For her genius hour/inquiry project at Eastern Mennonite School, Isabel decided that she would like to do a service project to benefit Guatemala. She decided to raise money for the Bunk Bed Project (Tamara Hillstrom El Amor de Patricia.) Her goal was to raise $208 dollars to purchase one bunk bed for a family in need in Guatemala. She decided to make and sell slime at school two mornings a week through February. She sold Trident gum, squishy balls, and received donated earrings from a generous EMES family with children from Guatemala. She also received multiple small donations. She spent countless hours making slime, getting up extra early to set up her products at school, and showed so much heart and dedication for the project!! As of yesterday she has exceeded her goal and raised over $561.20 to benefit Guatemala!! She is still collecting donations through the end of the month and will submit the money the first week of March. She hopes to buy a bunk bed, stove, and water filter for a family in need, then donate any remaining money to the children’s home El Amor De Patricia. You can learn more about the project at http://www.theloveofpatricia.org/ 
One eleven year old girl with a huge, kind heart, and a passion for helping others is making a difference!! We love her and her kind heart so much! <3
Her dream now is to visit Guatemala in person and help families in need. (Hopefully we can make that happen in a few years!!)
If you would like to make a tax deductible donation in honor of Isabel, please visit (please put Isabel's name in the memo): 
http://www.theloveofpatricia.org/the-bunk-bed-projectreg.html ​

Our dear friend Alicia Sylvester gathered school supplies for the kids at el Amor de Patricia in lieu of gifts for her 11th birthday in November!!! AND not only that, Alicia and her parents, Joleen and Dave, personally hand delivered the supplies in Guatemala the week after Christmas!!!  Now the kids are all set for school.  Thank you to Alicia and her friends for bringing much joy to our kids!!! Amazing Alicia... you rock!  <3U!

Madeline Cole turned 10 on November 6th . And in lieu of gifts, this special girl had her guests bring school supplies for the kids at El Amor de Patricia!!! And not only did they bring gifts, each child was assigned one of our kids to spend time praying for. What an amazing group of girls! Happy Birthday Madeline!!!

Give To The Max 2015 was a huge success. Our $10,000 Matching Grant was made with 3 minutes to spare!  Thank you all who donated to help El Amor de Patricia be able to continue to Care for Orphan, Deliver Beds to Families in Need, and Educate Impoverished Children. And a huge THANK YOU to Nystrom & Associates, LTD. for providing the grant. What a difference you all make in the lives of our children and families!

Thank you to everyone who donated to our new van!  What a blessing it is for the kids and staff.  They can now go on outings, to the doctor and other places easily....  Thank you MaryAnn and Brian Nystrom for the matching grant that made such a difference!  Now, we want all who contributed to come on down to Guatemala for a spin in our beautiful van!

by Tamara Hillstrom

El Amor de Patricia's own beautiful and talented Candy Borrayo (10) was asked to dance at the National Theater in Guatemala City as well as in San Lucas after attending the Academia de Arte in San Lucas this year…. we are so proud of you Candy. We love you and celebrate who you are!!!