What’s the reason for this party…and for Jason to get in the act? Read below!
Summer Celebration
Though life has its struggles, God gives us reasons to rejoice
Dear Family,
So much happens every week in this ministry the Lord has given us that sometimes I do not know what to write about!
Let’s start with the rehabs. Both are humming along well and receiving more patients weekly. We’ve all heard the tragic stories of lives wrecked by addiction, but such familiarity does not diminish the heartbreaking results in each life, especially when we get to know them personally. The 4 boys pictured below are only 15 years old, but were already addicted to strong drugs when they arrived. “But God.” Now they are all being set free, trained, loved and given another chance. Earlier this month there were 30 young men at this facility and half were sleeping on the floor, but thanks to generous donors, 5 more 3 story bunk beds were just built! Please continue to pray for all the boys and young men working hard to restore their lives at our two facilities!
Barely 15 years old, these boys have already seen and suffered way too much, but are now set free and on fire for God!
These young men are very blessed to have a bed to sleep in now and a home to put their lives back together in
Our move back to Village 1. Sadly, our return didn’t happen this month as planned due to lack of finances. We did get a lot more terracing done, but not all…plus, the cabins I had hoped to return the boys to (the only ones not destroyed by Hurricane Earl) are actually now tick and flea infested—UGH. We can spray them again, but the boards are actually coming apart and just not good anymore (remember, we are high up in the cold, wet Puebla mountains where it rains 8-10 months out of the year…for real…it even freezes and snows at times!) so I decided to tear them down and build cement block dorms for our boys and unwed mothers with their children. We would like to build 3 new dorms on top of the existing foundations. That would be twelve 8×14 foot block rooms with cement roof and 3 complete bathrooms. We calculate $2,500 per room which equals $30,600 total. Please let us know if you’d like to help us rebuild!
School approacheth! August is almost here, and we have 180 children to put through school this year. This is another opportunity to help. Giving an education to a child here is one of the most important things we can do to break the cycle of poverty! It only costs $25 to put a child through school for one year—enough to purchase them a new backpack and the supplies he/she will need this year such as notebooks, pens, pencils, crayons, markers, scissors, glue, construction paper, geometry sets and rulers. But $25 times 180 children can be a little daunting for our budget! That’s why we’re looking for folks to join us in this effort. Not only does an education provide a way for children to become self-sufficient adults who break free from poverty, but it’s also a key means of preventing sex trafficking. Let me know if you want to change a life!
This month has been good—we successfully placed several of our children into safe homes to be loved and raised by others—but sad because I already miss them! I never know which child I will raise completely, or only for a season. That’s why we have to do all we can TODAY, because that’s all the time God’s guaranteed to us to make a difference.
As I watched 6 of our angels glide beautifully in their graduation dances on July 7th, my heart rejoiced. Tears fell from my eyes many times as I watched them perform and receive their kindergarten and elementary school diplomas (see photos below). Dear partners, we did it again. They are free. Growing. Learning. No longer beaten. No longer raped, trafficked, hungry, abandoned or bruised. No way. They are loved and safe because you enable us to be here and do what we do. Thank you so, so, much!
Valuing Life, Nicole
Jason & Nicole Fitzpatrick
www.thevillageglobal.org
www.heavensfamily.org/fitzpatrick
Caught sipping coffee together in a rare moment with friends!
More photos below!
At left, Josue and Iris, our inseparable twins; and at right, Anali and Alvaro, receiving their kindergarten diplomas
Jose Manuel and Ines Maria receiving their 6th grade diploma
My precious angels performing their dance during our graduation ceremony
