Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS......

Some leaves with things for which we are thankful "thankful for food, our families,,,,,,"
As Antonio, a fellow staff at B2B, shared at Rio 1 during a thanksgiving teaching, it really hit me. He was reading Philippians 4. "Rejoice in the Lord always". It was as if these word echoed in my mind. He was stressing the other part of the scripture to lift our prayers up with thanksgiving. That's another difficult thing, but I couldn't get past rejoice always. Really it started thinking about me. This year has been tough and I have felt many times that I didn't feel close to rejoicing. Then my mind went to another. You see I was sitting near a women, Siliva, whose house had burnt down three days before. She lives a life of bad choices but she chose to come hear God's word today. Today of all days, this is what the Lord had for her? Rejoice? As I reflect more on this I realize that this is what He had for me. I was forced to look at the scripture again. Phil 4 says Rejoice in the LORD always. Rejoice in the LORD, not in my circumstances. With the Lord in mind I can ask for what I need with thanksgiving that HE is big enough to do it. Thanksgiving that He is here with me. Thanksgiving that He hears me. Because of who Jesus is, I can rejoice always and can share this hope with my friend who hurt as she lost her home and everything they owed.
The cool thing is what God had for me and for Silvia. We had the opportunity to be grateful amidst our pain by focusing on the Lord and what He has given us. Then as the Lord would have it we made blankets and Silvia went home with something warm. I'm excited to see with what else the Lord will bless Silvia. Because of who He is, He is worthy of our rejoicing.

Continued pursuit of Independence

What if there was few expectations placed on you? Do you think you'd rise up to something better? Milagros has had hearing disability since around the time she was born. The plans from her parents were to take care of her until she was 18 years old then pray that some boy wanted to marry her to care for her. God had other plans. God put in Milagros heart a love for Him, a love for children and a desire to want more out of life. Through connections ordained by God, Milagros has had the opportunity to receive a year of learning sign language and is this spring planning on finishing beauty school. Will you pray with me for her? She is needing independence training to live alone or with others for assistance. There aren't many opportunities for her here. Pray that we are able to find a place where she can learn what she needs to become independent and be safe with her environment. The picture above is her coloring my hair. Anyone who knows me, knows I never have colored my hair. Only for her would I do such a thing. She indeed is inspiring.

He heals the broken hearted and sets the captives free

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach 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,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve in Zion-
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness 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."
Isaiah 61:1-3
These days it seems that the news isn't doing Mexico's image any favors. The truth is things are happening here, however the things that have brought us to serve here in Mexico still stands strong in our hearts. God continues to call us here to Monterrey, Mexico to preach the good news, to serve the orphan child and widow. Above are just two of the many kids that we serve. The obstacles they are facing are daunting some times -the hurt of being abandoned, the affects of attachment disorders, stunted physical growth or developmental delays. Although overwhelming for us to attempt to help, Jesus can heal it all. We are learning that we can try and help in our flesh the child in the children's home or the family in a poverty stricken community. However the best we can do is lead them to the One who can heal the broken hearted and sets the captives free.
So the next time you hear a news story about Mexico, would you take time out and pray for those who are hurting. pray for those who need to hear the good news. Pray for us too, that we would follow His leading in our lives to serve Him here in Mexico. Pray for the workers in the homes, the soup kitchens and churches in which we serve in Monterrey, Mexico.

Spur one another on in love and good deeds...

This is what the women's group from Hope Church did while they were here a few weeks ago. They did so much in just a few short day. You will see them in the photos above cooking for one of our teen home moms, Mandy. You will see them praying over her after the morning work was over. They actually cooked, baked, cleaned for many of our staff. One photo shows them getting gifts ready for each worker in the homes they visited. They cooked meals for some of the children's homes, taught a practical craft of rug or pot holders to women in a poor community, prayed with a home full of preteen and teen aged girls. They even pampered us women with pedicures, messages and prayer. We were spurred on by this group of women. Thanks Hope Church.

Fall Festival Pics

Last week we had a great fall festival party, with a hayride in "Pearl" around the neighborhood, fun games, bon fire, great fellowship with everybody. I just wanted to share the pictures with everyone.

Saying thanks for working so hard for the Lord

One day as I was talking with Meme, she mentioned to me how she really didn't know the city that well. Even though she had lived in Monterrey a good part of her life, that she had never been downtown. She had either stayed in her community or traveled to work and back. That's when I had an idea to take her and her family to a park downtown. As I spoke with Hope, another staff from B2B who works with me at Rio 1, she asked if we could take Meme and Anita and their families since they both have been consistent workers at the soup kitchen for so long. Over the summer, one church gave Meme money to do something just for her. We used a little of this to make this fun outing happen. Sooo, last Sunday we took Meme's 9 (2 adult kids, spouses and grandchildren, and Anita's 3 and headed to Parque Fundidora. We took a picnic, and ate while the kids enjoyed the playground and then all went on a boat ride. It was such a blessing. I loved watching the kids play and marvel as we traveled down the canal in the tour boat. I loved hearing the laughing in my car. It was fun to eat chicken and tease with one another. And at the end of the day, they gave back to us as Hope and I both got to take a horseback ride as Angel, Meme's son helped us. What a great day.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday.........Monster Trucks

If someone said your first Monster Truck experience would be in Monterrey, Mexico, I would have laughed but its true. Greg, myself and our boys joined about about 10 teens and a hand full of staff to go see Monster Truck in a university baseball across town. I was really reluctant to go, however I found that there is something exciting about a big truck crushing little cars lined up after big dirt ramps. The noise of the engines, the fresh smell of dirt in the air , or the visual of crushing metal. It was fun to see the boys get into it as well. I never thought I'd say this but Praise God for Monster Trucks.