ALMOST FREE GAS $1.90 PER GALLON

After all those months of $75.00 fill ups, it sure was nice to spend only $35.00 to fill er up. A conservation mind-set has been a good thing and limits the running around burning gas and we've saved 5% as a nation in consumption so thats all good. Gas is cheaper here now than in Mx. Beto and Lucy are so excited about getting a house. Beto and Carmello started digging the footing yesterday as Raul and Me helped Pastor Victor start the footing on the ten foot addition we are building on his house for his other son, daughter in law, and grand daughter that are moving up here from Vera Cruz next week. I suppose after Eliels death that the family needs to be together to help each other heal. We were going to use a bunch of old wood that Victor has but I told him I would just buy new wood. Probably 600.00 will build the whole addition rather than messing with wood loaded with termites. His wife Erica made us some fantastic stuffed Jalepeno peppers after we finished working and Paula brought cookies she made.

A HOUSE FOR OUR GOOD FRIENDS

Beto and Lucy along with thier three kids, Jieel, Rosita and Becky live down the road a ways and are always helping us with everything we do. They have a very small house that some missionaries built them several years ago and with the floor raised off the ground, the cold air makes it very cold in the winter, so I'm building them a house and we'll take thier house apart and give it to a family down the road. The cold air is here at night and it seems everyone has a cold as do Paula and me.Now I'm sure it's not as cold as some of you are experiencing but when you don't have electricity or heat even 50 or 60 degrees is cold. We gave out some blankets we had to a few families and are appealing to our friends to send blankets, jackets, and wool caps for the kids. We are going thru our closets again to give anything we can. If we use the one year rule our closets will be able to breath. Another house close by got forclosed on this week and it's listed at 114,000.00.4br 2 baths and an indoor pool Wow. So if anyone wants to forget about chasing the wind and join us, we'll be neighbors.

IT'S THE COLD & FLU SEASON

It seems like everyone in the colonia including us has a cold. We are trying to get some things done but we're all kind of tired. We managed to put a few tarps on a single moms house yesterday. She has five kids. I bought metal roofing, but the structure is made of pallets and it is not strong enough for the metal roof so we tarped it until we can build them a house. Her house is one of the worst we've seen lately, all the walls are full of holes between the boards of the pallets and they have cardboard and plastic trying to keep the wind and rain out.If I don't build them a house before Christmas we'll build it when the people from our home church Moraine Valley in Palos Heights, Il come down. We also put up the tent by Pastor Victors church Agua Viva for the 3 year anniversary of the church celebration on Sunday. We have 2 interns at SOS, Mitchell and Julie and they are a big help around here, as they were also in the Bahamas a few weeks ago making sure all the transportation and schools were all ready. We marinated and grilled some mexican steak the other day and fed about 30 people. We built some nice shelves and put the curtains in Amelia and Trinidas house and now thier house is complete. She has it decorated so nice inside with all the gifts the team from Washington gave them. The lot they live on is all nice and clean and it just shows us what a change in thier lives these simple houses make to give them some pride in the life they have here. Thanks be to God for allowing us to serve in the colonia.Please pray for the health of all of us down here, Scott and Lisa said the kids in the orphanage and school have colds also. ADIOS

A WASHINGTON TEAMS GIFT OF A HOUSE

Imagine looking at the concrete floor where one day you'll be able to put your bed surrounded by four walls and a roof that doesn't leak. Amelia and Trinidad were bursting with joy when we showed up last week to start building thier answer to prayer. We had been gone for over three weeks, so the foundation had been sitting there empty on thier lot for over a month.We opened the day with prayer and before long one wall was up, then the second, as the painting team tried to stay ahead of the carpentry crew. The sky grew dark and it poured for about an hour. We took refuge under the International Bridge and ate lunch while it rained. We managed to get one more wall up in between rain delays and called it day and churned our way thru the now muddy road toward home. The second day took us to the point of only needing the roof metal and windows to finish. We decided to finish and decorate, and dedicate the house on the third day because Trinidad would not be there the next day. While the team finished the house, Pastor Victor grilled up chicken, sausage, jalepenos and onions on our grill. We had our fill of good food and gathered around the house. As Victor prayed for the family, Joy filled the hearts of the family and the tears of that joy overflowed to many of us as we handed them the keys and they entered thier new home. Thanks to a great team for changing the life of a family for time and eternity.

Cruse photos

Benito Juarez Orphanage

After the funeral and luncheon we took the team to an orphanage to share a message at their church service and give out backpacks with school supplies. The group of 14 interacted with the kids, did face painting,balloons and then we fed them hot dogs and sloppy joes. Monday we started building the house for Trinidad and Amelia. We were going strong after a late start when it started to rain. The lot is next to the international bridge, so we were able to seek refuge under it until it stopped. We had three rain delays but still managed to get three walls up so it was a good first day and we should finish easily on wed.

A TEARFUL GOODBYE TO ELIEL

We called Carmello from the airport in Miami to see how things were going in the colonia and were told that Eliel, Pastor Victors 19 year old son had lost the battle with cancer and has now experienced victory over death and rests in the arms of Jesus. We arrived at the funeral home in Reynosa Saturday the day we got home from our missions trip, to visit with the family, what a sad reuniuon. We hadn't seen Victor for quite a while as they had been in Monterrey in the hospital with Eliel. The funeral was Sunday and the team that just arrived from Washington to build a house put together a luncheon for the family and friends at Pastor Victors church in the colonia and I know they really appreciated that act of kindness. We ask that you would join us in prayer for the family and that the cost of a funeral would be provided.

TEN THOUSAND BAHAMIAN SOULS

We still can't believe what God did in the Bahama's this week. As we boarded the Carnival Cruise Ship Imagination, we could not imagine that three days from now we would stand in awe as the commitment to Christ cards were totaled and ten thousand four hundred men , women and children accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior on two islands in theBahamas. We watched as God opened doors to share the Gospel in almost every public and private school on Grand Bahama and Nassau Islands. With over 1800 saints on the ship, we invaded the islands to capture hearts for Christ. As Paula and I sit here in Miami waiting to catch our flight home the weeks activities are fading to memories but the follow up work in the Bahamas is just begining, as the local Pastors and leaders take each name and follow up on them. The concert on Wed in Nassau brought over 30,000 locals to here about the Love of God and to worship with all of us from the states.Paula , me and 6 other staff members from Sons of Salvation as well as some very dear locals made all the transportation needs go off with out a hitch. We handed out packpacks and school supplies to over 2000 kids of all ages. Tony Evans gave a great message and invitation at the concert. Music by Larnell Harris, Sonic Flood,Mary- Mary, The Crabb Family and many others was spectacular. We cleaned up the whole park after wards and hauled a lot of garbage to the dumpster. A sixteen hour day that left us exhausted and excited!!! To those of you that partner with us, a great big THANK YOU, great is your reward.