HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY GIVE THANKS ON ALL OCCASIONS

Give thanks in all circumstances, that's what the bible says to do. Some times I want to say, " yea sure thanks a lot Lord" in a sarcastic whoa is me type of attitude. But if we know that God is working all things together for good to those that love God and are called according to His and I repeat His purpose than I have to say THANKS LORD! Thanks for everything, my wife, my kids, my family, my friends, your goodness, your healing power, your favor, your love, your provision, your faithfulness, your salvation, your awesomeness, your majesty. Thanks for the opportunities you give us to serve you, thanks for the ministry you allow us to partake in, thanks for faithful supporters that allow us to do what we do, thanks for the Holy Spirit that guides us, thanks for your word, thanks for the food that fills our warehouse that feeds the poor,  thanks for the house that you provided for us to live in, thanks for the cold weather, thanks for the sunshine, and yes Lord thanks for the trials you bring our way to test our faith so that we would become more dependent upon you!!! So with all of that said and that is for sure a short list of the things I am thankful for, try doing what I just did and type out some things you are thankful for and E- Mail them to me and lets' encourage one another to be more thankful. Paula and I are getting ready to head back home, with a short stop on the way in OK to help the One Family One Purpose team build a house. GOD BLESS YOU ALL AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING     LOVE BRUCE AND PAULA

HEALING IS COMING , AND SO IS A BUNCH OF BLESSINGS TO THE COLONIA

I wrote the other day that I had type 1 diabetes and I was in a funky place for a few days. Monday the doctors office called and had the rest of my blood tests and the doc wanted to see me again. This time, like all good men, I brought my wife with to really listen to what the doc said. Oh how wise we get with age! The doc told us that I had type 2 diabetes, not type 1 Praise the Lord! You see healing is already working its' way through my body. I'm standing on Gods promise to heal me, but I'm going to make some lifestyle changes to accompany my healing. Thanks for the prayers.
    It's starting to get colder here and Alan, Dave B. and I were able to get a golf game in today. Paula and Lynnea are making tamales today and I can't wait to eat a few. This missions season os really shaping up to be very busy with 5 groups coming between Christmas and the end of February building at least 9 homes and a community center on our vacant lot in the colonia. I'm kinda stressing to get everything done before Christmas, but God has my back as promised in Isaiah 58. We need your prayers for a great missions season and that God will provide an additional R.V. or camper trailer to fit everyone coming next month.

SOME GRIEF BUT A WHOLE LOTTA THE GOSPEL

It's been a long week of travel, preparations and heartfelt sympathy for the home going of  Florence. She was my ex-wifes mother and Grandmother of our two girls. We celebrated her life on Saturday with a memorial service, funeral and a lovely luncheon put on by Moraine Valley Churches ministry to families that have lost a loved one. Kristin and Kelly did a great job of organizing all of the arraignments. Pastor Pat Peglow walked us through the tough time and gave a wonderful message at the service. I was able to share with the family and friends in attendance how Florence accepted Christ as her Savior several years ago and was now in Jesus' presence. It may have been the last time such an opportunity would present itself to share the gospel with so many, so Pat and I took the opportunity as an open door for the Gospel to go forward.
     Several people told our daughters, it was the best funeral they had ever been to. Please pray for anyone that heard and understood the message, that they would respond by faith and secure their eternal destiny in heaven. Thank you in advance for your prayers.
   I usually don't use the blog for personal prayer requests, because most of the time we are Praising God for all the awesome things He does in Texas and Mexico, but I was feeling a little weird and had some symptoms of diabetes and it was confirmed Friday after visiting a "doc in a box". He said I have type 1 diabetes and I say I am healed and well and a recipient of Gods healing power and favor!! So who do you believe in a circumstance like that? I am standing on Isaiah 58 where it declares that if you spend yourself on behalf of the poor, and provide the needs for the homeless, that MY healing will quickly come!! So please pray that Gods Word would be exalted and manifested in my life AMEN.
      We are planning on staying in Chgo through Thanksgiving but it sure is getting cold here. Yesterday we had 70 degree temps and tornadoes, today it's 40 and windy.
     

THE DREADED PHONE CALL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

You have probably felt your heart sink when your phone rings in the middle of the night, it's usually not good news. Our daughters Kristin and Kelly called to tell us that their Grandma, Florence, had gone to be with the Lord. Her battle is over, she's in heaven, whole and happy. Florence had received Christ as her Savior several years ago when she prayed with us to have her sins forgiven and accepted the payment of her sin debt in full, by Christs' work on the cross. We never really witnessed the radically changed life that I experienced some 33 years ago, but we never saw the changed life of the thief on the cross next to Jesus either. Only the promise of " today you will be with me in Paradise". based only on his confession of belief in Jesus Christ as the only way to heaven. So we are packing up some things and loading up the R.V. to head home for Grandmas funeral next Saturday.
      We were planning on driving up in two weeks for Thanksgiving anyhow, so God moved up the travel date. We went to the colonia to take care of some things and to show Carmelo and Eliazar the families that we are going to build houses for at Christmas so they can pour the foundations for them while were gone. As we drove through the colonia handing out cartons of chocolate milk  and orange juice, we stopped at a house in between two houses we had built. A nice shack if there is such a thing, but in need of new siding. Well Enrique had bought cinder blocks to build the walls , but had no money to buy the cement, stone and sand needed to finish the walls. I told Him that God loves him and that God had told me to buy him everything he needed. We asked if they had a personal relationship with Christ and they said no, not really. We shared the gospel with them and when it came time to leave we bowed our heads to pray and Enriques wife Victoria repeated the prayer of salvation and got born again right then and there. Their daughter Alicia who is 15 was there and I had asked her if she had been praying for her parents and she said yes, for several years. Well today Salvation came knocking at their door, and I believe Enrique will bow the knee before long.
      So in reality, we provided the means for four houses today and all the families are really excited about their huge blessing from God. Moraine Valley Church will build two houses after Christmas, one for Angel, Maria and their baby girl Jereh and the other for Juan Carlos, Patricia and their three kids. So we'll be in Chgo for a few weeks instead of only one, and we hope to see many of you at church while we're in town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

GOD GIVES YOU THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART

EVERY MONTH WE HAVE A FOOD, CLOTHES AND GOSPEL MESSAGE OUTREACH AT OUR MINISTRY CENTER IN THE COLONIA IN MX. WE ALWAYS HAVE A MINIMUM OF 150 FAMILIES AND WITH THE KIDS, WE'RE USUALLY OVER 300 PEOPLE ALL STUFFED IN BETWEEN OUR HOUSE AND CARMELO AND RUTHS. MANY WAIT OUT IN THE STREET UNTIL IT'S THEIR TIME TO GET FOOD. THEY DON'T OFTEN HEAR THE MESSAGE GOD BRINGS THEM AND THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PROBLEM. WE RECIEVED A CALL FROM OUR FRIENDS AT THE POWER MINISTRY IN CALIFORNIA, THAT HAVE SELECTED OUR MINISTRY TO BE THE RECIPIENT OF A 30 FOOT BY 60 FOOT COMMUNITY CENTER, BUILT ON OUR LOT IN THE COLONIA. WOW!!!! I WAS SPEECHLESS DURING THE CALL AND AM SO EXCITED AT ALL THE POSSIBILITIES OF SUCH A BUILDING.
     THE POWER MINISTRY IS ONE OF OUR MONTHLY SUPPORTERS AND PARTNERS IN THE FOOD DISTRIBUTION ALONG THE BORDER. THEY WILL BRING 90 WILLING HEARTED MEN FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY TO BUILD THE BUILDING AND PROBABLY A FEW HOUSES AS WELL. THEY WILL COME IN MID JANUARY AND WE WILL NEED TO HAVE THE FOUNDATION READY TO GO, AND THE OTHER AWESOME THING IS ROY DAY IS BRINGING A TEAM 10 DAYS BEFORE THEN AND THEY WANT TO POUR THE FLOOR.
       SO I HOPE THAT GOD IS GIVING YOU THE DESIRES OF YOUR, AND IF HE IS NOT, HOLD ON, FAVOR AND GOODNESS AND BLESSINGS ARE COMING YOUR WAY. SPECIAL TIMES OF HEALING AND GROWTH IN YOUR LIFE. GET READY OR GET RUN OVER, GOD IS MOVING!!!! E- MAIL US THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART AND WE'LL AGREE IN PRAYER FOR NEEDS.

IT'S ALL GOOD, NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCE

We are so amazed at how good Gods goodness really is. This past week was just a week of  meeting needs of many people in Mexico. Sometimes I think that posting some of the things we do as boasting about how we help people in need, but it's really about trying to encourage people to get over themselves and help others with the resources God has entrusted you with. Our partners are the ones who should be boasting about how God uses their gifts to help people in need, and I hope that you do. We don't boast in ourselves, but in God who does the work in and through us. We are just available to do it. So we counseled a few new believers, built a few things, poured two floors today, one in a house and the other a porch and handicapped ramp for Marios wheel chair as he waits for his complete healing. We bought 5 beds today and blessed a few people with a good nights sleep. Last Saturday 180 bags of food were given out to the people in the colonia along with a message of hope. Jesus is the answer to every need you and I have. We have had a lot of tears this past week as we mourn the loss of Alan and Lynneas dog TuTu. We let our guard down for a few minutes and she left the yard and got hit by a car. I really seriously prayed for her resurrection, because she was so special and we miss her every day. We also lost Stormy, one of our cats, to the same demise a few days earlier. He was missing for a few days and when we found Tu Tu , Stormy or as we nicknamed him Chikito was in the same ditch on the same side of the road. So not a great week for our pets, but a great week to be alive and serving our King. Alan and Paula are sick so Lynnea and I went to Mexico today to pour the concrete and enjoy the company of some great people in the colonia. We prayed for little boy named Nicko yesterday, he was really sick with fever and a bulging in some muscles and today he was healed and fine, Praise the Lord.