Some pictures of our time in the states with family

Ever wonder????

I often find myself wondering why God has allowed bad things that happen in my life or others but recently I've been wondering differently. God has had a way of blowing us out of the water lately. First of all, for those who don't know, in the past we haven't had the best experiences of enjoying some great gifts people have tried to give us. For example, we were once given Pacer tickets but had to forgo the game,because I tore my ACL. Another time we had been given Monday Night Football tickets for the Indy vs. Vikings game. We missed the game because we had to take Luke to the ER for a mouth injury when he lost two teeth. So we were sceptic when we had to cancel our Texas coast vacation when it seemed that Dean was barreling down on it. Instead of disappointment and confusion, God had a great plan for us. Greg's dad went to a family funeral on Sunday and we were to leave Monday. At the funeral, Greg's dad spoke with a family member who owned property in Florida.
This is where I am writing from. Seaside, Florida. We are in a gorgeous home, in a fun, architectural neighborhood, beautiful beach, warm water, and it goes on and on. The Gobles have been so kind to let us vacation for a few days for free. The last two days I have found myself, thanking God over and over. The joy we have had here is just overflowing in thankfulness to a God who gives us good things. More than we ever deserve. God surely gives us more than we ask or imagine.

Come to me, all you who are weak and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.......

If you visit this blog with any regularity you would notice its been awhile since I've written. We have been on the road. About 2300 miles of it so far. We have been busy and truly enjoyed visiting friends and family in Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. We have had the chance to see many however for not very long and some we just plain missed. We are sorry if you were one of these. We've enjoyed catching up with people and finding out ways we can be praying for others. If you have prayer requests that you'd like for us to be praying for will you email or call us with those. As many of you have heard, we have had many technical difficulties with our cell phone and computer. If you have tried to contact us recently and been unsuccessful, please now we are not avoiding you. We will try and get back with you soon as we think our cell phone is fixed and now just need work on our Nextel. Our Computer seems to have gotten over its cold as well. We thank you for your prayers. We've had a great time of sharing and seeing friends with Pleasant View Church (our sending church and church family for 8 years) and Advanced Community Christian Church ( a supporting church in Indiana as well). We are enjoying our parents and family here in Cincinnati. We appreciate your continued prayers as we speak to one more church this Sunday. Anderson Hills United Methodist will be sending a group in the fall so it will be exciting to share specifics with them as we know them. As fun as it is to visit, we do miss home a bit and wonder what it happening in Monterrey. Please pray for the kids as they start school this next week. You might have kids experiencing the first day gitters and can relate to the anxiety that they kids are going through as well. Thanks again for all you support. We are grateful for those who have showed us love in so many ways. Letting us stay with you, giving us special gifts, supporting us regularly, encouraging us, allowing us to visit even on the spur of the moment, praying for us all year around. Thank you. Praise God for all He does for us. I pray that you are seeing God as one that gives you rest. Whether physically or rest in peace through a difficult time. Amen

Serving with family.....

This week as I mentioned earlier, my twin sister is here with her family. We went to Del Norte to play with the kids one afternoon. We had a lot of fun and also experienced reality. Chris spent her time with a little boy who was newly dropped off at the Casa Hogar. She spent much time trying to understand this little one who didn't smile, wouldn't answer questions and just asked for his mom, his brother and his grandmother. Chris held him a good part of the time and at the end of our time, finally got him to ride a bike. Leaving him was sooo difficult and heart wrenching. She wanted to take him home with her. We aren't sure of his name however, this little guy will be prayed for by her and her daughters. Pictured above is Chris with him on a bike, Caroline and Abby with their girls. Oh yeah, me and Miquel (a soon to be one year old). Praise God for all experiences the fun and the difficult.

The Legacy of a godly man lives on...........

On Wednesday, August 1, 2007, we had a house dedication ceremony for house 4. This house has now been named the Joseph House. My sister, Chris is here this week along with her family and the Ewing family (Beth Guckenberger's family). They have funded this house in memory of Beth, Brad and Ben's father, Allen Ewing. I knew him through Chris and my parents who knew him well. Everything I ever heard about him or knew about him myself was a testimony to the deep faith he had in Jesus. During the dedication, Beth, Ben and Brad shared of how much fun he was, how he was loyal and strong in his faith and longed to make memories. Their prayer is that the teens that live in this home would come to know the Lord, have fun, be loyal and strong in their faith and make memories. We took time to pray over the house, pray for the teens and the teen parents, Juan Manuel and Rosa. Afterwards the Allen's grandchildren planted a tree in front of the house. Allen loved to plant things and work in his yard so this was a great way to show his investment in the future. Praise God for how he continues to work through the live of a man who has been with him for over 10 years now. To say that Wed. was a good day was an understatement.