Evidence of Hope- #1

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Each day this week, as the team of students from Watkinsville FBC arrived to work on Paraíso’s first community playground, they experienced evidences of #hope within the community located in Guatemala City’s northern slums. Upon arriving to the central playground, the team encountered mothers with their children playing together on the unfinished structures. Mothers who no longer felt it necessary to stay indoors for their children’s safety. Mothers who deemed this playground a GOOD and SAFE place for their children to play. Mothers who see this playground as a beacon of #hope, a change for the better, within their community.

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This hope, through Christ’s love, is what Engadi is all about.

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Watkinsville’s Workweek in Paraíso

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The team of high school students from Watkinsville FBC have been hard at work this week in Paraíso continuing progress on a playground for local children.  The play area is the first of it’s kind in the community and is strategically located only 1-2 blocks from four nearby elementary schools. Several families in the area have expressed their gratitude, excitement, and #hope at the idea of their children having a place to play at such a central area in their community, and local children have formed a #brotherhood working with teams from the States to help construct the area. Watkinsville has done a great job at continuing the plans for the playground, and we can’t wait to update you with their finished progress at the end of the week!

#engadi

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Watkinsville Family Fun Day in Paraíso

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Yesterday marked yet another day of bringing #hope and #brotherhood to Paraíso through hosting local families at an open neighborhood community space to bond through fun and games. The team of high school students from Watkinsville FBC spent the afternoon yesterday playing games and drawing with local children and their parents. Engadi was able to use the event to evangelize to those in attendance through a message given through our Director of Discipleship, David Medina. In addition, opportunities were created to hand out New Testament Bibles to many of the families in attendance. We are thankful for Watkinsville’s partnership yesterday to help Engadi continue spreading the Gospel and bringing #hope and #brotherhood to Paraíso.

The team of high school students will spend the rest of this week continuing work in Paraíso on the playground mad of recycled and repurposed tires that Engadi began last month. Check back to see photos of their progress throughout the week!

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Thank You, Asbury 2016!

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The team of youth from Asbury First United Methodist Church finished up their work week by spending their last work day working on paving the road that leads to Engadi Ranch, the future site of Engadi’s complex of homes, schools, and recreational centers for at-risk boys. The team worked on one of the last sections of the road that needs work!

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Engadi wants to give a very special “thank you” to the team who accomplished so much in their week-long trip to partner with us. The team also worked on the construction of three more beds for future young men who will be admitted into the Benaiah House, as well as various electrical and roof repairs around the home. All of this was in addition to their main project of beginning work on Paraíso’s first playground constructed from recycled and repurposed tires. The team worked several days to first clean, then paint the tires, prep the playground location, and begin construction on the new play area. To see photos of their work in Paraíso, click here.

Ultimately, the team of high school seniors put in an awesome week of work with Engadi Ministries. We are grateful to them for sacrificing their last spring break of high school to help Engadi Ministries bring #hope and #brotherhood to the neighborhood of Paraíso.

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Each of the ~200 tires was hand painted one of several bright colors.

Playground in Paraíso

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The team of youth from Asbury United Methodist Church has been hard at work in Paraíso this entire week working on a very special project- a playground for children in the community! The play area is strategically located at the top of the soccer stadium in Paraíso, and is about 1-2 blocks from four different local elementary schools.

The playground site is strategically located at the top of the soccer stadium in Paraíso, only about a block from four local elementary schools.

The playground site is strategically located at the top of the soccer stadium in Paraíso, only about 1-2 blocks from four local elementary schools.

Monday, the team worked to paint tires and level the play area which is located atop one of Guatemala City’s former landfills, so the ground was full of all sorts of debris. They followed up Tuesday by finishing painting tires, including two giant tractor tires, and beginning to set the tires into the ground. They were joined by numerous local children who were excited to finally have a playground in their very own community. Several of the boys within the Derek Program also joined the work to lend a hand to improve their neighborhood. Wednesday, the team finished up by constructing a jungle gym/mountain of stacked and secured tires.

Tires were then secured into the ground with help from local children, including many of the young men in the Derek Program.

Tires were then secured into the ground with help from local children, including many of the young men in the Derek Program.

Throughout the week, many residents expressed their gratitude and renewed #hope in their community that the new play area had brought. While most other neighborhoods in Guatemala City have a communal play area for children, residents of Paraíso conveyed that this was a wish that they had simply never been able to afford within their own neighborhood, and the government had never bothered to offer to Paraíso. Parents became emotional at the sight of the new play area slowly coming together, and children expressed their excitement at finally having a designated place in their community where they could play.

The playground still lacks a few more structures that will be finished in the coming weeks, but so far it is looking great! Thank you, Asbury youth for your hard work and determination this week to bring #restoration and leave a lasting #legacy of Christ’s love in Paraíso by bringing #hope and #brotherhood through creating one of very few safe places for children to play in Paraíso.

#engadi

The team from Asbury partnered up with local children and families to work on the playground, bringing #hope and #brotherhood to Paraíso.

The team from Asbury partnered up with local children and families to work on the playground, bringing #hope and #brotherhood to Paraíso.

Creating balloon animals for kids in Paraíso

Spring Family Festival

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Yesterday, with the help of students from Asbury, Engadi hosted its largest family festival in Paraíso to date. The festival drew people of all ages from all over Paraíso to see the fun and games. The festivities included music, bounce houses, games (such as soccer, jump rope, and parachute games), crafts, face painting, and nail painting for the women and girls. Several hundred residents were in attendance, and popsicles were provided as a refreshing treat to all who stayed until the end as well as a brief presentation of the Gospel message.

The team from Asbury will be partnering with us through the end of the week. We can’t wait to update you on the outcome of their project with recycled tires that we alluded to at the end of last week! We are thankful for their partnering efforts to bring #hope and #brotherhood to the community of Paraíso.

#engadi

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Thank You, Avenue Church!

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Engadi Ministries thanks the men of Avenue Church who spent the past week partnering to reach out to children and families living in Paraíso. The construction they completed this week was jobs that would have taken our ministry staff many more weeks, if not months, to complete and it will have a direct and lasting impact on the lives of those who live in Paraíso. About half of the team spent the week renovating the Engadi Transformation Center, a beacon of hope within the community that will touch hundreds of lives as Engadi uses it to share Christ’s love with the neighborhood through Bible studies, community classes and events. The other half of the team spent the majority of their week constructing beds, dressers, and desks for the boys who will be living there, creating a bond of brotherhood within the shared rooms of the home. All of the teams’ work looks great, and we are so thankful to have their support, expertise, and dedication for the past week. Thank you, Avenue Church!

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Benaiah House Furnishings

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For the past week, men from Avenue Church in Waxahachie, Texas have been working on a very special project for the Benaiah House, Engadi Ministries’ first boys home, which is scheduled to open its doors early this year. The house is already home to Engadi’s main offices, and houseparents, James and Ellie Carr. It is now even one step closer to housing its first three at-risk boys from the slums of Guatemala.

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Part of the all-men’s team has constructed beds, dressers, and desks for the first three young men to move into the Benaiah House, and even began construction on three additional beds that will be needed later this year as the ministry grows.

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These beds are designed to give each young man his own area within his shared room, with his own space to study, place to keep his belongings, and his own bed, things that these boys have never experienced in Paraíso, where most families currently live in small tin shacks that are generally shared by many individuals. These rooms will help create a close bond of brotherhood between the boys who share them, in addition to cultivating the hopes and dreams of each individual boy.

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Thank you, Avenue Church, for believing in the vision of Engadi Ministries, and making it a reality through your hard work and dedication. The beds look wonderful!

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Transforming the Transformation Center

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The new roof looks great!

The new roof looks great!

Over the past week, the all-men’s team from Avenue Church has transformed the Engadi Transformation Center in Paraíso. The team has replaced the roof, rewired the building, leveled and poured new concrete on the floor, begun to tile the upstairs, and dried-in one of the downstairs bathrooms. We are so thankful for their know-how, flexibility, and willingness to get the job done this week.

Beginning their last full day of work in Paraíso

Beginning their last full day of work in Paraíso

Finishing up the wiring within the building.

Finishing up the wiring within the building.

Avenue Church helping to lay tile and rewire the building.

Avenue Church helping to lay tile and rewire the building.

Rewiring the building was more complex than first thought, but Robert was able to get the job done!

Rewiring the building was more complex than first thought, but Robert was able to get the job done!

Laying tile on the newly poured floors.

Laying tile on the newly poured floors.

Pouring and leveling the floors.

Pouring and leveling the floors.

Drywalling the downstairs bathroom.

Drywalling the downstairs bathroom.

The Engadi Transformation Center will allow Engadi to have a continual secure presence within the community of Paraíso. It is designed to be a beacon of hope for the neighborhood, and a place where Bible studies, community classes, and events can be held to bring a sense of brotherhood and togetherness to the community. Thank you Avenue Church for investing your time, money and talents into sharing Christ’s love with the community.

#engadi #hope #brotherhood

Raising the Roof

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Yesterday, the all-men’s team from Avenue Church in Texas put in a long day’s work in Paraíso at Engadi’s newly acquired Engadi Transformation Center. The team removed the building’s original roof which was in disrepair and replaced it with new metal roofing. They also finished framing on one of the building’s bathrooms and began drywall work on the room. In addition, they initiated rewiring the electrical system in the building and leveling and pouring new concrete flooring upstairs. Great work guys! Your efforts will help Engadi bring hope and brotherhood to countess children and families in Paraíso

The team is back in Paraíso as of this morning continuing progress on the building. We can’t wait to see the progress that they are able to make in the next three days that they are here!

Avenue Church's mens team removing the old tin roof.

Avenue Church’s mens team removing the old tin roof.

Avenue Church's men's team hoisting up the new sheets of metal roofing.

Avenue Church’s men’s team hoisting up the new sheets of metal roofing.

Avenue Church's men's team finished the roof; now moving on to level and pour new concrete flooring.

The new roof looks great!  Now moving on to level and pour new concrete flooring.

Phillip Blume of Blume Photography captured the progress made of Engadi's Transformation Center

Phillip Blume of Blume Photography captured the progress made of Engadi’s Transformation Center

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