Pictures of Love

Lily's Circle of Love!




A line of children waiting for seconds on beans.




Tonito and his winning smile!




Snake charmers


Pablo, what is around your neck?!



No thanks...




Javier showing off his talents




Maria Elena and Julian




Andrea




Alondra, Javier, Karely, Nancy and Tonito




Eliodoro has stepped up to the plate and has been a big help.




Andrea taking a nap!




Sweet Marsela...are you dreaming of your forever home?




Gabby & Lorena off to work



Alondra




The new girl's dorm.




2 of our new girls.




The boys were busy carrying buckets of dirt to plant the 300 donated trees.




Carlos always has a smile!



Luis




Another new princess!




Elvida and her niece, April




This boy loves the dogs...and they love him.




Ruby and Silvia cleaning up the new girls dorm for the big Open House! These girls are such hard workers!




Lucia cleaning another room in the new girl's dorm.




Armondo and Andrea




Andrea





Tonito muscling a tree! I can't believe how he is growing up so fast!




Briza among the trees!




Armondo




Busy beavers!




Sweet Silvia




Sammy and his sis, Brenda




Planting all those trees is hard work!




Work...work...work!




This is Belem's new bedroom!




Belem, Johana and Jennifer...thinking about their future.




Karla, Esayla and Fabiola




Jennifer




Karla...she's growing up so fast!




Leslie, Silvia and Maggie...what beautiful girls!




Oscar




Karen!!!




2 new girl dorms! Thank you, Jesus!




Ruby and Jackie!




What a smile...and look at those beautiful eyelashes!!!




Brenda




Filling up empty milk jugs to plant trees. It was quite the process.




A tired boy!




OK April...You've won our hearts.












Gustavo and April




Julian and Antonio




Would you like a drink???




Jacqueline gathered some flowers for you!





Ana





The famous laundry line!




...continued!




Cielo




Julian and Antonio




Lorena




Julian




Chandra...I can't wait for you to tuck her into bed.




Karla catching some ZZZ's




A sleepy kitty! Our rat chaser!




Oscar and Nico




PB&J sandwiches!




After the bread was gone...I gave Chewy the half filled jar of peanutbutter! He couldn't believe it!




Jazmines leg is healing!




The antibiotic ointment and bandaid worked just fine!




Lily fun!!!





Lorena




A dragon was outside my house!!!




Beautiful Brenda!




Angel after school!




Beto is growing up!




Daniel relaxing on the bus ride home from school.




Marcos and Beto




Daniel again! He is a prince of a kid!




Me and the Princess dog.




Marisol




April and Nohema




Brenda at the courthouse




Our run-a-way Marela




How cute...




Ruby and Ana




Carlos and me...I just love this boy!




Our handsome new boy!




Jackie is big enough to push the wheel chair around. She is growing up too fast!




Lupita...what a doll!




Cachito joins in the group hug!




The low clouds were so pretty!




Ruby, Ana, Ramon and Beto




Sergio...what a tender hearted boy. He is praying and fasting for a forever home.




Pablo




Beto and Maggie




Juan Diego and Alondra




Javier after school




Hosea Miguel, Maggie, Philipe and Karely




Fun on the bus...before school!








Gaby and Katy




A tired Lupita after washing the windshield!




What a cute new girl!




Armondo, Katy and Me!




Philipe




Alondra




2 new Princesses!




Juan Diego always has a big smile!!!




Philipe, Nico and Carlos




Israel...what a great guy!




More windshield wipers!




Nico and Maggie...bro & sis!




Beautiful Belem!




Silvia catching a quick breakfast before the bus leaves!




Mayela, Ruby and Ana...kitchen duty!




Nohema and Brenda




The cat doesn't care if the milk is old!!!




Elvida, Christina (Baby April's blood mother) and her friend after I talked with them.




Christina, their dad and Elvida




Angel enjoying a big meal after school!




Yummy!




Andrea and Karely at breakfast!




2 more new angels




Tonito!




The beautiful green mountains...such an unusual sight!




Baby April's blood mother lives at the foot of the cross in Chihuahua.




Elvida and her dad.




Icky bugs!!!




Nohema




Sammy




The newest buds!


As you look at the precious faces above, remember that they represent little lives that are filled with hopes and dreams. I believe that every child is a dreamer...because that is how God created us. They have all come out of hurtful situations...the wreckage of sin...and yet they still possess hope. Some have found that true hope, which is in Jesus Christ but others are still searching. My dream is to have them all find a relationship with Jesus Christ...because then they can face any storm and be a light to those around them...like Silvia now is. Thank you, Jesus!

The past few days at Lily were filled with various activity. Of course the staff at the orphanage was focused on the dedication of the new girls dormitories. I however, had other things that the Lord laid on my heart. Probably the most significant were the talks I had with Javier about surrending his life to Jesus and the meeting of April's blood mother. Let me tell you about it...because God led me all the way. Elvida (baby April's aunt) has lived at Lily for about 9 years. Her sister, Christina, the mother of April lived there for about 6 years but moved out because of rebellion. Ed talked with Elvida and she thought she would be able to locate Christina. So, after school on Thursday Ed arranged for Elvida and me to drive the white van into Chihuahua and we took Belem to help translate. (Belem does very well with her English...but at times we still struggle with words.) I remember driving into Chihuahua thinking..."OK, God, I'm going...I am willing, but I have no idea how this is going to work. No matter what, I trust you...and I am doing this because you will be right beside me all the way." The Lord impressed it upon my heart to go...so I knew I was being obedient...but I had no idea what to expect. We arrived at the house Elvida knew her familiy lived...only to find out another familiy was living there now. I normally would have thought that I 'misread' God and drove back home...but I just kept going. Elvida knew the cab company her dad worked for so we drove there...with such peace. The cab company called her dad on the radio and he was in our van in about 5 minutes...driving us to the home where he and Christina lived. There is a big cross on one of the mountainsides of Chihuahua...and Christina's home was at the foot of the cross. When I realized this my heart about burst with excitement...but when we arrived...Christina was gone with a girlfriend. No one had any idea how long she would be...but I had a peace about waiting. During that time, Elvida has a great visit with her dad and I had a wonderful talk with Belem about her future adoption and what to expect when moving to her new home. Isn't God good? He allowed for extra blessings along the way! It was starting to get dusk and suddenly Christina and her girlfriend were walking towards the van. Suddenly it hit me...the importance of the conversation...a baby's future...and I paused to ask God to use me and give me words...and he did. After introducing myself to her, she agreed to give me a few moments of her time. I shared with her my life story of being adopted and then let her watch the adoption DVD. Afterwards I was then able to share with her about the most important decision she would ever make...her decision to accept Christ as her Lord and Savior. She had a harshness to her countenance, but she listened to every word. I have no idea what the outcome will be...but oh the joy I felt as I left. The burden that the Lord placed on me to do this was lifted and it was as if He was loving on me and rewarding me for doing His will. What bliss! I also wanted to mention that Belem did a terrific job while translating. We didn't stumble on words...they flowed freely with much emotion. It was a gift of tongues. I have never experienced something so awesome. God is faithful!

On Friday, I was traveling with both Brenda's to Chihuahua for a court testimonial. There was much last minute confusion and the case was delayed. At first I was so confused by the whole thing...but a few minutes later realized that God was working. If the testimonial had taken place then, the adoption process would have been stopped for the Hernandez family. There was a new set of questions for the witnesses and our one witness was not prepared for the correct answers. Because of this, we now have a 2 week period to rehearse the questions and correct answers. God amazes me over and over. He is ruler over all...and I am in awe of Him.

The Riley adoption process is moving forward and we are waiting for the official 'posting' to terminate the father's rights. After that, the case will proceed before the judges...and they will be right behind the Hernandez adoptions.

For the Arnett adoption the government workers need to get the original papers of the girls out of the archives. (Apparently the paperwork is stored in other buildings.) So, please help me pray about this. There is a chance that both Belem and Johana can be adopted together if this would take place before Christmas (Belem's 18th birthday). If not, we will be getting Belem here under a student Visa.

The Fessenden adoption if moving along. The girls have all been interviewed by DIF and thing are moving forward. The critical point will be when the posting occurs. If the mother protests again, we have no guarantee how DIF will react to her. They could listen to her plea to keep the girls or they could decide to terminate her rights since she is still prostituting. This adoption case needs much prayer.

We are still working on getting 'orphan status' for many children. Alberto and Marcos' grandmother is working with us to terminate the rights to these boys. So, they will be available, the Lord willing. Some cases are starting to move...and other ones are going slow. The sad thing is that the children who have been there the longest...since toddlers...it is harder to get their paperwork moving since the original papers are in the archive building...and no one will locate them. Please keep praying for these kids as they are begging the Lord for forever homes.

I think what brought me the most joy was seeing Rosa so excited about her relationship with Ed. The Lord has used some books and other resources to renew their marriage. This couple has weathered so much for these children. They have given and given...even when they were empty. The Lord is now blessing their marriage and giving a time of refreshment. There have been many new scheduling changes with staff...for the better. God is working...and the people are responding positively.

Thanks to all of you, I was able to leave the orphanage with full shelves in their food pantry...and money for future purchases of fruit and vegetables in addition to their regular food. The vehicles were being repaired by local mechanics and things were starting to flow together for them. Your generous hearts caused this to happen!

In the future they definitely have some projects that need attention. It looks like they will have to eventually put in their own well that will service the original facility and the new girls dorm. The 'neighborhood well' situation is not working out and in the long run, the orphanage would greatly benefit from their own well. The estimated costs on this are about $10,000. Also, for those of you who have visited Lily, you are aware that there is a definite need of housing for us Americans who come to visit. The animals are now gone (Yippee!) and they would like to turn the back buildings into apartments for workers and a place for us Americans to sleep. So, these block buildings need to be converted. It will take many skills and manpower to make this happen...not to mention funding. Also, the roof on the main Lily building (cafeteria, dorm, etc) needs to have a treatment done to prevent leaks. I know that in the office the roof has been repaired, but the ceiling is down and in need of repairs. Beds are needed for the new girls dorm, a water filtration system is needed for the new boys dorm...and the list goes on. Please pray about these needs and ask God what you could do to help with these needs.

The final question that I've been asked..."When are you and Gary heading down there?" I wish...more than you...I had the answer! Nothing has sold yet...although we have just relisted and the signs are going up today. I have quit asking God to 'do this or that', and I am now asking Him for His will to be done...and to direct our paths. Proverbs 3:6 (NLT) says, "Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take." We are praying this daily...hourly. I know that God has been working in both our lives and we are different today...than yesterday. Our God is getting bigger...and we are getting smaller. We don't want to hold on to anything...except Jesus! We trust Him! In the faith chapter of Hebrews 11 it says, "It was by faith that Abraham...It was by faith that Sarah...It was by faith that Isaac...It was by faith that Jacob...Moses etc. The cool thing...IT IS THE SAME GOD! So, it is by faith that Gary and I will travel to Lily and minister to them. He knows the details and we don't right now...but that's OK.

Until then, help us pray for these sweet children. We are asking God to heal their wounds, cleanse their hearts and provide loving homes for them so their dream of a forever family will come true.