Our Awesome God...

Everyone was working hard to make this a special night for Ed and Rosa!!!




The happy couple.






The older teens put their money together to buy flowers for Ed and Rosa




Chewy giving Papa a haircut for the big night!




Emmanuel is the cutest little guy!




Passing a cowboy while driving to Aldama...




Lorena and Oliver patiently waiting in the van with the rest of us after school.




Nico...we love this boy!




Rio and Tonio



Pablo taking it easy while we're waiting in the van.




The imaginations and fun they have!!!




Andrea and her art project from school.




Jackie sucking on some hot candy.







The many faces of Andrea...








The past few days have been so exciting. Many teens have rededicated (or given) their lives to Christ and He has drastically changed them. I don't want to name them, but it has been huge differences like night and day. To God be the glory!

The staff has been saving their money for some time and surprised Ed and Rosa with tickets to a very expensive concert. It included a dinner as well. Ed and Rosa were so humbled because it was more than some of them make in a month. You have to realize that in Chihuahua, some people are very wealthy and then the rest of the people are very poor. This Christian concert was aimed towards the wealthy people but the staff found out about it and they sacrificed so Mama and Papa could go. Anyway, everyone got on board with this. The children helped by giving Papa a haircut, helping Rosa with her make-up and her hair. The staff also gave up their evening off to help watch the children. So, it's a big night here at Lily. I've posted some pictures of Ed and Rosa so you can see them. They said it feels like they're going to the prom! They giggled and were so excited that it made everyone on cloud nine.

Today there was a meeting with the builder of the new girls dorm. Gary and I were on hand to help with input. The same building plans for the boys dorm will be used for the girls. As soon as the government pays the promised money for the boys dorm, another contributing business will pay the remainder...and that will be completed. Apparently some money has already been donated towards the new girls dorm...so they will start the excavating on Monday. We will be finding the total cost per square foot so money can be donated that way. As soon as I get some figures, I will be sure to pass it along. The property for the new girl's dorm is located about 500 yards behind the main orphanage...up on the hill. When we walked up there, I was reminded of how big our God is. I remember not that long ago walking on the desolate property of the current boys dorm and being told of the building plans. Now, the boys dorm is ready, but they are waiting to finish the dining room. So, today I didn't really have a difficult time wondering how long it will take. I have witnessed a faithful God that rewards the raw faith of these people. It takes my breath away.


Standing on site of new girls dorm that overlooks the present compound.




A desolate, rugged beauty




Memo, Gary and Rosa finishing up the new girls dormitory talk.


The 3rd weekend in February, the men on our staff will be traveling up to Juarez for a Men's Convention. They are expecting 7,000-9,000 men. Jim Cymbala will be the featured speaker. Gary is very excited about this opportunity and the chance to spend time with Ed, Santos, Samuel and Santana. For the ladies we are planning a breakfast/tea with a guest speaker. Ed has recently started a weekly bible study with the staff on 'unity. We are planning various 'team-building' fun activities for the staff to build on this. There is an air of excitement that you can feel here and we thanking God for this.

Beginning next Saturday evening, Gary and I will be planning special 'youth nights' for the teens 13 & up. Please pray for us as we will be purposly planning fun activities off the property that will give them time for fellowship and spiritual growth. Ed and Rosa are aware that kids don't usually share openly with their Mama & Papa, so they want Gary and I to be the ones that can reinforce biblical truths and be there for them to confide in. My first concern is the language barrier, but God has been faithful thus far, so we are going to heavily lean on Him for this as well.




As I am typing this, Gary is watching some 'guy movie' with Santana about 10 feet away from me. (I suggested a love story DVD but they reminded me that they were guys...and I was outnumbered. I guess it worked out well, because I have time to do the blog now.) They are munching on chips and drinking a Coke. It is so cute to see Santana. He is 20 years old and has never had parents to raise him. He spent 8 years here at this orphanage and then ran away when he was 16 or 17. The end of December he came back to work on staff. He had wandered away from the Lord and lived a hard life. Now he has rededicated his life and is passionately working here. He has clung to us and we have adopted him in our hearts as our son. Anyway, they are sitting on a mattress on the floor with their eyes peeled to Gary's computer watching the movie and my heart is warmed. I know that Gary is whipped and would rather go to bed now, but he realizes that Santana needs this time. (Santana has talked about tonight all week and was really looking forward to their movie night.) As I look at them, I am asking the Lord to use this time to help fill the 'dad' void in his young life.




On our way to a soccer league game in Aldama


This evening Gary and I went to a soccer game that the older boys play in. It's a city league. Now, this soccer game was not even close to the ones I've seen at home. It's played on a cement court with cement block walls and a high fence. The block wall is used to pass, etc. In other words, if the ball hits the wall...it is still in bounds. The game is very fast and very physical. I was out of breath just watching! By the way, Fekkens, Ramon is very good!!!


The soccer court at the city park.


I do have a prayer request and then a praise: Gary's cold is still hanging on. His cough seems to have worsen. It's not a deep chest cough, but an irritating, tickling cough that is keeping him up. He has not slept hardly at all the past three nights. Thanks for praying for him. Now for the praise. I had a wonderful talk with the 18 yr. old girl who is now back. I reassured her that many people love her and are praying for her. I also mentioned that even though she is too old to be adopted, there are other possibilities for her future if she does well in school. She became very excited and thanked me for the talk. Isn't God good? Oh yeah, my eyebrows look great too! :)