JUDAH QUY: home for precious little ones ---- casa de los preciosos

Little John from God

2011-09-15T16:57:00.000-04:00

Got milk?

Laura, a very excited mom.

Samantha our Wisconsin volunteer giving John his bottle. Yup, we got milk.

This is little John. He is 29 days old and was born to a mom with HIV who gave him away at birth. What followed subsequently is hard to follow based on the limited information we received from the child protection agency, but for his welfare they decided to place him in our care until the situation is better understood. So last night we received a call that they were bringing this little guy to us. He is a cutie and since he came with a handwritten list of 10 medications I spent today untangling this and taking him to our pediatrician and the government HIV office for accurate information. It turns out he just needs 2 of the medicines and some vitamins and iron kindly donated by our doctor. Please pray that he will turn out negative for carrying the virus and that he can either return to his mom or find a safe adoptive family. Also pray for our staff as we adjust to the higher needs of a newborn. If you know of anyone who is interested in volunteering for a year our current volunteer is finishing her term at the end of November 2011. Our greatest need is for caring, dedicated staff. Love is the most important medicine we give each day to our precious little ones.

Soul Survivor

2011-09-13T21:35:00.000-04:00

Emerald's arrival...sleeping through transition.

Nap time.

Her new haircut.

Emerald came to us needing a refuge from physical and sexual abuse. She has only recently arrived and it will take time for us to finish investigating her background and plan for her future. She has responded to the safety and love here, but it will require long term trust to help her heal and build good relationships in the future. Pray for her health as we try to understand what treatment she will need to restore her physically and pray that consistent, patient love will help heal her soul.

Hoping

2011-09-13T18:48:00.000-04:00

Louie the day he arrived...hat and all.

One of his first smiles

Grinning before bed.

Louie has steadily gained confidence and trust in our mamas. He has suffered from pnuemonia twice within these 6 months with us and so we are doing some further testing to see what may be causing him to have a weak respiratory system. We are his 4th placement and his courage to accept love again is a great victory for him. His mother, a street addict, raised him on the streets for a number of months until she abandoned him in an orphanage. He stayed there until he was one of the lucky few chosen for national adoption. This family kept him for about a year waiting for the adoption to finalize. During this year he was chronically sick and was finally tested and diagnosed with HIV. Their dreams for a healthy son shattered and their savings drained they decided to give him back to the government to care for and that day they brought him to us. We could not be more delighted to hug and love this precious little one who has experienced so much rejection and loss. It is our hope that a family will step forward soon who will stand by him permenantly and give him the love and stability he needs to thrive into the future.

Finding Joy

2011-09-13T18:12:00.001-04:00

Freddy waking up in his new place.

Always curious and ready for action.

He came to us sound asleep having returned from a malnutrition center and being HIV positive he was not well received at the large home he had been in. He was dressed for winter on a hot day and deposited into my arms and the social worker asked to wash her hands and then left. He woke up and true to what we know now is his personality got to work exploring and making himself at home. He loves it here and it shows. He finally found some good lovin' and he hasn't looked back since. His health has steadily improved and he loves to eat. We pray for all our kids to either one day return to their birth families or if that is not possible to be adopted into loving families. Please pray that this becomes possible for Freddy.

Freddy to the right of Louie...full of joy.

Worth the Tears

2011-09-13T15:19:00.004-04:00

Little Jessica in her Moses basket.

Little Jessica a little bit bigger and a whole lot stronger.

This is how she arrived to us. She is now seizure free, her chronic urinary tract infection finally resolved, her anemia improving, she has grown 9cm, gained over a kilo and is ready to have her open heart surgery. We just met with her pediatric cardiologist and when Paul returns from the States we will meet with her to make plans. The road with Jessica has been so long. In the beginning we wondered each day if she would live or die. I handed her over to Jesus so many times I can't even count them. To see her today is to see the miracle of love magnified in the life of such a tiny precious creation of God. She not only smiles and laughs with joy, but is rolling over, sitting up on her own for short periods of time and now standing for short periods holding onto something. Her cardiologist was so stunned upon seeing her after a 3 month period that she could not stop talking about her advancement asking us how we got her to develop so rapidly. Dedicated mamas who consistently love her unconditionally and maintain a steady hope that their prayers for her will cause her life to be even more than we can ask or imagine. To God be the glory.

El Refugio --- The Refuge Medical Clinic Opens

2011-08-28T19:40:00.000-04:00

Moving in day

An Opening Celebration Prayer

Part of the upstairs to our home is a medical clinic that reaches out to a marginalized indigenous group here in Bolivia called the Ayoreo. A group of mostly Bolivian doctors serves each morning the needs of this population as well as any other person in need for free. We at the home use their services at times. They also make trips during July and August to groups of people who live in isolated villages on the rivers of the jungle in the Beni, (a province of Bolivia). We are pleased to donate this space as part of God's practical love being sown in our community and beyond.

How can I pray?

2011-07-14T19:00:00.000-04:00

There are three main ways you can get involved in the Judah Quy: Home for Precious Little Ones. Pray, give and come.

Pray. Our most important need in running Judah Quy is for prayer support. The following are some key areas of need for us:
• For guidance in recruiting and supporting quality and caring mamas and volunteers.
• For favor with the ever changing government personnel and for God to place the children here that he wants us to spend ourselves on (the need is so much greater than our resources).
• For abundant financial support to meet the many serious medical needs of these little ones.
• For our family as we work together rescuing these little ones.

How can I give?

2011-07-14T18:55:00.000-04:00

Give. Keeping these little ones well fed and with their necessary medication requires significant funds. We have a sponsorship program that is $25 for each child and $50 to sponsor one of the women that work as our mamas. Each person that works in the home is a missionary and raises support to live on. If you are interested in sponsoring a mom or child please send us an email at the address below and we can send you a brochure.

Tax-deductible contributions can be mailed to:

Shore Vineyard
PO Box 281
Beachwood, NJ 08722
Please write "Children's Home" on the memo line. Please direct all inquiries to paul_hoffman777@hotmail.com.

Items you can collect and send down with a team
***Please only new or gently used items keeping in mind they will have to be brought down via airplane luggage

Baby Equipment
• Pack n plays
• Outdoor baby swings

Sturdy Developmental Toys
• Wooden puzzles
• Chunky books
• Pull toys
• Mirrors
• Imagination sets (Dr’s kits, kitchen stuff, dolls, cars, people, music makers/instruments)
• Crib toys (musical mobile wind up variety, busy boxes, crib mirrors)
• Music CDs in Spanish

Feeding and Baby Care• Plastic bibs

Diapering and Bathing
• Cloth diaper covers all sizes especially Bummies covers (easy and sturdy to wash and dry, no pins necessary)
• Hooded bath towels

Bedding and Room Decorations
• Crib sheets
• Water proof mattress pads

Clothing
• For hot and cold weather including socks, shoes, sandals, hats
• Boys preemie – 3T
• Girls preemie ---3T

How can I come?

2011-07-14T18:51:00.000-04:00

Come. We believe that some of you will feel called to come to Bolivia for a year to get directly involved in rescuing these precious little ones. Here is how it works:

Mercy Internship

• Provide own support. Costs include airline ticket, visa to enter and immigration paperwork to stay, valid passport, room and board (there is a room above the home open to volunteers), personal spending money and vaccinations. We insist on yellow fever, Hep A and B series (can be started at home and continued here), up-to-date Tetanus shot, typhoid (pill form), and chicken pox vaccine or immunity, and all other shots up-to-date. Please note we do not recommend malaria pills as it is not present in the city. If you plan to travel into the jungle at some point you will have to weigh the risks for yourself.
• Valid international drivers license can be obtained at AAA (optional)
• A strong and mature Christian faith, flexible, with a servant attitude willing to help out where needed, willing to live simply
• Spanish skills a plus, willingness to take lessons and learn a must
• Love for and experience caring for children
• Degree or interest in pursuing a degree in teaching, nursing, medicine, physical, occupational or speech therapy or related fields (a plus but not necessary)

email us at : paul_hoffman@hotmail.com if you are interested in more details or would like us to send you an application.

You will give us prosperity, Lord; everything that we achieve is the result of what you do. Psalm 26:12

2011-03-09T18:54:00.039-04:00

I opened up the blog for the first time in almost exactly a year. I cried. I cried for the difficulties of this past year, for the uphill battle this process has been each step of the way, and for the joy of being able to say that God has done what He said in His time. As a family we have passed through deep waters but they have not swept us away.
With great joy we welcomed our daughter Gabriella Abigail into this world and then within minutes of her birth watched her slip into what seemed like the grips of death. She stopped breathing, was put on a respirator and thanks be to God after 10 days made a remarkable turn around and came home with us. The blood clot in my leg resolved and I am no longer on daily injections though I need to exercise daily to avoid swelling and pain. We received what appeared to be the final certification for the home last April and this December when we went back in to announce that we were finally ready to open the home we and they discovered that it was not legal. Political turnover had occurred and it seems that for the moment we have made a stable connection and resolved all paperwork issues.

We advocated steadily for our first baby and after several months got a call on January 31st to go 3 hours into the countryside to a malnutrition center that bordered the jungle. Here amidst 1 million mosquitos (that is a low estimate) live up to 40 babies and young children who without this service by an Italian catholic nun would most likely die. Unfortunately in this small isolated town there is not much more than steady food and very basic medical care and so Jessica was not responding and they worried for her future. Having been abandoned at birth she has been shuffled between hospitals and homes. They were given the task of helping her gain weight and did the best they could but do not have what she needs.
This first picture is Sister Agatha saying goodbye to us and pouring out her heart that the family in Bolivia is breaking down and the children are the ones suffering. She says she never turns away a child in need.

This is little Jessica. She came to us fragile and grey, her eyes glazed over and her body stiff from lack of movement. They told us they had to tie down her arms to keep her from putting her hands in her mouth and making herself vomit. They told me that they weighed her every day and that she had hardly gained any weight in the 5 months she was with them. They told me she had suffered pnuemonia, chickenpox, urinary tract infections, and some of these multiple times. They told me she was as fragile as glass and that they were amazed she had survived up til now. I was almost afraid to hold her. She, at 11 months old, weighs 7 pounds and is the size of a newborn.

This is Jessica on her first birthday. She has gained weight steadily since her arrival and her color has improved and her eyes are bright. She has shown no signs of gagging herself and receives muscle massages 2 times a day and has limbered up considerably. She has rolled over on her own, can sit up with assistance and coos and smiles. We discovered that her heart has a huge hole in it and that she will not be able to grow normally until it is fixed. We are currently working to make that possible for her. She has had seizures and urinary tract infections and these keep postponing the surgery date. Pray that she will receive what she needs to not just survive, but thrive.

Final Inspection Tour

2010-03-29T08:19:00.000-04:00

Here's a video tour of Judah Quy on the day of it's recent "final" inspection in it's "just as it will be when our first precious little one arrives" featuring your hosts, Emmanuel, William, Ella and Jorden!

Obstacles, Obstacles, Obstacles

2010-03-05T15:38:00.009-04:00

Long Awaited Meeting

These last two months have been very difficult. Very, very difficult. We finally received the long promised visit from the government offices only to find that they had not yet read our paperwork and they were expecting to visit children at our home. We had a long meeting and were able to explain to another set of ears the vision and mission for the home and that we would not take in children until the proper certifications were in place. They seemed very positive about the mission for helping special needs little ones, and left promising to finish their report promptly. Six weeks later we are still waiting for the promised approval.

Meanwhile we are finishing many details on the home that have taken longer than expected. At this point this news should not come as a surprise to me, but it always does. We are waiting for the plumber/electrician to finish connecting everything, and for the downstairs we are in need of completing the painting and installing shelving and kitchen cupboards.

While all this was happening I began experiencing a high leg pain that became so severe I had to drag my leg to walk. My leg also changed colors when I stood up on it. It turns out I mysteriously developed a large blood clot in my central left leg vein and was hospitalized for 4 days and sent home on heperin injections. Thankfully the clot is in the process of dissolving and I am exercising the leg as much as possible. During this crisis we had a lovely run of ameobic dysentary and ecoli intestinal infections in our entire family which nearly did us in, but praise God we are all feeling better.

I walked through the home talking with God about all this chaos. I felt like he reassured me that He was still in charge of the timing.

It's lookin' good!

2010-02-15T18:20:00.001-04:00

Painting Party

2010-01-06T16:20:00.000-04:00

We had a great turnout on December 19 for our Painting Party for the first floor of Judah Quy. Painting was a misnomer in the end as concrete walls require quite the preparation for painting. You sand them, "paint' them with sealant, sand them again, spackle them, sand them again, spackle them again, sand them one more time and then paint them. We managed to sand and seal the whole downstairs and had lots of fun and a Bolivian-style BBQ for lunch.
We had a painter friend of ours do the inbetween sanding and spackling which require more skill and now all is ready to paint. We actually had two volunteers paint one of the rooms so far and it looks great!!

First floor nearly finished

2009-12-12T23:02:00.005-04:00

We are definitely making progress...each day bringing us closer to receiving our first precious little one.

Precious Puppies

2009-12-12T19:41:00.008-04:00

I could not resist posting this as it has been such a special time for us as a family. We decided to breed our labrador retriever and she gave birth 5 weeks ago to 5 little pups. Immediately following this she ate something poisonous, we think from the constructon site, and almost died. We had to dropper feed these guys for several days not knowing if our dog, Puma, would live or not. She pulled through and has been feeding and caring for them since. We wanted to participate in giving generously to the home and so as a family we decided to raise the puppies and sell them to be able to purchase the fridge for the home. So soon we will be saying fairwell to these little furballs and be bringing home the fridge.

Roof Tiles From Heaven...well not exactly

2009-12-12T18:27:00.009-04:00

God has been providing in such amazing ways. Our construction budget had to increase do to some add-ons along the way. One was a laundry area that I had not considered needing a roof, but wash machines do not run well soaked in rainwater. A second add-on was an additional septic tank because of the high water level of the land. I also added some additional windows for natural ventilation to avoid needing airconditioning and the additional costs that would bring. As you can imagine these things cost money. As I prayed about how to fund the additional costs I kept thinking about asking for a discount on the ceramic roof tiles. Businesses here do not receive tax benefits for being generous and so it is not always easy to secure lower prices even for non profits. We went to the office of Ceramica Norte and were unable to speak with the owners wife but left our blog address and the order for the tiles explaining it was for a baby home and prayed that they would offer us a lower price. We were home for an hour or two when the phone rang and it was Monica the owners wife, a christian who had adopted a little girl 3 years ago and having looked at the blog wanted to donate all the roof tiles for free. She even returned the deposit we had left to ensure timely delivery. I was stunned and overwhelmed by God's ability to provide. Thanks to these tiles we have finished the roof and beat the rains! Praise God.

Raising the Roof

2009-11-05T07:28:00.000-04:00

I was washing the breakfast dishes and looked out my window and saw the workers who are building Judah Quy: Home for Precious Little Ones straining to lift the roof triangles. Paul and our worship leader Freddy actually ended up having to help as they were getting caught on the mango tree in front. Each day they are closer to finishing the roof. Each day we are closer to the rainy season so I hope the roofers win!

Pouring the Second Floor

2009-10-30T12:39:00.000-04:00

Construction continues on the home as they are currently pouring the cement for the second floor. In addition, we handed in our paperwork to the government offices and will be in the process of accredidation for the next month. We are still in the process of finishing the legal paperwork necessary to run the home under the auspices of the our church plant. Please pray for favor and quick processing. This month has been incredibly busy as we moved to our home beside Judah Quy: Home for Precious Little Ones. Our rental contract was up and so we had to move in without doors, window screens (read here millions of mosquitos), without paint, stair rails, without septic tank covers and the list goes on. It would not be so hard to do alone or as an adventurous couple, but as a family with four kids (three under age 5) it was a challenge. We basically lived the month with an extended family of workers. Most of the work on our home is finished which is bringing more rest and peace to our family.

Generous Givers = 100% Construction Costs

2009-09-25T20:59:00.000-04:00

Paul returned from a 10 day fundraising trip for construction on the home. We were amazed by God's faithfulness and the generosity of people in our Vineyard Churches as they provided for all the necessary money to complete the construction of the home. It brought me to tears more than once hearing him say how much support and interest there was for Judah Quy and how many people were praying. He brought back bags of clothes and baby items and even a sign to hang on the home. I've set it on my work desk as inspiration to press ahead toward what God is doing even when things are hectic or difficult.

Definite Progress

2009-09-09T22:08:00.000-04:00

This month has already seen progress on several fronts. I finished what felt like my magnus opum but what turned out just to be a 50 page project description and policy and procedure manual. A bilingual friend of ours who is a lawyer agreed to edit and proofread it to check for any Spanish errors and give any legal suggestions. Our contact in government assured us of his full support and promised any help necessary in getting our paperwork through in a timely manner. Now I am left with the task of translating it into English.

Paul, my husband, will be making a trip to the states from September 11- September 23 for fundraising in our partnership churches and sharing about Judah Quy: Home for Precious Little Ones with as many people as possible. We will miss him, but are excited that he will have a chance to share about the home and see his parents for the first time in 3 years.

On the construction front, the 2 septic tanks are dug, the foundations for the stairs are being poured and they are preparing to pour the cement for the second floor. It is exciting to see it taking shape. They will need to cut down some of the limbs of the mangoe trees as they start to lay bricks for the second floor. The trees provide excellent shade as it is so hot here at times and will create an outdoor play space any time of the day. During the summer season by 9am it is many times too hot to be outdoors until the sun sets. And in December you get the added bonus of hundreds of mangoes!

On the ultra practical side we have asked for cloth diaper donations and also are sewing some diapers here to meet the large need. Babies need lots of diapers and diapers of different sizes and so we sew! This has been an interesting way to share the word about the home and allow people to participate who are seamstresses. Our network keeps growing.

We held another work day on unfortunately one of the hottest days probably in the upper 90's. We worked bringing in fill by the wheelbarrel load to raise the outside porch of the home. It was not exactly fun, but we had fun doing it. The red ants made it that much more enjoyable! People often work in flipflops here and that has its disadvantages as well as advantages. This work day brought different people than the last one and they were able to see the location and progress of the home.

Our permanent residency paperwork has come through and after 10 months we have our passports back again. We thank God for pushing our paperwork through without bribes and that we were granted residency. God has been and continues to be good to us.

A Thank You for Donations Received To Date

2009-08-12T11:20:00.000-04:00

The members of the Shore Vineyard in New Jersey joined together to hold a benefit concert on behalf of Judah Quy: Home for Precious Little Ones. A special thank you to all who worked to make that possible.

A special thank you also to Gina Ortiz and her church's Children's and Youth Ministry who raised money for construction on the home.

We would like to say thank you to our private donors who have also given generously toward construction on the home.

To date we have received $21,200 towards the $50,000 needed. We are constructing as the money comes in with a goal of opening the home this December 2009.

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, checks can be made out to "North Jersey Vineyard" and sent to 370 North Street, Teterboro, NJ 07608. Please write "Children's Home" on the memo line. Please direct all inquiries to us at: paul_hoffman777@hotmail.com.

A Generous Doctor Offers His Help

2009-08-12T11:09:00.000-04:00

We recently met with our family's pediatrician, Dr. Nino de Guzman, to ask if he would help us with the medical aspect of the home. We know that he is a very skilled and busy doctor and we were not sure if he would have time to commit to the project. He surprised us by saying that he could only offer two things right now. The first was to treat all the children in the home for free and the second was to speak with a rotary club he was joining about helping out.

We were so amazed by God's faithfulness in helping us find a skilled and compassionate doctor who was willing to work with the children who will come to Judah Quy: Home for Precious Little Ones. This doctor has walked with us every step of the way in our journey with our son William. He is well connected to the medical community and we thank God for him. He is a real answer to prayer. A thank you to all who are praying.

Many Hands Make Light Work...or Lighter Work

2009-08-12T10:46:00.000-04:00

So much has happened in the last month since I wrote. We had our first prayer meeting for the home in which several neighbors brought friends and have since offered computer support, to sew diapers, collect clothes and talk with their businesses about becoming involved in volunteering at Judah Quy: Home for Precious Little Ones.

The picture above is of many of the 40 people who came out on Bolivian Independence Day to shovel sandy dirt to fill the land and enjoy a churasco (barbeque Bolivian style) together. Some are from our La Vina church plant and some are neighbors and friends who wanted to be a part of starting the home.

We have progressed in construction completing the frame for the first floor, digging the septic tanks, some of the rough plumbing, and the outside porch foundations and pillars. We received the help of a very hard working team of 40 young people from Arrowhead Bible Camp in Wisconsin through a connection with a friend. They worked for 3 days on filling the land which is no easy task. Because the land is low we need to fill it by 2 feet with a sandy dirt collected from a nearby river. It will take approximately 50 dump truck loads and the trucks cannot enter our lot because they get stuck. This means wheelbarrel by wheelbarrel the sand is brought in.... a lot of work. But, with all the recent help we have made a noticeable dent. We have about 35 dump truck loads to go.

Construction on Judah Quy

2009-07-04T20:39:00.000-04:00

July 4th Construction Update.

Why start a baby home?

2009-05-17T16:44:00.000-04:00

Since I was a very young girl I have dreamed of being a part of rescuing young lives by opening up a loving children's home. That is why we are excited to announce that we have finalized designs and broken ground for a specialized home for infant orphans who need more intensive medical intervention than is currently available anywhere in Santa Cruz. Our experience adopting William at 8 months old has taught us much. He came from a caring, but overcrowded home that lacked the staff and resources to adequately care for his special and serious medical situation. Besides the unnatural grey color to his skin and the sores head-to-toe, which are common to all orphans here, William was severely malnourished because his cleft lip and palate made it impossible for him to eat sufficiently quickly to keep up with the home’s feeding regimen. In addition, despite the sincere dedication of the staff, they could not follow-up properly on the surgery that saved William’s life at birth. This meant serious damage to his digestive tract, near-constant pain, and even a pronounced bowing of his legs. William is not alone. Government officials are quick to affirm that there is no place to adequately care for orphans with significant, resolvable medical problems. Sick and abandoned children linger in crowded hospitals without personal attention, as William did, until they can gain enough weight to be discharged to an orphanage. Often critical opportunities to heal and develop are delayed or missed entirely. Once discharged, these precious babies can not receive the intervention they need to speed their healing and catch up developmentally, because they pose unreasonable burdens on ill-equipped and under-resourced staff in typical orphanages. Some of these babies are “true” orphans, whose parents have died. Many more have been abandoned due to the severity of their illness, or removed from home after suffering especially severe abuse. A very few have hope of re-uniting with their birth families and still fewer will make it through the legal labyrinth to know the joy of adoption. This children’s home will be dedicated to giving them more than just food and shelter - a loving foundation from which to face the future. In our journey with William, we have made many friends in the legal, government and medical communities. We believe some of them will commit to help us provide special care to these babies and give them a chance at a whole life. Thanks to a generous $5,000 gift (and the donation by a Bolivian La Viña pastor of his architectural work), the foundation for this home is being laid right now. We have much to do – recruit a skilled and loving paid Bolivian staff to provide the consistent base of coverage for this intensive and important work, for example. As director and founder, as well as a former social worker with nursing training, I will provide necessary instruction to ensure each child will be cared for as if he or she were my very own. I will be traveling to Cochabamba in early June to learn from a friend who has been doing similar work there over the past five years. In addition, we will be accepting screened volunteers from around Bolivia, including our new church-plant, as well as international volunteers who could provide their own support while giving themselves to help our precious little ones. This is a big dream. God has been challenging me to trust him and to walk ahead as He brings it into reality. Please pray for me as I step into this new role and shoulder these new responsibilities. Due to the complete absence of state funding, we must raise funds for construction (about $45,000), for furniture and baby items, and for the monthly operating budget. Please also pray that God sends us the right person to help with our own kids for those times when I need to focus on getting this project up and running. More details coming soon!

Why did we name the home Judah Quy?

2009-05-16T13:07:00.000-04:00

As I spent time considering and praying about the right name for this home I felt like God led me to this name. This is the name of a precious little boy, who lived just a short time, but whose footprints will last much longer. He is my nephew and he was born on October 24, 2008, at 28 weeks. He did not survive long, and I never had the chance to meet him. He was perfectly healthy, but preterm labor came violently and without time to stop it. As with many preemies, he suffered from serious complications. My sister-in-law, Anna, and my brother Todd, received him with great hope and loved him well, and then had to release him to God. They named him Judah which means praise, and Quy (pronounced kwee) which in Vietnamese means precious. His name means Precious Praise which is what they have given God since, as they have held on to Him through this tragic loss. Watching them from afar I honor them and their son by saying that as children come to us in this home we will receive them with the same hope, love them with the same love, and release their futures to God with the same trust. May God give us this same strength which can come only from Him.