Baby Home

First I want to update you on Kelly. We were able to visit Kelly in the Village on Saturday. She looked much better!! Her face was almost completely healed from the scabies. Her arms and legs were still covered in the scabies and she said they were still very itchy. We went today to talk to the pharmacist and he recommended she do one more round of the medicine but still the issue is that she needs to be able to shower a couple times a day along with taking the medicine and always have clean clothes on. This is not as easy as it sounds. Please continue to pray for her, for complete healing. Through Him, all things are possible!!



Here is a picture of another precious child we met. This is Angel, he is approx 20 days old and was abandoned at the hospital by his mother who said she could not care for him. This story is very common here.

In 2008 International Adoptions from Guatemala shut down and still have not opened back up. This has caused a huge problem in Guatemala. Most orphanages are full with not enough staff. The number of children being placed in homes has not gone down, yet they are no longer being adopted out. There has been a rise in babies being abandoned all over the place. Whether it be on the side of the road or in the hospital, the number of babies needing care has gone up. When you visit a babies home here there are a lot of babies with only a few staff. These women work so hard without vacation days yet it is impossible for every baby to get the attention they need on a daily basis.

Dr. Karyn Purvis is the Director of the Institute of Child Development at Texas Christian University (TCU), she states,” As revealed in Scripture and confirmed by science, all humans are designed as relational beings. Yet ‘children from hard places’ miss out on so much of the nurture and development that is ideal and serves to build a strong foundation of trust early in life.” She also talks about how Through play, children learn to develop the social and emotional skills they need to succeed in life. She talks about touch and how touch is a universal language - more dynamic and powerful than any other form of communication. More than an integral part of everyday life. Touch is essential to our very existence.

I could keep going but I think you get the picture.


We have been asked by the Greene family/Catalyst Resources International http://www.catalystresources.net/mimishouse.html to partner with them in opening a babies home.

We first met the Greene’s when we adopted Aubryella 5 years ago.  They are well established missionaries here and have been running a ministry called Mimi’s House. The girls at Mimi’s House have come to them from difficult family circumstances. Mimi's House provides a positive Christian atmosphere in a family-style environment. The girls of Mimi's House are able to prosper in ways that would never have been possible in the world of extreme poverty in which they lived. It is their desire to see these girls receive a Christian bilingual education that will position them for a better life!


Mimi’s House has seen a need and through much prayer has decided to move forward in opening up a babies home. This will be a Christian home with a family-style environment where Guatemalans will be hired to care for approx 4 babies. The house parents/staff will be trained on the importance of holding the child, nurturing the child and also providing proper nutrition and education for the children as they grow. They hope to open their first home within the year but then to be able to duplicate this model all over Guatemala.

Please join us in prayer as we partner with the Greene’s in opening the first baby home. Please also pray about how you can be a part of this with us.

Our first week here and sweet Kelly

We made it through our first week. It's amazing how everyday gets a little easier. Last Sunday when we arrived, I couldn't imagine ever feeling comfortable in this new house. The smells are different, the noise is different, the humidity is different. As I sit here tonight writing this post, I realize the smells have become normal (at least most of them), the noises have faded to the background and I am figuring out ways to get use to all the things that humidity causes like smelly towels, sticky tile floors, stretched out clothes etc. What seemed impossible a week ago, seems much smaller today. I hope I can apply this to everything we come across in this journey, the impossible is possible and the light is always there. It may take time to see it but it is there.

This first week was packed with visiting a babies home, visiting a village, serving at a feeding center, going to a quinceanera for one of the orphans turning 15, teaching songs to children at another children's home and so much more. Each day packed with a lot of stories to share.

One thing that is standing out in my mind is a story of a little girl named Kelly that we met in the village. Kelly is a 5 year old beautiful girl (the size of a three year old). We met a lot of kids in the village that day but Kelly stood out because she was covered in scabies. She had them all over her face, her lips, all around her eyes. They covered her arms and legs. For those that aren't sure what scabies are, it is a little bug that burrows under your skin and causes major discomfort and makes you very itchy. I can say this speaking from experience. The children at the orphanage in Haiti all were covered in scabies. On one of our trips to Haiti, I got scabies. I had to lather in a cream every night before I went to bed. I had a pill I would take every day. I had to wash my sheets every morning and wash my towels after one use. As soon as I changed my clothes I had to throw them in the wash. I showered often. This was the only way to get rid of them. Mine never got even close to as bad as the children in Haiti or Kelly's.

This day in the village, Kelly clung to our daughter Alyssa but you could tell as happy as she was to have a new friend, she was very itchy and uncomfortable. Through a translator I asked her if she had any medicine for the scabies and she said yes, she had a cream but it wasn't helping. We asked if she could take us to meet her mom so we could see if we could help her. She gladly took us to her home. Her home was three walls with a tin roof. The floor was the dirt on the ground. We asked her mother if it would be ok for us to go to a pharmacy and see if they had any other medicine that would help her. She agreed and was happy that we offered. The pharmacist gave us a medicine that is stronger then the cream and would hopefully help but she really needed to have hot showers and wash her bedding and clothes in hot water often. Unfortunately, they don't have the access to hot water like we do in the states.

I am sure glad I had scabies because now I know what Kelly.
I pray that the medicine is helping her and her scabies are gone. Please join us in praying for sweet little Kelly and her family. We will check on her soon to see if the medicine is working.

First night in Guatemala

Last night was our first night at our new house in Guatemala! Let me back up to the hours leading up to getting here. Sunday morning we woke up at 2:00 am to load our suitcases and head to the airport. After a lot of really hard good byes and a few last minute things we only ended up sleeping for a couple hours before we had to leave. Being very tired and already emotional, this did not make a good mix for already emotional females (poor Sean).

Sunday was a really hard day for us but it was also a good reminder. We had been planning this and talking about it for a long time, but something happened when it was time to go. It would have been easier for me to back out at that point.
I couldn't understand why it was so hard. I thought I had prepared myself and was ready. Sean said it well, sometimes we think of change as loss. Loss is hard.

God was our strength Sunday. When we were overcome with fear about what we were about to do and the fear overwhelmed us, we were reminded that we can do anything through Christ who gives us strength! God gave us strength to leave Colorado, our family, our friends, our home. This is how we will serve here, in His hands, with Him leading the way and providing our strength.

We made it through the travel and all the luggage made it too. We were greeted at the airport by our new friend Eduardo. He is our ministry assistant here. We spent our first evening here getting to know Eduardo and his beautiful family. We shared dinner with them at our house.

We have an amazing view from our house, the weather is perfect and Sean is very happy that we have not seen one mosquito! :) As soon as the fog moves out we will post a picture of the view!

Thank you all for the prayers, we feel them all!

Leaving in 26 days....

In 26 days we leave our comfortable home, our comfortable life style, all our friends and family, to go to a place where we don't know the language, there is hurt and poverty every where you look, a completely different culture and different way of life. Are we crazy???? Yes, crazy in love with our heavenly Father!! It's an indescribable love that makes us want to completely lay our life down in His hand and say, "here we are Lord, use us for Your will"!

Please join us in prayer over the next 26 days as we prepare to go. Pray that as we leave our comfortable life, we will not loose sight of what we are doing and why we are going. Pray that our children will feel peace as they begin to say goodbye to everyone.

What does Photas Ministries mean????

"Photas" is the Greek word for 'of Light' Why would we choose to name our Ministry 'of Light'?
In the bible, Jesus uses light to describe Himself, "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12
As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:5
As Christians who are united to Christ with shared values, we are Christ's living representatives in the world. Therefore, we are also lights....
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Matthew 5:14
Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Matthew 5:15

The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.” Matthew 4:16

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

Our Pastor said it well this past weekend, "the light of God put in us isn't so people will see us, it is so they will see God."

There is still so much darkness and confusion all around us. We feel like as a body of believers, we should allow His light to shine through us. We should bring Light to the hopeless to give them the peace and hope that we have in our Savior!

"We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps."  Proverbs 16:9

We are in the midst of planning.  Sharing with groups of people who might bring a team, or group of friends, to experience a week of orphan ministry in Guatemala.  It's been exciting, following on the heels of our Friday night dinner with friends a couple weeks ago, to get the opportunity to participate in Missions Weekend at Timberline Church.

We were able to share with the kids about Guatemala and how God still performs miracles today... if we have the blessing of needing to rely upon God for everyday needs!  We got to meet and talk with many of you after the services... some who share a similar heart for touching the lives of the Fatherless, others who were a huge encouragement in words, commitments to consistently pray and even gifts to get us started on our journey.  Thanks to each one of you and we hope to see some of you in Guatemala!

We've also had the opportunity to share two weeks in a row at the youth groups of Foundations Church in Loveland, led by the amazing Shannon Arthur. They have hopes of bringing a team or two of youth and adults to Guatemala.  We've even heard from some groups of adults who are considering gathering 6 or 8 of their friends to come South for an adventurous week with us!

All said, we don't know exactly who will be joining us and what exactly our days will look like in Guatemala, but we do know who will determine our path... and we have absolute trust in Him!
In fact, people often ask if we are nervous.  Perhaps a little, but we have had incredible peace about the plans we have made and even more about the One who will direct us.

Sean Cherry

Mikayla's heart on Orphan Ministry

" My first trip to an orphanage was in Haiti last March. Leading up to the trip, I was nervous and wasn't sure what to expect. Some days I would be really excited about going and others I would be really scared. I had heard many heart touching stories about all the orphans that lived at the orphanage. It broke my heart to hear some of the things I heard. Like all the infections the kids had, how little the kids were and how poorly they were being treated. this made me kinda scared of going there. I wasn't afraid of the children; I wasn't sure how I would react to kids being treated like this.

While I was there, I experienced some life changing events. I grew relationships with these kids and I saw a 3rd world country for the first time. Even though I couldn't communicate verbally with them, I was still able to hold and love on them. the part of the trip I have remembered most was this little girl Christaline. She was about 3 years old. She clung to me and I would just hold her. I was not away from her the majority of the time we were at the orphanage. We taught the kids at the orphanage a worship song in English and all of the kids would sing it. It brought tears to my eyes when my favorite little girl Christaline came up to me and started singing it. It amazes me that a 3 year old would remember a song in a different language.

After the trip, it was really hard for me. I realized how lucky we are to actually sleep in beds, to actually eat three meals a day and to have a loving family here for me. I struggled for a while thinking about how we left them nothing and we came home to everything. this trip to Haiti has helped me not take things for granted and realize how fortunate I really am. I will never forget my first trip to an orphanage in Haiti, it was an unforgettable trip of a lifetime!"