The LORD, He is GOD!!!

A sad Tonito




Cielo, Briza and Andrea! Cielo is getting tall!!!




I discovered that if you don't chew the hot peppers you bite off...and just swallow them fast...the burn is less! =)




Angels outside the Catholic church???




At the internet shop these 2 gals worked hard to install the software to make this internet work for us! They were my angels of the day!




Nancy is so beautiful!




Adriana...just for you, Dawn!!!




Little Adriana kissing Nikki! I love this pic!




'Nicó...remind me to give this letter to you...




A love letter in the making!




Mark and Jean and girls!




Luis and me! Marcos Moul...this little guy could be your little twin brother! He's a stinker too....!




Cielo and her stiff neck. She hurt it at school while sleeping. Go figure!!!




Adriana and Jovana...two sweet girls!




Father and daugher watching movies together during the movie night!



Where Mark Riley went! =)

 

Can't deny it Mark!!! (I probably won't mention this to him until he returns home. Might need him to slay another tarantula! Don't want to burn bridges down here!!!) =)


Jean and her new son enjoying some bonding time!




The Rileys at DIF. Oh the paperwork!!! The DIF building is getting remodeled...so it's all in a temporary warehouse to make things crazier!




Raphael held on to his box of poptarts for only a few minutes. He gave his treasure to Tia Lidia!




Manuel Riley with his poptart!!!




Alondra and Gabby serving breakfast. Very hard workers, indeed!




Irving flipping tortillas for breakfast.




TC Westside at Lily!




A happy Andrea




Andrea and Mama




Berta





Tonito loving on Jose




A hungry Jose




Julian and Nikki enjoying burritos! Bro and Sis!!!




Ewing!




Jean in the kitchen!




Nikki...my angel!




Lupita




Jackie and her hair! LOVE IT!!!



After just 24 hours we are having such a great response for the mattresses! I am hoping that within a few days I'll be announcing the goal of 30 mattresses will be met! It's up to Him! It's in His hands. So far I am humbled by the response. Thanks for loving the orphans.

Today I headed to Chihuahua to purchase and transport the first bunch of mattresses (via a pick-up truck) and was so pumped. I was driving and praising the Lord! When I arrived at the store the mattresses were stacked out in front and I was on Cloud 9. I went in to pay...only to find out there is a glitch with my credit/debit card. Talk about a deflated balloon. My Prince had it all cleared with our bank...but apparently something wasn't quite right. (You can be sure he'll be waiting for the bank to open Monday morning!!!) So...I left for the orphanage 'empty-handed'. I began crying out to the Lord, "Why is this so difficult? I don't understand!" It was then that He reminded me that Satan HATES orphans...because they are so precious to my Lord. Tears began streaming dowm my face as I was trying to wrap my mind around that horrid thought. This explains so many things....all the many struggles down here at Lily. That made me more determined than ever to not grow weary...I will be a strong soldier and fight to the end. I love 'orphans'...these children like they are my own. They are so precious to me!!!

I'm going to work on my photo upload problem again. If I am successful you will see new pics...if not you'll see maybe only a handful again without any remarks. Part of the problem may be that once I have an opportunity to get on my computer, my brain is on overload and I'm starting to shut down! I might try this earlier in the day next time. =) Thanks for your patience.

OK...I'm gonna date myself. Yesterday we had a great sudden rain. I was walking downtown Aldama with Fabiola, Nancy and another girl (can't remember now). Anyway, I was holding their hands and walking in the warm rain laughing and giggling! It was great. Couldn't help but thinking of the song, "Laugher in the Rain"..."Oh I hear laughter in the rain...walking hand in hand with the one I love." I'm sure that song wasn't written for that moment...but in my heart it was. How I love these children!!!!

Let me tell you...I take back anything I said about not seeing tarantulas! Here is my story: I fell asleep and woke up in the night to use the bathroom. Usually I don't turn on any light but I realized I had my anklet on still and couldn't figure out the clasp on it. So, I turned on the bathroom light and sat down...reaching for my anklet. Less than 2 feet in front of me was a HUGE tarantula staring me down. OH MY GOODNESS! I wanted to scream but nothing came out...and I ran to Mark and Jean's room. I pounded on the door and asked for Mark. He looked a bit dazed...but came to my rescue. I told him about this tarantula and pointed to where it was. Once Mark stepped in the bathroom I slammed the door shut...I didn't want it running towards my bed!!! After about a minute Mark opened the door and had a big wad of toilet paper...with what looked like a tarantula leg dangling out. Needless to say, I didn't fall back to sleep right away. I had been sleeping with the fan on me full blast...but now it felt like spiders crawling all over me...so I turned the fan off. I decided sweating was better than that sensation. I called my Prince and bawled. He lovingly said he'd pray for me. (He knows my terror of bugs.) When I hung up I realized that I needed to trust God on this issue too! So, I spent the next hour reminding myself that God will give me the strength I need. I can't do this on my own. I am totally dependent on God for EVERYTHING! As I look back on the situation, I am thankful for God's reminder to me. (I just don't want to learn that lesson over again!!!) =) The scorpions are out too, in this hot weather. I have been lazy on not shaking out my bedding...but not anymore!

The Virginia church will be here soon with FBC, my home church, arriving the following week. I met with Mama and Papa today to tweek the schedule and make sure we were 'blessing' Lily and not making more work for them. We made several changes and they are very excited. Everyone who has been down here realizes that schedules in Mexico are just a 'guide'. Schedules WILL change down here. "Blessed are the flexible...for they shall not be broken". That is the Mexican beautitude.

The teen boys prepared the afternoon meal today...which was fun to watch. They do most of the cooking at the boys's dorm under the guidance of Tio Willy and Tia Lully. To say the least...I am VERY impressed. It was great!!! Yay boys!

This early afternoon a policeman arrived from Aldama and told us they had found a young boy on the street unconscious. They were wondering if one of our boys had run away. He wanted Ed to go to the hospital to see if he could identify him. My heart sank. Ed can't drive yet so I was asked to drive him into town. Immediately Papa and Mama called for a 'bed check'. Within 5 minutes we were sure it wasn't any of our boys but we went to the hospital anyway. Sure enough, it was another boy and Papa told the hospital staff that is this boy does not have a home, he can live with us. I am not sure what the outcome will be, but it was very cool to see Papa visit the boy. He had regained consciousness (sp?) and was sitting up with an IV running. Papa told him that we love him and that more importantly God loves him. If he didn't have a family, he would be welcome to live in our home. It was very touching. I walked out of that hospital with a giant in God's Kingdom!

Mark is driving the bus (since Ed can't) so the children can go to the park and watch a game. That is their highlight! They LOVE going with their Papa on outings. I'm sure the bus will stop and they will visit several people along the way and food will be shared. That is life at Lily. Share everything that you have with everyone you can!

Well, Rog...I am glad you are finally cleaning out my car...that is WHAT you were hired for at the church fundraiser. Regarding the messy shape my car is in...it hasn't been touched since last year. I was saving it all for you!!!

It's ironic that the new picture I have as my blog header is one of Silvia. She ran away from Lily on Mother's Day. I am begging the Lord to bring her back. Will you help me pray for her?

Another place for your Lily fix: www.oneagleswingsministry.com Nikki Lopez and her family has began a great ministry not only for Lily but for the Mountain people as well. I am honored to call these people my dear friends.

Mom and Dad, I love you. It is because of your decision to adopt a baby girl who desperately needed a home almost 52 years ago that I am down here! Your loving arms have been extended to Mexico and you are making a BIG difference in the lives of orphans down here. Thanks for loving this orphan first!