Loving Orphans...

Felipe and Oscar...two terrific boys!!!




Vickie put a piece of foam in her ears to block out all the noise. Smart girl!!!




Briseyda





Andrea




A happy goalie...Johana!




Esayla and Silvia...the two scorers!!!




A very happy team.




...heading back to the bus after the game!




Elvida enjoying the victory!!!




Little Tonito...and a BIG bottle of water!




Lily supporters! Papa was so excited about the game last week that he loaded up all the kids and brought them to cheer on the girls! It was so fun!!!




Lily won 6-1!




A proud Papa leading the cheers for the girls!!!





Jared and Alondra!




Nico and Marcos on the way to the game!




Aurelio




Angel, Jazmine and Bette




Marta and Irving...going to watch the soccer game.




Daniel and Nico




How I love Flor!!!




Jackie...need I say more???




Ezekiel...what a cutie. He and his brother and sisters have a degenerative eye disease that requires surgery. The oldest brother had a very successful surgery and Brisa is next.




Cielo!




Briza feeling left behind. It is always hard when the group leaves.





The engineer who is helping with the trench and water situation.




Abuelo Ramon!




Nancy. Her heart has gone through a lot of healing and there are more smiles on her sweet face!





Fabiola...a princess!




Felipe and Nico




Javier and Belem...friends!






Here are some of the graduates from Tuesday night...can't remember is there were more. I flew out before the ceremony. Marcela, Ana and Ruby. They have grown into beautiful young ladies! I am so proud of them.




Irving and Fabiola




Oscar!




Lupita and Lorena




Esayla




Silvia and Vicki...kitchen clean-up with a smile!




Lorena




Ana and Karla




Sion, Jackie, Karelly and Andrea...how cute!!!




The Lord multiplied the fruit!!!




Chicken with cactus and rice. YUM!




Abuelita Esther!




Juanita, Adilene and Mareya enjoying the shade.




Some sort of fruit growing at Lily in the orchard. I'm actually surprised the younger kids haven't found it yet and picked it!




A tired Marta leaning on a watermelon after our big day at DIF and shopping at the market. She was leaning on a watermelon and it looks like there is another melon under her shirt. She is so cute and so pregnant!




I think they shopped til they dropped!




Belem...how I love this girl! She was such a tremendous help to me the whole time I was there!




A full van of fruit and veggies!




Cilantro...YUM!




8 crates of pineapple!






Leslie




Marta waiting to speak with the officials at DIF. She did a great job! Now...we're waiting for the results!




Ramon...our 14 year old boy without a name. As soon as we get him registered...he will be available for adoption. Mama said that Ramon has had some problems with arthritis. He is the sweetest boy...so loving. He just needs a mom and dad!




DIF...the governmental office where Alex and I work on adoptions!




Jackie!




Irwing fell out of the top bunk on Sunday night and landed on his head. He had a pretty bad cut but the doctor put a butterfly bandaid...to help hold it together!






This is a pic of Tia Sonya and her family reunited at last. They are the aunt and uncle at the teen boys dorm. I apologize for poor pic...but wanted you to see the whole family. Please help me pray for them as they will be making many adjustments.




Maggy, Lupita, Nico and Silvia....sis, sis, bro and sis!




Lucia and Maggie...sisters!




Marcela and Sergio...a sweet sib group!




Oliver, Nancy and Luis! This sib group is from the Indians up in the mountains. Aren't they just beautiful?!!!




Brenda's passenger door on her car doesn't work...but that didn't stop Jared!




Jared ready for a taco!!!




On the way into Aldama on the weekends you'll see ponies lined up for rides.




The little girls thanking Jesus for their 'fiesta'! It was very precious! I cried!




What fun!






Rosa looks like a Princess with the bedspread wrapped around her waist!




Javier chatting on the phone!




These cute little guys were begging for a cookie Sunday afternoon. I couldn't resist! So, I secretly gave them each a cookie and they were hiding from the other kids to eat them! How fun!!!




Marta and Rosa enjoying a cookie!




Jared also does cookies! What a guy!!! He was my right-hand-man in the kitchen!




Jovan, Daniel, Chewy and Nico. Notice Papa in the background. Whenever I make cookies he is closeby! Fun!




Jovan and the cookie crew scraping out the peanut butter! It's a favorite job!




Nico and me!




This time the sugar was filled with bugs...so we had to pick out as many as we could. Oh well...




This sweet lady who lives in this house in Aldama was invited to spend Sunday with us. She attended church and then enjoyed the noon meal with us.




I talked to her about the difference between a religion and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ but her heart was hardened.




Ed has a real heart for the unsaved...and so do the children!




Bryan, Papa, Beto and Luis




Sunday afternoon is family movie time and Papa joined them!




Jared...our water boy...at the pump again!





Felipe, Jovan and Isael enjoying a time of rest Sunday afternoon!




Angel...what a great guy!




Peace out...Irwing!




Sunday afternoon naps are the best!





Marta all ready for church!




A sleeping angel!




The favorite stopping place...the OXXO!




Another sleepy angel...




...just trying to steal Lupita's sucker! Didn't work!!!




Views from the trip into Chihuahua







Jovan and Aurelio snoozing on the way home from church!




Bet you can't guess which foot is Jared's!!! =)




Pink church shoes! Love it!!!




Brenda




Oliver...how I love this boy!




Sergio and Daniel




Sergio has really matured. He will be attending college this fall to study Physical Education!




Lovely Leslie!!!




Jared, Vicki and Johana




Ahhh...Lucia! Her accomplishment of middle school graduation has really brought a sweet smile to her face! I'm so proud of her!






Belem




Karla, Ana, Oscar and Ramon




Our bus driver to church last Sunday!




Adilene...catching her breakfast on the bus ride to church.




Lorena




Briza




Sergio and Irwing...they have such servant's hearts




Mireya...she is growing more and more comfortable here at Lily. It's wonderful to see the transformation.




Cereal and bananas for breakfast...a typical Sunday morning breakfast.




Angel and his friend chatting over breakfast.




Early morning gift from God!




Vicki is so cute! She found a cute 'critter' to show me.




The morning beauty captivated me!




Here was Vicki's little 'creature'. He actually was sorta cute!!!



I'm home now...in my Michigan home. The weather is cooler and refreshing. When I turn on the faucet...water comes out (even hot if I want). There are no tarantulas, rattlesnakes or scorpions around and it's quiet and peaceful. So why are my eyes welling up with tears every time I turn around? Because I have two homes...and two families. In the states I have precious young adult children...some with their own children now. I can't really explain it, but I honestly feel like we've also been entrusted with many more children to help care for at Lily. Our quiver is full...and we are blessed!

Sunday morning was very typical. Up early and ready for church. There are several men from the Shalom church who volunteer to drive the bus for us so many from Lily can attend church and they alternate Sundays. Currently only one bus works...so the unfortunate thing is that not everyone can attend church. Papa had the bus go to the early service this week...so most all the teens and young adults could attend the adult worship. Then Papa drove one of the vans to the kids service and an older teen drove the other van. I remember the days when everyone could go to church...and it was great. Please help me pray for another bus. Their other bus that is not working is in need of a tranny and engine...totally not worth it. So...I am asking the Lord to provide a different bus. Will you help me?

After church the meal was brought in by the business in Chihuahua who donates a meal every Sunday to Lily. Shortly after that, it was boys cookie day! So, several of the teen boys helped me make cookies. I wish you were there to see their passion. What fun and energy! We made 28 dozen cookies...and everyone enjoyed them for the next couple of days. Also, that evening it was fiesta night for the young boys and girls! They enjoyed sandwiches, chips, pop and cookies to their heart's delight and played several games. It was like the end-of-school year celebration and they loved it! Thanks TC Westside for providing this fun time for the children.

Monday morning I took Belem, Leslie, Marta and Ramon to meet with Naria who is the head of DIF in Chihuahua. I can't really describe the feelings I had that morning, except by saying that my heart was heavy. It was overwhelming. There were two girls, Belem and Leslie, who were with me to get their passport appointments because DIF failed them. Leslie made an appeal to Naria to ask the judge to put her name on the adoption of her brothers and sisters but we found out there is no hope for that. Marta was with me to plead for her life, the life of her baby as well as the future of her brothers. Then, I had Ramon. He has been at Lily for 4 1/2 years. He came from the mountains and we have no birth certificate for him, and we recently found out that the last name we have been calling him is not his real name. So, we need to have DIF try to trace down who he really is. If they are not able to do this, then we will register him and assign him a name and birth date so he will be recognized as a 'real' person who will have automatic 'orphan-status'. I remember riding in that van that morning and realizing how the forces of hell had fought this appointment. Everything that could go wrong to prevent this trip...did. Papers were suddenly missing, problems with keys, no gas, lack of a vehicle...everything to discourage this visit. But, my God reigns. We were off down the bumpy road with 4 kids whose futures were dependent on this trip. I prayed the whole way for safety...and I remember calling my Prince, back home, to have him pray as well. I could sense the dark coolness of Satan's attack and I was trembling. We safely arrived at DIF and everyone had their time with Naria. The unfortunate thing is that the 'answers' we were hoping for won't come until later this week. Alex will e-mail me the results and I'll be sure to let you know how things are progressing!

After DIF we headed to the market for a very special purchase. Darrah Moul and some of her friends sold Christmas ornaments for Lily to purchase fruit and vegetables for the children. When I was at Lily in April during the swine flu scare, I did not feel comfortable in going to the market, but it was OK now. So...we bought lots of goodies for the children. You should have seen the look on the children's faces when we drove in with all this fruit! I might add, in all seriousness, that God seems to bless efforts like this. I purchased 8 crates of pineapple, 10 watermelon, some veggies and only 2 boxes of bananas ( I was planning on purchasing more...but felt checked about it). Well...when we arrived home...a big truck from a donor drove in and they delivered 16 more boxes of bananas! So...Darrah Moul...God multiplied your efforts and the efforts of your friends and the kids will be able to eat a lot of bananas! In fact, they were able to share bananas with other orphanages around. This time it was not a few loaves of bread and fish...but bananas! Praise the Lord!!! We also had enough money left to repeat this shopping trip a few more times since the produce is so cheap this time of year. I calculated that this offering will be able to provide fruit and vegetables for all the children for a month! Thanks!!!

Monday evening was filled attending the girl's soccer game, packing and tearful embraces, and the words 'until-we-meet-again'. I won't say "good-bye". I will be back, the Lord willing. The girl's dorm still had no water...but Jared (bless his heart) knew how much I wanted a shower before I flew home...so he made the pump work for 15 minutes so I could shower and be refreshed. As I yelled out the window when I finished the shower and thanked him I couldn't help but wonder how many 23 year old boys would sit outside in the sweltering heat for 25 minutes trying to make a pump work for an old lady to take a shower? Not many. Jared truly has a servants heart and I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for his future. It will be BIG!

Some of you have wondered, "What happens when the children graduate?" Well, here is the scoop. Of course when they graduate from elementary school they enter into the middle school. After graduating from the middle school they are encouraged to attend high school. Some of the teens choose not to do this...but most do. The ones who graduate from high school have the option to attend college through various scholarships. This year we will be having at least 5 in college. The children who choose not to further their education are given the option to stay at the orphanage to work as staff or go to begin their life. Some choose to stay and some leave.


There are a few more needs that I would like to share with you for Lily. Maybe I'm repeating myself...if so, please forgive me. After much discussion with the engineer, we have learned that if Lily could get a well that is all their own and not have to use the 'community' well (shared by neighbors), then they will have an adequate supply of water for all their needs...and that includes the new girls dorm ...they would always have water. The cost of this well is approximately $10,000 American dollars. They are also in need of an industrial strength mixer that is used in bakeries (a used one would be great). Another need is fencing to seperate the front of their property from the back. I'm guessing the cost of this would be around $2,500 but I will have an exact cost by the middle of next week. Twin bed sheets are very much needed now. They don't have enough sheets for every bed as of now...and a few children are sleeping on wool blankets or plastic. It would be ideal to have 2 pair of sheets for every bed since there are children who wet the bed and their sheets don't always make it throught he laundry in the same day. Another item I noticed that was needed is underwear for boys. There were several little boys that were wearing girls underwear out of necessity. Sizes that are needed are sizes 4-5 through size 14. They are always short of towels. This school year they will need white socks for school uniforms (all sizes for children through teens.) This fall the schools are also changing the required uniforms that the children are wearing. So, this will be a big expense. (Ed and Rosa are really concerned about this.) Each child is required to purchase 2 uniforms (one is formal and the other one is a sports uniform). The cost for the two uniforms and a pair of shoes for each child is $150. Outrageous...huh? Anyway, this is a huge prayer request for you to help me pray about. If anyone would like to 'sponsor' a child ($150.00) for their school uniform, let me know. I can get the money to Rosa before school begins this August. I'm not sure of the exact number of children who attend school, but I am guessing it is approimately about 90 children. This is a major expense! I am sharing these needs with you because there have been hundreds of e-mails from all of you wondering about specific needs. Well...here they are. Please feel free to share these needs with your church family and friends. If there are any of you who would like to get together a group to visit Lily for a mission trip, please feel free to contact me so I can help you with the arrangements and get you on the calendar. Please don't listen to the media. We've had several group of people visit Lily by air and by driving down. If God is calling you to come, listen to His voice. My e-mail address is: lsbeggs@yahoo.com


The children had last minute notes to send home with me and requests. The notes were fun to receive and we giggled over them. But, their requests and pleas to find a forever family for them was more than I could bear. Some have given up and asked me if Gary and I would be their mom and dad when we were down there. They wanted permission to just 'pretend' for the days we are there to be a 'family'. Of course I agreed, but I also tried to reassure them that there were many families who would like to adopt them, but I saw the hopelessness in their eyes. Many of them should be able to get 'orphan-status', but some will not. It is all in God's hands...not mine. I will keep trying until my final breath to help these children. From there, I will be forever learning the lesson that God has been trying to teach me all along...letting God be God. My heavenly Father knows best and the children and I are both trying to rest in this. They are praying for forever homes. Will you help us pray about this?

I have several videos that I will be posting when I have more time. I hope you'll enjoy them!