Photo blog: activities with the girls

Here is a look at some of the activities we have been able to do so far in 2013. 

ENJOY!!

Taco date with Sandra after her grandma died

Trip to the beach!

Cheering on the boys' at their soccer game!

Celebrating Jennifer's 18th birthday!

First time at Pizza Hut with Amalia and Sandra

Movie night

Beauty day with baby Marisol

First official girls' night in the new house!

Enjoying peach tea popsicles with Dania

Playing with our new baby bunnies!!

Hammock time with Nicole and baby Briana

Making Oreo pie. YUM!!

Teaching Karen (deaf/mute) to express herself through art!

I am so thankful that the Lord has put each of these girls in my life!! My prayer is that God would continue to give us the authority to speak into each of their lives and point them to Him. I pray that He would pursue us and shower us in His love. Please join us in praying for each of these sweet girls, and pray that the Lord would continue to give us direction as we lead this girls' ministry!!

ALMOST done!!

[a girls' home update]

It is really starting to feel like a house now!! Last week, the guys finished doing the smooth, red concrete floor in the girls' home. The house is covered with cement inside and out--ready to paint!! The electricity has been installed and is just waiting to be hooked up, and the tubes are ready for plumbing!! It has been AMAZING to see all of this come together in the past 3 months!! The next steps will be the doors, security bars on the windows, toilets, sinks, showers, and a water system! 

In order to finish the house, we will need about $6000 in the next 2 weeks!! Please join us in prayer for God's provision and consider making a one-time donation to help finish the girls' home! I know the Lord has big things planned for these girls--please help make this dream become a reality!!

It's that time of year again!!

 The kids have been enjoying their 3-month break from school--riding bikes, playing computer games, watching tv, spending time on Facebook, and playing outside. 

[enjoying their break]

School will be starting up again in February and our goal is to have ALL of our kids sponsored this year! For many of our kids, last year was a year of recuperation and "getting back into the swing of things" for school. This year, they are getting excited as they have seen the improvements they made throughout the year by learning to be dedicated by going to school daily and keeping up with their homework. We cannot wait to see what this year holds for them, but we need YOUR HELP!! If you would like to sponsor education for one or more of our kids, please let us know! You will be making a difference in the lives of these kids by opening up opportunities for their future! THANK YOU!!

Anderson (7) and **Amalia (12) will be starting their first year at Liberty--a Christian bilingual school. Anderson will be in first grade and Amalia will be in sixth.

**Carlos (14) and **Fernando (12) will be continuing with their private teacher this year to prepare them to be in a regular classroom next year.

Marcos (14) will be entering sixth grade after taking the first half of this year off and later entering classes with Carlos and Fernando's private teacher.

Luis (15), **Ariel (17), and Cristopher (18) will be continuing high school at Nuevo Amanecer--a private Christian Institution.

Fanny (17) and Dania (14) will be transferring to join the three boys at Nuevo Amanecer.

Henry and Walter are planning on returning to high school this year after taking a year off.

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**THESE KIDS ALREADY HAVE SPONSORSHIP FOR EDUCATION. If you would like to help with other areas (food, clothes, recreation, english classes, etc.) please let us know!!

We will also need to buy school uniforms, shoes, and supplies for each of the kids. It will cost anywhere from $25-$100 per kid to get them started this year. Please consider making a one-time donation towards uniforms, shoes, and general school supplies!!

Bring on 2013!!

WOW!! I cannot believe I have been living in Honduras for over a year now! So many great things happened at Zion's Gate Ministries in 2012, and we are expecting 2013 to be even better!! 

• Over the course of this year, our family has grown from three teenage boys to 9 boys and a baby girl. This year, we will be adding more girls to our family when our girls' home is completed in the next two months. 
• We have hosted over 300 missionaries this year, and expect that many or more in 2013, including a few individuals who have committed to return to Honduras to work with our ministry longer-term.
• With the help of World Race and Passport teams, we did many service projects in Los Pinos, such as paint houses, clean up trash, and build an out house. 
• We have prayed and seen physical healings, restoration in families, and miracles that only God could do.
• We started meeting as a family every night to pray and share the Word of God, and it has transformed our family.
• We have rejoiced and suffered TOGETHER.
• The Lord planted the dream in my heart to build a girls' home on the property and it is becoming a reality!
• We hosted the first annual community Christmas party on our property thanks to Roger Van Horn and his parents.

[our family minus Tony plus Roger & his parents]

We live our lives by FAITH, and the Lord continues to PROVIDE everything we need.

girls' home update!

We officially broke ground on the girls' home one month ago!! It was the BEST birthday present ever! Reynaldo and his crew are working hard six days a week to hopefully have the house finished in January 2013. Our goal is to be able to bring the girls to live in their new home by the start of next school year (February 2013), so that it will be an easier transition for them. They are SO excited!!

[Reynaldo, me, and Carlos]

When I left Honduras a week and a half ago, they were finishing up the foundation of the house...

...and while I'm gone they are adding the walls!!

We still need about $6000 to finish the house. Would YOU prayerfully consider being a part of what we're doing at Zion's Gate Ministries? To make a tax-deductible donation:

1. Online Donation:

www.WorldOutreach.org 

Click DONATE & select Cassandra Schott #135

(choose one-time or monthly gift)

2. Mail Checks to:

World Outreach Ministries

P.O. Box B

Marietta, GA 30061

(designate for Cassandra Schott #135)

growing in faith

As many of you know, I have been working with Nidia starting up our girls' ministry here at Zion's Gate Ministries. So far, we have begun focusing most of our efforts on the older three girls (Dania, Fanny, and Jennifer). We meet with the girls every Tuesday to pray and discuss a devotional, and on Thursday afternoons we meet with the girls in IHNFA (a government orphanage) and our girls teach the girls there. In the beginning, the girls were very shy and hesitant to participate in our Tuesday meetings, and even more-so at IHNFA on Thursdays. They always were embarrassed to pray out loud and fought about who would lead the study.

[Dania, Fanny, Jennifer, & me]

Until one Tuesday afternoon when we met in Fanny's house...

I was leading the study that day and we were talking about prayer. Prayer is not some big scary formal thing, it is just having a conversation with God. You do not have to use fancy words or a certain format, just talk to God like he is your best friend. We also talked about how prayer is not only for asking God for things when we need help, it's a way to praise Him for everything He has done in our lives and all He has given us. At the end of our conversation, we had a time to share prayer requests. Most of their requests were for school, health, family, and provision. When we got around to Fanny, she said she wants to learn how to pray. It was such a sweet and innocent request at the time and I do not think she knew what the Lord had in store for her!

A few weeks later, Dania stayed the night at the property during the week and I was able to spend some time with her one morning reading a devotional and talking about it together. The devotional was about how sometimes God allows bad things to happen but He always has a purpose. Dania began to open up about her father's suicide for the first time. The next day, we had our meeting with the girls in Los Pinos and Fanny volunteered to pray! As we read the devotional, Fanny related it to the situation with her grandma and family. Her grandma, Mina, got sick and was in the hospital. Mina's daughters (Fanny's mom and aunts) are constantly fighting and plotting against each other. But with their mom being in the hospital, God was using the situation to bring them closer together in unity as a family.

Fanny ended up sharing this message during one of our nightly meetings as a family, at IHNFA, and even at the hospital with her grandma, mom, and a few of her aunts. I am so proud of her and excited to see what God has in store for her in the future as she continues growing in faith!

MY DREAM!!

A few months ago, the Lord layed on my heart the desire to build a girls' home here on the property at Zion's Gate Ministries. It is a dream that has been stirring in my heart for awhile now and I feel like God is calling me to begin taking action!! This month, Nidia and I started meeting with the girls in Los Pinos twice a week for a Bible study, spending time in their homes, and praying with their moms and other women in the community. God is breaking my heart more and more for these girls and the home situations they are living in.

[with Fanny, Dania, Amalia, Sandra, & Nicole]

I have been working alongside Tony's ministry with the boys now for 8 months and have learned so much. The idea is to take the same ideas and principles and apply it to the girls' home. I want to be able to provide basic needs--food, education, and a safe home environment--but more importantly a community of faith, discipleship, and spiritual development. This will also add a new aspect to our ministry as a whole at Zion's Gate Ministries when we host World Race, Passport, and other missionary groups! The women will be able to pour into our girls as the men work with our guys.

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I truly believe the Lord has spoken to my heart to start something new January 2013! So the challenge is...$10,000 IN FOUR MONTHS!!! This should give us a good start to laying the foundation and building a house of bricks or concrete blocks. Please prayerfully consider being a part of this ministry by making a financial donation! WE CANNOT DO THIS WITHOUT YOU!!