Answered Prayers

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for Darrell's wife, Maureen. Your prayers are working! Darrell tells us that about 75% of Maureen's pain has gone. After the doctor put 3 needles in her back, a large portion of the pain left. Praise God! We look forward to more updates on Maureen's health and will continue to pass on any news.

Tuesdays at 3:00?

As Claire, Lucy, and I walked in late to church this morning, there were no seats left except up in the first row next to the Pastor. So, we walked up front, and sat down. Even though we were 45 minutes late, this isn't a problem at our little church here in Mexico and they welcomed us with warm smiles.

As I sat down, the pastor leaned over to me and asked,"do you play instruments". I said, "yes." He then asked, "can you teach lessons?" I said with a shrug, "yes" the shrug meaning, "I guess so."

Five minutes later, during the announcements, the pastor let everyone know that I was going to be teaching music lessons to the church youth. He then looked at me and asked, "what day do you want to teach?" I said, "I don't know, Tuesday?"

"Morning or afternoon?" I asked. He is looking at me like, it's up to you. "Afternoon? 3:00?" I answered my own question.

So, there it is Tuesdays at 3:00, committed. It happened kind of fast, but truly this is an answer to prayer. Claire and I have been doing quite a bit of physical work on our home and around our mission building, but that has just secluded us from the community. It is easier, I don't have to try to communicate in Spanish, and the results are more obvious. But, we are ready to dive in and commit to working with people. To do things, like music lessons, to build relationships and to let Jesus' love live through us, encouraging others to follow him. But, it is scary for us to step into this realm of being "real missionaries." Although, we are excited and glad that God is placing these opportunities in front of us.

Please pray that we will be committed into more peoples' lives, and that Jesus' desire to know and save people is apparent in our lives.

Wrapping up Blaine Christian Fellowships Trip

Blaine Christian Fellowship left yesterday morning and we were sad to see them go. What a wonderful group! The mission feels so quiet and empty now that they have left. They were a very mature and helpful group of kids and they were led by a wonderful couple, Justin and Ann. They spent ten days, each of which was full of activity. The first weekend, they gave Danny and Angela a break, and had a lot of fun too, by taking the kids from the children's home to the beach. During the week they spent time in the mornings doing "grunt" work over on the hill by the children's home. After a long morning and lunch, their afternoons were full with practicing for Vacation Bible School and then bringing a group of about 20 kids from the community together to do the games, activities, songs, and crafts they had prepared. The kids looked forward to it everyday.

I know the students were very impacted by the people they met who live near and work in the fields here. They were able to interact a lot with Sara and the people who live near her for the season. (These people will return to their homes in Southern Mexico after the work slows down.) They spent time playing soccer with Sara's kids and meeting Jesus, as well as handing out groceries and toiletries to people in need. They met Sara and her family the first weekend and then picked the kids up to go to VBS all week. They also provided much-needed diapers for Jesus. We were blessed to share meals with Sara and some of her neighbors at the mission after VBS.

We had a great time of fellowship and fun with this group and hope to see this group again. If any of you are reading, PLEASE post some comments on how your trip affected your life! We would love to get feedback.

The following pictures are: kids at the beach gathering for watermelon; Sara's family with Michael Hernandez, who led the group; and the kids and group on the last night of their stay - we had a pinata, fire, and informal talent show

Blaine Christian Fellowship Arrives

Hola! A group from Blaine Christian Fellowship in Washington arrived this afternoon. Of the eight kids, the Youth Pastor Justin and his wife, Ann, only one has been to Mexico before. We are excited for them to experience Mexico for the first time. Michael Hernandez, who has been involved with the mission since the beginning and is now a member of our Board of Directors, as well as a good friend of ours, is leading the group. Please pray for their time here!

It is a welcome change from our daily life to have a group visit. Nic is back in the kitchen, providing three delicious meals a day. Lucy and I are supporting Nic in the kitchen duties (instead of me cooking all of our meals while Nic works on projects, so I'm happy for the break.) The mission is such a happy, warm place when it is filled with people and we really enjoy the fellowship of having short-term mission groups here.

No more classes, No more books...

The kids go to a local school here in town and they had their end-of-the-school-year ceremony yesterday! It was so much fun to see them dressed up. For Jazmin and Jose, as well as Sara's boy James, it was a very special day because they graduated from the Primaria (elementary school) and will go to the Segundaria (middle school) in August. Darrell is the Padrino (or godfather) of Jazmin, Jose, and James, so he walked them up to receive their certificate on this special day.