Jose Alfredo…

The Lord brought us a special blessing a 10 days ago, in the form of a little boy named Jose Alfredo.  The DIF stopped by with Alfredo (which he likes to be called), who they believe had been neglected and abandoned by his alcoholic mother and abusive stepdad.  A woman in town had taken Alfredo in to care for him until another home became available.  The DIF turned to us to be that home, at least for the weekend, while they launched their investigation to find out more about this little boy.

It was a rough first night for this little guy, who we believe is 7 years old.  He cried for a good portion of the night, however things turned around quickly.  He quickly warmed up to the other children and they began reaching out and playing with their new friend.

Alfredo goes to a different school in town.  We went to meet with the principal to see about changing schools, so he can be with the other House of Blessing students.  Come to find out, Alfredo isn’t even enrolled in school.  He has no papers, no documents, no birth certificate.  He has just been considered a “visitor at the school”.  So, basically, Alfredo is sort of “lost” in the system.

Each of the children that come into our home, tug on your heart in a different way.  This little guy has been unique.  There is no record that Jose Alfredo even exists.

It has been wonderful spending time with him and seeing how much he has changed in just those few days.  He is smiling, laughing and even talking.  Up until a few days ago, if you asked Alfredo how old he is, he’d say 3 years old.  He doesn’t know how to read or write, however that is a huge aspiration of his.  Alfredo told Jackie the other day that he is going to learn how to read really fast.  Carlos has been working with him after school and Alfredo can already write part of his name.

Please pray for Alfredo.  The DIF came yesterday morning to give us an update on the investigation.  They are doing everything they can to keep Alfredo here with us, in a safe and healthy home.  This week some more officials will come out to meet with us and Aldredo.  Lord willing, he will be apart of our family for many years to come!

As I have prayed much for this young man and thought a lot about what his life has been like…the Lord has flooded my thoughts with His wonderful words.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-33).

“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:13-14).

There may not be any physical documents/record of who this young boy is, however, our Savior knows EXACTLY who Jose Alfredo is.  He knows the number of hairs on his little head.  Alfredo has been fearfully and wonderfully made.  Alfredo is loved by the Most High God…as well as his new family here at Casa de Bendicion!

Wisdom from Above...

As 2014 was nearing its end, naturally I was thinking about the new year.  What’s going to happen?  When will new children come into our care? What projects do we want to accomplish? How should we spend our resources? How many missions teams should we host? How can I be a better husband and dad? And so forth!

During those thoughts and final days of 2014, I found my myself constantly praying forWISDOM.  Oh how badly I need wisdom beyond my years, especially in this new year.  I came across this very this morning that was perfect timing…

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere (James 3:17).

Not only should I pray for wisdom, but the kind of wisdom that James describes in this verse, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

After ringing in the New Year, I found myself desperately needing wisdom, as I was stuck up in El Paso.  We finished 2014 and began 2015 with a missions team from Calvary Wedgwood in Seattle WA.  It was a wonderful time and we were sad to see them go, especially because my sister and her family were leading the team.

As I was driving back down to Mexico, I heard this horrible loud shaking in our van.  Great, I’m 5 minutes from the border and now this.  Fortunately, I was still in the states and was able to turn around and get to a mechanic.  This began my first of four days in El Paso TX.  Of course the part they needed wasn’t available and would take 2-3 days to get there.  So, obviously I had a lot of time on my hands…especially time to think and pray.  I wan’t peaceful, I wasn’t gentle, I wasn’t open to reason, I was being a grouch because I wanted to be home.

However, the Lord in His wonderful timing, wanted some uninterrupted time to speak and minister to my heart.  He began reminding me of His faithfulness this past year….His kindness, love, provision, blessings, and everything else that makes our Lord incredible.

“I will remember the works of the Lord; surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds” (Psalm 77:11-12).

God did incredible things last year, that I’d like to take a moment to remember, meditate on and talk about.

• The doors of Casa de Bendicion officially opened, Saturday, January 18th when our first young man came into our care.  Over the next 11 months, we were able to care for a total of 16 children, ranging in age from 3 to 15 years old.  9 children (3 girls and 6 boys) are currently in the home full-time.

• A total of $124,774.15 came into the House of Blessing.  $60,081.99 was fromthe 10 missions trips that we hosted.  $13,440.25 was donated for special projects. $51,251.33 came in through general donations from individuals, families, churches, schools and businesses.  AMAZING!

• We were able to hire 2 more staff members, Jairo Gonzalez (our children administrator) and Guadalupe (our amazing cook/cleaner).

• Another family joined us on the missions field from Bellingham WA.  The Heist family moved down in October and have been settling in.  They have been a big blessing both here at the orphanage and at the church.

• Not 1, not 2, but 3 vans were donated to the ministry.  2, 15 passenger vans and 1, minivan.  Perfect timing for our growing family.

• I was able to travel quite a bit throughout the states to share and teach at churches about the ministry.  What a blessing to see the list of our supporters continue to grow.

So, we are greatly looking forward to this new year and all that the Lord has in store.  No matter what it looks like, good or bad, I know it will be another blessed year.  None of this would be possible without the continued support and prayer from all of our dear friends and loving churches.  We are forever thankful for each and every one of you!

Happy New Year…

Jason and the Casa de Bendicion team!

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).