GREAT NEWS

Monday Pedro and our attorney met with the judge for Solola who I guess will make the decision on us reopening. He said he saw no reason for us not to open that everything looked good. That he needed to talk with the PGN attorney and the judge in Panajachel.
Then today the judge in Solola called the attorney and wants to visit our facility next Thurs. in terms of us reopening. What a blessing if we could offer a safe homes to our children again. We have much work to do. Please pray, give money or send positive thoughts our way.
Plus if anyone can connect us to a doctor or dentist tema who is willing to come do community service; our Mayan community could sure use it.
Vicki

Children in Need

We received some upsetting news from Pedro. All the charges against us have been dropped and since we were only closed temporarily we should be able to reopen. In an effort to make this happen , Pedro visited one of our children Fernanda. She will testify to the courts in favor of us reopening. If you volunteers remember her, she is 15 and was one of my daughter 's good friends. We were paying for her to go to a private basico [ middle school ] and she was doing well. Her mom had been in prison and then shot by her drug gang and killed. We had to do suicide watch on Fernanda, but she handled it well. When the children were removed from our home, Fernanda went back to her grandfather. But then her father came and got her. When she was younger and lived with him, he had broken both her legs. When Pedro saw her a few days ago, she was covered with burns and said her dad had poured boiling oil on her. She wants to come home to us so bad and all we need to do it is to reopen. All the government orps will be closed at the end of this week and the children are being tossed to the wind. Some homeless, some abusive homes some other orps. Pedro is trying to keep track of them. The following is a report by the Joint Council on International Children Services. It explains the desperate straits of Guatemala's unwanted children. JCICS is willing to travel to Guatemala and plead our case for reopening asap if we pay their expenses.[ they are going thru a difficlut time financially right now ] Please help in anyway you can. Prayer, money, important contacts.
here is the report
http://www.jcics.org/Guatemala.pdf

thanks
Vicki

In addition to running the feeding/tutorial program, Pedro spends a ton of time running around and at meetings trying to get the orphanage kids back. He truly loves those kids. He was able to go to the government orphanage in Mixco a couple of weeks ago and see the kids that were there. Olmypia went with him. They and the kids cried many, many tears. The kids that were there begged him to get them out and back to us. They told him to tell Senora and Senor Dalia to not forget them and to keep working to bring them home. They said they hated it there and cried themselves to sleep every night.
A few days later Pedro read in the Pensa Libre that the government had not approved the budget for 2009 for the PGN attorneys. They are the one that rule over the orphanages. The one we have hates the Mayans and us because we take Mayan children and educate them. She has caused us all kinds of trouble with her lies. her latest is that whne she met with me 2 years ago I tried to give her a big bribe to leave us alone. What a lie. I have no clue how to bribe and would be scared to death to try. Plus we had to have a translator there so I would have had to manipulate a bribe thru a translator. No way I would even attempt that and it makes me mad she told such an outrageous lie. She is the same onemaverick0661@hotmail.com who said we sold the kids for sex to the volunteers. So hopefully her salary will be gone.
A few days ago Pedro and the atty. were called in and told all the charges had been legally dropped. The next day they went in and asked that the association papers be reinstated. They were told this PGN atty. is making all kinds of other complaints. They are fighting to get the kids back. Pedro and the atty. have a meeting Friday to rehash this. Pedro said it would help tremendously if you volunteers, who have been to the orphanage, could write letters telling the judge that the children were well-fed and well-cared for. This must be done immediately. Send the letter: To Whom it may concern. If you write Spanish well, write it in Spanish. Pedro's email address will follow. The emails must be sent by late Thursday so that he can get them for court. Here is his email maverick0661@hotmail.com or send it to mine at 20.vicki@gmail.com and I will forward it

thanks
Vicki