Buddy is back!!!!

Gary is excited to be reunited with Buddy in April when we are back in Michigan! Thank you, Jesus, for giving him back to us!!!




Angel sharing Mama




The twins enjoying the fun night! They are such a joy.




Ever, Me, Jon and Javier




Leslie & Lucia...buds!




Just havin' fun at the cookout!




Songs around the bonfire...it was so much fun!




Great memories!!!




Eugenia and her kids. Her husband Santos was the one who ate the bad burritos...




Mama and her kids.




Antonio!!!




Cleaning out the grill in anticipation of a feast!



Firing up the grill...




for burgers and hotdogs!




Yum!!!




David and his hamburger!!!




Brenda doing a lice check...done every Saturday...and yes...another girl had to get her hair shaved...but not this one. She really liked her new look though!




Angel loves any sport but prefers soccer!!!






The kids love Vito...a policeman from Tulsa, Oklahoma who volunteers down here often.




...maybe it's because he can throw them into the air so far.




More of Andrea...







Fabiola working on her homework!




Javier...what a great kid!





Armondo...waiting for his mom...who never comes.




Youth night tail-gate party!




Chips anyone???




food...food...food equals happy teens!




Elveda and Belem




Signing Marta & Ramon's poster









Silvia...




Isael showing off his muscles!




Whirlwinds were everywhere last Saturday




Jesus enjoying a quick break between playing periods of his game.




Part of our soccer cheering section! We had a great time!!!



A special thank-you to everyone who has prayed for the return of our dog, Buddy. A wonderful lady by the name of Mary was with her grandchildren and they found Buddy. She wanted to make sure he was returned to his owners, so they cared for him until they could locate us. Thank you, Mary, for helping us get Buddy back. It was such a heartache for us to hear that he ran away. Now we are rejoicing at the news of his return! God is good. The children here at the orphanage have been praying for Buddy's safe return and they were jumping up and down for joy this morning when we told everyone the great news!!! I have several pictures of Buddy with us, so they were really connected to him and anticipating his arrival here in Mexico with us the next time we return.

The guys had an awesome time at the men's conference. Gary especially enjoyed Jim Cymbala (he has an awesome ministry of preaching PLUS he was the only one who spoke in english). :) One of our group got sick on some bad burritos during the night...but all in all...everyone had a good time. The guys stayed at "Freedom in Christ" ministry in Juarez. It was a very eye-opening expecience for Gary to stay the night there. These men...who have nothing but Jesus in their hearts, walk through the sewer systems and dumps to find men high on drugs/alcohol and carry them home on their shoulders to their house where they care for them and tell them about Jesus. They housing is very humble, but they sure were on fire for God. It puts us all to shame.

Rosa wanted to have something special for the kids while papa was away...so we had a cookout with hamburgers and hotdogs (happens only a couple times a year) and a bon fire! What a night. The children were so excited...and I can still hear them singing around the campfire. What great memories. What made it so neat...was the fact that the kids were enjoying normal kid things and I was hoping that for just one evening...they forgot that they lived in an orphanage. Everyone had a huge smile on their face...I loved it!!!

Our youth outing was very successful...and by the way..out soccer team won! The kids love Mary Ellen, Lauren and Vito. We just had a simple tail-gate party after the game and they soaked it all in. It's fun to see the kids act like nregular teens and have fun with eachother. I was surprised to see how much they ate...but we did have enough. Next week I will have even more...I can't spoil them too much! They're great kids and we love them.

Yesterday the Fekkens and Huizengas took us out to eat in Chihuahua and let us spend time with them at their hotel. Boy was that a treat! Gary and I both ordered a piece of meat that came with veggies and a baked potato. The neatest thing (besides a 'piece' of meat), was the fact that we got to enjoy a hot meal...first time in 6 weeks...and then an entire conversation in english! It was awesome!!! They are planning on finishing up paperwork this afternoon and then flying to Mexico City this evening. Keep praying for them. Both families need prayer. The kids are experiencing so many new things and the adjustments are heart wrenching, yet filled with joy.

This morning Gary and I made breakfast. You guessed it...hotcakes! They absolutely love them. Of course they didn't have syrup...so I made some 'syrup' for them. They didn't know it was supposed to have maple flavoring. They loved it!

Little Armondo is still really missing his mom. She didn't visit again this weekend. I'm afraid they might never see her again. Yesterday there was another mom that showed up with a vehicle full of kids. I am shocked to see how often this happens. They can't afford to care for the kids or just get tired of them and want to give them away...like animals. The heartbreaking thing is to look into the eyes of these beautiful children and see their hurt. Only God can heal them. But, I wrap my arms around them and give them as many hugs and kisses as they can handle...and I close my eyes and pray for their broken spirits. Usually then I have to quickly walk away because my tears flow too freely. How can moms do that?

Alex and I already have a game-plan on getting a jump-start on some of the adoptions we are working on. Keep praying for us. We are wanting to get 'orphan status' on many children while we are praying at the same time for godly dads and moms to adopt them. Is adoption easy? No. Is it a lot of hard work? Yes. Is it worth it? Ask the Fekkens or Huizengas. In fact, you don't even have to ask them...look at the smile on their face.

Today it is very windy and the visibility at times is pretty bad. You don't need any hair mousse today...because it sorta sticks in whatever direction the wind blows. My hair is just covered with that fine sand and very stiff. Karen, maybe you oughta come down and see if you could use this method of hair styling in your shop!

The kids are about to arrive here (the second big busload). I love standing at the door of the bus when they drive up and kiss them all. It is surprising to me that they all patiently wait for their kiss and hug...even the teens. If anyone ever wonders what they could do down here...just love on the kids. They all are starving for it! Just bring lots of chapstick!!! :)