God's garden must be beautiful;

God looked around his garden and found an empty place. He then looked down upon the earth and saw her restless face. Surrounded by family and friends, Carolyn Hope Onessimo was placed in God's garden on February 7, 2024, after a long battle with cancer.

Carolyn was one of our camp kids for several years. She enjoyed her summers at Campbell Farm, looking after the sunflowers in bloom and defending them from critters. Also, being one of our quieter campers, she found her voice regarding things she was passionate about. Pool days were her favorite, and she looked forward to spending time in the sun swimming around and playing games with other campers.

Her service was held at Valley Hills, where her family and friends wore Hello Kitty and Carebear shirts to honor Carolyn's favorite things—the day ended with a Celebration of Life Meal, with tables decorated with colorful tablecloths, Hello Kitty cups, Squish Mellows, and stickers. Carolyn picked out each food item for her ceremony, including some of her favorites and other items she hadn't tried yet. During the meal, family and friends shared stories, laughs, and tears to remember her.

Carolyn Hope Onnesimo had a significant impact on anyone who knew her. While her life was short, she left an impression on this world that will last for lifetimes.

Gift cards for our community

We were given gift cards to distribute among the members of our community. We opened our doors for a few hours, and a queue of people formed. Each adult had to sign their name, and then we handed them a gift card they could use at Safeway to purchase gas, groceries, or other household items.

Group speaker

One of our STEM parents shared about his upbringing and becoming an engineer. His daughter translated for him while he spoke about growing up in Guatemala, the struggles of a divided country, and how the beliefs and teachings of his parents led him to be accepting and open to everyone. These lessons also gave him an appetite to learn about everything and how they work.

He studied at the University of San Carlos, and to graduate, you are required to implement a public project in which he designed and paved a rural byway, helping people get to their homes all year round, even in the rainy season. He is a civil engineer who has spent most of his career supervising power towers and electrical substation expansion projects all over Guatemala and bringing power to rural areas.

He broke up the conversation into three parts, and each student wrote down a question they wanted to ask during each break. Some of the questions were about his childhood interests and what sports he played. Other questions were about his projects and where he traveled for work.