Hacienda Of Hope

Dayana is a precious little girl who came to us about two years ago. Her mother, who was about 30 years old, died suddenly of a heart attack in April of 2003. Since Dayana never knew her dad and had no others to care for her, except her aunt who had a housefull of children, was brought to us by her aunt. Dayana has been a joy to our family. She enjoys attending kindergarden with Maria and Lulu each day. She also enjoys playing with her dolls and being a little tomboy outside with the boys. She can hold her own when it comes to a wresting match with others her size! We are proud of her and enjoyed watching her as we all gathered around to honor her on her fifth birthday. There were lots of games and even a movie to celebrate the occasion.

The flat roof part of the house was poured in a long day of work today! In these pictures you can see how it is accomplished. The sand, gravel and cement is mixed together with the water on the top story bedroom floor. It is transported there via wheelbarrows up the long ramp. You may notice my brother, Larry pulling while our foreman, Carlos is pushing a wheelbarrow load of rock to the top in one picture. In another picture, you see the process of scooping the prepared cement up to a platform and then scooped up to another waiting wheelbarrow. In the remaining picture, you can see the final process of pouring the cement on the flat roof. This was accomplished in a 12 hour day with 30 minutes for lunch, which was well prepared by Pat and all of the other women here. We were all exhausted, but happy with the completed job!

A decision was made in the Snyder family last year to meet in Ecuador for some personal family time. My parents, Charles and Inez Snyder are both departed from my family. So all four of us children really enjoy getting together to remember all of the family times we shared in the wonderful home our parents provided for us in central Oklahoma. Now only two of us live in Oklahoma; Joi Grissom and Larry Snyder. Charlene Snyder lives near Seattle, Washington and I am here in Ecuador. So, you have only to imagine the honor I felt in hosting this "reunion" of my only brother and our two sisters here in Ecuador! It was wonderful being together and experiencing the joys of seeing the beautiful handiwork of God all around these unequaled Andean mountains and villages.

Because of their generosity in bringing the needed parts for the radiant heating system, flower seeds and many gifts for the children and us, it was like having your Christmas and Birthday all rolled up into one for me! Being the "baby" of the family, I have always enjoyed be teased about being "spoiled" by my brother and sisters, but I really feel they have spoiled me on this trip!

It is wonderful when parents love the Lord and give their children the Christian heritage that my parents gave to all of us! Having a marvelous time together in their memory has created many new memories and has pulled us closer together!

That is me with the new Ecuadorian hat and my sister Charlene below. Next to me is my brother, Larry with the "hollywood" sunglass look and below him is our sister Joi. We are all posed at the equator with two of us in the Northern and two of us in the Southern hemispheres!

Meet three of our construction employees. On the left is Edgar, in the middle is Fabian and on the right is Edwardo. These three men have worked at the Hacienda of Hope for over two years and are each very special to our success!

Edgar is married and has two young boys. He is a lead person with lots of talents and the ability to take a crew and get things done! He is also holds an elected position in his town of San Jose Chico. We celebrated his 29th birthday on Dec. 31st.

Fabian is single and living with his parents in Tabacundo. He was recently promoted to a lead person due to his hard work and attention to detail. He works well with his peers and incites action to get the assigned job completed! We took time to celebrate his 25th birthday on February 1st.

Eduardo is single and also lives with his parents up the hill in San Jose Chico. Eduardo is very quite and often has a smile. He is very strong and never afraid of hard work! He never complains and is always grateful to have his job. Like all of our employees, he is always at work around 15 minutes early and works a little past time to quit and then puts everything up and cleans up the job site ...on his own time. We celebrated his 20th birthday on Jan. 16th.

All of our construction employees are very conscientious, honest, hard working men that we are very blessed to have working with us! You will meet more in the future ...stay tuned.

With the help of Camp Bellevue, the Hacienda of Hope children's home started meeting as the newest congregation of the churches of Christ in Ecuador. Worship services were held in the auditorium of Camp Bellevue on the south side of extinct volcano Mojanda. A great time of singing started the praises to God with words displayed electronically on the wall. After a period of remembering the Lord's death in a communion service, a lesson from God's word was presented by Martin. After a short break and a group picture, three classes were enjoyed by two groups of children and a group of adults. Hugo gave a exciting PowerPoint presentation to the adult class while two groups of children enjoyed interactive bible stories. Martin's lesson was centered around the visit of the Magi who were asking "where" they might find Jesus ...emphasizing how we should be asking the same question today. There were many first time visitors who made up the actual count of 27 adults, 12 teens and 18 children for a total of 57 people. May God always be praised by this new group of His people!

Justin, Juana and Kaidan Reeger has been visiting us the past few days before attending this year's Operation Ecuador Medical Campaign. They took out time from their visit to Juana's parents, Kent & Sharla Marcum this past week to learn more about the work ahead that God has called them to here at the Hacienda of Hope. Pat & I have enjoyed various great conversations about child care and the numerous ways Justin & Juana will assist us. We each experience a prominent charge in helping to fulfill the needs of the children God has sent to our care. A great breakfast session with our houseparents, Martin & Lorena and Hugo & Jenny was very encouraging as everyone began to see the "team" God is forming within us. Justin & Juana will complete each of their Master's from U.T. in Austin, TX before making their transition here in late summer '06. It has been a great blessing for everyone here to meet and know the Reegers in this wonderful visit!