He Gives And Takes Away...

Job, probably one of the most afflicted men in the bible, never ceased to praise the Lord. "Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of The Lord" (Job 1:20-21).

Paul, learned what it meant to be content in the Lord, no matter what the situation looked like, good or bad.

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content" (Philippians 4:11).

We know that God is in control of all things, and He is absolutely perfect. So whether we are glowing on that mountain high experience, or trudging through the depths of the valley, we can rest assured our God is in control!

This past month, the Lord added greatly to our home...8 children within about a week.  How exciting it was to see these beautiful new faces and watch The Lord begin to work in their precious lives. Obviously going from 4 to 12 children was a bit of a challenge, but nevertheless, a huge blessing.

Just as the Lord has the freedom to add children to our home, He can also allow some to be removed, which is what has happened. The mother of the 4 siblings (Gael, Myra, Pablo and Adrianna) decided to take her children back. Over the short time they were with us, we had a number of meetings with the mom, sharing the Lord with her and our commitment to help care for and minister to her children. She was torn of wanting to have them with her but knowing she couldn't care for them properly.  It became apparent though, that she was changing her mind and really wanted her kids back.

We did our best to fight for the children, believing that truly the best place for them was in our care.  Unfortunately, the mother saw things differently and because she is their legal guardian we released the kids back to her.

This has been difficult, especially knowing that the children are being left home alone, and some of them are not going to school.  However, we don’t lose heart, only because we know that God is constantly working behind the scenes.  He loves those children more then anyone.  I don’t know what the outcome will be, but I do know how big of a God I serve, who through whom ALL THINGS are possible.

The 4 children left our home on a Sunday and then God brought us another young boy the following Sunday.  Truly He does “GIVE” and “TAKE AWAY”.  When we came back home from church this past Sunday, Aron’s mother was there, with her cousin Yvet and her little son Jose Antonio Diaz.  Yvet had heard about the orphanage from Aron’s mom and she wanted to bring Jose to us.  Similar to a lot of our children, Yvet is a single mom, trying to work, raise kids, etc.  She to has a desire to see Jose have a better life then the one she can give him.  So, within an hour our so, we had processed in this young boy, our 9th child. Lord willing, Jose' little 6 year old sister, will be joining us as well within a few weeks!

Brothers and sisters, there may be times when the Lord gives, and there may be times when He takes away.  May we always seek and desire to never cease to praise and bless His holy name!

Jose Antonio Diaz, 9 years old...

Jose Antonio

12 and counting...

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.  Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!” (Psalm 127:4-5). I truly am a blessed man.  Just as the psalmist declares, blessings come from arrows (children) being added to your quiver (family).  That is exactly what the Lord has done once again this past week…bringing us 3 more children to care and minister to.

Pastor Luis, Kim, my dad and Erasmo took an unexpected trip back up to Corareyvo last Monday.  There had been discussion and talks of Erasmo’s sister, Maria Ana, wanting to come to the orphanage.  We hadn’t received confirmation of that, but felt like we needed to step out in faith and make the trip.  Either way, every trip up to the beautiful village is a blessing, as you get to continue sharing Jesus with individuals.

We anxiously waited for their return on Tuesday, to see if she decided to come live with us.  As the van pulled up, that beautiful afternoon, our children ran out to greet whoever was in it.  There she was, Maria Ana, looking shy and nervous, but excited to be here.  The Vargas’ then told us they had an extra surprise.  The van door opened, and out came running, Judith (Erasmo’s older sister).  With a huge smile on her face she gave me a giant hug.  WOW…I wasn’t expecting her to be there.

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Judith Maria Rascon, 15 years old...

Maria Ana

Maria Ana Rascon, 12 years old...

When we took our first trip to Corareyvo in October of 2013, we wanted both Judith and Erasmo to come down.  When we went to get Erasmo in January, I was hoping his sister would decide to come as well, however, she was gone.  Word was, she had left town with a bunch of other youth looking for work and adventures.  I was sad, discouraged, and felt like it was my fault because we didn’t bring her here in October.  However, we can take comfort knowing that with the Lord, His timing is always perfect.  No matter what the situation looks like, He works ALL things out for good.  Although I wanted her to come back in January, the Lord wanted her to be here in August!

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First time meeting Judith (last year)...drinking some coffee...

During this time, we received another call from the DIF, regarding a young man named Juan (10 years old).  Juan happened to be in the same orphanage at one point with Luisito.  The DIF felt like our home would be a perfect fit for this young man, because of the success and progress they have seen with Luisito.  So, this past Saturday, three DIF officials, Maricela (director of the DIF in Guerrero) along with Eddie and Ana, brought Juan.  Eddie and Ana are the two who first brought Luis to us in February, and they were very excited to see him again.  In fact, as we met with the two of them and Maricela, guess who was sitting comfortably with them on the couch?  Luisito!  They were amazed at how well he is doing…and very excited to see the same transformation with Juan.

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Reunited

Maricela, Eddie, Ana and Juan... Luisito...reunited with his friends...

JUan

Juan Morales Marquez, 11 years old...

Our Family

Now, we are a family of 15...13 kids (including Antu), Jackie and myself…truly a blessing!  Please continue to pray for Juan, Erasmo, Jorge, Judith, Adrianna, Maria Ana, Aaron, Myron, Sandra, Pablo, Luisito and Gael.

Peace Be Still...

Many, years ago, I had the privilege and honor of playing with a wonderful Christian artist named Sherri Youngward.  At a time in my life when I was broken and confused, God opened the door for me to join her band and tour all over the country. When you travel and play a lot, you can get tired of certain songs, or, feel like you’ve played it for the thousandth time.  One of those songs in particular was called “Peace.”  It was usually played towards the end of our set and probably the most popular song played.  Night after night, we played and sung these simple words, that often times, I took for granted.

“Peace, be still, lay all your worries down.  Be still, oh my soul, for our God is in control.  And if God is for us, then whom shall I fear.  And our God is for us, so lay down, be still, He is God.  Hallelujah, or God has overcome.  Hallelujah, our Lord, Jesus Christ has won.”

Driving down to Mexico last week, with a missions team from Washington, I had a thousand thoughts racing through my mind.  This is usually the case, as I return from trips, full of meetings and important decisions that have to be made.  Those thoughts mixed with the anticipation of meeting the 5 newest children in our home, began to overwhelm my mind.

Needless to say, I began to stress and worry. "How is this going to work? What decisions should I make? How can we raise more money?" and so on.  The very one fueling those worrisome thoughts was the enemy, doing everything he could to discourage me.  To be honest, I felt as if he was winning, UNTIL, that song I use to be so familiar with, flooded my mind.  Driving through the beautiful mountains of Mexico, the Lord began to remind me and speak to me, through those wonderful words and promises, that I need only be still, because He is God!

What a blessing it has been, getting to know the newest members of our family, Adrianna, Pablo, Myra, Gale and Aaron.  It has also been incredibly hard, as I continue to hear the stories and learn more about these precious children's past.  I’ve never held this many kids before, as they are sobbing, broken, confused, missing their mothers.

The other night, I heard little 2 year old Gale, screaming for his mother.  I went in to his room, picked him up and began to rock him.  As I held him tight in my arms, I thought, this child has never had this before from a father.  So I began to pray and sing over him as he quietly fell asleep.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet Aaron’s mom.  She made an unexpected trip and visit to the orphanage, as she is on the run.  Fearing for her life, that has been threatened by her latest boyfriend, she wanted to see her son one more time, before leaving town.  As we sat in my office, listening to her story, tears began to stream from her eyes.  And then the moment came, when little Aaron came into my office.  He began to weep, she began to weep as she held him, and then we all began to cry.

The stories and situations that take place down here are unbelievable.  I can’t fully understand or believe what these 9 children have been through.  However, I do know that they are here, and are safe, and have a God who loves them more then anything.  He is in control, He is for them, and they now have nothing to fear.   Each night, they can now lay their heads down, rest peacefully, and be still and know that He is God.  Hallelujah!

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).