Visiting old friends
Paula and I left this morning to go to diez de mayo, the colonia we had built in for years with Roland. It was good to visit some people we had built homes for to see how they were doing. The hurricane came and went and life goes on in the colonias. The babys that have been born to the girls are all growing and still smiling. One little boy who is Anna's, we built her family a home over 6 years ago, is 4 years old and doesn't talk yet. I played with him for a while with his toy car and he and his sister laughed a lot. We headed for Grandmas house to say Hi. Georgia and her husband are the only people I ever baptized and that was in a wash tub and 5 gallons of water some 4 or 5 years ago. They still rejoice in that opportunity to get baptized. I gave Pops my big straw sumbrero, his last one Scott had given him had worn out. We made our way to Nopelera to see if Beto and Carmelo had finished the work on our van. They repaired a dent and some rusty areas and then polished the whole thing. Man it looks like a different van. I gave them each 50 bucks and naturally they said it was to much but I insisted that it was well worth the 3 days they worked on it. We ordered the ready mix cement truck to pour a floor tommorrow, we have to do it without Pastor Victor, but Eliazar said he could do it. Scott, Lisa and the kids came for tomales,rice,steak and mexican coca-cola tonight they are doing well and looking forward to taking on thier full time position at an orphanage, Lisa teaching english and music and Scott heading up the maint. and running the teams that come and stay on site to do work projects. I'll surely miss them on our projects in the colonia. Please pray for them and us for the provision we need to keep doing what God has called to here in Mexico. God Bless You All and good day!!
Continued need for prayer
We started a mens bible study in the colonia an tues afternoons at 6. This was our second week and there were 6 of us.We took prayer requests and I had to comment after we prayed that these guys all prayed for other people, thier own families and the spiritual growth for all of us. Not 1 request for anything material for thier lives even though the needs are there, or are they? Maybe they have learned to be content in all circumstances and trust God to meet thier needs. We prayed for Eliel that God would heal this 18 year olds cancerous tumor on his nose. He is home and was feeling better until last night when he got a high fever and his tumor was bleeding. Victor called and asked if we could drive them to Monterey, back to the hospital. Our car permit for interior Mx just expired and so did my visa, so Raul and I spent over two hours in line to renew both and by the time we got to the colonia, Victor already had the ambulance coming to take him and Eliel. We prayed again and I told them that God loves them and this will work out in thier lives.Pray without ceasing is one of the passages we read in our study. Obed and I both expressed a need for a deeper prayer life. God Bless and ta ta for now.
Ruth and Carmelo 3rd anniversary Mon 7/28
Sorry we forgot the camera: but we had a great time in the colonia celebrating the couples third anniversary and it was also Ruths birthday. Paula made 150 tamales and her famous marinated mexican arranchera meat, it was great!!! After dinner Carmelo, Beto and I went to the store and bought a tres leches cake. Pastor Victor and his family were there with Eliel who finally came home from the hospital. We enjoyed having them there, they have been in Monterey for almost three weeks. The mosquitos are really bad now after all the rain from the hurricane both in the colonia and here at home. We took most of the Sons Of Salvation staff to the airport on monday early am. They are leading a team of 25 in Bejing China to hold English classes.Pray for them as they teach english. A good friend sent us money to build a family a home and we hope to get started next week once we get the foundation built.
food looks good!
Serving the food.
PANICO IN MEXICO
Panico is the word in spanish for being afraid. After Hurricane Dolly cleared the area and the rain and wind stopped Paula and I went across the border to bring some clothes, shoes and food, to the colonia. We were expecting total devastation and floods, even though many had prayed for protection for the people there and thier homes. Oh ye of little faith. God did indeed protect them. All the people were ok and surprisingly dry. Carmelo and Ruth told us the kids were very afraid,Panico. The sounds of the rain and the wind scared us in our home in Pharr. We lost power for about 14 hours and took in a little water thru our front door and lost a few shingles from the roof, but to ride out a storm as big as Dolly in a little shack with a metal roof would bring panic to any of us here in the states. How great is our God and His Mercy endures forever. We stopped and asked many people how they were and they all praised the Lord for taking them thru the storm. He didn't deliver them from it, but took them thru it, just as His word promises. An old man was sitting in front of his house reading his bible and as we walked by he told us even though his roof was very bad, got very little water in the house, and was just reflecting on Gods goodness thru His word. We have learned alot about God here and really believe that the poor are indeed blessed and as the sermon on the mount states, the poor have seen God. Thanks for the prayers and remember they are very effective, because as believers, we are righteous because of Christ...
Hello Dolly!!!
The day before a hurricane is when we probably should have been preparing to ride out our first hurricane, but we loaded up the truck with food, canned goods, pasta, and fresh tortillas and headed for the colonia in Reynosa. I wondered if people there knew that a huge storm was coming their way and tomorrow will be another test of their make shift homes with dirt floors. We headed for the end of the colonia to hand out the food we brought, because they don't get the blessings that the people in the front usually do. We handed out hundreds of cans of food, and those fresh tortillas they love. We stopped and met a family of 8 living in a 10 foot by 10 foot house. They only have one full size bed, where 4 of them sleep the rest sleep on the dirt floor. They had no food and no hope. We gave them all the rest of the food we had and as Raul shared Christ with them Paula and I decided that this family will receive the next home we build. We have two other families that will receive homes as well. The rains are really coming down now and I'm sure our friends in the colonia are not as sheltered as we are in our nice brick home. I almost feel guilty! We left our passenger van in the colonia in case our friends need to flee the storm. I told them to pack up as many as could fit and head for shelter. Me, Raul, Beto, Carmelo, and Eliazar had a short bible study last night, prayed for a while, and then ate dinner before we came home. Please pray for the people in the colonia. I'm going there tomorrow if I can get thru the mud. Paula spoke to Carmelo today at about 3 pm. They could hardly hear on the phone, because the rain pelting the tin roof made so much noise, but they said they were OK. We sprung a couple leaks in our house and I'm watching the shingles on my neighbors house flap in the wind. I'm sure they won't last till tommorrow.
Burning Gas to Be a Blessing
Pastor Victor and his wife Erica have been in Monterrey Mx with thier son Eliel who has some kind if tumor on his nose and they can't seem to figure out how to treat it for almost two weeks now. Anyhow we thought it would be a blessing to take Victors two kids left at home with thier older brother Daniel and his wife Carmen to visit thier parents in Monterrey.They had never been apart before so we figured it would be a good thing to do.We drove over and spent the day there, Paula,Me, Little Victor, Anna thier oldest daughter, Carmen thier daughter in law and grandson Samuel. We spent the whole day at or near the hospital. We went across the road to eat, it was Carmens Birthday and Ericas was the next day. We went up to Eliels room to pray for him before we left. In Mexico if you have a family member in the hospital someone has to be there while being treated, so Victor and Erica have to stay for as much as another week. Victors brother Nahum is handeling all the services at the church and also gave us a gift from the people in the church to give to Victor and Erica to meet some financial needs arising from the hospital stay. We are glad we are here to be able to meet some of the needs that our brothers and sisters in Christ have, something as simple as giving two kids a ride to see thier parents for a few hours in the midst of a family crisis.
Move a House in the Colonia?
Last week one of the families in the colonia asked us if would be possible for us to take their two year old house apart and move it a mile down the road and put it back together. Not to much to ask, since we are there to help in any way we can we told them that we would come on Monday and take it apart. Obed said they could probably take the roof off and whatever else they could over the weekend. Well as Scott and I pulled into the colonia we saw the entire house all dissasembled leaning against the house next door waiting to be re-assembled. Praise theLord the guys had a friend with a truck big enough to haul the 20 foot walls still nailed together in one piece. We started putting the walls back together and things went back together pretty well. Lucy and Beth made us some fantastic food for lunch as we just finished putting the loft back together. After that great meal we worked for about an hour and we were done, not with the house but physically. It's not the wisest thing to eat a huge meal when your working in 100 degree temps. Oh well , we had the whole house completed by noon the next day, and just need to pour the cement floor when Pastor Victor gets back from taking care of his son Eliel who is in the hospital in Monterey Mx.
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