Weekend Recap!

Friday was a holiday here, so we had a loooong 3 day weekend. 

Friday was spent being pretty lazy. We played card games, charades, and had a movie night. 

 Then on Saturday, Phillip and Coreen (the founders of Hope Mountain) brought down a bunch of scooters and skateboards for the boys to play on. These scooters were some of the craziest scooters I've ever seen! Needless to say, the boys we had so much fun on them!

How cute is little Bella?! She is our pink princess here at the mountain :)

And, finally, Sunday evening we went on a trip to the beach. The sun was setting, the breeze perfect! The boys found an open court and played soccer for hours. Serioulsy, hours! Some of us headed to the water and dipped our feet in. Some of the crazier ones even got in.

     

It was the perfect ending to a pretty great weekend. 

Meet & Greet Mondays. {Euler}

Today is Monday, which means its time to introduce another boy to you. 

This is Euler. 

Euler is 14 years old, turning 15 at the end of January. He is one of the oldest boys who live in the dorms connected to our house, and one of my favorites. He is such a good kid. Yes, he messes up and gets in trouble....but he has a good heart and head on his shoulders. Euler is the boy who will sit there poking my side over and over until I chase him. He is the boy who will knock on my front door, and then hide around the corner and jump out at me when I open the door. He is the boy who screams bloody murder if you scare him. He is the boy who holds a special place in my heart. 

Euler has been here at Hope Mountain since March of 2011. Before coming here, he lived with his mom and step-father. When Euler was around 9 his mother went to rehab for alcoholism and he was left living with just his step-father. He made a habit of staying on the streets a lot, and would "disappear" for days at a time. He has said that he has never used drugs or smoked....he just didn't want to be home. Euler began stealing little things around the house and neighborhood, so his father called the police and social services entered the picture. His step-father said he no longer had the conditions or the desire to take care of him anymore, so he was taken to another home for boys. He was there a couple months before the Social Services decided to take him out of that Home and send him to us. 

The family that he lived with in the other home was very sad to see him go. They have kept in contact with him over the years, and come visit him often. They no longer work at the other home and are in the process of trying to gain custody of Euler. Isanon and I have become good friends with this couple and are praying that it works out for Euler to live with them. A part of me is selfish and wants Euler to stay here because he is a joy to be around, but I know that having a "real" family would be so much better for him. He deserves better. 

Please pray with us that God's will for Euler's life will be fulfilled. He wants very much to go live with this other couple. Pray with us that Euler would continue to be a role model here at Hope and avoid the pressure to make stupid choices. Pray for Euler's relationship with God, he has many questions...but is seeking. 

Weekend Recap!

This week has seemed to fly by for us here at the Mountain. We had a big clean-up day on Saturday and put our boys to work. They worked so hard, with minimal complaining....win-win! Then, Sunday night, we got to take them to see Thor 2 in 3-D. We took up the whole back of the theater, it was such a fun night with our boys.

Our Hard-Working boys:

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Friday Morning Brunch.

As I wrote about in an earlier blog (found here!), there are many changes going on around here. Good changes. One of those changes is that the staff members who only work 8-5 are truly trying to interact with the boys more. One of the ideas that they had was to have a monthly breakfast with the boys. So, this past Friday morning was the first. There was a ton of food, smiles and conversations all around.

The boys are already asking about when the next one will be, so I'd say that their plan was a success. :)

Happy Sunday, and be blessed!

Meet&Greet Mondays. {Vinicius}

I am back from California. Back with these crazy boys. And (hopefully) back to blogging more regularly.

As I tried to start earlier, before I left for Cali, Isanon and myself will choose one boy a week to write about. If I know anything about their story that I feel should be shared, I will. Also, I will post some specific prayer requests. The idea is more than you just getting to hear some of the boys stories...while they are interesting, and for the most part sad - my heart in writing about them is that together we can pray for these boys. These boys have had a world of hurt that i cannot even imagine, but I know that God loves them and desires to bring healing....so, please, pray with us for these boys.

With that being said, lets meet goofy Vinicius.

For the most part, Vinicius seems to be a very well adjusted boy. Well adjusted to life here at Hope Mountain. He just had his 15th birthday which means he will be moving into the older boys house and out of mine and Isanon's. Vinicius is someone I can always count on for a huge smile. I have this little hobby of mine, which includes hiding around corners and jumping out at the first poor child to walk my way. I laugh hysterically Every Single Time. Well, Vinicius is in my top 5 of most fun to scare for sure. He screams, then acts like he is mad at me and has this little "mad walk" that he does....then turns around and flashes that big smile of his just as soon as he is almost out of sight. It is the best.

Vinicius has been living here at Hope since April of 2012. Before coming here, he was at another home. Before that he lived with his aunt. His parents have both passed away. His mother died of an illness (we don't know what) when Vinicius was very young, and his step-dad was murdered. Vinicius says he has 5 older siblings, but we have not been able to find a single one of them. His Aunt came and visited him once, but would not talk to anyone but Vinicus and never returned.

Vinicius gets sad when anyone talks about their mother, but has not opened up and expressed his feelings. He is very closed when it comes to talking about his past....he starts making jokes and won't take anything serious. We love how goofy and happy Vinicius is....but also know that he hides behind his joking and laughter at times.

Please join Isanon and I as we pray for healing and comfort for Vinicius.

Back at the mountain.

Well, after 71 days of being away from my husband, away from my boys, away from this mountain....I am back.

I wish I could have the best of both worlds, and that being back didn't mean being away from my family and friends....but for now it does, and I am thankful for the opportunity to have been able to go home for a bit and visit.

While in the US, Isanon had told me that there were lots of changes going on around here...but I was shocked to see how different everything was after only two months of being gone. Not only did my love completely paint the inside of our house and build shelves and such for me....but the buildings here at the mountain have all been painted as well. Such a beautiful place God has given to us for these boys.

Excited to be back and see the changes being made here. Not only physically to the buildings and such, but emotionally to the heart of these boys.