Another Urgent Prayer Request

We are beginning to feel the ripple effects of getting orphan-status for the children at Lily and other orphanages. DIF is contacting the parents and pressuring them to terminate their rights. A dad of the sibling group of Ana,Gabby, Antonio and Jacqueline has arrived at the orphanage this weekend and he is demanding to take the kids into his custody. Apparently he has 'papers' from DIF which will allow this. This is a very complicated case where this man is the dad to some of the children, but not all and the mother is deceased. He has also raped one of the girls. Please help us pray that he will not be able to take the children tomorrow.

Our Amazing God is still at work...

The following is the lastest update: First, Angel's surgery on his arm lasted 6 hours! He also has a broken leg and nose....no more broken bones!

Secondly, the exciting news is that when Mama and Papa talked to him he told them: "God gave me a second chance at heaven; I asked Jesus to be my Savior"! However, the other 3 boys also prayed to receive Chirst! They told Jean that Angel "...is a different boy. He's telling others in the hospital about Jesus". Praise God for His wondrous power to use a bad accident to bring eternal life to 4 boys and much glory to Himself! Angel will be cared for in a private home for a time because he will need more care than they could give at the orphanage.

Urgent Prayer Request

Angel, the oldest son that Riley's are trying to adopt, has been in an accident. He was one of 2 boys riding in the back of the old blue Ford Ranger that flipped over when the driver lost control of the vehicle. He has several broken bones...the worst being a broken arm that will require a large metal plate and many screws. The surgery is today, August 23rd at 12 noon Chihuahua time. The other 3 boys are out of the hospital and the worst of the three had 32 stitches. Angel was injured more severely than the others, but apparently he was concerned for the other kids, seeing a lot of blood, and ran back to the orphanage for help (over 2 kilometers). He did this with a broken leg, foot, nose and a severely broken arm. Apparently he collapsed after he made it to the orphanage to get help for the others.

I will do my best to update you on his progress. This accident has happened after a revival broke out at Lily. The enemy is fighting...

Update from Lopez family visit

I just received an e-mail from my friend, Martha Lopez. Her family just returned from Lily and Santa Rosa. I know you will be blessed by her letter as I was:

Hola everyone!
We want to thank everyone for their prayers and support during our trip to Chihuahua. As always, God is glorified and praised for the great and mighty things He has done and is doing. Thank the Lord that much was accomplished but there is still so much work to be done. We miss the people and the children terribly but we know that God has an amazing plan for Lily, Santa Rosa and for us.

Praise the Lord everything was crossed successfully through the Mexican border - no problems. Yes, the Lord does blind the eyes of those custom officials! Everything from school supplies, shoes, clothing, lotions, vitamins, 10 comforters for the little girl's dorm, commerical kitchen items, a wheelchair and etc., etc., arrived safely at its destination with much thanks and joy. Thank you so much to God's children who gave - we wish that you could see for yourself the smiles you bring to each child from Lily to the sierra. We were also able to stock up Lily's food pantry and buy food for the sierra from the generous donations from Town East Baptist and others who gave cash donations. Thank you hermanos! All school supplies were purchased here in Dallas and were received by a kinder teacher in Santa Rosa - she was overjoyed and thankful and said now the children will have adequate school supplies for the year. What a blessing!

The Lord is doing amazing things at Lily. The Spirit truly does move in that place and we were so humbled to be part of it through morning prayer and devotionals. I believe this is what we miss the most - we have committed ourselves to seeking more of HIM as our brothers and sisters do at Lily and the example that Mama and Papa are to us is worth all the struggles we go through (which is minimal compared to what they go through on a daily basis).

We were able to take 8 girls (Belem, Fabiola, Luz, Chela, Juanita, Vickie, Rubi & Marcela) to Santa Rosa. The girls helped w/ the Bible studies and crafts for the children, and they helped in the kitchen - the Lord once again provided food for over 100 people! We did home visits and took food to the needy families of the church (this food was provided by Lily as the kids gave $1800 pesos = to $180 US. which was collected in one morning by the children and the staff! ) They also gave 3 bags full of clothes and toys, something Papa Lalo calls Ofrenda Loca (Crazy Offering). This is another example Lily gives us - their spirit of giving. We know why the Lord blesses them so much.

There is spiritual warfare going on at Lily - God is doing mighty things there and Satan is on the prowl - please keep God's servants (Ed and Rosa Salo and their staff) in your prayers as they fight daily Satanic attacks and as they minister to hurting and abondened children. Please pray for missionary Raul Jimenez, 66 year old servant of God who perseveres in taking the gospel to the sierras of Chihuahua. There is a small church in Santa Rosa meeting on a weekly basis and they have a need of their own building which is being built slowly as lack of funds keep the building from being finished. Raul lives in Chihuahua and travels 3 hours once a week to go preach and meet w/ the church - not just in Santa Rosa but in surrounding communities. Pray for his safety and strength and that God will raise a leader, someone to pastor this infant and growing church in the sierra.

As always there are so, so many stories to tell and share but I find myself at loss for words and you probably don't want to sit here and read a long e-mail as you are already. I'll be bold and say this though, that we as Christians here in the US need to remember our Brothers and Sisters in Christ in other countries who truly know what it's like to struggle, what it's like to go without and who truly know what persecution is. I saw a video last week on prayer and something caught my attention - the speaker said - don't pray for the hungry if you have food to share. We are so abundantly blessed in this wonderful country, the church in the US is blessed abundantly but may we feel uncomfortable when we have food to share and we don't, when we have extra money to buy fast food or other needless things(fast food is bad for you anyways :) but we can't give extra to missions. Someone asked me why we go to Chihuahua - I found the answer to the question these past 2 weeks - because there are faithful Christians in Mexico and around the world praying that we go, that we give, praying that we would care. When we go, God is answering their prayers, when we give to expand His kingdom and to feed his little children - not just physically but more importantly spiritually - God is answering their prayers. "Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act." Proverbs 3:27 Thanks once again to our "hermanos" who do give and do care - may the Lord continue to bless you.

Next trip to Chihuahua prayerfully will be December 12 -19. "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

En el Servicio del Señor,
Familia Lopez

A Lily Update

There have been many things happening at Lily and I wanted to update everyone. First of all, Martha gave birth to a healthy baby boy yesterday and both Martha and the baby are doing fine. I heard that he is very handsome with lots of thick black hair. There is a family who is exploring the option of adopting Martha, her baby and Martha's 2 brothers. Please help me be in prayer over this. Until then, Martha and the baby will be living with Tia Rapha. I am very excited about this option. It is an answer to much prayer.

A couple weeks ago, while Ed and Rosa were visiting Ed's family in the states, someone walked into the cafeteria and stole the TV, guitars, keyboard and amplifier. You can imagine the sad faces as these things have brought much joy to the children. It sounds like the group that is visiting there now is replacing the television set...which is a blessing. Let's pray in some musical instruments for the kids as well!

I want to throw this out to you. The first week in September, I am hoping we can fly Alex and his family up to Michigan and Minnesota to fuel his interest in helping with future adoptions. It sounds like the cost will be approximately $2,000 in total. If any of you believe in adoptions and would like to help donate money towards this venture, I believe it will yield big results. Alex and his wife have had to testify before the judge for every adoption and say that they have seen the area where the children will be living. It would be so much easier for them to do this after visiting and seeing these places in person. We are especially excited for the opportunity they will have to personally talk with the former Lily kids who have been adopted to see how great they are doing. If any of you are interested in helping, please let me know. My e-mail address is lsbeggs@yahoo.com.

The Chihuahua DIF is actively working on 'orphan-status' for many of the children at Lily. The head of DIF has also given us the names of 11 children who they would like the adoption agency to find homes for. This is the answer to prayer we have asked for. If you would like to explore the option of adoption, please contact Amy Twedt, who will be our contact person for future adoptions. Her number is: amy@prtel.com

Please keep praying for each person at Lily. Satan is fighting, but GOD IS BIGGER!

Videos just for YOU!!! Thanks for loving Lily!!!

LOVE THE MUSIC!!!


Jackie and Irwing dancing!!!


Ahhh...Andrea!





Getting rid of the lumps in the brownies! They turned out great! Good job Fabiola!



This one is for you Mark and Jean!!!



David Moul and Noema had a contest to see who chew a lime without puckering first!



How many girls can fit in a white van??? Think again!



More singing!



FBC at Lily!



Leslie's graduation



water park fun...Aaron Hepworth coming through!!!



Ramon spending the last few minutes with his friends before he heads back home.



a cute little guy...



Briza and Cielo...what talent!!!



Thanks TC Westside for the fiesta! The girls send their love!


The boys loved their party too. Thanks again, TC Westside!




Ramon...I know you weren't able to attend church the Sunday you were there...so I taped a song for you!

I have to tell you about my flight home. Leaving was tremendously hard...as you can imagine, but the Lord reminded me that I wasn't leaving my 'mission field'. As I was leaving Dallas, a lady sitting next to me commended on the book I was reading, Adopted for Life. She asked me what it was all about...and of course I shared about the book and my passion. Then she told me she was flying into Grand Rapids, Michigan to meet her blood-daughter...first time she has seen her in 17 years. She was very nervous and I was able to share with her about meeting my bloodmother. God also placed a man on the other side of her who had adopted 2 boys from South Korea many years ago. It was fun to realize that God had placed me on that flight at that exact moment to help her through the flight. I was able to see the 'reunion' in GR once we landed. Of course my eyes flooded with tears, but I know that I know that I know that adoption works...and God uses adoption "to place the lonely in families and give them joy"!

Many of you are asking God about the possibility of adoption. Keep praying! Once I hear from DIF that we have children available...I'll be able to advise you towards the next step and post the great news on the blog. There are millions of the orphans in the world who are dreaming of a forever home. Maybe you're the answer to one of their dreams.

All for Jesus...Linda

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!