The Lord Added Daily...

Last week we hosted our first of 8 missions teams this year. My good friend, Daniel Williams, pastor of Redemption Church, in Delray Beach Florida, brought a team of 7 to come alongside and serve our children's home. We also had my friend, Mark from back home in Washington, join the team do do some serious tile work. This team was very special and unique for a number of reasons. Not only were they the first team to stay on site  at the children's home, but also the first to experience children in the home. They did an amazing job, both working, serving and loving on the children.  God has definitely blessed this group with some amazing artistic skills which we put to work, drawing and painting murals, playing lots of music, and, filming footage for a documentary.  I was especially excited about the hours spent in interviews, sharing stories and talking about how great our God is.  Everything we have done down here, Lord willing, has glorified Him. If this documentary is a tool that can be used to further share His greatness and glorify Him, I am stoked!

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One of my favorite parts of the trip was ministering at a hospital in Cuahtemoc (a larger city about 45 mins away). Normally, towards the end of our missions trips, we take a day off to go hangout, eat amazing chicken and do some shopping.  That sort of changed last summer when the Lord opened the door to minister at a hospital.  Hospitals down here are extremely different then in the states. There are no fancy waiting rooms, with tv, wifi, no Starbucks, cafeteria, prayer chapel or gift shops. Just some uncomfortable chairs and a little burrito stand.  Families and friends waiting to hear word on how there loved ones are doing, are forced to sit around, waiting for hours, sometimes even staying the night in their cars or outside.

Having had a fruitful time last year, passing out sandwiches, bottled water and toiletries, I was eager to go back. This time, we loaded the van with toothbrushes, floss and toothpaste, the gospel of John tracks and our guitars.  We spent an hour and a half singing songs, passing out tracks and toiletries, and praying with people. The Lord blessed us with a beautiful sunny day and the outside was packed with people listening, asking questions and wanting prayer.

One of those individuals was a Tarahumara woman named Teresa.  She was at the hospital because her mother is very sick with a tumor in her spine.  She was sharing with Pastor Luis about how difficult it has been trying to care for her sick mother, her two children, as well as work to provide financially for the family.  Not knowing anything about us or why we were there, she shared that she had been wanting to find a children’s home that might be able to better care for her 9 year old son Jorge and her 6 year old daughter Sandra.  How exciting it was to begin to share about Casa de Bendicion, and all that the Lord has been doing.  Teresa had a tremendous smile on her face and asked if this is something that might work for her children.  We shared with her that we were going to back to the states to take the team home, but would love to meet with her when we returned.

I wasn’t sure if she would actually follow through with us, but, oh me of little faith, I came home to a phone call from her.  Teresa was wanting to bring her children to see the facility, meet our team and continue to see what the Lord might have.  So, last Thursday, we were able to spend about 3 hours with Teresa, Jorge and Sandra.  It was apparent that the Lord was moving, and receiving Jorge and Sandra into our care was a very good thing.  Teresa made it very clear that she is not “abandoning” her children.  She loves them very much, but just desires a better future, not only for them, but also for her.  Her first husband (Jorge’s dad) passed away, and Teresa was abandoned by Sandra’s father.  Teresa works in the apple orchard and cleans houses whenever she can find work.

I shared my heart, desire, vision for the ministry and caring for children, and Teresa had a huge smile on her face.  Teresa says she is a Christian that wants her children to be able to go to school and to learn and understand more about God.  I told Teresa that not only are we called to care for orphans, but widows as well…

“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction” (James 1:27).

Our desire would be to see Teresa get plugged into a church, discipled and grow in her walk with the Lord, to which see agreed.  Teresa is from Rubio, where there is a wonderful Calvary Chapel and we took her to Pastor Lalo’s house to meet him and his family.  They have there midweek service on Thursday nights and Teresa was able to attend that.

We processed the paperwork for Jorge, to be the 3rd child at Casa de Bendicion.  Teresa headed back to her home in the mountains to get the children’s school documents as well as have a medical checkup for herself.  She will be returning later this week with Sandra, in which we will process our 4th child…and YES…Ayantu finally gets her prayers answered, a girl coming to the home.

I was reading in my devotions on Wednesday morning, Acts chapter 2…

“So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the churchdaily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:46-47).

What an incredible time this must of been...the early church beginning. Thousands of people were choosing to follow The Lord, literally give up everything they had for the sake of Christ. How exciting it must of been seeing new people walk in the door for the very first time and watching their lives forever changed.

It seems like (in a much smaller way) the Lord is doing the same thing here, as he has added to our number.  In fact, this year, the Lord has added “monthly” to our children’s home.  Erasmo came back with us in January, the DIF brought Luis in February, Jorge joined us last week, and Sandra will be coming the first week of April.  Oh how good the Lord is!

Please continue to pray for these precious lambs and their little souls to be surrounded and committed to our Savior.  Many of you have asked how you can be involved and I look forward to sharing that with you in the next blog post later this week.

“Look among the nations and watch, be utterly astounded!  For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you” (Hab 1:5).

Sandra

Jorge

Processing the paperwork for Jorge...

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Mom and son...

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Antu is so excited to have a girl to hangout with...

Sandra y Antu

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Amigos already...Jorge and Luis...

Luis y Jorge

The Little Boy In The Red Hat...

My phone rang at 5:09 PM last Thursday. It was a call that I had anxiously been waiting and praying for, however in that moment, I wasn’t expecting it.  I was too excited and deep in thought, regarding all that had taken place earlier in the day. Pastor Luis, Nieves, Sergio and myself had the opportunity to spend the day up in a little pueblo called Naguachi (3 hour trek into the mountains), ministering alongside our friend Aaron Wiens.  The Lord has called Aaron up there to pastor a little church and its been amazing seeing what God is doing thus far.

Deep in thought and excited about what I had just experience, my phone rang.  “Bueno” I said (which is the typical way to answer the phone here).  At first I thought it was our accountant, Arcelia, but it was actually Maricelia, the DIF worker from the town Guerrero (about 1 1/2 hours away).  I quickly passed the phone to my Tio, as I wasn’t understanding what she was sharing.  After about a 10 minute phone call, Luis hung up the phone with a big smile on his face.  He let us know that our second child (or resident, as they refer to down here) would be joining our children’s home tomorrow!

Many of you have been praying with us, for a little 10 year old boy named Luis. The DIF has been wanting to bring him to our home for a few weeks now.  They felt that with our home being new, and the amount of care-takers we have, Casa de Bendicion would be a good fit for Luis…and give him the chance he deserves.

Friday was a very exciting, yet emotional day, as our team worked extra hard to prepare to receive Luis.  A thousand thoughts raced through my mind…a mixture of both excitement and sadness.  I wasn’t sad that they were bringing him here, but because of the things this little boy has endured, in his 10 year life span.  The DIF in Chihuahua had given us a little bit of information about Luis, but we were able to receive the complete story, when Eddie and Anna (DIF employees) arrived with Luis.

Their truck pulled into the home around 6:30 PM.  There in the back seat sat Luis, who had an immediate smile on his face when he saw us.  After meeting everyone, we came into my office and met for about two hours.  Pastor Luis, Nieves and myself had a wonderful time, with Eddie and Anna, as they shared the story of Luis, as well as answered all our questions.

We had initially been told that Luis had witnessed his parents being killed.  However, it doesn’t seem like that is the case.  Luis’ father, is an alcoholic, which led Luis to flee his home often and roam the streets.  A nearby store clerk, would give Luis chips and cookies, when he would see him.  The police would find Luis in random places and bring him back home to his drunk father.  No one knows what happened to or where his mother is.  One of the evenings, the police brought Luis back to an empty house. His father was gone, and has never been seen since.  There is no record of any other family, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc..in Luis’ life.  Truly he is an orphan!

Since then, Luis has been in 5 different children’s homes.  Most of the time, not lasting more then a few days or weeks there.  The main reason, homes would send Luis back to the DIF, was because they said he was “to difficult to handle and doesn’t obey.”  Most of those homes had an abundance of children, few care-takers, and so that led to Luis being neglected once again.  In one of the homes, Luis attend school for about a month and a half. He was doing well in school, but the care-takers decided they didn’t want to take him to school anymore.

So, as a result of neglect, no schooling, lack of attention, and Lord only knows what kind of sexual and physical abuse, Luis has the mindset of about a 5 year old.  They have run numerous tests on him, to figure out “what he has.”  In fact, earlier Friday morning Luis was at the neurologists’ office, receiving more tests.  All tests have come back negative, and our conclusion is, is that Luis needs a lot of LOVE, ATTENTION, and JESUS!

After our meeting with Eddie and Anna, we gave them a tour of the home.  Ayantu immediately showed Luis where her toys were and Luis quickly attached to Antu’s rocking horse and red cowboy hat.  In fact, aside from sleeping and when we pray for meals, Luis hasn’t taken the hat off.  He sleep all though the night, Friday, and was eager to wake everyone up at 6 AM Saturday morning.  He has a beautiful smile and contagious laugh.  It seems like already, he is adjusting well to being here.  There are definitely some boundary issues that we will need to focus a lot of attention on, but overall, we’ve all fallen in love with the "little boy in the red hat".

Luis has been with us for almost a week, and is doing tremendously well.  He is learning and adjusting to our rules and what he can and can’t do.  He is full of smiles and laughter all day long.  He loves music, dancing, singing, riding the scooter outside, playing with the dogs and giving out lots of hugs.  Everyday, he makes his bed without being told and is a big help with the chores and dishes.

We have a tutor that comes and works with Luis for 2-3 hours a day.  Karen (Nieves’ wife) took classes in college, learning how to deal with children with special needs.  Luis is responding very well with Karen and she is doing an excellent job with him.

I love having this little guy with us.  Its such a joy to pray over him at night, give him hugs, share the love of Jesus and give Luis the attention he so badly needs.  I'm confident and know that our God is bigger then any disability or special "needs" Luis may have.

Both in the United States and Mexico, we constantly are trying to put a label on peoples “problems”…they have ADD, this disorder, that dysfunction, one more deficiency and whatever other “D” words there are out there.  Please understand me, I’m not down playing some of those medical issues, nor the seriousness of them.  But saints, JESUS IS ALIVE…He is the Divine Physician.  His entire ministry was focused on healing and delivering people, both physically and more importantly, spiritually.  And guess what, He still desires that and is doing that this very day.  The Lord wants nothing more then for little Luis, to commit his heart and life to Him, no matter what problems he may have.  The Lord loves Luis so much...in fact…as our Lord hung on the cross, He was mindful of the "little boy in the red hat."

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Meeting Luis, Eddie and Ana...

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"And He said; behold, I make a covenant.  Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord.  For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you" (Exodus 34:10).

Update On Erasmo...

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he shall not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6). One of the most memorable things for me, growing up, was when my dad would come in and pray over me at night.  Almost every night, without fail, my dad would lay his hand on my forehead, and pray.  I remember parts of his nightly prayer, that I have been using, as I pray over my sweet little Ayantu Faith….“help her to wake up refreshed and renewed, ready for a good day tomorrow…”

As I was getting ready for bed the other night, it suddenly dawned on me…there is another young man in our home, that is in need of prayer, Erasmo. We have been praying at meals, before work with the team, and even before we all head to bed, however, I hadn’t prayed over him like I do with my daughter.  So, one night I went into his room, told him I wanted to begin praying over him, and have done so every night.  It’s one of the highlights of my day, as I get to lay my hand on his head or shoulder, and commit him into the hands and care of Jesus.  I am able to pray completely in spanish, with a few english words in there, when I get stuck…but I don’t think Erasmo minds.

What a blessing and joy it has been having Erasmo with us.  He is so full of life and is really starting to come out of his shell.  He has such a contagious laugh and smile and is discovering/learning new things every day…how to ride a bike, staring at the popcorn popper, trying to figure out the little black machine that prints out paper from my computer, mastering Chinese checkers and bocce ball, eating everything he sees in sight (especially croutons), helping with work projects, cleaning duties, etc!  He has become my little buddy, and I often find him walking into my office, sprawling out on the couch and just wanting to hang out.  One day, he was leaning over my shoulder, watching what I was doing, and then started dancing to the music that was playing.  We had a good laugh at that moment.

I think one of the biggest blessings to us, is watching Erasmo’s heart  being incredibly softened towards the Lord.  He loves going to church and youth group on Saturday nights, and even more so it seems, he absolutely LOVES reading the bible.  Not a day has gone by when I haven’t seen him, at some point, reading the word. He has been reading through the Psalms and discovering all kinds of things about a God who loves him.  Every night I go in to pray over him, there he is, with his head lamp on, reading the word with a smile on his face.  Please continue to pray as he learns more about our God, and Lord willing, places his full faith and trust in Jesus Christ!

Ayantu and Erasmo act like they are bother and sister.  Antu is constantly bossing Erasmo around (I think its because she’s turning 4 next month) and Erasmo is always watching out for her and helps her when she is in need.  Antu is constantly asking me when we are bringing more kids in to the home to care for.  I think both Jackie and her are itching for some more girls to come to the home.

First doctors appointment...clean bill of health!

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Speaking of other children, exciting things continue to happen down here.  I shared a little, in the last post, about our trip to Chihuahua, the end of January.  Well, we ended up making a stop at the DIF and I was able to meet with the director, Raquel.  She shared how excited she was about our home and had heard nothing but good things, from Paty, Sergio and Lupita (who came out and paid us a visit last month). She wanted to know a little bit more about Jackie and I, the children’s home, and why we were doing what we were doing.  This was obviously a great opportunity for me to continue to share the LORD’s heart in this…which is, of course, why we are down here in Bachiniva.  The Lord brought, Paul’s words, from Romans chapter 13, regarding authorities, that I was able to share with her as well!

"Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God" (Rom 13:1).

Towards the end of our meeting, I asked Raquel about the phone call I had missed, from the DIF.  She explained that they were calling to see if we could take in a 10 year old boy named Luis.  Luis has been in 4 or 5 different children’s homes, but only lasts 2 or 3 days.  The care-takers end up sending him back to the DIF, because he is to hard to handle (so they say).  I asked her why?  Is he dangerous, disobedient, abusive?…What would cause people to send him back?

Raquel showed me a picture of Luis and shared a little of his story.  Luis saw his parents killed right in front of him, most likely, they were shot.  He has no family and no one to care for him.  People are saying he is autistic and that is why he acts the way he does, however, the DIF and Raquel think otherwise.  This a traumatized child that has seen something horrendous, and is in great need of being loved and cared for.  It was a very powerful and incredibly emotional story to hear.  At one point, Raquel wrapped her arms around herself, saying all he needs is someone to hold him and love him, and they think we would be perfect for that.  I immediately said, yes, we will take him…how could we not?  The DIF believes that because we are a newer children’s home and don’t have a lot of kids yet, we will be able to give him the love and attention that he needs….which we are excited and ready to do!

We spoke with Raquel this past Friday, and she is contacting the towns where Luis is currently, as well as a few other girls, who might be coming next week.  We should be hearing back from the DIF this week regarding these children.

Last week we had the blessed opportunity to host some dear friends from Calvary Chapel Northwest, in Bellingham WA.  Isaac and Tara Heist have a burden for Mexico and their hearts have been stirred of late, regarding the missions field.  We invited them to come down, hangout and see what the Lord might have in store for them.  It was great having their company, fellowship, help around the orphanage and we are excited to see what doors the Lord might open up for their family and Mexico!

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One last thought...we have been praying through and working on our support program for the children.  This is a way that we can connect families and individuals in the states, with a child at Casa de Bendicion.  Our desire is not just to have people that will give financially each month to their child.  We would love to partner with those that would be committed to praying regularly for their child, send emails or notes of encouragement and even possibly visiting them sometime.  We will have all of the specific details and info for you by next week.  As we prepare to receive more children, I wanted to share this opportunity so you, your family or your church could be praying about this, if this might be something you'd like to be involved in!

Please also continue to pray for the final work projects, preparations, little Luis and the other children that will be coming, Erasmo and our team serving each day!

May the Lord bless you and keep you in His perfect peace today and this week!