His House Children’s Home Newsletter

SUMMER 2014

As His House Children’s Home reaches this milestone anniversary, it is a great time to take a brief look back… back to where His House began. Over the 25 years, it has taken a family of thousands of friends like you to serve the more than 9,000 children who have come through our doors. We have recently reconnected with some of the first members of the His House family and want to share that story.

Jean Caceres-Gonzalez, the founder of His House, left her job in publishing in June of 1989 to help substance-abusing and prostituting moms enter rehab by caring for their children. She was living with her parents and their house was filling up with children. During Passover in 1990, Jean felt impressed to pray a very special and specific prayer of favor – for God to provide a free house or $250,000 to buy one.

One morning as she left the little church where she had been praying, Jean saw a woman unloading reams of paper she was donating to the church and approached to ask for some paper for His House. The woman, whose business was unable to startup, graciously agreed and asked that she pick up the paper at a different location. That’s where Jean saw Bertilda Vasquez.

After she allowed Jean to choose paper, she asked, “What is this new ministry you are trying

In Awe of Blessingsto start?” Jean shared with Bertilda the vision that God had placed on her heart since her youth to provide a safe, loving home for children. Bertilda was touched by her vision, and followed up by asking, “What else do you need to start this home?”

Jean quickly responded that she needed a house. Pointing to the building where they were standing, Bertilda asked, “Would this house fit your needs?”

Jean approached her Board of Directors and Bertilda, her family.

Originally, the Vasquez family had planned to reserve some space in the building to start another business, but finally, they reached the

GOD’s

Anniversary Edition!

Continued...

Pete Boemhler who was adopted at 9 and has since graduated from college, returned to celebrate with

us and express his thanks.

decision that His House would have free access to the entire building at 7000 NW 53rd Terrace and its parking lots for three years. For 18 years Jean sought to reconnect with Bertilda Vasquez and as we planned our Anniversary celebration this desire grew in Jean’s heart. In April, we had a group of students from Oral Roberts University here to volunteer on their Spring break. Jean was having a time of devotions with them where she pulled out her photos and shared the His House story as she has thousands of times. This time, she mentioned her desire to find Bertilda and asked the students to pray with her. Before the group dispersed, one of the students insisted that we stop to pray for this request.

As Jean left the students, she walked into our reception area where Bertilda’s daughter was waiting! With tears streaming down her face, she gave her the biggest hug! Bertilda and her daughter recently toured His House to see the beautiful thing that God had done when, in a moment of crisis in their lives, the family offered a home to a brand new ministry called His House. Asked what she thought when she saw our current 16-building campus, Bertilda said, “I felt overwhelmed. I was in awe to see the ministry. I saw the same passion and desire to help those children that I had seen years ago when Jean came to pick up a stack of paper from our dying business. … I marveled to see how many houses they have now to (provide homes for)and protect about 9,000 kids. I saw how God has blessed …”

1996: His House relocated to the

campus at the Community of Landmark in Opa-Locka, where it still resides, and was granted a license to launch the foster/

adoption program.

2004: His House Academy opened to meet the diverse needs of the children living at His House as

well as at-risk children from the community.

2005: Privatization of the child welfare system made His

House responsible for assisting families in overcoming the crises that cause children

to enter the system, as well as finding good homes and

meeting the children’s needs. This tripled the number of people in His House’s care.

...continued

25th Anniversary Celebration

This past April, His House celebrated its 25th Anniversary at the Annual Banquet. It was an opportunity to spend time with His Kids who have since grown and moved on, as well as foster and adoptive parents and friends of His House.

Children from the His House Academy sing “Do Something!”

God is their Father, We are their Family

1989: Founder Jean Caceres-Gonzalez

answered God’s call to open a children’s home in South Florida by welcoming and caring for children

in her parent’s home.

Pastor Rudy Gracia honors the memory of his wife, who loved the ministry of His House by urging pastors to take action in caring for the fatherless and spreading the need for foster families in their congregations.

2007: In collaboration with Dade Christian School, His House Academy became a private

faith-based school and completed the rigorous

accreditation process of the Council on Accreditation. In 2013, it was accredited

through the Florida Association of Christian

Colleges & Schools.

2008: His House International

Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) began to provide refuge,

residential care and case management for youthful

detainees from Central America and other parts of the

world. In 2012, it partnered with Miami-Dade Public

Schools Outreach Program.

2010: His House was selected to

serve as the official reception center for orphaned children

following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, serving

over 500 children in 3 months.

Having foster children has greatly impacted our family. It has given us an opportunity to share the many blessings we have received with these children. We thought we would be teaching them, but they have taught us so much.

Many of our friends and family were worried about the emotional impact it would have if the foster children could not remain with us. But what guarantees do we have that our own biological children will stay with us forever? Time really doesn’t matter, what matters is how you can impact the life of a child today. Your influence will be with them forever. And, the children have shown us so much love!

It’s not easy and sometimes exhausting both physically and emotionally, but all great things in life come with challenges. What a blessing it is to be able to change the lives of these three little ones.

God is their Father, We are their Family

2014: In response to the needs of

the Miami-Dade child welfare system, His House opened an

Intake Welcome Center in July. The Welcome Center provides

a nurturing environment around the clock for children

from birth to 17 who have been removed from their

homes as a result of abuse, abandonment or neglect.

What every child needs and deserves is a loving, supportive family who will take care of their needs and help them grow into healthy, compassionate adults.

The children who come through the doors of His House are in desperate need of that kind of love. Often, they have been abandoned by their “birth” families, or have been removed from their homes because of severe abuse and neglect. Most of them have never experienced the love of a caring family.

There aren’t enough foster families to care for all the children in need. His House is working tirelessly to spread the urgent message that “God’s got kids and He needs your help!” – for kids of all ages and sibling groups.

Through local churches and various organizations, we are spreading the message to families that these children need their help.

Kids like Anthony who came to His House when he was only 3. For six years, we worked to find a foster family for Anthony. Here he found love and security, made new friends and enjoyed being a kid. But, every day, Anthony hoped for a family he could call his own.

Anthony’s story has a happy ending. When he was 9, he was welcomed into his “Forever Family”. Today he is in college and pursuing a degree in mathematics.

Not every child’s story will end this way. That requires more families who are willing to open

their hearts and their homes t o these deserving children.

Do you have room in your life for a foster child? Please contact us to learn more.

Felipe Viel Family

Board of DirectorsBill Martin (Board Chairman)

Silvia Smith-TorresG. Trevor Foo

Robert FountainMia FraserJay Leyva

Chris Montello Kathy Perez-Gurri

Bernard ProbstDondra Ritzenthaler

Nancy RobertsWilliam Sims

Become a Foster Parent

Volunteer Orientation Dates

Next Orientation Date

Save the Date

Kids' Keepers

Guardián de los Angelitos

“A Kids’ Keeper is a special friend of His House who provides a backbone of support through monthly giving. For as little as $10 a month, you can help meet the organization’s needs for the hundreds of children we serve each year.” Please contact Iris Felix at 305.430.0085, ext. 275

20000 NW 47th AvenueHector Building No. 2Miami Gardens, FL 33055(T) 305.430.0085www.hhch.org

09/13/14 - 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.10/18/14 - 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.11/08/14 - 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Esther Hill at 305.430.0085, ext. 212

08/18/14 - 6:30 - 9:30 p.m.For more information contact

Marisol at mamoreno@hhch.org305.430.0085 ext. 240

Make a Difference

10.11.14Dear His House Friend,I love Psalm 127--it speaks of God’s leadership in building a home in the first verse and then addresses the value of children— it resonates with me in two of my favorite topics, His House and kids!

For more than a quarter century now, God has been the builder at His House. Not only have the lives of thousands of kids been changed forever, but also those of friends like you and me who have served as employees, volunteers, foster and adoptive parents and donors. We’ve been inspired and built up in our faith … changed in the process of giving. God has not only added buildings throughout the years but He has been building all of us too.

At this important milestone, we can see that the Builder has been preparing His House for the future. We have entered a new season of change and growth for the next quarter century.

Some leadership roles have changed and programs have been eliminated to meet the future needs of the organization. Like a tree whose long branches have been cut off, we know that this pruning will result in a ministry that is stronger and more beautiful than before.

One of these strengthening changes is my new role. As Ministry Director, I will be more externally focused than I have been in the past. The majority of my time will be spent in the community building important relationships and motivating the Body of Christ to respond to His call to care for the fatherless.

As I transition to my new role, His House welcomes Silvia Smith-Torres as our new Executive Director. Silvia comes to us after serving for over ten years as the Executive Director of ChildNet Broward County. I look forward to seeing how God uses her love and concern for abused and neglected children, her vision for the future and her years of experience to move us forward into our second 25 years. Please join me in praying for Silvia as she assumes this new leadership role.

As we celebrate our 25th Anniversary, we pause to say thank you to God and to friends like you who have sown your love and resources to build His House. We are so grateful for everyone who has stood beside us and prayed, given and served to provide His kids a safe place to call home. And we humbly ask that you will continue to stand beside us in the future – the need is great, and we believe, God’s best is yet to come.

Sincerely,

Jean Caceres-GonzalezFounder

“Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Children are a gift

from the Lord; they are a reward from him.”

Silvia Smith-Torres our new

Executive Direcotor at His House