FINALLY A DAY BELOW 100 DEGREES
Yesterday it only got up to 98 degrees and ended our streak of 100 degree plus days at 58, I think. After attending church on the US side, we went to the colonia to attend the service at Victors church at 3:00. Jose' and Paulina use to live in the colonia and we use to stop by thier house and give them food and yesterday they wanted us there as they dedicated thier three boys to the Lord. It was raining so hard, you could barely hear Victor, even with a microphone. After the service we went to Jose and Paulinas new house and had chicken and mole', mmmm. They made it out of the colonia and into a real house, with electricity and plumbing and even a small window A/C unit. Sure it only had 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom and is 10 feet wide and 36 feet long but they made it out of the hard life in the colonia. We gave out food to 175 families again on saturday and juice and suckers to all the kids, what a joy our life here is! We also visited the family we built our very first house for 13 years ago, Ramon and Esparanza. They followed up our visit to thier house with a visit to our house in the colonia the next day and we enjoyed a few hours of catching up. Thier daughter Ruthy came and is now 14 years old and in high school. We recieved a generous gift this week and can build another home in the colonia next week. A few other very generous gifts were entrusted to us as well, and will provide food for the colonia, as well as a few cement floors for a few families. This walking by faith thing since moving here has become the rule in our life, rather than the exception and Gods Word is living and active!!! He said if we would go, he would provide. How about you? Is God asking you to get out of your boat and trust Him for something?
P--EEEWS
It stinks when you go to church and there is no where to sit. Well that won't be a problem any more for Pastor Elonzos church. They suffered a fire in thier church and all the pews were burned up. Pastor Victor asked if we could bless them with a few pews, so we built him 5 eight foot pews and he came and got them the other day and was very grateful. We also built 4 four footers for Pastor Procono down the road from us. We built him 5 eight foot pews last month and the church isn't wide enough for two 8 footers side by side so we built the economy model. Water is getting very scarce and people have to resort to doing laundry in the canal. We are all set to bless the people with food again tommorrow and will spend today preparing the food for distribution. We bought juice boxes and suckers for the kids and we are so gratefull to all those who support us to make these outreaches possible. Yesterday Frank and Pastor Bret came from San Antonio to visit the colonia and some of the needs there and will be partnering with some missionary friends from from San Antonio and Alabama. Late yesterday afternoon the search and rescue squad from Reynosa came to the colonia because someone found two backpacks and two pairs of shoes on the bank and no signs of the two kids. They feared they had drowned so they began to search for them. We pray that a miracle would take place and they will be found alive and well. We are heading over there now. ADIOS
SPLASH
We took a van load of people to the water park and had a blast. Most of the kids had never been in a pool let alone a water park with slides and kid things. We were there almost 5 hours and after swimming and playing in the playground, we left with some great memories and some sun-burn. Saturday we took the papers to Emilys' Mom to fill out so we can fax them to Shriners Hospital in Mexico City to see if we can get Emilys' feet operated on, or if we have to wait until she grows some more. We also visited a family, whose son needs eye surgery and someone from San Antonio had given us $100.00 to start with his doctor visits.
A NEED BEYOND NEEDS
We met the Marquez family on Saturday when they walked over two miles to come and meet us and ask for prayer for thier baby Emily. I mentioned her on the last post being born with two defective feet. Cyndi and Paula talked with the family and now Cyndi has contacted the Shriners Hospital in the US and also in Mexico City and we are in the process of filling out the application to get this precious child the surgery she needs. Please pray for favor and help with transportation and lodging when the family gets there. Saturday was another one of those divine appointments God arranges. Raul, Dennis and Me spent the last few days building more pews for a few more churches. Beto and Carmelo stained a few of them yesterday after we left. Tommorrow we are taking a bunch of kids from the colonia to the water park in Reynosa, school starts on Monday so it's just a little treat for them to beat this heat.
GODS PROVISION IN A SUN SCORCHED LAND
Last week as the water supply in the colonia dwindled and the temps continue in the low 100's Mimi, Caleb, Becky and Rosita were able to cool off for a few minutes in a few gallons of water which were recycled back into thier 5 gallon buckets to be used to do laundry later on. They sure had fun and we all enjoyed watching them splash about in the little pool. Kids don't know that there is life outside the colonia and quite frankly I don't think they care, they are always smiling and having fun with each other. They have that child like faith that Jesus talks about so often that give them Joy. On Saturday many people from the colonia came to experience Gods care and provision for them as we gave out beans, rice, cooking oil, sugar and laundry soap to everyone that came. This months provisions were provided by Moraine Valley Church in Palos Heights Illinois. They have a fund specifically for helping those in need in their own body but were prompted by the Holy Spirit to reach out beyond their own walls to help their brothers and sisters in Mx. Where will the $ 1500.00 come from it takes to feed everyone twice a month? I don't know but God does. If He led us to do this, then I'm not going to worry about how, but I do know that over $3oo.oo has come from our Sunday school class. Pastor Victor stood on a chair so everyone could hear him as he gave a message about trusting God. We also gave out school supplies and backpacks to the kids along with a bottle of juice. Some families walk over two miles to come twice a month. We had several people come forward for prayer and our friends from Sunday school, Bobby, Mona and Cindy led them to Gods Throne to ask for healing of different things. One women brought her 1 month old baby that was born with defective feet and we are seeking God on what we could do to help. Jesus still sees the multitudes and has compassion on them and we are honored to be in His service here to be his hands and feet to a lost and dying world.
BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE
This past week had us busy building a foundation, buying food for the colonia to give out on Sat. and giving out school supplies and school shoes that our friends from Calvary Baptist Church in Mcallen bought when we let the need known in our Sunday school class. The kids were so excited to get new shoes and some supplies. We went to the Dodge Arena on Sunday to hear a message from Joel Osteen. We enjoyed the service and were encouraged. We continue to be melting here, over 30 days in a row over 100 degrees but we continue to work everyday in Mx. and love every minute of it. I got a call this week from a good brother wanting to donate a truck to our ministry here. WOW you talk about God meeting our needs. It's a four wheel drive with a full size bed and will be a real blessing when it gets all muddy in Mx and hauling all the things I do with my small truck. So I guess we'll have to come to Chicago and see all you guys again, except this time Paula is coming with and then drive back here with our new wheels.
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