able to walk around but has difficulty sitting up on her. She recounted for us the whole story of the operation. She never felt fear until right before she went under from the anesthesia. The last thing she heard was “Pass me the rib-separator.” Jeony and Jessy were able to see Daniella through a window on Saturday. They said she looks like a completely different person.

Daniella had some troubling news today. I do not have all the details but I do know she needs to have a session of dialysis today. Jeony and Jessy are sadden by the news but realize this is sometimes the case after a transplants. Please keep praying for Daniella’s kidney and the Ordonez family.

We had a horrible accident occur afterschool on Thursday. Two of our first graders were hit by a car on their walk home – Ellen and Valesqa. They both spent a day in the hospital. Valesqa was sent home with a bruised spine and has to be in bed for a month while she heals. Ellen was not so fortunate. She cracked her hip bone and broke her femur. She will need surgery which takes place Tuesday. Please pray for her. The family of Ellen is distraught over the situation. Her family is struggling financially and the school has helped.

Thanks

Revolution

Read a new book and support Project Transformation!

Alex Tamayo Wolf published his first book in 2007. He felt inspired by his grandfather, Georg Wolf, who he shadowed as a little boy and decided to write Revolution in his honor.

As an even more generous act, Alex supports Project Transformation by donating twenty percent of the profit from Revolution. You may purchase his book here from Amazon. Buying the book will provide our organization with a monetary donation; furthermore, you will read a great novel inspired by a man that also helped children escape from the world in which they are living.

Book Summary: In the beautiful countryside outside imperial Vienna, in the years leading up to World War I, a remarkable story took place...Helene Marie Neumann, a vintner’s daughter, spends her youth making wine with her mother and father, soaking up the Riesling sunshine, growing into a lovely young woman. Here she meets Maximilian Rieger, a wealthy boy whose family owns a nearby villa. They become good friends. But dark clouds roll in on this idyllic life. Maximilian is sent away to boarding school. And Maximilian's father, a ruthless businessman, swindles the vineyard from Helene's father, the town drunk. The vineyard lost, Helene is taken to an orphanage in the slums of Vienna, forced into prostitution, and remains there until she is eighteen. On the darkest day of her life, she finds a seed of hope in a childhood memory and begins her long journey home. But she must first confront Maximilian, who has grown into his father.

If you want a good read, check out Revolution by Alex Tamayo Wolf. With each sale, a donation of 20% will go to Project Transformation.

Here is a link to Revolution’s website.
Contact the author, Alex Tamayo Wolf.

Transplant Update

The procedure took all morning but was declared a success. Jessy is awake but laying down in her recovery room. Daniella is still sleeping due to medication. The latest word from the doctors is that Daneilla's body is reacting well to the new kidney.

Thanks for all your prayer and support.

We will post more updates in the near future.

Transplant

Although we have faced many delays and obstacles, Daniella’s transplant is finally here. Both Daniella and Jessy were admitted to the hospital Monday morning. They will undergo the surgical procedure Tuesday morning. Jessy will spend the rest of the week in the Hospital in recovery. She will then be sent home to recover for about 2 months before she can resume her duties. Daniella will stay in the hospital until her immune system recovers from the procedure which should take about one month.

Our church, Amor y Vida, has asked the congregation to take Tuesday as a day of prayer and fasting in gratitude for all the miracles God has done and is yet to do in the Ordonez Family. We invite all of you to join us in this prayer and fasting if you are able to.

We will keep updates on the blog but feel free to email us if you have any questions. Thanks for all your help and support. We are all believing God for a miracle.

Future Leaders of Honduras

The task of turning children’s tasks and attention away from the garbage dump and into educational ambition is easier with some, more difficult with others. There are four young men at AFE who have a particular amount of pressure to continue working in the dump. These are Sergio David Paz Moya, Gerson Vasquez, Jonathon Jeffery Paz, and Ariel Valladares. Although they are only teenagers, as the oldest boys they bear the burden of supporting their entire families from their earnings in the dump. After praying with these students and speaking with their families, we have decided to send these students to El Sembrador.



El Sembrador is a Christian Vocational School in Honduras that excels in producing future Honduran leaders. In fact, about fifty years ago one young man who had spent his life on the street graduated from El Sembrador and later became the pastor of the “Amor y Vida” church, which has birthed several church plants and social action projects, including AFE’s church. The former street boy turned pastor was Jorge Pinto, and AFE owes a lot of what it is to him. We hope for just as amazing results with the AFE children who attend. We have sent two students in the past with great success. Many have heard of Antonio and the work God has done in his life. He is graduating El Sembrador this year.

We have a plan to help the families of these four students while they study at El Sembrador. It is a three year commitment but once they graduate, they will have the equivalence of a high school degree and vocational certificate in a specific field. To send a student to El Sembrador costs about $1,200 per student for the entire year. That price includes room, board, registration, tuition, uniform, school supplies and snack food. There is also a little cushion for extra expenses such as clothing and medicine, etc.

If you are interested in providing a full or partial scholarship for any of these four students, please contact Rey Diaz at reyangeldiaz@gmail.com . Please keep these students in your prayers as we seek God’s will for their lives.