The children that will one day live at The Angel House knew:

• That people are praying for them right NOW without actually knowing them yet?
• That their story is being told every single day even without knowing their story.
  
• That we are crying for the pain and hurt they experience?
• That arms are waiting to wrap themselves tightly around each of them in love?
• That eyes are waiting to see their precious faces and to be able to look at them directly face to face and say, NO more worries, we will take care of you?
• That a team of people is working every day, EVERY DAY to find ways to raise money to build THEIR home?
• That people are partenering with us to make this vision a reality?
  
• That many people have volunteered their time to work at Fletcher’s Corny dog stand at the State Fair of Texas because they believe in a project that believes in them?
• That people are willing to help because they believe in God who has put on all of our hearts the duty to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves?
• That HOPE is within their reach and they WILL BE safe and fed and loved.
• That help is right around the corner – just hold on a little longer – we almost have each of you HOME…

In His Mighty Grip working as fast as possible to get these children help and HOME.

Stephanie 

http://www.TrinitysAngels.org

Here’s the NEW personal challenge for all the family, friends and supporters of Trinity’s Angels. It’s actually an easy fundraiser and quite painless! Doesn’t take any time at all. Your kids can do this too as a great “paying it forward” project – it’s all about the spirit of giving.

Starting now through Dec 1st we have a simple request.  Every time you walk into your home, please put the change that is in your purse, pocket, backpack or other container that holds spare change into a jar for The Angel House, a home being built for abandoned kids. We promise it won’t hurt to give this way! And …  if you feel compelled to make this an even bigger personal challenge, put a jar on your desk at work for co-workers to drop off their loose change! Don’t forget to  ask your family and friends to start their own Angel House jars too!

Then, the first week of December, we would love the opportunity to personally stop by your home for 5 or 10 minutes, drop off a plate of Christmas cookies, and tell you how much we appreciate you supporting The Angel House, and of course pick up the change from your Angel House Jar. Getting to see you face to face will definitely be a blessing for us.

For those of you who live in Southern California, Stephanie will be there for the Christmas holidays and will be glad to stop by and collect your coins! If you live out of the areas where we will be then we have one more favor. The first week of December count your change, write a check and send it to us at the address below.  Or, please go to our website www.TrinitysAngels.org where you can make an online donation via Paypal.

So, start spending those dollars, hang onto the change and drop it in your “Angel House” jar. Let us know when we can stop by to pick up the change and give you a hug for your continued support. And …  really it doesn’t matter the amount of coins you collect, it ALL adds up.

Here’s to Making the Change for abandoned/orphaned children in Pucallpa, Peru and giving them a place to call HOME. We thank you for your support. 

In His Mighty Grip “Making the Change,”

Stephanie

A machete, a rake and a shovel. These things make us happy.

Especially the machete. That particular tool  makes us feel like we belong here. Like we are almost Peruvians. Everyone has one. The versatile tool that people use for everything, cutting weeds, sawing through boards, tree trimming,

hunting, cutting meat, motokar repair, building homes, you name it…the machete is your “go-to” tool.

And we know that only here in Peru would we be allowed to use one! Probably are illegal in the U.S. Well at least in our possession anyway.

Jorge is always around when we use the tools just in case! He sharpens them for us and instructs us on the best techniques. He tries to help but we usually just head off and do it our own way! Go figure.

We don’t have a pick axe yet. It’s on the Christmas List!

Remember what I said about the machete???? That everyone has one. This next picture is the statue that welcomes you as you arrive into Pucallpa. It’s a tribute to the Peruvian country worker. And check it out – in one hand is a shovel and the other has a MACHETE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holding onto our machetes in His Mighty Grip,

Stephanie and Cindy

www.trinitysangels.org

The first day of volunteering at Casa Hogar Luz Alba was certainly an experience.

It all started with a wake up call at 5:45 am and then a 6 block walk to the combi bus stop. After finding our “bus line” – a small VW style bus that seats 10 people comfortably we hopped onboard. The drawback to this mode of transportation is that they pack up to 20 people inside and little there are people hanging out windows and doors. Make for an interesting ride. If you are one of the unfortunate ones you stand up and hold onto a pole for support above the seats. This wouldn’t be so bad if you didn’t have to bend your head at a 45 degree angle because the roof is so short that you can’t stand up straight!

After getting off at our stop we walked another 5 blocks to the orphanage. We arrived at 7 am to start our 5 hour shift. Bring it on.

And boy did they! The first task was to sweep and mop the patios, the rooms and kitchen area. At the same time someone has to watch the toddlers and someone else change the baby’s diapers. Then the beds are made and breakfast is served. All this activity within the first hour! There are 19 children at the orphanage of which 15 are under the age of 5 ! And 6 are babies, less than one year old. All of them taken care of by a house mother and 3 other “tias” or aunts as they are called. These are Peruvian women that are not paid but live at the house and have their room and board covered. Without volunteer help the tasks for caring for the children are monumental.

Our tasks for the morning shift are sweeping, mopping, changing diapers, feeding babies and toddlers, making beds, doing laundry and hanging it out to dry, collecting the dry clothes and folding them. There are windows and bathrooms to clean, children to play with and watch. Sometimes they are taken out for a walk in their strollers and along the way additional food is purchased for the lunch or dinner meal. So many things! And that is during the morning shift. The afternoon shift…well we are scheduled for that too so we will get to see what has to be accomplished.

It’s going to be a great experience, learning the ins and outs of daily operations and being able to apply that to The Angel House Peru. This month is going to give us a wealth of useful information. Oh and we will try and post some pictures. We just need to get approval first.

Cleaning Up in His Mighty Grip,

Stephanie and Cindy

http://www.trinitysangels.org

From Lima to Arequipa is a long ride along the coast. We decided to take the bus so that we could see what there is to see in the southern part of Peru. Once again we booked 2 seats in the front of the bus on the 2nd level because it has huge front windows and side windows. There is a great panoramic view. Only problem is that due to the bus schedule we left at 4 pm and most of the journey was at night with nothing to see! Oh well – we had …. of course…. snacks to occupy our time and movies that were shown on the bus. A double bonus! And of course we spent 16 hours of time trying to find the most comfortable position in which to sit. Trust us there are not many! We’ve tried them all.

Homes on the outskirts of town are the same as in other parts of Peru. Makeshift small places that serve as shelter. Woven mats served as “walls” to block the shifting sand from burying all that lies inside. No water, no electricity. A life that is lived in an unimaginable way.

Early morning we watched the sun come up and were treated to views of the countryside around Arequipa and the huge snow covered white mountains. Exciting to arrive in a new city and have the opportunity to volunteer with kids and also explore the area. Not sure what adventures await us but have no doubt there are going to be many.

It’s dry here because of the elevation and we are completely dried out! Our skin is screaming for moisture! Imagine that just last week we were always sweating and nothing ever dried out! And our hair – well kind of scary. With no moisture it sticks straight out! Frightening. Ahh the problems…….

Stayed turned for our adventures here – we are now working at Casa Hogar Luz Alba orphanage with 19 kids of which 17 are under the age of 5!  Yup – it’s gonna be a wild, crazy month here.

Dry but not dried up In His Mighty Grip,

Stephanie and Cindy

http://www.trinitysangels.org

It’s no surprise that while growing up one of the things every child is told not to play with are matches or fire because the consequences could be detrimental. Well we disregarded ALL of this last week when we were working The Angel House lots.

First we cleared the brush and piled it up getting ready for a bonfire!

Then it was time to bring out the matches and the lighter – it’s how we clear brush and tree branches here.

From lighting the kindling and dry brush above – to the “heat” in the picture below – took just a few seconds!

Then of course we couldn’t leave it alone. We each had to pose with the fire……you can’t take the “kid” out of us!

This is probably the most fun we have and the reason we love to work the land. We know that at the end of it …after the bug bites, scraps from cutting tree branches, the thorns in our fingers and the never-ending sweat, we get to burn things!

In His Mighty Grip “playing with fire” !

Stephanie

http://www.trinitysangels.org

Everyone has a place(s) where God speaks to them, or the Holy Spirit nudges and sometimes pushes them. Everyone has a place where they go to “hear.”  Don’t they?  We do and it is our rooftop patio. We have talked about it before and we wanted to show you what it actually looks like today. It looks exactly the same as it did 5 months ago when we dragged the most comfortable outdoor chairs we could find at the market up 4 flights of stairs to the top.  Nope – definitely not a stylish place but it is so comfortable and the place we go to “hear.” 

All the conveniences of home – well the ipads link us there. Don’t miss the elegant broken tile foot rest. That is Cindy’s space. I have the round construction tub-like thing! But it holds drinks and snacks and doubles as a foot rest. 

We read here. We talk. We pray. We listen for answers and directions, purposes and plans. And believe me HE talks to us up here. Sometimes we just go to the roof not thinking or expecting anything and HE still speaks!  No doubt that whenever we go to the roof, something is in the works. All of our projects this year started here, including The Angel House. 

It also doubles as our laundry drying area! Check out that rooftop river view!  Come on now this is prime real estate! Location, location, location.

We are blessed with unique and unusual sunsets and colors like we have never seen.

And when we look up to the heavens – well there is no better place to HEAR than here.

This is what we saw one day up on the rooftop. He is always faithful to be there!

The cross – what a great reminder.

In His Mighty Grip on the rooftop, 

Stephanie 

www.trinitysangels.org

An afterthought picture. We see this utility pole everyday. Looks like a cross to me which means we “see” Him everyday from the rooftop.

This past Tuesday we went with Jorge (our main handyman) and 2 other young guys to dig, connect and install the water line bringing water to The Angel House lots. We brought the pipes and other supplies, shovel, rake and the ever popular machete with us on our motokar ride!  It’s how we roll around this joint.

Check out the store behind Cindy – our version of Home Depot or Lowe’s!

With materials in hand we were ready to tie everything onto motokar with rope tied to the sides, bottom or top – wherever you find space!  A little dangerous but again…as we said before…t’s how we roll around this joint!

What a hot and humid day it was and at the same time so exciting to be there working. Even when the sweat was dripping off of us.  Okay, truth be told the 2 young guys did most all of the digging with an axe and shovel.  But….we helped along the way.

From gluing the tubes together…

To carrying them along the trench line …….

Fortunately half of the 285 feet of line that was dug was under the shade of some huge trees. We tried to stay there as long as we could without being noticed!

The crew really worked hard – completing everything in under 5 hours, including a break for lunch.

They dug in hard dirt, under the blazing sun and it seemed like they never broke a sweat. And check out their shoes. They all worked in flip flops! That has to be a violation of OSHA guidelines.

One wrong swing of the axe – well all we had to fix them up IF something happened were a few bandaids…..

Oh and that little wooden building behind the guys – that’s an outhouse……again it’s how we roll out here. Hoping the “runoff” doesn’t seep into our line…….

Once the trench was dug and the tubes dropped into it, Jorge “tapped” into the water line right off of our neighbor’s!  No – no worries – we did go and pay for the service with the man that holds the water rights. Story for another day.  Everything here is … well … handled just a bit differently than we are used to. It’s all part of the adventure.

With everything in place we were ready and anxious to turn on the faucet and see if water flowed…….

Yes – the very first time the faucet was turned, fresh, cool water flowed out! There were screams of happiness and joy seeing the water come pouring out. Also because we knew that we didn’t have to trace the line for leaks, especially since Jorge told us to backfill the trenches before we even tested the line. Now that is faith (or stupidity – we choose faith!). Finally, we could move on to the more serious stuff.

Water fights! No doubt there will be many more of those to come.

Thanks to a donation we received we were able to pay for all the materials, labor, transportation to and from the site and 12 months of water service with a little leftover!

We Love you and thank you for providing this blessing. Now Let the Flood Begin.

Washing off in His Mighty Grip,

Stephanie

www.trinitysangels.org