The Boy Who Didn’t Know His Age…

I’m getting old!  Well, at-least it seems that way.  I’ll be turning 35 tomorrow.  Most people know when their birthday is, especially children.  My 4 year old is already anticipating her birthday coming in March.  She has things planned out and talks about it frequently.  It’s not very often that you come across a child that doesn’t know their birthday or how old they are, especially if they are 11.  However, I talked with one the other night at our fall festival.  It was actually one of our children, Juan.

Our children were very exciting about going to the fall festival at the church and of course, getting a ton of candy.  The church was packed and everyone was having a great time.  Towards the end of the night, it came time for musical chairs.  They broke it up by age group.  I was in charge of starting and stopping the music and Juan was right by my side helping me.  At one point he turned to me and asked how many years he was.  I didn’t understand what he was wanting, to which he asked again…how old am I?  He had been patiently waiting his turn for musical chairs, but didn’t know when to go because he didn’t know how old he was.  When I told this young man that he was 11 and it was his turn to play, it was as if I told him he won a million pesos.  Smiles and joy filled his face as he ran to the chairs.

I am so thankful for and treasure those little moments, like that night with Juan.  It reminds me of the importance of what we are doing and gives me  the desire to want to love on and minister to these children all the more.

Life continues down here at a rapid pace.  The past 3 weeks consisted of a very successful missions team, another trip to Corareyvo and my trip to Florida.

Many of you were praying for our team of 10 from South Hill Calvary and Calvary North Thurston, in Washington.  The goal was to install a heating system in the orphanage.  Incredibly that was accomplished in 3 days.  It was amazing to see this dedicated team work long hours, in tight, hot crawl spaces, to complete the task.  What a blessing it will be to have heat for the upcoming winter!

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I took back the missions team back up to El Paso and then hoped on a plane to Florida to preach and give an update on the orphanage.  That same weekend, Pastor Luis, Nieves and a team went up to preach and minister to the people in Corareyvo.  Both trips were a huge success and richly blessed by the Lord.

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It was a blessing seeing Erasmo, Maria Ana and Judith excited about going back to visit their family.  Leading up to their departure, there was growing concern that Judith was going to choose to stay.    Since she is 15 years old and chose to come and stay with us back in August, we couldn’t tell her she can’t go.  We encouraged her that this is the best place for her to be and we hope she chooses to stay with us and continue growing and learning.  Unfortunately, she no longer wanted that and remained in Corareyvo.  Please join us as we pray for her, her safety and more importantly, a continual heart transformation so she might have a desire to come back to us!

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We have a busy rest of the week leading up to our trip back home to Washington on Saturday.  This time, the whole family gets to join me for our furlough.  It will be a much needed time of relaxing, visiting with family and friends as well as teaching and sharing at churches about the orphanage.  Your prayers for our trip would be greatly appreciated as well…and we hope to see you if your in the neighborhood.

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;  the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26).

A Little Update...

After yet another 10 day trip to the states, it was wonderful to be back home.  I wasn’t really wanting to go, having been gone so much, however the Lord greatly blessed the trip. Our home church, South Hill Calvary, had been prayerfully planning a "missions week" for almost a year. The vision behind it was to bring all of the missionaries they support, throughout the world, together for a time of fellowship, breaking bread, prayer and the word.  There were 7 different brothers from Mexico, Germany, Austria and Croatia. Indeed it was an incredible time. How amazing it was to meet these guys and hear about all the incredible things the Lord is doing in other countries. Our time together reminded me of a passage in Luke 10.  Jesus had just sent out 72 disciples to heal the sick and preach of the kingdom of god.  We read in verse 17 that when they returned, "...they returned with joy..." In there excitement and enthusiasm about what they had just experienced, Jesus gently reminds them about the importance of humility.

Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20).

Jesus wanted to make sure they didn't get caught up in what they did for the Lord...but rather what the Lord did for them.  I think I can speak on behalf of all the missionaries there, that we had a renewed understanding that it is all about Jesus!

On Monday we will be welcoming another missions team who will be installing a heating system in the orphanage.  10 brothers and sisters from 2 churches in Washington will be spending the week with us.  We are prepping for the cold season and what a blessing it will be to have a heating system to keep the children warm.

We also have some very exciting news, as another family, has answered the call to the mission field.  Isaac and Tara Heist, from Bellingham Washington, have been praying about serving somewhere in Mexico.  Over the course of a couple years, God confirmed to their family and to us, that they were to come down and serve at the orphanage.  Originally they were thinking of coming down in January of 2015, however, the Lord had a different plan, which is usually the case.  Their house sold incredibly fast, and it was clear that the Lord was saying it was time to go.  So, having sold most of their things, Isaac, Tara, and their four children, JT, Asher, Isaiah and Jocelyn began the drive down.  They arrived safely in El Paso yesterday, and it has been a blessing hanging out with them.  Please continue to pray for this dear family as they start the new chapter in their life!

Prayer Requests...

• Please pray for the missions team as they leave early Monday morning from Seattle
• Please pray for all 19 of us as we cross the border and travel back down to Bachininva Monday afternoon.
• Please pray for a healthy and productive week with the team.
• We are still in need of/looking for a 15 passenger van.  Please pray that God would provide one in His perfect timing.  If you know of one for sale or see one on the side of the road, please let me know.

May your hearts be strengthened and encouraged today.  Let us be reminded of all that Christ has done for us...and the peace and comfort we find in Him!

Back To School...

For those of you who follow us on Facebook or Instagram, you have met our newest little addition, Esmi.  Esmi is 7 years old and she is the sister of Tonio (who is also with us).  She came into our care two weeks ago.  Her father was killed 4 years ago and Esmi's mother is hoping for a better life and future for both Esmi and Tonio.  Esmi is a beautiful and bright, yet very feisty young gal.  We were able to enroll her right away in school and she is doing great thus far.

Speaking of school, it has been exactly a month since the children started school and all 10 of them are doing well.  Although some of are below the average student their age, learning wise, they are enjoying school and seem eager to learn how to read, write, count, etc!

Our days now are quite different, especially in the morning.  Getting 10 children ready for school can be a little tricky.  Wakeup call is at 6:30 AM.  The kids do a great job of getting dressed, making their beds and prepping their backpacks.  We have breakfast at 7:00 and then walk the kids to catch the bus @ 7:40 AM.  After school is probably the most important time of our day.  The entire staff ceases doing their normal work duties and we spend 2-3 hours with the kids, tutoring and assisting them with their homework.  I do my best to only help the elementary kids because I can understand their homework, especially math.  I made the mistake onetime of trying to help the junior high kids and I was very humbled.  At the age of 34, I have no clue how to do decimals, fractions, etc.  It brought me back to my days of schooling and algebra…days that I try not to think about!

Waiting for the "Independence Parade"...(I think my wife is the most excited)

The older students were required to march in the parade...

As our family continues to grow, so do the needs.  To fully and adequately care for a child at Casa de Bendicion, it costs $200 a month.  This enables each child to have the proper care from the staff, food, clothes, school uniforms and supplies, medical and dental check-ups, private tutoring as well as money to help teach the children how to save and tithe.  God has been faithful to provide 14 families, individuals and churches, thus far, that help support our children anywhere from $40-$100 a month.  Our prayerful desire would be that every child would be fully supported on a monthly basis.

This is where I would ask that if you, or your family, or church, might be interested in knowing more about this, or, have a tugging on your heart to help, please let me know.  I don’t want to create just another “program” where people can “sponsor” a child on a monthly basis for “X” amount of dollars.  We really want to build a relationship between the children at the orphanage, and those that support them.  The support we are looking for is not just money.  Obviously, when we moved down here, it was in faith, trusting that God would provide, and move and those hearts HE desires, to come alongside us.  As I look back over the past 2 years, it is UNBELIEVABLE how God has been faithful to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars.  The number of churches, families and individuals that continue to come alongside us, pray for us, visit us, etc, grows daily.  I am confident that as God continues to bring the children, He will continue to bring the finances and resources as well.

As we are seeking a commitment from people, we are making a commitment as well.  We want to make sure that you have all the up to date information regarding the child you are supporting.  Every 1-2 months we want to provide you an update with photos, prayer requests and praise reports, school report as well as an overall update of how your child is doing.  We also pray that one day you might be able to join a missions trip, or just come down with your family to meet your child and spend some time hanging out and serving at the orphanage.

Please take time to pray and seek the Lord on this and let me know if this is something that you would be interested in becoming a part of.

Here are the children that are still in need of monthly supporters...

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly place" (Ephesians 1:3).