God is working!!

Hi friends! Last week I explained how we were able to visit this new family and share with them. Well we were able to bless them with some blankets from a blanket ministry that has been such a blessing to so many and we also were able to give them some clothing. (I have been going through all of our clothing  because we are trying to start a clothing closet at a church nearby.) Well, we took some of Annie's clothing and gave it to this family. When we arrived this week, this precious little girl was wearing one of her old dresses. That made us feel so good to know that we were able to help this family. BUT... it should make one of you feel good too! Because, Beth Spray that is the dress that you gave Annie a LONG time ago and now it is being passed on again! So, you just never know where your clothes are going to end up! ;o)

This little one couldn't quite wear Annie's clothing so we will have to look for some for her! How cute is she?

This woman was so excited about receiving her blanket!

This woman had her baby just a few days ago and was happy to have a blanket too!

This is how many here make their money. They make handmade pottery. Each one of those bowl is worth about 25 cents. They struggle. 

We are trying to have more "family days." Last Sunday we had a family day and had a great day at this awesome park. We played board games, had a picnic, Annie rode her bike, and the boys played a little football. It was a great day! 

Annie always makes friends wherever she goes. Wonder where she gets that? ;o)

This was a little drama that happened in front of our home this week. An 18 wheeler went over the speed bump in front of our home a little too fast and the bottom fell out. It was kinda funny. They had to call another truck, empty all the drinks they were hauling into it and then the put a belt around the empty one and all went on their way. It was fun to watch. 

This has been one of the things we have been spending a lot of time on... discipleship. We are working with believers in about 4 or 5 villages, helping them to understand things more in depth. It is kinda like a seminary on a very small scale. Then they are taking what they are learning and putting it into practice in small groups in their villages. It seems to be going well! 

This is one of the men who Greg has been helping. He was telling his first story to a group here. It went really well!

During church, Annie does childcare! ;o) 

This is what the church has collected so far for our clothing ministry. We are excited about this ministry and do hope it will be up and running in a few weeks. It is neat to see some rather poor people giving what they have to bless others that have even less. I learn more from these people than I will ever teach them!

This is the street where one of our church groups is located. I like to see the house on the left with the meter attached to it. 

These are two of the boys in the church we helped with today. They were happy doing a simple craft. We take so much for granted, like crayons. 

Annie made another friend! 

So, now you know what we have been doing for the last week. There is so much work here to be done, it is just crazy. So many people are just waiting for someone to come and tell them about Him. We are just trying to find time to reach them all! 

On a somewhat sad note, please pray for the Cretzman family. www.cretzmanstocuba.com  They are going to be celebrating the life of their 3 year old daughter tomorrow. (Monday) She died last week in a car accident when they were on their way to visit a church in Ohio and their van slid on black ice and they hit an interstate sign. It is a sad story but their faith is amazing and very inspiring. Please lift them up! Blessings to you all! Missy

Open Doors

Hi friends! I hope you all had a great day yesterday. I have been sick for the past week and yesterday was my first day of really feeling halfway normal. So we set out on a mission to bless Annie's friends. Annie's love language is definitely gift giving. She loves to give people gifts. She made cupcakes with Daddy and then crafts with me. Then we went to her friend's homes and delivered them all. It was fun!

While I was laying in bed sick my superhero husband was out saving the world! ;o) We have been trying to start a new work in a village about an hour from here. It is a village that has been known to have a lot of resistance to the Word. So we have prayed about it and about a month ago Greg went to visit a family that that lived in this village with one of their mutual friends. The visit went well and they were invited back this past week. Only this time they were asked to share from God's Word. Greg said it was an awesome day and they loved hearing stories from God's Word. One man said he even wanted to give his whole heart to the Lord and make Him his Savior. This family invited them back and asked if they could start coming every week to share more stories with them. So the door has been opened to this village and we couldn't be happier! Yay God!! 

These were the women in this family making a meal for Greg and his friends who came to visit them.

They start early here.

Lastly, for Valentine's Day my sweet husband gave me the best gift I think he could have given me. This new piece of furniture has transformed my kitchen in ways I could have only imagined! I am soooo happy! I love you all and hope you are all as blessed as I feel! Love to you all! Missy

We found a man here who makes furniture and he made it to our specifications.

Isn't it pretty? I love it! I am happy, happy, happy!

My present to the family was homemade pizza. 

They all made their own individual pizzas and they were yummy. 

This is Annie's pizza.

We even had cheese breadsticks. It was a good day! 

Our week in photos

Hi friends! I hope this finds all of you having a wonderful Superbowl Sunday! I have to say I am so out of the loop I just found out it was Superbowl Sunday on Friday when Greg mentioned that we needed to plan our menu for the game. ;o) So as you can see life is a tiny bit different here. 

We spent most of the week out of town. We did some homeschool field trips and learned about another people group a few hours away from here. It was sooo interesting to see how different people groups live, believe, worship, etc... There were many similarities in our people group and some that were very different. Hope you enjoy the photos.

Last Saturday (before we left on our trip) we had 3 friends put their faith in Christ and have decided to follow Him no matter what. For some of you that may not seem like a big deal. However, many of them have to overcome many obstacles just to come to our study. So for them, this is a VERY big decision. We were so happy for them! Please pray that they will be blessed and that as they grow in their faith their husbands would be drawn to know Him as well. 

We ate at very yummy Italian restaurant to celebrate Greg's 43d birthday. Annie ordered a pizza and they brought it out to her to make. She loved it!

That is a smiley face with a tongue licking it's lips.

The staff singing to Greg.

He gets cuter each year!

So we went from one extreme to another. This was another restaurant we ate in. ;o)

This little one was too precious but was so hungry she ended up eating almost all of the food we ordered.  It was her mom's restaurant. 

lunch. 

This was her mom. She was sweet but has led such a tough life. She left her mom and dad when she was 8 years old to go to Mexico City to try and find work. She said she had no shoes and never ate so she left  to find work so she could eat. She is happy that her daughter isn't starving. Of course I was thinking, "Then why did she eat my entire plate of food?" She lives out in the middle of nowhere and has a disabled son too. Her husband is disabled as well and it was just she and her mother-in-law trying to keep things going. She looked hollow to me. Like she had no hope. 

We visited a place near her restaurant that their people group are known to use as a place of worship. I took this picture there. 

It was quite large. We were the only people there so it looks even bigger! Everything there had a symbolic meaning.  However, basically it is a place to worship the sun and pray for rain, good crops, and fertile soil. Every first Sunday of the month they said it is filled with people and they come and do dances and pray to the sun. 

These cone shaped houses are opened on Sundays and that is where they go to pray. 

This little fellow was cut out of the bushes and I have no idea what he is supposed to symbolize but I believe he symbolizes something because everything else had a meaning. 

This is the sun, with 3 little nuts in front of it. It was quite impressive, just sad that people actually still pray to things like this. 

Me and my honey with a beautiful view behind us. 

My 3 little goofballs dancing in the fire where dancers normally dance for rain! Must have done something because it rained soon after! ;o) 

This is what the typical clothing the women of this people group where. It is much more simple than our people wear now, but looked much less expensive and more comfortable! But... not near as pretty!

This guy was supposed to be a messenger. He would take the messages that were given to him to the sun. 

These were some of the views we saw on our trip. So pretty.

It was quite chilly where we were and up on the mountains you can see it was snow covered. It made for a very pretty picture!

This is how most of the homes looked. No paint, no brick, it was all cinder block. And some shacks too.

This was made of just about everything. Trash, car parts, you name it. 

We saw some houses painted, but not like where we live now.

This was a very sweet girl we met who told us just about everything we could possibly need or want to know about this people group. She and Annie hit it off! Annie could make friends with a wall if she needed to! ;o)

We saw this a lot. We haven't seen ANY turkeys where we live so this is a lot different. But we didn't see many cows and we have those everywhere here. They were probably a lot thinner too, but I didn't really notice! ;o)

After our research trip we rewarded the kids with playing in a heated pool.  

Locos!

There was an arcade that had these cool cars and Annie had fun on them!

We also went to a very cool mall, where Annie walked some interesting dogs!

So as you can see we had a great time, learned a lot and now my family is watching the game. Well, all but me. SO I guess I should go be part of the American tradition and watch the Superbowl game! Love to all!!