HERE IS A LOOK AT THIS MONTH’S FACEBOOK UPDATES…

AUGUST 7TH

 AUGUST 14th

AUGUST 16th

IT WAS A ROLLER-COASTER WEEK ….  BUT “MOVE-IN” DAY FOR MALAYA WAS A COMPLETE SUCCESS!! 🎉 😅

Jose and I were scheduled to fly out of Haiti on Sunday – so we could help Malaya move into the dorms. We scheduled the same 5-seater plane that Malaya took in July.

We were packed and at the airstrip ready to go! ALAS – we were ghosted and nobody came. #neveradullmoment

It was a heart-breaking day for us. 💔

Not because we were in a hurry to visit the states. BUT because we wanted to spend this week with Malaya as she starts college. We have missed SO MUCH of her journey this past year while she lived in Kansas City.

Malaya was assigned to a residential dorm with 3 other roommates. She had been communicating with them for the last 6 weeks, as they prepare to share the space together. She was scheduled to move in today at 1pm.

🔸🔸🔸

In true Castillo Fashion…. Everything DRAMATICALLY changed yesterday‼️

Less than 24-hours before move-in, we received a notification that her housing appointment had been cancelled without ANY explanation. To say that we “freaked out” would be an understatement!

SO we reached out to the housing department – where we were informed that she had been moved “off campus” AND no longer lived at U-Square! (Malaya has lived her whole life in Haiti where things rarely work out as planned. But she didn’t realize that also happens in the states too!)

HOWEVER – she was actually moved into a much better place. It’s a newly built complex that is full of sophomore and junior medical students.

Apparently, there are WAY more freshman than the college has space for. They actually have students living at the Comfort Inn Hotel! They have rented 2 full floors at the hotel for freshman. (Seriously!)

🔸🔸🔸

Though we were COMPLETELY surprised by the last-minute room swap – – we have absolutely NO complaints! 🥰

She has been assigned an apartment with 2 other girls. EACH girl has their OWN room, bathroom with a tub, and walk-in closet! (WHAT?!?)

There’s also a living room, full size kitchen, and washer/dryer that the 3 of them will share. (FOR REAL!?!)

Malaya said she will HAPPILY walk the 3 blocks to campus, knowing that she gets to have her very own room.

🔹🔹🔹

After a week of non-stop highs and lows…. We are ending this latest drama with a HALLELUJAH!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!

Thanks momma –  for taking care of our little girl, helping her move in, and being her emotional support system. 

Here is a sneak peek at her new digs.

(You can tell that I wasn’t there – because this room is way too plain.  Where is the glitter? Where are the string lights? Where is the ambiance that our family is known for? This does not represent the girl I raised. It’s like she moved to the states and forgot her roots… and the creative way the Castillos make a house – a home!)😂 

 AUGUST 16th

I wrote this post Life-Giver 14 years ago on August 16th. The message is still sound and resonates with me right now.

Besides the financial aspects of ministry….the biggest need has been and will always be – wisdom. Though the tragedies over the past 43 years are very similar in many ways….the decisions are just as hard today as they were when the mission started in 1979.

If we haven’t said it before, please hear us now. We crave your prayers as we passionately pursue God’s wisdom on the daily. We couldn’t do this ministry for all of these decades if it weren’t for the prayers of our friends and family.