HOMEGOING AND HOMECOMING
As Paula went back down to celebrate her moms homegoing, the Carpenters Crew was busy building the kingdom to fill the void here on earth. Pedro and Marcos both gave their hearts to Jesus after weeks of building a relationship with him and his family. As we all stood around at the dedication service, Pedro announced with a tear in his eye, that he wanted and needed Jesus in his life. While a few of us were gathered around him, Marcos came up and wanted to surrender his life to Christ as well. So on the same day Paulas family said goodbye to her Mom, God added two more members to his family. It was a great week as the Crew passed out food and toys to every man women and child we came across on our drive through the colonia. Paula came home Saturday night and the second wave of Carpenters Crew servant Evangelists arrived and we started building the third house that generous hearts donated the money for. Early morning rain in Mexico made a mess of the road and we got stuck in the mud several times as we made our way in. Paula arrived a few moments later and we had to rescue her and the truck from the deep wet mud. This will be the last time that happens, as the Carpenters Crew first team gave us enough money to buy enough caliche to fix the road, once and for all. Generous people do generous things. The photos that we will post will tell it all and now that Paula is home, we can do that, only not until tonight, I left the camera in Mexico. Two orphanages have come for beans and rice in the last few days and another Pastor took all of our wheel chairs and porta poties along with some beans rice, bibles and baseball equipment. The Crew has also fixed a lot of things around here and I'm so grateful for their service to us and the Kingdom. Rice and bean prices are through the roof and what used to take 12 thousand dollars to buy a truck load, will now take 17 thousand...OUCH!!!
AN EXPLOSION OF GODS FAVOR
It always seems that when we get involved with what God is doing, God gets involved with we are doing. This week the first of two teams from Laharpe Il and surrounding towns, are building two houses for two special families. The Carpenters Crew hit the colonia running yesterday and accomplished a lot for one day. Four walls are up on house #1, house two had the concrete poured and polished by noon, house three had Roy and his family shoveling caleche' and helping me move wood and load all the windows and roofing for today's assault on poverty. Rick, Alford and Bob will continue wiring our house and Carmelos for electricity, Carmelo will set up house three to pour the concrete on Wed, and the rest of the team of thirty will continue working on the two houses. All in all, the explosion of Gods Favor on the lives these missionaries will touch this week and next, will be life changing. We are already seeing the Holy Spirit move through the team as they interact with the people in the colonia, and see the people in the colonia being drawn into Gods Favor. We shared last night how life changing these simple houses are, and how God always uses them to express His love for them. Are you experiencing Gods Favor this week? Are you positioning yourself to be a receiver of Gods Favor? Maybe the storms,wind and waves are crashing over your boat and life right now and you need God to speak to your storm." PEACE BE STILL" was all that Jesus said and the storm calmed, was our Pastors message this past Sunday out of Mark chapter 4. Just a few words can change the situation, just a prayer , or a kind word can change the person you come in contact with today. We are the hands and feet of Jesus, don't sell yourself short of how God can use you to make a difference today. Paula just came in while I was typing this... Her Mom just went home to Jesus. A storm, or Jesus saying Peace Be Still? I say its' a peace she has never known before today.CONGRATULATIONS MOM YOU MADE IT!!
RAIN HERE, RAIN THERE AND SOME SNOW AND HAIL
When we decided to drive down to Paulas' Moms last week, when there was a lot of rain for casted here we didn't think we would be in it all the way down there, but we were. It rained for several hundred miles and then we got hailed on at an elevation of 9000 feet just an hour from our destination. The Toluca Volcano was covered with more snow than we had ever seen. A twelve and a half hour sprint, door to door, a new record! With the travel problems at night in Mx I dropped the hammer and got there before dark. Paulas Mom is hanging onto life by a thread, and has been that way for several years, and took a bounce for the better when we arrived. Paulas seventy nine year old half sister Mada has her own health issues and can't maintain taking care of her 96 year old mother. I prayed several times that God would end the suffering and take Her home. I was praying for her to Run to Jesus and put on her new body. We prayed with them all before we left yesterday. Paula fell on the stairs Monday and sprained both feet and is in need of your prayers as well. An emergency room visit Tues found no breaks after an x-ray, consult, wrapping of her foot and two boxes of pain meds, all for,guess how much? 160 pesos which is 13 dollars. Can you believe that? With U.S insurance, you would have been billed over a thousand dollars easy. The drive allowed us to give out gospel tracts to every toll booth person there and back and we also gave out several bibles to solders, family, and many other people along the way. It's good to be home, but we have a lot of work to do, with all the rain, we haven't got the other two foundations ready for next weeks Carpenters Crew.
NEW YORK WINS!! SO WHAT
Although we did watch the game with the Kincaids and the Laras and all 14 kids watched movies, it really doesn't matter. What if 111 million people would gather to pray and seek God at the same time? What do you think God would do? What if 111 million people prayed for the nation of Mexico that the Cartels would all accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and stop the violence? How about 1 million? How about 1 thousand? How about 100? How about you? Take 1 minuet and pray for the salvation of all the cartel members in MX and the U.S. Paula and I are leaving in the morning to drive to her Moms' in Central Mexico. We are taking Luzmar and her daughter to the town they come from in the sate of Gueretaro that is on the way and will pick them up next Wed. on the way back. Paulas' brother Fernando is flying from Chgo and will be there today. We ordered the wood for three houses that the Carpenters Crew will build at the end of the month and we need two more foundations completed by then, but is is pouring rain and it will have to wait until next week, Lord willing. Rick and Diane left here Monday to meet Roy Day in Waco TX to switch Roys twenty foot trailer that I have had since summer for a new 14 footer He bought and brought down to help us in our food distribution to Pastors in the Valley. We are so blessed to have such generous people come into our lives and minister to us and the people we want to minister to. Now I can pull the smaller trailer with any of our vehicles. MUCHAS GRACIAS AMIGOS.
THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM
When Darrin handed Victor and Elizabeth the keys to their new house it was a very special moment in their lives. But Yesterday as Rick, Carmelo, John, Ruth, Bob and I, were building a home in Progresso for Rudy, Paula was being used by The Holy Spirit, to bring Victor and Elizabeth to faith in Christ while they put the finishing touches on the house we dedicated today. Victor couldn't wait to tell all of us about His new found faith. He even looked different today, as he teared up confessing Jesus as Lord. It is such a privilege to build these modest homes, and watch God use them, and us, to give the keys of the kingdom to this new brother and sister in Christ. I proclaimed " MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" as we prayed for and over this family. Gods' goal is to put himself on display through our acts of obedience to help the poor. Psalm 41 says, "Blessed is he that has regard for the poor", and we were all blessed today. Victor said it was Georges testimony about how God had changed his life that made him believe, so never underestimate YOUR story about how God changed your life, when sharing with people. Pedro and Margarita next door made some fantastic tamales and David and Luzmar came and sang a few songs, one of which was OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART LORD, and he did that for Victor and Elizabeth. So please remember to pray for them this week and for Paulas Mom as well. We might have to take a ride down there before the Carpenters Crew comes on the 20th.
SUPER BOWL SUNDAY?
I'm looking forward to SUPER SATURDAY, when we dedicate a house and officially present the home to the family. Although we finished the house last week, Saturday is the day that many will come and partake in the festive moment. There are even a few people from our church in Mcallen planning on coming, after all, people from Calvary Baptist donated the money for it. The family next door to Victor and Elizabeth are making tamales for the occasion, their names are Pedro and Margarita and they will be blessed by God in a few weeks when the Carpenters Crew from LaHarpe IL arrive. We have been sharing Christ with this family and expect the Holy Spirit to draw them to faith in Christ very soon. Today Rick and I will go to Progresso Mx and build a smaller house than normal for a man that has lost his legs.
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