This past month we had the grand opening of the OA Clinic. Dr. Jonathan Lim and RN Lee Ann Calcagno came down to hold OA’s first clinic.

This month OA would also like to shine the spotlight on 3 of our young ladies.

Galilea received a bike as a reward for her improvements in her behavior as well as for having the highest grades in her class and the best grades out of all the OA children. She is the most improved child we have ever had!

Natalie was rewarded for improving the most this past semester. Yajaira  was rewarded for having the highest grades in her class.

Natalie and Yajaira

This past month has been a time of new beginnings. The month marked the official launch off Iglesia Vida Nueva (IVN). A church planted here by New Life from Alamo, CA.

All our volunteers to start the church!

Showing off his super bucks for the kids store!

Crystal and Maria at our first time guest tent! Our first time guests are our VIP’s!

Inside our newly remodeled sanctuary!

Praying over the Pastoral team!

This past month OA also started a youth center, “Alto  Voltage” (High Voltage, based on the scripture Luke 11:36).  It is held here at OA every Friday night.

The first night at High Voltage, we welcomed 80 youth! And every since then it has grown every week!

God, as always, is doing Amazing things.

Happy New Year! We welcome 2012 with open arms, and we welcome all our kids and staff back after our two week break. We closed out the 2011 as we do every year, with our Christmas party. We celebrate the birth of Christ with dramas, songs and even a few dances. The kids love it, the families love it, we love it.

2011 has come to an end, let us look back and see the amazing things God has done over the course of the year at Open Arms.

The Clinic

-We broke ground on our newest building addition in April are hoping to have our first clinic by February 2012.

Ministry

-We have grown. We have more kids at the daycare, more mom’s attending small groups, more ladies coming to our ladies’ Bible study, and more families coming to the Sunday morning cell group.

Open Arms Staff

-We are currently one of the largest employers in our town. We have 13 Mexican employees.

This has been an amazing year. Open Arms thanks God for all He has done here this past year, and are excited to see what God has planned for our future. Here are some pics of different moments at OA over the past year.

Clinic: the first wall

On the first story it is a storage unit for the donation that come in and go out into the community. The 2nd story is going to be a Medical and Dental Clinic, and the 3rd story is an apartment for the pastors who will be pastoring the onsite church Iglesia Vida Nueva (IVN).

Miriam and Martina some of our staff.

Panchita our Psychologist working with David.

Day of the Kid! We wore them out.

Bird house craft-vbs

Patricia, Carmelita and Brisa, best of friends!

Cynthia having a drumming lesson with Areli.

Orlando practicing with his lasso!

Luis: "I love OA"

Alejandro having fun with his science experiment!

Esteban trying his hardest to blow up a balloon!

Judith says Hi!

Esteban and Orlando proud after breaking a piñata!

Emy's funny face!

David: “I can’t see you!”

Berenice showing off her bow that was donated!

Martin things he's hot stuff!

Fernando’s serious side.

Emilio with the stache...

On October 31, we had our 2nd annual Harvest Carnival. After a short evangelical service, the kids and their families enjoyed carnival games, a cake walk, eating contests, and lots of delicious snacks. It was a great alternative for the children, to being out on the streets on Halloween.

Worship Service before Carnival

Crazy Hair Booth

Face Painting Booth

Bobbing for apples

Robin gets a pie in the face!

Hot dog eating contest

Adults got to participate in their own hot dog eating contest too!

Patricia posing with her prize.

Martin, excited about his bag filled with candy!

One of the first ministries of IVN will initiate is a strong women’s ministry. Pastor Crystal Heisel from NLC came to speak at the launch of our new women’s Bible study entitled “Renueva” (Renew). Praise the Lord, 44 women came to the first study and 48 women came to the second! IVN is empowering women to impact this community. Please pray for this new ministry.

Pastor Gaby Garcia at the first IVN women's Bible study

Crystal Heisel from NLC leads our first women's Bible study.

44 women attended the first study.

IVN Women's Bible Study Group

Efren, Gaby, Noemi, & David - New IVN Pastors

Pastors Efren & Gaby Garcia arrived from Chihuahua, Mexico to pastor Iglesia Vida Nueva (IVN).  The church is in it’s beginning stages — our goal for our first service is January 1, 2012. We are so excited for this new tool to minister to even more people!  Please keep the Garcia family & IVN in your prayers.

Emy, Nahomi, and Galilea

Galilea, 9, Emmanuel, 5, & Nahomi, 1, are a family dear to our hearts. Four years ago, Galilea used to be one of our worst behaved kids, but with lots of love, consistency & prayer, God has completely transformed her. She is now one of our most obedient and helpful children.  Emmanuel has had a difficult time adjusting to his mother’s new marriage and and a new sibling. Please pray that God would touch his life and transform him forever as well! Nahomi is the newest member of their family. She was born with a deformity in her leg and doctors feared she may never walk. But since infancy, OA prayed for her, and praise the Lord, Nahomi now walks! Please pray for these children and their parents — we are confident that God can and will continue to work in their lives.

Ashley is our newest volunteer and is a huge asset to OA!

We have a new volunteer! Ashley Creech just graduated from high school and has decided to dedicate her time and talents to OA. Her creative abilities and sweet heart have been such a blessing to the kids and staff. She has committed to volunteer for a minimum of three months an potentially longer. Ashley’s story on living with cerebral palsy and her example has already impacted the children to go out of their way to befriend others they normally wouldn’t play with. What a beautiful testament to God’s greatness!

Last month, we were excited to host our very first group from Taiwan! The team worked with the kids all week – teaching them from God’s Word through different avenues related to the Taiwanese culture.  This was an amazing opportunity for the OA kids to experience a completely foreign culture and is something they will be talking about for the rest of their lives! Not only were they a huge impact on our children’s lives, but seven group members also gave their lives to Christ for the first time too!

Judith enjoying hugs from the Taiwan teams

The children learning how to write their names in Chinese

Some of the children with their group leaders

All our children with the Taiwan team

Additionally, we had two first-time groups in August. Orange Valley Church and Harbor Christian Center came to OA for the first time. All of their activities were a great success and we are so grateful to God for opening the doors to these new groups. Thank you guys for all your hard work!

Harbor Christian Center held an outreach service for the community

Over 100 people came to the outreach service.

Orange Valley Church group - playing wit the kids

The kids enjoy crafts brought by the OVC group.

Building Blessings

Progress on our the new building is coming along very well. All three stories have been framed & the plywood walls are nearly all installed. We are concentrating on finishing the third story first. This floor with be a two bedroom apartment for our new Pastors who are coming from Chihuahua, Mexico in late September or October. Please pray for their big move and the start of Iglesia Vida Nueva in La Mision!

Stairs construction

New Life Church Youth Team works on the clinic building.

Our new clinic building at it's current state.

VBS

Vacation Bible school is always a major focus during summer break. Many of the groups that came to serve worked with our kids – teaching them about Jesus in fun and creative ways! The kids loved it! Our prayer is that they not only remember what they have learned but also become a light in their families and community. We are so grateful for each team that dedicated time to focus on our kids’ spiritual needs as well!

New Beginnings Church Team plays a game with the kids.

New Beginnings Church Team

NPI Group doing crafts with the kids.

New Life Church Youth Group

Back to School

The end of summer marks the beginning a new school year. OA strongly believes that education is a major key in breaking the cycle of poverty, and as such, is one of our key focuses at the daycare. Last year we enrolled our “river kids” in school for the first time in their lives.They are now excelling in their classes & catching up in the years they had missed. Many of our students also receive additional on-site tutoring by OA staff.

Back to School Backpacks

Alejandro, one of the "river kids," with his new backpack.

Berenice & Genesis with their new backpacks.

Justin checking out his new school supplies.

Mission Teams

OA continues to grow — thanks to faithful work groups and teams that come to Open Arms and assist with various construction projects. This summer construction continued on a new building for our dental/medical facility, additional staff housing, and much-needed storage.  Aside from construction, many teams also come to minister to our children and community.

Be2Live Team puts up clinic walls

Be2Live Team

Be2Live Team

Be2Live Team - clinic construction

Summer Classes

Aside from enjoying the groups that come down, our kids are busy with summer classes. We divide the kids up into three groups and each have a daily Bible, English, and Art class. Many also choose to take a music class in the afternoon where they can learn how to play the guitar, bass, piano, or drums! The babies and toddlers also get to enjoy their own early stimulation classes during this time.

Americus & Alejandra in art class

Bible Class

Nataly enjoys English class

The youth take part in a small Bible study

Antonio learns to drum in music class

Judith, one of the toddlers, participates in a fun footprint craft

Open Arms continues to grow in number and we are thankful for the opportunity to minister to every child in our care. Since most of the families that come to OA have had difficult lives, with wounds and hurts, we decided it was time to enlist the help of a Christian psychologist to help address some of the spiritual and emotional needs of our children and parents. Francisca Anguiano has been working with our children and teaching our mom’s class for the past two months. God is really using her to guide the children in coping with some of the events of their past as well as to address learning disabilities and teach early stimulation classes to the children. We thank God for sending Francisca to us and for the restoration He is accomplishing through her work here!

Francisca & Martin during an Early Stimulation class

Francisca works with David

Francisca with some of the toddlers

Jeremy & Linzee Creech came and held a service for our children last month as well.  This time they taught the kids about “fighting the good fight of faith.” They made a craft, played games, memorized verses and held a raffle. We are so thankful for their commitment to minister to our children every month.

We also have a new volunteer! Veronica Porras is 18 and after hearing about Open Arms at her church, New Life Church in Alamo, CA, she decided to come down and serve! She loves children, especially toddlers and babies, which is exactly where we needed help! She is an extremely hard worker and a great asset to Open Arms and we are thankful to have her here!

Our new volunteer, Veronica, with some of the toddlers