February.

Somehow February flew by and we are now in March. The children are completely back into their school routine and we have all adjusted to the new schedule for the year. There were a few "I can't sit still in school after my vacation" incidents but the kids have calmed down and things are more or less smooth. :)

Lassi wanted in too.

At the end of January the Morales family (who faithfully comes every visiting Saturday to visit the kids who don't get family visits) wanted to bring a treat and pray over the new transition home for our teens. It was exciting for them as they have watched these teens grow from young children into young men and seen our property change and grow. They brought tamales and hot chocolate and everyone had a good time.

 We were all waiting to start and Spats felt like he should be a part of the gathering. :)

Victor, Chici and part of the Morales family.

Eating tamales.    Getting cake.

Edgar brought his girlfriend home for us to meet. ;)

Our children are doing well and we are excited to see what this year has in store for us all!

Going back to School

After three months of vacation they are really excited to go back to school. 

  

 The first day is alwas exciting because they see all their old  friends and they meet new friends.

Transition Home.

            We are very happy that the transition home is finished enough for the older teens to move in and they will be moving their things up there soon. It is really a very nice house that started out as a dream but now has become a reality. We can see that the Lord had this in his heart for our teens, and now they are starting a new year with a new house. Their lives are will be a little different because they are going to have new responsibilities, but they will also have new privileges. Life here in Guatemala is getting harder for everybody but we are trusting that the Lord will continue to provide the necessary things for them to have a better future.

Busy, busy!

The children have been out of school since the middle of October. It has been a busy and fun time. Some of our kids start back to school this week, some next week.

We have been busy doing a lot of things and we have had a lot of visitors as well. We had a pediatrician come and do a checkup for all of our kids, including a small blood test. Next was a dentist. She made many recommendations for our kids. Some will need teeth pulled and some need further treatment from an orthodontist.

We were happy to have a large family from our church come and visit a couple of times to play soccer with our kids and just have fun with them. Another lady from the church came and made bead bracelets with all the girls. And then my (Naomi's) mom came and thoroughly enjoyed her time with the kids. And me of course! :)

We have done a lot of celebrating as well. Birthdays, graduations, end of school, Independance Day.

In November, the boys who were 11 years and older were able to climb a volcano.

In September we celebrated Independence Day. We went to the parades in the morning and had a picnic lunch in the afternoon which the kids really enjoyed. Antoni really enjoyed his ice cream!

We were blessed to be able to buy a new van. Our other vans were almost the same age as I am. I won't reveal my age, but for a van, that is old! ;)

Hiking!

                                                                              Haircuts.

Gerber at his grade 6 graduation.

We all had the chance to go into the Capital City to do a little window shopping. We saw the biggest tree the kids had ever seen!

Felipe is helping set up the tree.

 Playing games at our house Christmas party with our social worker and psychologist.

       It was a fun time off for everyone. We enjoyed the fun things, but I think the adults are ready to get back into a normal routine. The kids are taking advantage of their last day off and are playing with their Nintendo.

    We hope you all had a great start to the new year. God bless.

A peek at our Christmas!

The last couple of weeks have been really busy around here. The kids have been doing a lot of fun activities (I'll write more about them in another post). For now, I'll give you a little peek into the things that we did.

 In the second week of December we had a party with all the kids, staff, our social worker and our psychiatrist.  It was a fun time of games....

                                                                               and food!

 The kids took part in their Sunday school play at church of the birth of Jesus.

                                                              The older kids (11 and up) were given the option to receive money to buy clothes instead of a different present. They all went to the market before Christmas to pick out their clothes. Most of them chose shirts etc. from their favorite soccer team.

 We went to the Rehab Center on Christmas Eve to put on the Nativity play and give each resident a gift bag of treats as well as a sandwich and juice. The men really enjoy our visits and it teaches our kids how to share the love of Jesus with others. 

On Christmas Eve we went to church. Our kids did the Nativity play, we had worship and a sermons, then ate tamales (a traditional food for Christmas Eve). 

 Once we got home from church, it was time to open presents! The kids each have a bag with small presents inside. Everyone opens at once and it is an exciting and loud time of opening presents and showing off the things they received. 

 On Christmas Day we invite missionaries from the church to eat with us. It is a fun time of eating and fellowship. 

We all had a great time but in all of the excitement of opening presents and eating good food, we reminded the children the greatest gift we have ever received, or that is available to receive- our salvation through Jesus Christ.

We hope you all had a great time with family and/or friends and may the Lord bless you in the new year.

Rehoboth children and staff.

New Life and Peace Ministries

December 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters
It is strange how time went very fast. The year is almost finished and we are very close to celebrating Christmas again. We really appreciate all the support that you gave us the whole year. This time of year means a lot to us because we can bless the children and the men of the rehab centers with something special. We are family to the children and men and we want them to feel the love of God through us by having a special dinner and some gifts that can encourage them to feel loved.

The children really enjoy this holiday time. In the first week of December they decorate the Christmas tree, and of course they already know what kind of present they would like to receive. It might not be a big present but the fact is that they can count on us for that.

Also, the men at the rehab center will receive a present that they probably are not expecting. When they receive the present, it breaks my heart when I see the happiness in their faces because some of them have never received a present before. We also want to give a financial gift to the staff that works at the rehab centers here and in Nicaragua. They don’t receive a salary for the work that they are doing they live by faith.

If you have it on your heart to help us with a special one-time donation for Christmas gifts and offerings, please make the check to Christ Chapel and memo NLPM. Please include a separate note designating it for Christmas. Please don’t write this on the check for IRS purposes!

The kids are now in their vacation time until the first week of January. We are happy because all of them passed into the next grade and they have improved in many different areas. They are excited because they have a few activities planned like climbing a volcano and going to a camp overnight.

One thing that we are very happy to share with you is about Antony. Some of our children have sisters in another home nearby and they go to visit them once a month. One month the staff was surprised to see a girl who looked like Antony. It turned out that she is Antony’s older sister. She is unable to talk or walk and we are praying for her healing. The next morning after meeting his sister Antony, without prompting, began to pray asking the Lord to heal her, and it really touched our hearts. When he prays, he does so with a strong faith. We thank the Lord He is filling and healing Antony.


The rehab center in Nicaragua is doing well. Praise God the men are doing a very good job. They are growing in different areas in administration and also in their spiritual lives. There are 20 men in the program and we really pray that they are going to allow the Lord to change their hearts and to give them a vision to continue doing this work. In Guatemala we have two men from Nicaragua that are doing a yearlong commitment to learn how to run the center. It is very strange how God works in us and sometimes we don’t realize the great job that he is doing.


In the rehab center here in Guatemala we have 32 residents. Some of them are really allowing the Lord to change their hearts and others are just hanging around. We know that God’s mercy is great and He is going to perform his plans in his time. Last month a man came back into the program because he was doing very poorly. He had asked his family to bring him back to the program because he felt really bad. We accepted him on Tuesday and he was doing ok for a few days. Then on Saturday he started feeling bad and early Sunday morning he died. I think he came back just to die in a secure place, and not to die in the streets like a dog. We are very happy that the Lord allowed him to come here and repent before he died.



We are very happy to share with you all our experiences and the different things that are happening here. Thank you for your faithfulness. Only God can give you a reward for everything that you are doing.


We wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!


God bless,

Victor & Chici Barbella & Staff

Written by: Sandra Morales

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Rehoboth Home for ChildrenThe kids are now in their vacation time until the first week of January. We are happy because all of them passed into the next grade and they have improved in many different areas. They are excited because they have a few activities planned like climbing a volcano and going to a camp overnight.