Okay so, it has been a month since I have updated our blog. It seems as if that is becoming the norm. I thought I would give you all a quick glimpse of what our month was like. We had fun, worked hard, cried some, and laughed a lot. But... mostly we just enjoyed being a family. We ain't perfect but we always have each other's backs. Enjoy the update.
We had Backwards Day at school. See... told you we had each other's back!
We celebrated Mexico's Independence Day.
We were getting ready for a Shoe event. This was an event where a Mexican church from about 3 1/2 hours away, came on a mission trip to our area and brought about 500 pairs of shoes with them. They have a heart for our people here and wanted to share the love of Jesus and His Word with those who attended. It was a huge success!
Greg was helping put up a tarp before the rain came.
Kiddos singing praise and worship songs.
Paco, ( he was cut out of this picture) telling the significance of the colors in the salvation bracelet. All the kids were very interested in this story.
Even with shoes all around them, the kids were still focused on the story and not the shoes. I must say, I was shocked.
There were a few, like little Mr. red shirt that were dreaming of which shoes he would choose, but for the most part, they were listening to the story.
Then it came time to receive shoes. This little girl was too precious.
Our friends, Brie and Aaron came to see how this event was done. They are part of a human needs team here in Mexico. This really wasn't our event so it was done differently than we normally do it, but they enjoyed seeing the people being blessed, and we of course enjoyed having them.
The last post I told about how we were trying to get into a new village. We were able to bless about 20 different people with blankets, soup, and rice.
This house is one that is always hard to see. There are 8 people that live in that home. A single mom lives there with her children. Her husband died from drinking himself to death. She now has the burden of raising her children on her own with no support from anyone. I get tired of hearing the ever popular "Prosperity Gospel" being preached. If you don't know what I am talking about, it boils down to a name and claim it type of thinking. Well... I am quite sure this woman has said, I want to have enough money to feed my kids, I want to have a warm home, I want to have a different life, I want to be happy. However, no matter what she would say in the mirror ( if she owns one) I don't think that would change her fate. A relationship with Jesus is the only way she is ever going to have peace in her life. She may find Jesus and still live in that shack, and struggle to find food for her kids and still be cold at night, but... she would have a peace in her heart that no amount of chanting in front of a mirror will give her. Because... saying you will have peace in your life won't cause you to have it, only Jesus can give you that.
We blessed this woman with a blanket. She was sitting on the floor because she has for some reason lost all ability to walk. She has no money to visit the doctor so she doesn't know why she can't walk. This is when it gets so hard. Hence the comment on tears that I made above. Sometimes we see people so desperate. Their lives are so sad and they have no hope. We obviously cannot physically help everyone we meet. The needs are far too great. However, what we can do is share Christ with them and give them the hope of Jesus.
In this village there are 2 families that had their homes burn to the ground. They lost everything. We are hoping to be able to help these families in some way as well. As I said, before... so many needs.
This was the team we took with us to share shoes in this village. The pastor we work with very closely, 4 youth from Jerod and Alex's youth group, and one family (not pictured here) that are leaders of one of our small groups.
The way we have done our shoe events is very controlled. We do it one on one and talk to each person that is given shoes. We try and let them all know that the shoes are a gift from God. So that every time they look at their shoes they will know that God loves them. We also let them know that these shoes were given by people in the US or in MX to show the love of Jesus to them.
At this event the people were invited by the town mayor. He decided who had the most needs and invited them first. Then after we had given them shoes, it was first come first serve until he kindly told them we would be back again. This town is very different than any we have been in. They all put their name on a list and we will serve them in that order the next time we visit. They didn't even complain. This was the mob outside waiting to put their name on the list.
This was how is looked from inside the room we were inside. They were waiting patiently for their turn. Many didn't get a turn, but didn't complain. I was sad we couldn't give them all shoes, but there is always next time.
The town mayor who has been a delight to work with!
Okay, so this is out of order a tiny bit. We celebrated my birthday a few days ago. I am blessed! So blessed!
They gave me some movie tickets, favorite candy, and fancy teas!
We celebrated a baptism with one of our sweet little church groups. It is a small group of almost all women, but we love these women!
After the baptism, we took some pictures of some of the women and kids.
This is Diana, she was the one who was baptized. She has a tough life.. her husband is in a rehab center for alcohol and drugs, and she is trying to get her life on the right track.
This cute woman wanted her picture taken but didn't want to show her teeth! Too precious!
I was so mad, I had the camera on the wrong setting and missed the under-water shot or coming out of the water shot. But... it was still awesome!
We were eating and I looked down and saw this little guy gnawing on a bone. I asked what it was and his mama said it was a pig's foot. ;o)
I had a ton of flip-flops that no one had ever wanted. So... I gave them all away at the baptism. They were delighted!
Waiting for the baptism to begin.
Somedays I get lonely without having any friends around, but... I must say, being with this man 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, is truly the best gift I have been given. I believe that he is the only person who could put up with me as well as he does!
