just a few things of what God has done this year.....WOW

So since the year is winding down, I have been reflecting back to all that God has been up to this year and feeling blessed that Greg and I get to be a small part of it all. Here's a list of just a few of these things.
God has
-rescued three kids out of the hand of a witch
-restored a runaway to his mom
-given me a miraculous 5 hours of clear thinking with my mom who has Alzheimer's
-beginning to restore a family in the Rio
-given the opportunity for a teenager who is deaf from the Rio graduate from beauty school. She just might be the first in her community to graduate from anything.
-brought many to himself through a saving faith in Jesus Christ
-freed many visitors here from bondage of things like depression and fear just to name a few
-done a work in our own family to bring about unity and openness that only comes through Christ
-touched the hearts of many to provide a new property and facility to bring a children's home with three locations down to 2 locations.
-supernaturally continues to heal emotional and spiritual trauma at the children's homes that we serve.
-He has been comforting teens that in return have been used to comfort other kids on two different mission trips
-given our family the opportunity to befriend three boys. And from these relationships we have been enriched.
-continued to do a work in our lives to show us the authority and gifting we have in Jesus and the Holy Spirit
It goes on and on and on. Praise God for the many things he has done and how we somehow get to be privileged to be a part of it in any small way possible.

Ministered by my mentee........

For over a year now I've been meeting with a teenage girl who is in our Hope Program. We often meet together to talk about it "all". Sometimes relationships, boyfriends, friends, family, school life, the usual "goings on". dreams and admirations. We pray sometimes talk about Scripture. I've come to really enjoy her and often look forward to our time together. Recently I had been going through a spiritual low. Like I have had a cloud over my head. Spiritually attacked I have struggled with my time with the Lord and holding up my commitments. One night I was suppose to attend a staff women party and really felt so sad that I new that if I had gone I was going to cry without the ability to hold it together. So I didn't go. However the rest of my family had things to do. I found myself alone and really feeling sorry for myself. Then she came to the door. My mentee. She came in and immediately knew I had been crying. After asking me how I was and hearing me out, she prayed with me. She encouraged me by sharing a time where she had fallen away from the Lord. At that time, God spoke to her in the shower encouraging her to spend time with Him. When she did she was covered with the peace of Jesus Christ. She prayed for me and my relationship with Jesus. After she left I knew that night I had been the mentee and she was the mentor. Praise God for how He uses us. I think that night we both felt blessed for the relationship that God has given to us.

"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.

Yesterday was a difficult day.....

This is the kids with whom Jesus is now staying.
All names have been changed in the story.
So many emotions went through my head yesterday. You see, I thought I was just going to help out a friend from the Rio and a couple hours later I'd return home. Good deed done and nothing different. Boy was I wrong. Diana, is a girl who must be 26 or 27 years old. She lives with her ~6 year old daughter and I think a boyfriend. Truth be told in my 3 years working at Rio 1 community (a poor neighborhood of wood, tin and scrape houses that people have built along a riverbed) I maybe have seen him a time or two. And the time I think I saw him, he was drunk. Diana is my friend. She is quiet and hardly speaks unless spoken to. Infact, I learned more about her and heard her speak more words yesterday that in the 3 years combined since I met her.
Meme, a Christian leader in Rio 1, had told me that Diana had a brother that wanted to go to a children's home and asked if I could help them get to Manantial de Amor. This home is about 20 minutes from there house and is one of the closest to them. I said sure, not really thinking through what I'd experience that day.
When I went to pick them up, I saw a smiley 12 year old boy who spoke few words. "It must run in the family." I thought. Diana was glad to see me and asked Sarah, her daughter, to hurry along as she went with us. They all chose to sit in the back sit giving me a chauffeur kind of feel to it. As we drove there, I tried to start the conversation with simple questions asking them if they had the paperwork they needed. Asking Jesus if he was nervous. To my surprise, he quickly answered "No." But Diana volunteered, "I am." When we got there Mama Cony asked "So are all 3 of you wanting to enter in the children's home. " Diana is not even 5 feet tall so I knew she asked innocently. We explained that Diana was there with her daughter Sarah to see if her brother Jesus could enter the children's home. It was then that the hard questions came.
"Do you have custody of your brother?" said the children's home worker.
"No, not really, but I'm the one responsible." answered Diana
"Where's your Mom?"
"She died 9 years ago?"
"And your Dad?"
"He abandoned us before Mom died,"
"Where is your Dad now?"
" He does drugs and is an alcoholic. Hard to say for sure."
"So Jesus has been living with you?"
"He has been living with me sometimes and my other sister sometimes. She is younger than I am. We can't afford to continue to raise him and he really wants to go to school."
The questioning continues to reveal that Diana is not married but her boyfriend hardly gives her enough to raise her daughter. As we sit there I realize, he has brought nothing but papers. You know birth certificate and school papers.
The worker says something that puts a lump in my throat.
"So let me see, his birthday is....tomorrow?:" He states but it almost comes out as a question.
What a 13th birthday memory he will have. I think to myslef.
As they finish the interview, he is brought two pairs of pants, 2 sets of underwear and 3 shirts. He is shown his bunk bed that will be his new home. The worker does a great job of explaining the responsibilities that the home has to him, including visiting rights that she will have. He explains that they want to maintain a strong relationship with him and his family. The lump comes back in my throat. He also explains responsibilities Diana has. Signing up Jesus for free public health insurance. Not taking him off the property for 15 days, etc.
When he finished. She looks to me and says, "Now what?" Her voice cracked. I was grateful that the worker answered quickly, "You can stay as long as you'd like but you'll need to say goodbye sometime. "
When it came time to say goodbye, Jesus seemed strong. Not seeming sad at all. I remember another kid that we work with once told me that he never gets homesick. The sad feeling that I felt when I heard that swept back over me as I wondered if he no longer gets homesick. Then I looked at Diana, I've never seen a lot of emotion on her face before either. But I could see it, she didn't want to show her hurt to her brother. You could see the effort she was putting into being strong for me. As for me I was crying for them both. I knew Jesus needed this home. I knew Diana was grateful for the opportunity her brother would have to go to school, and eat well. Still I also knew that if they could they would trade it all to be together. Today was Jesus' birthday. I found myself thinking and praying for him all day long.
"Do not be discouraged, Do not be afraid for I the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9
I pray this promise over Jesus and all the kids that we serve. I have a new appreciation for the workers that don't just provide clothes and food. But so often are there to wipe away tears, listen, pray with and over children. To teach them that Jesus is the only one that can change lives. Sometimes we experience difficult times with others. I used to try and avoid it, now I see the blessing in being apart of the intimate moments of people lives. Yesterday I thought I was going to run a couple hour errand. But what God had for me changed my life. Lord, help me see what you have for me tomorrow.

Recieving God's Word

Recently we received a generous donation of 200 spanish Bibles to give to the children we serve here in Monterrey. These kids live in a children's home and share just about everything. Very little is their own. One our last visit to Manantial de Amor children's home Greg passed out the Gideon Bibles to the kids. Each one was so excited to have their very own. One boy told me he was going to place his under his bed so he could read it every night and morning. Most of us have possession that we love and cherish. Is your Bible somewhere we can read it every night and morning. I will not forget the excitement in his face.