More Photos de XV

Tonight was such a blessing for Karen Cecilia. She comes from a broken family. Her sister and brother are in the same children's home. She has a younger sibling but doesn't even know her name as she is her mother's daughter that she doesn't see much. Her father came to her birthday party that B2B put on for her. You see her dad doesn't have much money. What he has he used to rent a suit that matched her dress. Her dad said thank you several times. You could see his humility and gratefulness for how God provided for his daughter. People from groups or advocates from B2B have always provided for girls how don't have the money to celebrate their 15th birthday the way they do here in Mexico. Usually a girl wear a dress (a lot like our prom dresses). They have flowers, a dinner and cake. During the ceremony, the pastor encourages the girl through the word of God. Edgar, the director of Manantial de Amor where Ceci is from couldn't come. His wife is having difficulty with her pregnancy with twins and he needed to be with her. Instead Juan Porto filled in. He did a great job of telling her that God is always with her. Here in the pictures you will see Ceci with a few of her "hermanas" or "sisters" from the home that she lives in, pictures of her dress, of the cake, and of the ceremony where we laid hands upon her and prayed for her. What a special day. If you happen to see this and want to know how you can help provide a quincianera for a girl, email me or contact B2B. There website is www.back2backministries.org. Thanks.

Pictures from Cecilia's Quincianera

so much to write so little time.....

Stayed tuned for more writing, I don't have a ton of time but want to tell you what a great week we had. Caroline, our niece stayed last week, Greg and I both worked with a great group called Urbancrest, had some fun illustrations in my life like the time I got lost going to Rayitos de Luc this week. All of these and more are coming. Keep praying for God to work in the lives of the kids and the groups He is soooo good. Tomorrow is a quinceanera for Karen Cecilia from Manantial de Amor. Pray that she feels special in the eyes of the Lord. That the Lord would speak to her on this special day. How fun. I'll be posting pictures of this too. Stay Tuned.....

My sister Chris and niece Caroline are here....

This week we are hosting 2 groups that include 92 people and another 80 people that live here and somewhere between 400-500 children from the homes we work with and you've got a party. Below is a picture of our gathering. We ate together, had wonderful worship, a pastor shared a word and we prayed for the workers and Beth and Todd. It was a great night. Many kids made a decision to earnestly seek God for Big things in their lives. Below is a picture of Caroline with a child from a children's home playing a group game. Ben is with his partner too. I hope to post some photos of my sister. We are busy but I've so enjoyed having them here.

It's time and they are here......

The interns are here (about 20 interns and nannies). Today we had a full day of training. Tomorrow the groups come and we are off to the races. God is so good. Would you consider praying for this weekend. Tomorrow 92 groups members come as we host a children's home. So about 250 people will eat dinner together Sat. night. On Sunday night we will have about every children's home we know here, special guests, group members then us staff and families and jovenes. All in all about 650-700 people. Yep that's what I said. Now, that's what I call a party. What do you serve that many people? Well when you have a heart like those that have supported this night, you serve a steak called arrachara that you serve in a taco. This will be a night where all these kids will know how one another feel and for one night belong. Most of the time these kids stand out as different, but Sunday night all will be for them. They will be the special guests and we all will feel honored to serve and just be invited. Thanks for praying.

quick update on Meme...

Please pray for Meme's health. She has diabetes and is struggling with her blood sugar. It is high and has been since Sat. Pray for her as she is so sad and has so many eyes on her. Lalo's family and her neighbors are watching her closely to see how she is responding to everything. Today I went to visit and took photos of her husband. I was able to take her, her daughter, Janet and her neice, Magdelina to the grocery store. We were able to get a few things and get her out of the house for just a short time. I appreciate that I can share these things with you all. Thank you for your prayers.

I wished all my entries could be happy....

last night we were watching the boys play video games. Ok I was watching, Greg was playing. Our friend Matt came to the door and told us of the news that Meme's husband Don Lalo had dying late that afternoon. You can look back and see my other blogs of Meme. She is a strong woman for God who has a ministry in her neighborhood along the river. Her husband has a huge heart for animals and was breaking in a horse. This is a favorite pastime for him. The horse threw him then fell on top of him, killing him. Needless to say his unexpected death has caught us all off guard. Before I go on, I need to tell you he was a Christian. And his future is secure in heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ.
With that said, today was a hard, sad, and yet fantastic day. It was typical Meme and Lalo style. When we arrived at 1:00, they had just brought the body to there house. The funeral was in the commodore where Meme has her soup kitchen. One thing I like about the people here is they don't appear to be ashamed about their feelings. Getting out of the car, I heard loud wails of sorrow. Family and friends who like me couldn't believe it. Later today, I was able to sit through two of the three services. We sang, we listened to the gospel and we worshiped the Lord. If you know Meme, its typical Meme worshiping the Lord even in the depths of missing her dearest love. I love the way people linger. They didn't have appointments to go to, or TV to watch. There were probably 200-250 people there for hours. It wasn't about saying the right thing, or wearing the right thing. It was about being there for one another. Someone took a photo of Don Lalo in the casket and gave it to Meme. She held that photo so close to her heart. I don't have anything profound that I took away from today, but I was moved. I just know that I am different. Please pray for Meme. She will not have it easy without Lalo. They had been married 35 years. Thank you for your continued prayers, its an honor to serve with you here.
Cathy