Since March 2020 when the COVID 19 pandemic began, week after week our children have been in their homes as mandated by the “stay at home” campaign of the health department of our state. We quickly adjusted to this by shifting our focus to care for the children while at their homes. Through the social disruption caused by the pandemic, God has allowed us to serve the needs of the families of our children, strengthening relationships and bonds beyond what was possible in the past. By bringing weekly pantries, cleaning supplies, educational materials, support for medical needs, even financial help for rent, gas, electricity, and other basic needs, we have brought the love of God directly into the homes of the children. In addition, we were able to bless many homes with evaporative coolers, heaters, beds, mattresses, stoves, and furniture, such as dining room tables and chairs for families who previously lived and ate off their floors. We thank God that during 2020 we have supported around 60 families (approx. 300 people) in our community

The COVID pandemic is teaching us creative new ways in providing for our children’s education. The disastrous fire of our main facility has caused us to think outside the box, adapt, and to utilize all the facilities and resources on our campus. We now know that Emmanuel Children’s Home is much more than just a building. It is a community of God’s people who feel called by his love to serve the needs of others, especially the children of Juarez. This is our calling, our purpose, and our mission – what drives us every day.

In the building that used to be our clinic, we have turned into administrative offices and created some space for classrooms. In other buildings not affected by the fire, we have retrofitted the structures to accommodate areas for teaching, tutoring, counseling, spiritual development, and extracurricular activities. But until the main facility has been rebuilt and the children can return, we will continue to go to their homes to support their developmental needs. We are also bringing them to the campus in our vans – 10 children at a time each day, to participate in planned school activities and to provide them with nutritional meals. One of our goals in doing this, is to allow the children time to adjust to the new situation on campus with its temporary facilities created after the fire. We are also working very hard to retrofit part of the church facility with dorm rooms. Our plan is use the church to house some of the children back on the hill in the next few weeks.

It has been a very busy time for all us on the hill, and sometimes quite stressful, given our circumstances, but we are committed to ministering to needs of the children that God has entrusted to us. We are hopeful that as we “Train up a child in the in the way he should go, even when he grows old, he will not abandon it.” Proverbs 22:6 – giving each child we touch a chance at life they would not have had otherwise, to God’s glory.

The fire department has finally given us permission (the building is safe to enter) to begin clean-up efforts (debris, ashes, and soot). Once we complete this, the government will send an engineer to advise us what parts of the building have to be demolished, and what walls are usable and not. Once we know what has to be done, we will develop a rebuilding plan and a timeline.

We are so grateful for your prayers and financial support as we move forward after this tragedy. We could not do it without your faithful commitment to the ministry. We also know how important it is to have a rebuilding plan in place and a budget for the construction-costs. Unfortunately, we have limited staff and limited expertise (we have much to do, discover, and learn), plus the federal, state, and city regulations in Mexico all have to be factored. So much is out of our control

However, like you, we are anxious to begin the rebuilding process. But the reality is, before we can lay the new “brick and mortar,” there are many other steps be taken. As you can imagine, it will be an enormous undertaking. Although subject to change as we begin the process and learn more, I have broken down the rebuild effort into key action items and priorities as show below. This list is not all-inclusive, just the beginning.

Action Items:

1. Project Management. We will work with our staff to align skill sets with project management requirements and action items. Our objective is to have one person be the project manager, coordinating internal and external activities. This person will also take the lead with dealing with government regs, contractors, subcontractors, bids, etc.

2. Government Regs. We need to understand the regulatory requirements (local, state, federal) to avoid violations and fines, this includes the city’s engineering assessment, release or sign-off, and their clean-up/demolition requirements before we begin the work.

3. Facility Design. We will be investigating our options for licensed architects in Juarez. We are considering a referral now, but we try to obtain several bids

We will put together a design team from our staff, coordinated by the project manager

4. Licensed Contractors. We will explore contractor options with the goal of obtaining engineering drawings/construction plans and bids.

The design team will also be a part of our internal construction team led by the project manager

Define roles played by all parties, including the construction company and subcontractors awarded the bid; to save costs, we may want competent volunteer construction help, but all this has to be coordinated; gets complex

Action Items:

5. Licenses and Permits. TBD what is required from the home and our contractors; establish signatory approvals

6. The Cost of the Rebuild. This will include labor and material with added buffer for the unexpected costs and changes.

7. Funding. Have the necessary funding or revenue stream in place to begin and maintain the rebuild project. So far, we have been fundraising via GoFundMe https://youtu.be/jLkmkg84esY

8. Timeline. Establish target dates for each phase of the project, including a start and completion date (estimated, allowing for setbacks and changes).

9. Other Provisions. To be determinated

We are all anxious, but I appeal to everyone from my heart for patience as we begin the rebuilding process; the scope and scale is beyond anything we have ever done. It is not our typical improvement or expansion work project, which we have done over the years with the help of various ministry teams from the United States. I recently talked to the director of a children’s home in another part of the city. I was told with its limited resources, it took them five years to build their facilities. I am concerned that we may need to be prepared for the same experience. It could take months or a year just to develop a rebuild plan, signed off by the city with approved architectural plans, contractors in place, etc. It could then take another 18 months to two years or more to rebuild our primary facility. Of course, significant funding could accelerate the timeline.

Consider that it took my dad brother Josue 57 years to build a children’s home, a school, a visitors’ center, a ballet studio and administrative offices, a church, a medical and dental clinic, trade shops, mechanic shop. Fifty-seven years, tens-of-thousands of dollars, and hundreds of brothers and sisters over the years who came to build, serve, and love our children. However, we believe that with your support and God’s help, we will rebuild the home from its ashes! So, we humbly ask the Lord to help us accomplish this in the most cost-effective and efficient timeframe. But we can be certain, it will be less than fifty-seven years! Finally, we ask the Lord for the strength and determination to have the same commitment of faith and resolve that my father had, along with the leaders of our ministry over the lifetime of Hogar de Ninos Emmanuel AC. We ask God to guide, prepare, use, and help us as we embark upon this new season in the ministry. Let us continue to support and serve the needy children of our city, while at the same time rebuilding the Home on the Hill – a bright light of hope to all the families of Juarez!

With a hopeful and grateful heart,

Betel Lopez