I WAS HUNGRY AND YOU GAVE ME FOOD
As we drove thru the colonia yesterday afternoon a group of kids stopped us and told us they didn't have anything to eat.We went to their house and Mom showed us the empty shelve with nothing on it. We have seen her before at Pastor Juans church and also sweeping the road near the bridge by the toll booth. A little shack with 3 beds, her husband and 5 kids as well as another man in a wheel chair his wife and three more kids. 12 people in one little house!!! I told them we would be back later, I can't even take pictures of these families, I just don't feel right to ask them to let me take their picture. We drove right to the store and bought some beans, rice, oil and eggs. We prayed with them as we gave them the food that will last a week at best. I don't ever want to become insensitive to the needs here. We took more blocks to finish Antonio's house, mixed up some cement and helped Clemente install his windows and door on his house. We sat with Scott and Lisa at church today and the message was on taking a risk for God. Can God be trusted when you risk everything to answer the call to go. I'm so glad we have taken that risk. I talked to a good friend tonight and he asked me if we had any regrets, as we approach one year here? You just look back at the old posts on this blog and you tell me. Touch a life each day, it's easy to touch just one.
WHEN GODS PEOPLE PRAY !!!!
I spoke to Victors brother Nahum tonight before we left the colonia and he said that Eliel is getting a little better and may be able to be moved to the hospital in Reynosa in a week.PRAISE THE LORD. The group that was going to drive there this weekend will wait and see. They asked if we could drive them but the cost to permit and purchase insurance and gas would easily be a few hundred dollars and the money would be better spent to extend Eliels insurance for a few more months. Thanks to all of you that have been praying, last week we were told he is going to die and now he's is feeling stronger. Please keep praying for him. We drove to Rio Bravo, Mx. today for lunch with Ruths parents and got stuck in the mud when it was time to leave. I need a passenger van or pick-up truck with four wheel drive to get around after it rains. The water is about a foot deeper after the rain yesterday in Flores De Mayo. It was just starting to go down after hurricane Dolly and now it's even worse. We will be starting a sponsorship program to get mosquito netting for every family, 20 bucks will get a good size net to cover their beds with and will last forever. The sky is thick with them at dusk and the dragon flies get their fill.
RAIN MEANS MUD IN THE COLONIA
Raul and I headed to Mexico to buy some lumber, some anchors for the cement, and to check on the three houses being built in different stages this week. We took the generator and some tools to finish up a few things at Clemente's new house that our friends at Lakewood are coming down to dedicate as well as Antonio's and Yolanda's house. We will also be doing some outreach ministries to the children as well as the whole families in the colonias where the houses are being built. We plan on visiting a few orphanages as well and bless them with some much needed school supplies. Please pray for us as we try to finish up the houses while we deal with a very wet weather pattern here. We had to leave today after some very heavy rain came down for over an hour and the roads became very slick and muddy about 1:30 as we were getting ready to build a few ladders for the houses. Jose' is doing a great job on Antonio's house as Yolanda helps him where she can. I'm playing the role of project manager instead of doing what I like, building the houses. Once the blocks are up, I can strap on my tool belt and do the carpentry and the roofing next week. A group from Pastor Victors church are driving to Monterrey this weekend to encourage Victor and his wife Erica while they wait upon the Lord to touch Eliel and remove his cancer.
110 DEGREES IN THE SHADE !!!!!!!
We had hoped the hottest days were behind us, wrongo. It was 120 degrees in the sun at the site of Antonio's and Yolanda's new house in Flores De Mayo. Raul and I checked on the delivery of blocks, gravel, cement and arena(sand) for the foundation at Trinidad's and Amelia's house. They are such a friendly couple and so happy to be getting a house. Alejandro is helping him build the foundation and at least they have plenty of shade on thier lot. Alejandro is the worship leader at Aqua Viva. We built him a house a few years ago in another colonia and has since moved to this part of Reynosa, and needed some work. We worked at Antonio's house for about two hours in the sun, no shade on the whole lot. I mixed cement and placed blocks where Jose needed them, I was soaked with sweat down to my socks! Luckily Paula called with lunch and we went back to our house in the colonia and ate and rested in the shade. We have 3 houses being built at the same time and I am running around like crazy making sure everything is going well and thank God he has given us some great brothers to help us. Eliazar put new brake lines on my truck and that saved me a lot of money.The water truck came today and everyone was glad to get fresh water. the kids got to swim in thier little wash tubs to cool off now that the barrels are full. Paula sent an E-mail out to a lot of you to invite you to Moraine on the 30th of Sept at 7:00 pm so if you didn't get the E-mail, consider this your invite and come and join us. We are looking forward to coming and seeing ya'll. We need a count so E-mail us if your coming.God Bless and ADIOS
TWO DAYS WORK IN ONE DAY
Antonio's and Yolanda's foundation made for a lot of extra work for us. We have to build on a hill so four feet of digging was needed on the uphill side to level the foundation. We dug all day and lost track of time. Scott and Lisa invited us for dinner and on our way out of Mexico a brake line on my truck broke and we lost all our brakes. We returned to the colonia and called Scott to rescue us. Yesterday we ordered a truck load of dirt and filled the foundation. By the time we got done, there was still enough time to take the delivery of the cement for the floor. The truck arrived at 5:00 and the floor was done by 6:30. A hard days work in 100 degree temps, I'm exhausted and spent the whole day there while Paula was at home with a temperature and not feeling to well. I usually freak out when I don't have someone to translate but my Espaniol is getting better and we manage to get our points across and get things done. I had to pay all the helpers on this house because I can't do it alone without a group here to help, so we're helping them out and they are really helping us out. Adios for now.
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