TO OUR EMMANUEL FAMILY
if you do not already know, early on Monday morning at 3:00 AM a fire started in our buildings. For well over six hours, it burned. Due to winds and lack of water sources, firefighters were unable to control or stop the fire from spreading. The children’s home, our school, our offices and the home of one of our staff members and their family are destroyed. The devastation is overwhelming.
Thankfully because of the pandemic, all of our kids and all of our staff were at home with their families. So by God's grace, there were no injuries and no loss of human life. The staff member and their family whose house burned to the ground, thankfully got out in time. We believe that it was a miracle that no one was there when this fire started. We continue to thank God that all we have lost can be replaced.
We do not know yet the cause of the fire, or even where it started. I am sure those answers will come eventually. At this point, the leadership of the children’s home are working with the authorities in the city to learn more about the fire and what aspects of our structures, if any, are salvageable. We are thankful that our small apartment units (where a few other staff members live), our church, and our former clinic/house of prayer building were untouched. But the majority of our property is gone.
As we are, in many ways, reeling from this crisis, our priority stays where it has always been - OUR CHILDREN. As we have through the entire pandemic, we are continuing to serve our children and their families from a distance through weekly care packages. We are checking in with our families and ensuring that we are still here despite all that has happened and all that has changed. With the holidays coming up, we are planning a unique way to celebrate Christmas with our families. Though we will not be able to gather as we normally do, we will be delivering a special meal to each of our children’s homes and will be delivering toys and gifts from our generous partners. The pandemic has taught us how to be creative and serve our families in their own homes, and in this season of waiting to rebuild - we will continue to do so, especially as we try to bring some extra joy in this holiday season.
For the past 60 years, we have been on this hill serving generations of children and families of our city - and we are not going anywhere. A fire will not destroy the mission and vision that God has set before us, we will rebuild and we will continue to find creative ways to serve our families until we can welcome them home again.
More than ever before, we stand behind our name, Emmanuel, “God with us” - we are not alone. Please join us in praying for wisdom as we figure out what is next and where to go from here. And of course, as our building plans become more clear and ways to engage in those efforts unfold, you will be the first to know
Thank you for standing with us in our moment of crisis!
With Hope
Betel Lopez
Natanael Miramontes
And all of us at Emmanuel