Marcos sporting a crazy hat.
Lorena helping in the mud room.
Andrea and her wild hair day... :)
Cleaning up the pantry...a huge job!!!
Guess who????? Nico!
The many faces of Cielo...
Jean after her full day of school!!!
Marta is so pretty!
A last minute breakfast for Andrea before school!
Anna, Karla and their school friend, Maria
It breaks my heart to see these little ones sleeping randomly all over. They need a mommy and daddy to tuck them in bed for a nap.
Margarita and Lucia...sisters!
Cecilia after giving lady a haircut. Cecilia is great with animals. I think she would make an awesome vet some day!
Look what was in our Swiss Chard greens and almost in the kettle for lunch...
a new pet. :)
Enough cinnamon rolls so everyone can have one! They sure went fast!!!
Nico and Anna with the only cat brave enough to live with 120+ kids. I just say, she is an excellent rat slayer!
Gary and his helpers working on the van.
Brenda working on her homework.
Perky Jackie...ready for school. What a cutie pie!
I didn't have time to post this yesterday. Please forgive me...
Two 12 yr. old girls ran away last night. One girl was a new girl who recently arrived and she befriended another girl who was a good girl. The sad thing is that the newer girl was used to a very evil life of alcohol and men. My heart breaks that think what could happen to them. All available staff has been out looking for them. I was in a vehicle that covered the road from Aldama to Chihuahua. We are praying for their safety. Anything could happen.
Today as Gary and I read a chapter from the book, "Follow Me", I was reminded of my sinful nature vs God's Kingdom. In a recent bible study I enjoyed, Beth Moore was talking about the 10 lepers. "Their common plight as lepers gave them far more in common than their differences as Jews and Gentiles." I think though, that even in their common plight, some were counting spots of leprosy...perhaps thinking...she or he has more spots than I do. That is human nature. The bottom line is that it was leprosy. They were excluded from a normal 'life' and were outcasts. It didn't matter if they had 3 or 30 spots. They were outcasts. I need to be reminded that I was an outcast sinner, saved by grace. Sin is sin and MY SIN required the payment of Jesus' lifeblood. Every morning I need to crawl under that cross and feel his drops of blood spash on my face. I didn't deserve it. I could never repay it. What is required? A repentant heart...laying my sword down...and giving Him control. Who cares how many spots we had? We are clean now!!! Thank you, Jesus.
Between looking for two girls, a van load of school kids who were late for school, Alex showing up unexpectedly and a bus that has a blown tire, I have been trying to make cinnamon rolls for the kids. Baking is always an adventure. You gotta plan on a whole day to make it happen. First of all, there are no measuring utensils, so its by eye. I have learned to buy the ingredients and keep them in my casa...so they will be there when I need them. And the flour...they always have plenty of that...except for today. For the past two hours, I have been trying to locate the keys to the tortilla room...where there is a big bag of flour (normally). Today I find that there is no flour there. Then, when I was finally able to get the keys to the storage room, there were bags of beans and rice..but no flour. So, I was lucky enough to run to my casa and grab a twenty dollar bill and have Ed pick up some flour in Aldama when he does the kindergarten run. Meanwhile, my yeast mixture is bubbling and begging for flour. It amazes me how these recipes work, but God always blesses my crazy efforts. Things somehow turn out. Also, the big convection ovens are not working right. We have to set it to 500 degrees and they bake for 30 minutes. It used to be 350 degrees for 18 minutes. Oh well...the kids love them! I thank You, Jesus, for ovens...even if they're off calibration.
Something for you to think about. Rosa would like the kids to experience the good clean musicals...like Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof, The King and I, etc. Apparently they are available with Spanish words that can be read. So, if you would want to pick up any, I'm sure the kids would love them. We have a group coming down from Michigan on the 29th of April. Feel free to call the church if you would like to donate one. 231-873-2514 Also, if any one of you would like to join our group for a week, and come down here, let me know. We have a huge work project that requires a lot of man power. They will be down here for a week. You could ask the church for more details on that as well. I can promise you one thing...you will be forever changed.
This is the wrap-up from yesterday. The runaway girls were found (and they were safe), the cinnamon rolls baked, the children fed and Jean Riley was even able to go to school with Yazmine. She had a ball! Jean was able to sit at a desk right next to Yazmine and talk with the students and teachers. Let me tell you, she was one tired looking school girl when she got back...but she had a big smile on her face.
Today I am planning on baking some type of Valentine's Day cookie for the kids today. Mark and Jean brought down some goodies to do this with...thanks to everyone who generously donated chocolate chips, M&M's and peanut butter. Also, I found some construction paper...so I am also going to try to make a valentine for each child. Jean said that if she gets back from DIF in time, she will help me work on these projects. Valentine's Day is a huge day down in Mexico. I want every one of these kids to receive a token of love from Michigan!
Please pray for Mark and Jean as they visit DIF with Alex today. Their progress is so slow and discouraging. A new lawyer is now involved...so we are praying that things will move along quickly now.
A congressman from the country of Mexico has just arrived to do a televised interview with Ed and Rosa regarding their excellent work at the orphanage. We are asking God that people will see that the difference in this orphanage versus the hundreds of other orphanages is Jesus. He is honored here. Gary and I are also hoping to speak with him regarding our HD truck pulling our 5th wheel here. Please pray!!!
I'm having a hard time getting a picture of Mark Riley. He is in a hundred places at once...if I did get a shot...it would be a blur. (I know it's hard to imagine.) Maybe I can catch him when he's sitting down to eat. :)
We're still in the learning mode down here. Todays lesson: If you see a man facing the building, don't look anymore to try to figure out what he's doing. :)
9 comments:
Chaundra & Mark,
What can I say except your house will never be the same...those girls can sure make the faces...and they are sooooo cute!
I'm so glad you will get to see them at the end of the month.
I know!! I absolutely love them. I save all the pictures on my computer. We (especially Mark) are sooo excited to get down there. I cannot wait to see Mark's reaction to it all. I know that my already sensitive husband will be forever changed. Your trip will be soon. We're praying!
Hi-- I was reading chapter 8 from John Piper's book-- Don't waste Your Life. On page 177 I found these words >> "Every soul and every state is His… There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: MINE! Christ has come into this mutinous world, which He made for HIS WON glory, and paid for an amnesty with His own blood. Everyone who lays down the weaponry of unbelief will be absolved from all crimes against the King of the Universe. By faith alone enemies will become happy subjects of an everlasting kingdom of justice and joy. Advancing this cause alongside Christ is worth your life...
No, you don’t have to be a missionary to admire and advance the great purposes of the God to be known and praised and enjoyed among all peoples. But if you want to be most fully satisfied with God as He triumphs in the history of redemption, you can’t go on with business as usual—doing your work, making your money, giving your tithe, eating, sleeping, playing, and going to church.”
A big thank you to all who read this blog and are working to advance the cause of Christ!!!!!
May your 'tribe' increase.
Regarding the earlier post about Ramon approaching 16 -- I took the following from the USCIS website:
U.S. law allows:
1. Biological siblings of a child adopted by the same parents to be adopted up to (but not including) 18 years of age; and
2. Orphans over the age of 16 to be adopted, as long as the I-600 petition was filed on their behalf before their 16th birthday
Jay,
you are correct in the filing of the I-600 by the 16th birthday. However, one of the forms you need to file the I-600 is the "final decree of adoption" that you get from the Mexican courts. That is the form they are currently working on and have said would be done by the 25th.
We greatly appreciate any and all help regarding this matter..finding a loophole..or a long lost congressman friend who can pull strings.
Most importantly everyone bathe this "Ramon's" adoption with prayer. Linda has said, and we have also seen that the enemy has been greatly at work to stop these adoptions. I think that if he is trying to stop them so viciously then he must know that God has big plans for these kids....
Thanks for the Help!
Chad & Cristi,
I figured someone knew this, but I posted just in case.
I was traveling earlier this week and when I called home, my 8-yr old daughter told me about an urgent prayer request--Ramon.
We're trying to adopt Cecilia and she just turned 15. So we can relate.
All the best,
Jay, Traci, & Mariah
Linda,
We hope you'll post some pics of our friends, the Arnett's. Cielo labeled Keith "King Kong" last time he was there!
Jay, Traci, & Mariah
Hi, after reading the nice comments, I see that the phone number is wrong for the church, I believe that it's (231) 873-2514. I want people to get the right number and make the connections, we locals know, so this is for all the "others" that may be trying to help and habe been unable to. I hope this helps....Linda correct me if I am wrong, wont be the first time.
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