Mexico Missions with Bruce and Paula

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.

SWEET HOME CHICAGO

We are really enjoying seeing all our family and friends here. A wedding, birthday party, family dinner, and yes even a little golf with some friends. We enjoyed an opportunity to attend church and even share with the congregation what we have been up to this past year. We miss Mexico and all the people there but reconnecting with everyone here has been awsome.I even sold a roofing job which will help with our travel expenses. We spent the afternoon yesterday with the small group we were part of for years. Our daughter Kelly and our Son in law Ryan came in from Denver and it's been great to have the whole family together. We will update later God Bless

A TEARY GOOD-BYE TO OUR FRIENDS

Wow, our first trip back home to Chicago in almost a year. The day after the team from Houston left, Paula, Raul and I went to the colonia to organize some of the things we didn't have a chance to give away on Sunday. We also had to order the wood for the house we will start building with another group from Seattle that will arrive here the day after we get back. We took a bunch of those 2 lb banquet meals a good friend gave us and we didn't have the room in our freezer so we took them with us. We straightened out all the piles of stuff and put them in the loft of Daniels and Carmens house. We really need to build a house for us to store all the things we bring across. Someday!! We ate with all our friends that helped us so much on Sunday, we couldn't have done it without them. Tears filled our eyes, just as they are right now as I type this, as we said goodbye and hugged one-another. We have been with these guys almost every day for the past eight months, they are family. It's like when we said goodbye to our daughter Kristin last year and all our friends, it was so hard. But, we'll be back and we do need the rest. The long hot 100 degree plus days has us pretty tired and needing this trip to see family and friends and maybe raise some support while were there.Most missionaries do that before they go into the field but were not most missionaries, God said GO and we went, period!!

THE BLESSINGS JUST KEEP ON FLOWING

After we unloaded all the backpacks in the colonia, we spent the day preparing all the packpacks with the blessings the children were about to receive. All day saturday, Paula, Raul, Me and many of our friends from the colonia filled the backpacks with school supplies, gifts and toiletries. We also divided up several hundred pounds of beans, sugar and cooking oil into individual family packs. Before I picked up the team from Houston at the airport, Paula and the Sons of Salvation staff went to Mexico to decorate the two houses, while Beto and his wife Lucy along with Carmello and his wife Ruth cooked over 600 hot dogs on our grill in the colonia. When we arrived from the airport to the colonia we loaded up over 400 packpacks, 200 bags of food, 600 hundred hot dogs, bibles, tracts, and other gifts for the Pastors as well as the children. We gathered together and held hands as people prayed for Jesus to be glorified as we ministered to the needs of the people. By days end, we had services at three churches, dedicated 2 new houses for two precious families, served all the hot dogs and chips and reached out and prayed with several people that needed healing, financial burdens to be lifted, salvation for some, an unspoken need and for the blessings and power of God to fill these colonias where God has placed us for such a time as this. We even topped a great day off with a great meal of fajitas on the way back to the airport. Thanks to the team from Houston that made a difference in so many peoples lives today including Paula and me. It's easy to do do great things when Jesus directs your path.

Give away food

HIS STORY IN OUR LIVES

We moved to the TX/MX border in the Fall of '07 from Chicago, IL. We had been coming to Reynosa on short-term missions trips for over 10 years. Each time we left a little bit more of our hearts behind. Thru the circumstances of life Paula and I both agreed that now is the time to do that which gave us meaning and purpose in life. So we sold our home and came to the Rio Grand Valley at the southern most point of Texas. We have since joined with Mexico Missions Inc. to assist them with their childrens backpack programs in Mexico. Our mission is to reach the poorest of the poor in Mexico. We build homes, offer food and clothing to those in need, but most importantly we share the love and hope that is found in our Lord Jesus Christ. Living radical lives has expanded our vision and ministry from feeding hundreds of families to thousands.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP US REACH OUT TO THOSE IN NEED

Our ministry is totally supported by people like you.Since we did not raise our needed support before entering the mission field we continue to walk by faith that God will speak to the hearts of those of you reading our blog and joining us on short term trips to Mexico to help us help our brothers and sisters in Reynosa. If you would like to contribute to us personally, sponsor a child to attend school, give to the building of a home for a needy family, or even have us facilitate a food outreach, contact us via E-mail or send checks made out to MEXICO MISSIONS INC. and mail to our new address, P.O. Box 68 San Juan, Tx. 78589. If you would like to support us personally, put B&P in the memo column. If you would like to sponsor a specific outreach, list that as well in the memo column. All gifts are tax deductable. Child school sponsorship $400.00 per year per child, a newly designed home can be built with some help from the people in Mx. for a gift of $3800.00 or any portion thereof until enough money is raised to build one. Many houses could just use new roofing and some other fixes to make them more habitable. God Bless You as you give.