"Bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes......."

This is Dalia and her grandmother, Olga.

Isaiah 61
The Year of the LORD’s Favor
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
God is in the business of restoring, of comforting, proclaiming freedom, giving a crown of beauty instead of ashes, giving oil of gladness verses mourning,and clothing us with a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Dalia, her two sisters and her grandmother were living out of a car a couple of months ago. To say her life has been hard is an understatement. But God has a plan for the lives of these three girls. In the only miraculous way God works He brought them to Manantial de Amor children's home in August and last night Dalia celebrated her 15th birthday in style. God had introduced this family to B2B and through which they met a family from the states some 6 or so years ago. Dalia, her sisters and grandmother were living in a poor community we serve and on a mission trip this family fell in love with the girls. God touched the hearts of the girls and this family and began a strong love relationship. Through the years this family was able to help the girls with school fees and necessities while visiting and writing back and forth. About 1 1/2 years ago we lost contact with Olga and the girls and it seemed to be a sad ending to such a great relationship. However just a few months ago, they fell on the hardest of times and showed up at Manantial de Amor. God is good and restores his own. The girls don't like being away from their grandmother however they feel loved with the MdA family. They also get to see Olga every weekend. Just last night Dalia was a princess for a day with the help of the supporter family in the states. Dalia celebrated a time that all Mexican girls dream of however not all get to have. Praise God that we can glorify His name in the great things he has done for Dalia and her family.

Prayers needed for Manantial de Amor

A girl from Manatial de Amor trying on a dress for her XV.
Here in Mexico the government is trying to better regulate the laws for children's homes. They are trying to protect and provide for the children better. This system was poorly put in place originally so all the changes can be both overwhelming and seem impossible. Will you join with us in prayer for Manantial de Amor and other casa hogares in Mexico as they feel the pressure to make these changes.
Pray that family members get the paperwork that is needed to keep the kids safe and provided for.
Pray for the workers that can feel overwhelmed to begin with because of all the work they need to care for the kids and now they are asking more from them.
Pray for continued dependency on our Lord Jesus Christ who is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. As you can imagine this added work requires added money, and time. Manantial have already added 4 more kids to their home from children's homes who had to close because they couldn't keep up with what was needed.
Truly the family unit is the best place for a child to grow up. However so many of these kids would not have any place to be if it weren't for Manantial de Amor.
Currently they have children that were living out of a car, one boy who was living between sisters and unable to go to school because of the changing back and forth. God has used Manantial de Amor as a refuge from life storms and a light to guide them to a relationship with Jesus Christ. Thank you for your prayers.

So blessed by Michael

Luke and Mark are so blessed this year to have a male teacher. When you are in a large elementary or middle school there are few opportunities to have a male teacher. But with just two teachers in their school our boys have yet to have had this experience. We have been truly blessed as all his students are boys as well.
It has only been a little over a month already into the school year but you can already see the impact he has had on our boys. Mr. Michael often wears ties to school. The boys have noticed this and their first opportunity to give a presentation in class, unsolicited all the boys decided to wear ties.
Last week Mr. Michael taught on the topic of table manners. That night it wasn't me pointing out who was talking with the mouth open or not waiting to eat until everyone was seated.
Our family has been blessed in the past 5 years to be blessed with great teachers
Katie Housh (now Zayner), Rubi Moyer, Hope Maglich, Jessica Biondo, and now Michael Schreiner and Laura Westaway.
If you happen to be blessed with a great teacher I encourage you to take time out to tell them how special they are. As a parent I pray for others to be apart of my boys' lives. I'm grateful for the godly influence that these teachers have on my kids. Praise God.