"I Love You, O Lord, my strength."

"I LOVE you, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

my God, my rock, in whome I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." Psalm 18:1 & 2

Fifteen years ago I began a journey and much like the journey that I took into the city the other day, this journey has been long and full of joys and sorrows. And much like the journey into the city I had no idea what the road would look like along the way, I only knew the destination. As Marlon drove I observed the road, it's many curves, hills and valleys. There were so many stops along the way and I thought about this journey I've been on for the last fifteen years with my Savior. I thought about what it truly means to allow the Holy Spririt to guide the ebb and flow of my life - often I find myself wanting to make extra stops on the journey, I get distracted and in doing so I put myself in the driver's seat. When I surrendered my life, future and dreams to Christ, I also surrendered the driver's seat!

That day last week as Marlon and I drove into the city, God allowed for me to see a very clear picture of what this journey should look like. Not many words were spoken, I did not know the plan, all the stops we would make along the way and even more I didn't even know the road - I had to trust Marlon completely. AND daily I must completely trust God with every aspect of our lives. God is so merciful to prepare us in advance and to overwhelm us with His presence when this journey becomes more than we think we can bear.

When God sent me to Botswana, Africa 15 years ago I heard His voice very clearly...my heart was broken for the helpless situations that I saw, for the suffering of precious children and for the sick. Now as God strengthens us to work with the 167 children at Casa Bernabe I find myself going back to that "call" and even further to the day when HOPE invaded my heart. And more than anything in this world my desire is that our children be invaded HOPE through Jesus Christ and that they never again experience that pain of hopelessness.

This week that desire has turned into a passion through the death of a very young man that I was so honored to know through the ministry of Casa Bernabe. Osvin Loescher had a smile that was contagious and heart that was genuine. He often accompanied me into the city and I loved talking to him about his future, his passions and his siblings. They were five and from the beginning their unity was clear. Osvin had a dream to be a pilot, to be successful and be able to care for his younger siblings. While my mind struggles to understand the death of this young man with such immense potential, my heart feels drawn passionately toward others who find themselves in what seems to be hopeless. My prayer is that God would open my eyes even more to those who hurt, to those who suffer in the profound places of their heart and that God would empower me to effectively communicate HOPE in Christ. Who is in your path that needs a glimmer of HOPE?


A night out...

About two months ago God opened the doors for David McCormick and I to begin working with the young people at Casa Bernabe who are 15 years old or older. There are about 16 youth that fall into this age range and we've been able to meet with them twice. Our initial meeting was held in August and we explained our plan/purpose and then just chatted about events that impact our walk with Christ, questions about doctrine, manifestations of the Spirit and then what future meetings would look like. This past month we were so blessed to be able to take the kids out to a nice restaurant!

Our plan with this group of students is very well defined. The environment at Casa Bernabe is very closed, our school is here, our church is here, our garden is here....so the opportunity for the older kids to be out functioning in society or at the very least observing how society functions is very limited. We realize that these particular students will quickly arrive at their 18th birthday and our desire is that they be prepared for what that means. Over the next two months - the kids are out of school for vacation - David and I will meet with the students six times. I will meet four times with the girls separately to discuss various issues that impact a woman's life....from friendships, to leadership, to hygiene and more. Then we will regroup and give opportunity to discuss various ethical issues that we face in society.

We are so excited about this opportunity!!! And we covet your prayers:

• Pray that God would give us favor as we build relationships with each one in the group.


• Pray that God would reveal Himself to each one. (Phil. 3: 12-16)


• Pray that God would mold their hearts, create strong, godly convictions in their hearts and that He Himself would establish them. (I Peter 5:10)

A quick testimony about our night out....

The kids had NO idea where we were going....we just asked them to dress nice and be ready at 5:45p.m. It took a while for us to get to the restuarant and they were so surprised when we finally arrived! While we waited for our meal we asked them to write down five goals that they have for themselves that they would like to accomplish in the next 2 years. We asked them to write down some qualities that they look for in a true friend and then to go a step further and to write down some qualities that they would look for in a spouse. We then shared our goals...

Many of the girls were so transparent with their hearts and it was obvious that the pain they've suffered is still so very real in their lives and really affects the way that they look at their future.

They all enjoyed our trip out!!! The food was amazing and the fellowship GREAT! They have all be dying to know when our next meeting will be and what we'll be doing! So please be praying! The girls and I will learn how to bake a common/easy dessert and well be talking about friendships and how good/bad friendships affect our attitudes, our studies and our behavior in general. We will have five special women joining us who have grown up at CB and now serve on staff. Thank you in advance for your prayers!!!

Gratefulness.....

Stefan and I have chosen this picture to express our gratefulness to you this week! The past months have been so challenging but as we said good-bye to September we realized how truly blessed we are and how grateful to the Lord we are for his constant presence, provision and protection!

About a week ago the lights went out at 10:00a.m. and did not come back on until noon the next day. Not a big deal right? Right! It was an adventure to say the least, clothes could not be dried for school the next day, toilets could not be flushed and darkness covered our mountainside....that was until Tony hooked up the generator for the houses and we all carried water up to our bathrooms so that they could function....it was actually kind of fun and most of all a great moment to recognize how truly blessed we are here! Much of society outside our walls has to wash clothes in the pila, bath in the pila, many have no electricity or running water in their homes....we here at Casa Bernabe have been so blessed by the provision of the Almighty!

And we the Steere Family have been so blessed to have all of our needs met each month!!!! THANK YOU!!!! We continue to trust the Lord in this area and are just so grateful for each of you and your willingness to be a part of this vital ministry in Guatemala.

Til next time...