The Sweet Faces of LILY!!!

Jackie, Berta & Beatrice all recived manicures. Oh the fun!!!!!




The new Riley family is in Chihuahua today registering their new birth certificates and applying for their passports. The passports will be overnighted to Mexico City and when they are ready...Mark and Jean will drive back down to take their children home. Should be only 5-10 days! Yippee!!! (BUT we are in Mexico...)




Alonda y Alondra flipping tortillas!




The Rileys minus Yazmine. Leslie (the oldest daughter) is not able to come since she is over 18. Help us pray about a visa for her!




It was fake...but it about did me in. Doesn't take much now....




Manicures help hide dirty fingernails! Es bueno!!!





Over 104 in the kitchen with the ovens on...and Luis is wearing his winter coat. I about fainted just watching him! No wonder he asked for a drink of water!!!!!





Angel was my Kitchen Aide. He will soon discover there are official Kitchen Aides that won't make you sweat!




A bad egg...that ALMOST made it in our brownies. YUCKY!




Eleaseo's ambulance. Thank you, Jesus, for giving him back to us! The 'hug line' this morning was a bit more precious!!! Why do we take eachother for granted? We need to hug and love more in this life.




...enough said!




Jean and Ismael




Nap time...




A beautiful little Princess!




Arturo carried Beatrice out of the bus. I love his servant's heart!




Lorena...I wonder what she was thinking about?




Rosaleo....I LOVE THIS BOY!!!




A true sleeping beauty! Fabiola




Tonito and Gabby...Bro & Sis




Gabby and Tonito again!




Perla and her limon smile




Jazmine enjoying her snack after church!






Boys will be boys will be boys....! I love them!




Pretty Marcela!




Me and Berta!




Adriana and Daniella




Ahhhh Jackie! You can't help but smile when you see her and hear her big raspy voice!




Alondra came in 2nd place in her school in an academic competition! You go girl!!!






Jean and Leslie





Jean and Lucinda...her shadow!




Julieta and Adriana




Lucinda




Ramon loving on the Virginia group pics! It was so precious to watch. He is SOOO excited for them to come!




Anastacio is so fun!




A very handsome Juan




Tonito




Geraldo




Jose Miguel




Talented Musicians! I love to hear them practice! Reminds me of when my kids were home! Could listen to it all day!





Cielo and Gabby




On Saturday morning we found Daniella walking down for devotions in her big fuzzy slippers. It was VERY cute!!!


Where do I begin? THANK YOU, JESUS, for our miracle boy, Eleaseo. He is still in the hospital for observation. The Dr.s still think there should be some major brain damage. We are just praising our Saviour!

You can sense the great spiritual battles that go on down here. I have thought a lot about this and I've come to the conclusion that it is because they are totally dependent on HIM and God is very real. God loves the orphans and Satan is fighting for all he is worth. Seeing God's protective cover on Lily is very touching. Like a mama eagle protecting her young...Lily is under the wings of our Saviour! It is not a place of rest...but a refuge all the same. You can see the storms and the fierce battle...but we are protected. It makes you want to snuggle closer and closer to God. I am thankful for the reminder that I really am TOTALLY dependent on God! It's a great place to be!

The children are doing pretty good despite the fact that they have a 'brother' in the hopital. They pray for him and ask about him, but there is a peace. In the middle of all the chaos and unknown yesterday, I decided it was time to make some brownies. (Comfort food, I know.) Anyway, it lifted everyone's spirit and helped to end the day on a sweet note! After you tell the Lord about your stress...a little chocolate always helps! ;)

This afternoon I am picking Ashley Sherard up at the airport. It will be so much fun to see her again. The friends you make at Lily seem to be life-long friends. She will be staying here a week and helping me with the Virginia team. I am also looking forward to my son arriving with the Virginia team. I haven't seen him in several months...and this will be a great place to meet! This will be his 2nd visit. I've told many of the children that their big brother is coming...and they can hardly wait to meet him! The excitement is so FUN!

Ed is scheduled to have his last 'test' done today before his surgery. Then he will be waiting for the phone call telling him that his new cornea is waiting for him. The sad thing is that someone has to die for this to happen. Jean Riley said that we need to pray for a 'christian' cornea so it would be a WIN-WIN situation! I have to agree!!!

Mark and Jean have been a blessing down here...as always. Mark is always busy...he even slays tarantulas. Jean is loving on all the children and serving in any way she can. She probably doesn't realize how much she has ministered to me. I've had such crazy situations and she was sympathizing with me all along the way. Last night for example. I wanted to go to my room, shower and go to bed. SO tired. But, while I was folding my clothes, a bottle of BRIGHT pink nail polish shattered all over the bathroom floor. Of course it did not end up in one little place. NO!!! It got the walls, sink cabinet, toilet, and about 12 big tiles on the bathroom floor. No bueno. Luckily I brought several packets of nail remover pads, but I have to purchase more polish remover today. The room I am presently staying in will be the apartment Gary and I will be remodeling...but he is not the biggest fan of pink...unless of course I am wearing it! ;)

The high school kids are officially finished with school but the graduates have some practices to attend. They are so excited and we are all very proud of them! The elementary and junior high schools are still running for at least another week. Mama and Papa are already getting nervous about having all the kids home every day during the summer. I remember feeling a bit anxious about that with my 4 kids...wondering what they would do all day to keep busy. Having 115 kids is a totally different story!

We have several boys from the mountain that are new since my last visit and now more will be coming! It is such a big adjustment for them. They are used to living quite differently...and eating differently. Everything is such a big adjustment for them. The children that we recently received mostly attended an elementary school. The only big difference is that they are not used to using bathroom facilities. The teachers have been shocked to see piles of pooh in the corner of the classroom. Ed and Rosa have been surprised here at Lily too. Then there are those who you send in to the shower but never seem to make it there...or don't use soap. Others don't know how to use toilet paper. ANYHOW...Mama and Papa need much prayer to figure all this out. I admire them so much for their genuine love and care for the children. I have been challenged in so many ways to go out of my comfort zone as well and make a difference.

I saw Silvia in church yesterday. She came to church and sat by me. My tears wouldn't stop flowing. I sat on one side of her and Lupita sat on the other. Lupita kept saying to her, "Hug me!" and it just broke my heart. Silvia was abandoned by her parents...and now she is abandoning her sister. The Lord has reassured me that she will return but for now I am praying that her rebellious time would end soon. Javier left and is now a strong warrior for the Lord. I am begging the Lord that this would happen to Silvia as well.

During the next 30 hours there will much spiritual warfare going on with the Virginia church (always happens for the groups...in fact usually happens a week before). Please pray that they will be determined to come and that the Lord will not only use them mightly to minister to Lily, but that their lives would be forever impacted for the Lord's Kingdom. Once you have looked into the eyes of an orphan...you are never the same!!!