Loving Orphans...

Another day spent with Belem and her mother...in vain. Alex and I have come to the conclusion that this adoption will not be able to take place for Johana (Belem's sister). The mother is not mentally stable enough to follow through with a decision for more than 5 minutes. At first I felt like I had failed, but then I remembered...will I let God be God? Yes, Jesus, I surrender. God's plans are always higher than our plans. Why is there is battle within me? Father, again, I lay down my desires at Your feet. You do know best and I trust You! These experiences have been so good for me. "The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand." Psalm 37:23-24 The Lord has held me by the hand so many times here. While riding in the back of the rickety Ranger yesterday when we transported Belem's mom to and from DIF I was afraid and insecure. It was raining, cool, filthy, Belem was driving a stick shift (which she struggles with) and traffic was horrific. I have had to cling to the Rock of Ages...and He held my hand. Thank you, Jesus.

At first Belem's eyes filled with tears. She fought them back very hard and I could tell she has had much experience with fighting back tears. In fact all of these kids have done this way too long! After talking to Belem for awhile I believe she is at peace. You see, she is hoping to come to the states for college this fall. This now means that her sister, Johana, whom she has practically raised, will be left behind for at least 2 more years since she now can't be adopted. Please help me pray for her as she is comtemplating different things.

Many errands were run to prepare for the group coming so the day flew by. The brownies for our evening 'meal' were a success...and the kids were very hyper in anticipation of eating them. The day ended with a fiesta for the teen girls up on the hill. We watched a chic flick and had sandwiches, chips, no-bake cookies and pop. The party for the older boys will be next week when Sonya's husband returns (dorm-parents). Then the party for the small children will be next week as well. These parties are sponsored by TC Westside. THANKS! I wish you were all here to experience the joy of such a special treat!

I wanted to talk a bit about Tia Sonya and her husband. They came here in April with a younger daughter and two teenage boys. Their oldest is graduating from high school next week. To make a long story short, their oldest son thought he would be OK with moving here in the middle of the year and graduating without his friends, but after a couple of weeks, the family realized it wasn't working. So, the dad and his two teenage sons moved back to Juarez until graduation is finalized. Tia Sonya has been here by herself managing the teen boys dorm. Talk about commitment. This seperation from her husband has been difficult, but her dedication to the Lord has kept her going. Next Thursday will be the happy reunion! She is so excited.

No bake cookies are tricky...don't always turn out the way you'd like, right? Well, on a whim, I thought it would be fun to try. We used these huge pots and pans and made 8 batches at once (enough for the teen girls and boys since the younger kids had brownies). Well...God was merciful and they turned out perfect. I don't know how...except for the fact that miracles are still happening today! The kitchen girls kept thinking we would have to put them in the oven. It was absolutely fun. God is blessing.

The movie the girls and I watched was Everafter. It's a love story about a Prince falling in love with a servant girl (Cinderella). At the beginning of the story the girl's dad dies and the girls cried...it touched them deeply. The girls loved the movie...because every girl dreams of a Prince falling in love with her. Towards the end of the story the girls wept when the Prince found out this girl was really a servant girl and not a countess. He turned his back on her and again the girls really related to this. The ending was good...and the room filled with cheers. I wish you could have been there. It was indeed a blessing to experience things like this with them!!!

I will have to just post pics without words...time is precious. Please forgive me.