Ask And It Will Be Given...

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7). Thank you for your prayers this week, regarding the water, electrical and “non-profit” paperwork.  The Lord was faithful to answer two of those prayers yesterday.

We were able to get a hold of our neighbor Marcelo and he confirmed that we can hook up the water anytime we are ready to.  This is a tremendous blessing, because for the time being, it prevents us from having to run water lines 600 meters from the well.  Also, it will allow us to fill up our water tanks during the irrigation season.  There are only a certain number of days that each partner (their 4 of us) who share the well, are allowed to use the water during the month. Since we will be sharing Marcelo’s irrigation pipe, when he turns it on to water his crops, we’ll get water as well.  So essentially we will be able to have water whenever we need it!

We were also able to go to the notary in Cuahtemoc (45 mins away) and start filing the paperwork for our AC (Civil Association).  Although we were told the main notary, Fernando, would be there to help us, he was not.  Thankfully, they were still able to start the paperwork.  There were also questions as to whether or not I would be able to be on the AC, being an American citizen.  They initially told us I would have to go to Chihuahua for a special form...HOWEVER...the Lord was there and I was able to become a part of the AC, as the secretary.  I was hoping for El Presidente (ha ha) but secretary will be just fine.  Pastor Luis will be the President and his son Jose, the treasurer.  The final and last piece to this ongoing puzzle will be one more trip to the notary office to actually write up the wording of the AC.  This is the most important part, as it will describe what the government will allow us to do...care for orphans, widows, disabled, etc.

I am so excited for the name the Lord gave us for the AC.  At first we were thinking, Casa de Bendicion.  However, after thinking on it for a while, I felt that was to restrictive.  What if God opens doors down the road for a widows home, school of ministry, discipleship program, other orphanages throughout Mexico.  It seemed like we needed something that would encompass the ministry at large in Mexico, rather then just the orphanage. So after sharing with my dad and praying on it, the Lord revealed to us, Sombra de Sus Alas (Shadow of His wings) taken from Psalm 17:8.  Any work or ministry that takes place in Mexico, we want it to be under the covering and “shadow of His wings!”

One more story to share with you, regarding our trip to the notary.  During our wait in the lobby area, God gave me an incredible special blessing, through a little girl.  As we were sitting there, trying to take advantage of the wifi on our i-phones, I noticed a mom and daughter walk in the door.  The daughter looked like she was maybe 7 or 8 years old, decked out in a bright pink outfit and carrying a baby (reminded me a of Ayantu’s syle and how she rolls with her babies).  I also noticed that the girl had down-syndrome.  She sat down quietly and began to care for her baby.  It was only a few minutes until she was standing over by the 3 of us, mainly due to Pastor Luis.  She began to tell us about her baby, ask us questions and play with us.   And for the next 30 minutes or so, I sat in amazement.  Here we were, waiting to start paperwork that will allow us to care for those in need, and right before us was one of the most beautiful precious little girls, so full of laughter and life.  Unfortunately, maybe to others, her peers and the world, she seems “weird", "different", maybe an “untouchable”.  And yet to the Lord, a beautiful little girl whom He created, cherishes and loves so much.

When it was time for her to go, she didn’t want to leave but rather keep playing.  As she grabbed her moms hand and began walking out the door, this precious little girl ran back to the 3 of us and gave each of us a hug and kiss on the cheek.  It took everything inside of me not to starting crying right there in the notary office.  As we left, I began to fervently ask the Lord, to bring children like this little girl...bring those who may seem “different” to the world, or “untouchable” and allow us to love on them with the love of Christ.  I praise God for that special moment, meeting this little girl, that I will forever remember and cherish!

I’ll leave you with a few verses that I read just this morning...and pray they minister to your hearts...

“Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet and He healed them.  So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel (Matthew 15:30-31).

God Gave Them Rest...

“The Lord gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers...not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel.  All came to pass” (Joshua 21:43,44). A dear friend gave me a book before we moved down, that I have started to read and absolutely love.  Mainly, because its about one of my favorite persons in the bible, Joshua.  The book is, ‘Joshua; Mighty Warrior and Man of Faith’ by Phillip Keller.  After successfully bringing the nation of Israel across the Jordan river, defeating a lot of enemies and finally settling into the Promise Land, God’s promise to His people was fulfilled, ”...all came to pass.”

Just as the Lord gave them rest all around...it feels that way a bit down here.  After 3 weeks of packing, moving, traveling, a missions team, bringing trucks and vans of our stuff across the border, unpacking, etc...we have finally settled here and have a chance to rest.  It truly feels like home now and we are absolutely loving it.

We were able to finish the 2nd story of the youth room addition, our summer team built, which has been a blessing to the youth group on Saturday nights.  It has also been a tremendous blessing to Jackie, Antu and I as we now have the entire old youth room to ourselves.  This has allowed us to give Antu her own room, have a living room and kitchen.  While I was in the states getting the last bit of our stuff this past weekend, Jackie and the youth group did a great job rearranging and setting things up.

Antu observing Eloy, replacing a door with a wall...

We have added a new addition to the family as well, “Jessie Girl” our new German Shepherd/Siberian Husky mix dog.  Ayantu picked out the name, from Jessie on Toy Story, her favorite cow-girl.  Jessie girl eats a lot, sleeps a lot and is already growing.  Its a little adjustment, having never owned a dog before, but we love it!

Work has slowed down a bit at the orphanage as all of the main projects are being completed.  This past week, we were able to finish installing the exterior doors, mud and taping of the sheetrock and have now begun plastering the rooms (in preparation for painting them).  We are getting them ready for a missions team from Calvary Northwest in Bellingham WA that will be coming down the first week in April, to paint the inside of the facility.

We are still waiting to hear back on word regarding the water and electrical hookup.  The water line is dug and ready to be hooked up.  We just need final confirmation from our neighbor Marcello, who has agreed to let us hook up into his line.  This is a blessing because it prevents us having to run water lines from 600 meters away, to our well.  He has been out of town so hopefully next week.

Our dear friend, Pastor Jacob and another brother, Cornelius, came out to the property on Thursday to look at the power situation.  Cornelius is an electrician and has agreed to help us out.  We have narrowed down our options, really to just one, running power from the well.  We have gotten an estimate for running wire underground and are now waiting for an estimate to run the power via poles and power lines.  600 meters is too long to run underground, and unless the government gives us special permission, we’ll need to run via poles.  Cornelius is hopeful that maybe since its for an orphanage, the government will make an exception.  This too would save us money.

Pastor Jacob, Cornelius and Nieves...

We made a trip to Cuahtemoc on Friday to hopefully start the final paper work for our AC (non-profit) for the orphanage.  Unfortunately the notary was out of the country in El Paso.  Whether we make an appointment or just show up, he never seems to be there.  We will call again on Monday and LORD WILLING, be able to file the documents on Tuesday or Wednesday.  The Lord definitely teaches you patience and the importance of “waiting” on Him.  Its difficult at times, but I know that in the end...ALL will come to pass, just as it did for Joshua!

PRAYER REQUESTS...

• Please pray that we can get a hold of Marcelo and the notary to finish the water and AC paperwork.
• Please pray for Pastor Jacob and Cornelius as they look into the electrical work for the orphanage.
• Please pray for our safety, health and continual adjustment to living here. Please pray for Aaron Wiens, a brother from South Hill Calvary, who is serving here with us and will eventually end up in Peru for bible college.

“Wait on the Lord;  be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14).

Thank You Jesus...

“Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You,  which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men!’ (Psalm 31:19). This week long missions trip has been one of the most blessed ones I’ve been apart of.  God has orchestrated so many things to come together in His perfect timing...we’ve have stood in awe of His amazement.  Saints, I pray that this story encourages you all.  I pray that God would use a “backhoe and bucket”  to strengthen your faith as much as He has strengthen ours.

Our goal this week was to complete the septic tank system for the orphanage.  Chris Pengra (from Utah) started designing and working on the system back in October with a team from Puyallup WA.  We weren’t able to finish it, so Chris brought back a wonderful father/son duo from his church (Bill and Tim) to help complete the project.  One of the most important items needed to finish the septic tank system, is a back hoe.  Lots of holes and trenches need to be dug.  We have hired Tony (from Bachiniva) and his machine in the past, however, he was out of town, working in the states for 3 weeks.  Pastor Luis said “no hay problema”  I’ll call some Mennonites and see what might come of it.  God showed His faithfulness by allowing us to use a tractor from Pastor Jacob and his church...for FREE!

Bill (a modern day Paul Bunyon with an amazing beard) noticed that the machine was a “CAT” (catepillar) instead of a John Deer machine, which is what he is used to driving.  Apparently each machine has its own controls...special for that particular brand.  So, one who is used to driving John Deer machines all his life, would have great difficulty with the CAT machine and controls.  Bill climbed in to check things out and wouldn’t you know, right there in a CAT machine were John Deer controls....something that rarely happens...especially in Mexico.  Bill kept saying, “I can’t believe that this has the right controls.”  God knew EXACTLY what we needed!

After digging for an hour...work was suddenly stopped.  Unfortunately the teeth (on the bucket of the back hoe) were completely worn down to the point you couldn’t dig anymore.  That was a big problem.  Plus, the bucket itself was too big...we needed an 18 inch bucket.  We thought maybe Tony might have an extra bucket or at least know where to get some new teeth.  Not knowing if he was back in town or not, we went to his house bright and early one morning.  Tony just happened to be home, along with his backhoe.  Bill immediately noticed the size of the bucket on it, new teeth and everything, and thought, that would be perfect...if it fits.  It was an older model and he wasn’t sure it would work.  We thought we’d give it a try anyways and Tony graciously let us borrow it, for FREE.  Praying and asking the Lord to make it fit, God answered our prayers. It fit perfectly.  Everything came together just when we needed it and Bill started flying with that machine.  Over the course of the next 3 days, all of the trenches and leach fields (some 800 feet long) were dug, all the pipe was laid and hooked up, the tanks were dropped into the holes, and then, everything was covered and buried nicely.  Our prayer and desire for this missions trip was again answered in a timeframe that STILL amazes us.

As a team, we’ve been studying through the book of Philippians.  Last night we spent 2 hours, reading, praying, rejoicing and talking about how God is mindful of everything.  What might seem like a coincidence to someone, or “no big deal” to another, means so much to the Lord.  He has been mindful of the very things we needed this week before we even came down here.  I’d even say, before the foundations of the earth were formed.  That’s how amazing the Lord is.  And who are we? that He would desire to use us, empower us, let us be apart of the glorious works that He does on a daily basis.  We went to bed last night, encouraged, refreshed, and ready for a NEW DAY and all that God wants to do in our lives!

Constructing the water tower...

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” (Ephesians 1:3-4).