Friends-
We want to give you a brief update and share with you all that the Lord has done and accomplished through our family in 2020. This year has been a season of change and new beginnings for most of the Familia Rule clan.
Guatemalan Residency
In February after much prayer and supplication the Lord met our need of obtaining permanent Guatemalan residency. This marked a very important accomplishment for our family! As a Guatemalan resident we now legally have all the same rights as a citizen except the right to vote. We believe this is a vital asset in serving full time as a missionary.
Overcoming Changes in 2020
In mid March, John and I were challenged beyond comprehension with the immediate need of having to homeschool 10 kids full time. We were thankful for the experience of homeschooling our own biological children, however, no experience can ever prepare us for the sudden changes we were confronted with. Suddenly, we were swimming in loads of laundry, multitasking cooking for twelve, preparing three meals a day, house chores, and homeschooling in anywhere from 2nd - 12th grade and in two different languages. Interesting enough, some days were more challenging than others. Due to COVID, the medical staff had to be quarantined because of restrictions on campus in order to keep our children safe. Because of this, John would help volunteer his time by serving at Kelly's House. He served as a medical tech helping with the medical needs of the children. I would have never survived on those days without the amazing support of our oldest daughter Gabby. She graciously helped me keep track of all the homework requirements that the teachers were sending on a daily basis. She also helped tutor our older kids with their algebra. Our older son, David, would help with his two younger sisters Esperanza and Rebekah with math and English lessons. This allowed time for me to focus on homeschooling one of our older Guatemalan boys who demanded a lot of special attention and help. In addition, between John and I, we helped teach our three younger Guatemalan boys the second grade curriculum they needed to complete the school year. We are very proud to announce that all of our children were able to successfully complete the 2020 calendar school year!
New Beginnings
We are especially proud of our son David, who successfully graduated from High School in November. He is officially a 2020 High School graduate! David has now enlisted in the United States Air Force. He was recently accepted and was able to achieve high scores on his ASVAB test. This will enable him to qualify for many Intelligence type careers in the Air Force. David is looking forward to beginning and growing in the area of Information Technology. Our family will miss him dearly, but wish him the very best in his new endeavors. Please help us pray for our son as he begins this new journey in life.
Speaking of family members leaving, I will begin sharing Raquel's story. If you have been following our family from day one, about seven years ago, you will recall how Raquel stole our hearts. Raquel was a young little girl with many special needs when she first arrived at Hope of Life. She was born with Down Syndrome and was unable to remain under the care of her mother because of an abusive father. At Hope of Life and under our care during the past four years, we were able to offer Raquel many opportunities. She was able to completely finish sixth grade, which is a huge achievement for any special needs child living in a third world country. If you remember, many of you helped us by supporting Raquel through Beauty School. Despite her disability, Raquel was extremely gifted in braiding hair. Our family believed in helping her grow in her gifting and talents. We drove Raquel to Zacapa every Saturday for two years so she could attend Beauty School. After two years, Raquel went as far as she was able to learn to enhance her beauty skills and technique and was able to complete the coarse. She then would apply her skills at home or at the orphanage, "Village of Transformation." Sometimes we would have visitors and Raquel loved to show off her beautiful skills. In 2019, We were able to find Raquel's biological mother. Raquel was very excited to hear she had two younger sisters and one younger brother. Now that Dad was no longer in the picture, it was safe to reunite Raquel with her mother and siblings. Through the grace of God, we prepared Raquel emotionally with the idea of returning to her family. We explained to her that what the enemy used for harm, God used for good in her life. She now has a mother who loves her and was able to take care of her in a safe home. This was not an easy process for Raquel or our family. It took many visits to see her family, tons of reassuring, wiping happy and sad tears, to get Raquel into a safe place of acceptance. Most importantly, into a place of opening her heart to her biological mother. In August of 2020, Raquel was able to be reunited with her biological family. She was extremely anxious and excited to begin a new life along side her mother. We have many stories that we could share very similar to Raquel's. We have lived the painful reminders of our kids broken past but have been an instrument of God's restoration plan. God is always in the business of restoring and making new the broken pieces of our lives. Now we can confidently celebrate the newness and beauty that comes from seeing our children's family made whole. The best part is that God is making all things new for Raquel!
November is National Adoption Month
In honor of National Adoption Month, our hearts are full as we share this wonderful news. On October 1, 2020 we received news that a Guatemalan family had been carefully selected by the Center of Adoption Services to adopt our precious Diego. In 2011 Diego was rescued and brought to Hope of Life as an infant. He was brought up by various amazing and nurturing nannies who loved and cared for him until he was around four years old. Growing up Diego began to develop assertive and mischievous type behaviors. He was considered by most to be some what of a trouble maker. However, his actions were an expression of how much Diego hurt inside. How much he desired to be loved by a mother and father. Soon after, the orphanage directors and psychologist recognized the need for Diego to be temporary placed with a loving family who would be able to meet all of his needs. The Lord used our family to love, bring order and stability into Diego's life. For four years, we taught Diego the importance of love, respect, and forgiveness. Through out his time with our family he continued to display assertive, mischievous and rebellious behaviors. There were many times he would get plain angry if he didn't get his way. However through it all, he also began to learn quickly from his mistakes. He was very loving and kind and desperately needed to feel loved in return. We confidently believe the Lord used our family to prepare the way for all the good plans that were in store for him. Certainly, it is a bitter sweet feeling for us. We loved this boy for four years as our own! But we also recognized the needs that Diego desperately and constantly sought. Meeting such needs could only come from a permanent adoptive mother and father. The assurance of this kind of love and understanding would allow Diego to continue to heal from his broken past. We are very thankful that God is still in the business of doing miracles. He has done a miracle by sending Diego an adoptive family that will provide him with the love and nurturing that he needs. This truly is a miracle, because very few older boys are adopted from orphanages. We are confident in the Lord that Diego will continue to prosper and grow in wisdom and stature with God and in favor with man. God is doing a new thing in Diego's life! He is fulfilling his absolute desire to be with a forever family.
Prayer of Dedication
With all of our heart we dedicate this prayer to David, Raquel, and Diego. And to the many children John and I have had the privilege to parent, serve and proudly raise for the past seven years. They will always be in our hearts.....Ruby, Victor, Daniel, Noe, Alexa, Christian, Julian, Marcos, Jhorleny, Raquel, Obdulio, Juanito, Baby Gaby, Sergio, Geovany, Diego, Emilio, Josue, David, Gabby, Rebekah, and Esperanza.....
I pray with great faith for you, because I'm fully convinced that the One who began this glorious work in you will faithfully continue the process of maturing you and will put his finishing touches to it until the unveiling of our Lord Jesus Christ! It's no wonder I pray with such confidence, since you have a permanent place in my heart! You have remained partners with me in the wonderful grace of God even though I'm here in chains for standing up for the truth of the gospel."
Philippians 1:6-7 TPT
Please support our family
Please follow the "Support the Rules" link below to support our family for the year 2021. You can commit to any monthly amount or a one time donation. Your support will be vital for our continued work in Guatemala!
Blessings,
Rule Family
