I’ve really enjoyed sharing short stories, or aspects of what others on our team have been doing.
Generally, I share in these ways:
Ticktock or Snapchat
Just kidding, I’m not that cool!
Facebook or Instagram
Find me! –Katie Riley
If you would like the link to this blog through email, reach out through katie@hopeforhome.org
Snail Mail
If you know someone who is not online, I was somewhat limited on how I could share. I hope to change that so that the full body of Christ can be a part of God’s work in Guatemala!
I am working to coordinate with a larger sending organization that helps send snail mail updates in addition to online updates. I hope to send out more information on that as I learn more details.
It’s been a while since I’ve given a personal update however, so here’s the scoop.
I continue to love and work with children with special needs most frequently through the homes. These are 4 group homes for children with special needs, and 1 home for those of our kiddos who have aged out. I mostly work with the Fulp family, although I greatly enjoy my time with my nieces and nephews with the Chapin family. My happy space is holding littles who may seem intimidating for their medical needs.
My role includes a wide variety of settings. In the group homes, sometimes I am a direct caregiver and receive wet kisses, change scary diapers, get thrown up on, and coax bottles into determined little mouths. My role includes helping in medical education for our staff, and often aiding in communication and coordination with the Doctors we take our children to. I spend quite a bit of time on the computor -_- Frequently I help with communication whether the confusion is medical, or linguistic in nature. I closely follow some of the medically fragile cases, and act as a caseworker of sorts.
Outside of the home I consult with a few dozen basic nutrition cases. Some come monthly, some are more of a one time nutritional or medical concern. Being a nurse in an area with extremely limited resources means constant barrage of questions about very basic, or very complicated medical queries.
Since January I have had the privilege of joining the students at our local church in their harvest time. These students came from across the states as part of a gap year program. The way they have connected with our community however, is nothing short of a move of God.
What I love about this is how personal it is. We are invited into a family’s homes, and share! We invest in the family week after week as they enrich us with their friendship. Families’ kids come running when we walk up the path because stye know they are about to play hard while their parents dig into what it means to be a disciple. This is more than a bible study –we begin to go out together with our friends into their own community and watch them share the gospel with friends, neighbors, and coworkers.
So there’s what I’m currently doing. Living in Guatemala means flexibility, so this list shifts and changes over time. In all the areas I get to serve, my end goal is the same– Honor Christ, and make his name famous! I am not a humanitarian; I am a Christ follower. The rest can’t be stopped from spilling out. His love for me is so great, how could it not impact everything?!
