There is a time for everything...

The new Silvia




Danny!




Aurelio and Ramon




Antonio




Johana and Esayla




Leslie and Danny




Lupita




Tio Santo and his sister, Tia Mica




Silvia, Lupita and Maggie with tio Gary




Cielo




Downtown Chihuahua




and the surrounding mountains




a wind funnel crossing the road ahead




they're repairing our road...yippee!!!




Lupita, Marcos, Silvia, Daniel and Maggie




The flowers are beautiful!




and the roses...

were awesome!!!




Alex at DIF. He is our angel!




Typical Mexico sidewalk...gotta watch where you walk. I didn't always...




Judi, Cecilia, Lady and Leticia




Nohema and Brenda




Brenda...trying to get out a knot in a shoelace...




Armondo




Briza





Our newest boy...he was very sad. Daniel spent a lot of time talking to him and trying to comfort him. I love his sensitive heart. God has big plans for him.




Lovely Leslie




Brenda does windows!




and smiles




Andrea




Jazmine and Karely




Kids who volunteered to fast. It was not manditory...but they asked to take part in this fast which meant fasting breakfast 1 day a week. That's a big deal...because lunch isn't until 3:00 or later.






Marcos and his banana tusk.




Nohema and Erika




Breakfast includes a banana thanks to a Michigan church and their donation for fruit. If anyone is interested in doing this...$65.00 provides fruit for every child, every day...for 1 week. The children love it! Otherwise...it can be weeks between a taste of fruit.




Jackie!





Lupita and Karla




Armondo and his sister Katy




Adidlene




Gary and Jazmine




Belem...what a sweetheart!




Nancy and Briza scrapping out the spaghetti pan.




Down to the last noodle. This was a particulary sad thing. A group said that they were going to furnish pizza for the kids. So...they waited and waited...and no pizza for lunch. So...they quickly boiled up some spaghetti...but there wasn't enough to fill the children up. The pizza arrived later that evening...so they were able to eat more that night.




Silvia and Maggie




Silvia, Angel and Maggie




Berto,Alondra and Samuel working on homework.




Katy getting a drink.




Mayela, Jennifer and Silvia




Shoe repair became popular!




Andrea




Javier, and Abuela with his art project




Marsela, Ruby, Luis, Olver and Karlo working on a map for homework




This art homework involved everyone. Lupita and Maggie




Jesus, Erika, Beto and Alberto




The artsy Erika was the assistant




Ramon grating cheese for breakfast.




Jackie, Gary and Andrea before breakfast.




Lupita & Gabby trying out some moves.




Johana and Jazmine




Lupita & Cecilia having fun before breakfast.



OUR MICHIGAN WELCOME...

Charles and Selah

Selah on Charles and Chrissy

Abby, Calle, Neal and Selah

Gary holding Abby, Calle, Hannah, Tim, Jenni and Makenna

Charles and Selah

Makenna with Grandpa's hat

Kaleb and Chrissy

Tim and Jenni with their girls, Hannah & Makenna

Ecclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything
1 For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
2 A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
6 A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.



For all of you who prayed for our busy day in Chihuahua yesterday…thank you! God has proven Himself faithful once again. To begin with, we were supposed to transport a 21 yr. old single mom from Aldama to Chihuahua to terminate her parental rights to a toddler that lives at Lily. A wonderful Christian family from Chihuahua as expressed their desire to adopt little Julian and she decided to terminate her rights to him so he can be raised in a good home. We were planning on leaving at 8:30, but she did not show up. Our second reason for going to Chihuahua was an 18 yr. old girl from Lily who had to see a court appointed counselor regarding a horrid childhood she survived. By 9:30, Gary and I were told that the trip to Chihuahua wasn’t going to happen. I felt so disappointed for both girls. But, at 10:30 the single mom arrived at Lily…very frightened…and second guessing her decision. There was a real war going on inside her. With Rosa’s help, I was able to share with her the story of my blood mother who gave me up for adoption as a baby. I told her that my mother wanted me raised in a Christian home…and that was the most wonderful gift she could have ever given me. After talking with her, she was determined once again to go ahead and terminate her rights…but it was so hard. I can’t imagine the anguish she was going through. So, as we were driving into Chihuahua on the bus (only available vehicle) I felt very frustrated because I wanted to share my Jesus with Olivia but there was really nothing we could do but pray…and we did. I was very concerned about going to DIF because of the urgency of getting these girls to the right people, and the importance of each situation. But, as before…God went ahead of us and had everything under control. When we arrived at DIF (the Mexico child/protective court system) we were able to get the girls on the waiting list to see the correct people…but this young mom needed to go before the judge…and that meant a lawyer taking her before the judge immediately…and time was not in our favor. For Olivia, who is living in the wake of poor decisions she has made, the 1 ½ hour wait probably seemed like years. I’m sure that she was thinking about Julian, her 19 month old toddler that she was signing off. Everyone at Lily loves him and spoils him rotten! He has Down’s Syndrome and several health concerns. Whenever I have seen Olivia visit Julian, she always looked so sad…I’m sure guilt was a big reason. But, while we were sitting at DIF and I was feeling very desperate to reach out to this girl, in walked Alex…a Christian bi-lingual friend who helps me with adoptions. I quickly told him about my concerns in getting these girls to the right people and the weight of the burdens these girls were carrying. He quickly ministered to our younger girl from Lily and then I explained Olivia’s situation and the urgency to get her before the judge. Alex quickly made a connection with the right person and a lawyer was on their way to pick up Olivia. I felt relieved, but then I told him about my concern for her spiritual condition. He said, “No problem…I’d love to talk with her.” Well, he did and in the middle of a busy governmental waiting room, Olivia gave her heart to Jesus. She shared with Alex her heartache and he told her of a loving Jesus who died on a cross to rescue her from her sinful life. The court lawyer then quickly came in and wisked her off before the judge…but when she returned 1 ½ hrs. later…she had the biggest smile on her face. In fact…her entire countenance just radiated God’s redeeming love. I went up to her and gave her a big hug…and she gave me one of the tightest hugs I’ve ever received! We brought her back to Lily so we could give her a Spanish Bible and happily told Papa about her salvation. She wants to attend church so Papa will pick her up Sunday morning so she can attend with the staff and children. ISN’T THAT COOL??? Oh yeah, the 18 yr. old girl had a great talk with her counselor and everything will be fine. God is good.

Our evening ended with the final devotions together. The last few minutes were sweet. Mama and Papa told the children that we were not saying goodbye...but...farewell until we see eachother again...soon. We shared words of blessings and encouragement with one another. We all hugged and took our time. The evening I dreaded ended in a precious way. Thank you for praying.

We boarded the plane the following morning and ended up in Michigan last evening where our family met us at the airport. It was great seeing them again. We all went out to eat together and we soaked in the precious faces of our children and grandchildren. Last evening we spent it at Gary's mom's house. We slept in a real bed...that was very comfortable. In fact, when I woke up in the middle of the night I panicked...because I didn't know where I was. Gary headed up to Mears early in this morning with our son while I lingered behind. The game plan for Gary to have our 5th wheel all set up by the time I arrived. But, the wet ground delayed things...and I had to wait around for a couple of hours and we had to set up the trailer next to our shop. It was very awkward. I was home...but didn't have a home. For those of you who don't know...we have our house rented. This next week we are hoping to have our house and business listed again so they can be sold. If they sell, our tentative plans are to head back down to Lily in September and stay through next May. But, I said that the plans are tentative. Our house and business have to sell before we can return.

What is it like to be back? The roads are safer, no military checks with machine guns, it's cleaner, people speak English here, we have our comfy bed and reclining chairs, our dogs are now with us, we are driving our clean and mechanically sound vehicle, and our children/grandchildren are within driving distance. I should be fine...but I'm not. I've been choking back tears throughout the day. I can't help but wonder how the new children are adjusting, if there is enough food, if any of our Lily children were discriminated against at school today, who is lonely and crying at Lily. I'm missing the thought of welcoming them home after they walked off the school bus today, kissing them all goodnight, listening to their singing, and playing silly games with them. I was the official kisser of boo-boos, who kissed away tears. Gary was the one who scooped up the little ones in his arms if they were hurt and hugged them until the tears subsided. I know they will be fine without us, but I am stuggling with the thought of being without them. I really feel like this is only a temporary seperation and our house and business will sell. Hopefully we'll be covered with dust again, have chapped lips, and wonder if we'll ever have a quiet moment. Right now...it's quiet...too quiet. And, it's raining...outside and in my heart.

Alex is helping to finish the 'orphan status' that we were working on. We are still in need of families who will open up their hearts to children. If this is something that you feel that God is putting on your heart, please feel free to contact me and I'll direct you to Amy at God's Children Adoption Agency.

This blog will be continued throughout the spring and summer...only not as often updated because of obvious reasons. Ed and Rosa will be updating me on things that are happening and hopefully sending me pics through visiting teams. Then, I will relay the information to you through this blog. If the Lord allows us back to Lily in September, I plan on updating the blog more frequently like before. So, this is not the end...only what I hope to be a slight pause...