Grandma needing more prayer!

Dear friends,

I sometimes don't want to post 2 things right in a row for fear you won't read them both. I know I am stupid! ;o} Anyway, Greg took Salvador, Angelica and "Grandma" to a hospital that is about 2 hours away, today. That is where she had been receiving her chemo. They were hoping that the Dr. would say the reason she had gotten worse was just a side effect of the stronger chemo. However, Greg just called and said the Dr. told them the chemo had not helped her any at all. He told them to get pain medicine, keep her pain-free and wait. This will be very difficult for Salvador to accept. He is not a strong man and struggles in all areas of his life. Please pray that Grandma could have a quick and pain-free passing and that Salvador would not return to his old self, drinking heavily. Thank you all for your continued prayers! We really love you!!

God continues to move!

This is Moises and Francisca, they are new and PRECIOUS!! They have been coming every chance they have. They are very hungry for God's word and are excited for the opportunity to grow in their knowledge of the Bible. Please pray for them as we can see God doing great things with them!

This was our first Monday night in our new building. We are feeling as if God is moving in ways that only He can move! After our meeting Friday night on marriage, the leaders asked Greg if he would share the same study with the entire group. So he decided that was a good idea and that is what we did. The topic of marriage is very interesting to them and they all really wanted to know how God felt a marriage was supposed to work. We had a great discussion and everyone was pleased with how it all went.

Jerod and Alex have really been working hard to find things to keep all of the kids occupied. Sometimes they are with the kids for a good hour or more and they have really done a great job! Do you know people who always brag on their kids and you get sooo tired of hearing it? Well..... I am sorry, I just HAVE to brag on them! They have tried so hard to find things that will keep 13 kids interested and will teach them something about God. Please pray for them as they continue to be a light to these children.

I mentioned that the priest has been waking me up each morning at 6 am, he is still doing that! :o} However the other day he made an announcement after he played the music. He said, "All of San Lorenzo needs to come to Mass now. If you do not come, that means you are a protestant and we don't want any of those in our village." Ya know, I am no Bible scholar, but I am pretty sure that isn't what Jesus would do! ;o) Please pray for this man. He could really cause us a lot of problems. Everyone knows we are protestants and if he convinces them that we are "bad" we could very easily get kicked out of here. I don't think that will happen, but.... anything is possible. So, please pray that God would have His way!

Friday night lights!

I think that is a show in the states, right? Well, here it means that we now have lights in our new building and we can meet on Friday nights. ;o) We had our first meeting last night and we really enjoyed ourselves. I know it's not all about numbers, but it gives you more of a visual. We had 12 adults and 10 kids. 10 of the adults were couples we thought would come and then a mother and her daughter-in-law came. They have only attended our Monday night study once, so that was a pleasant suprise! Jerod is still doing the craft and Bible lesson with the kids. It didn't go so well his first night, but I think once they get used to the new setting, things will calm down. We studied what the Bible says about marriage. We had a lot of discussion about what it means to be a submissive wife and what it means to love your wife like Christ loved the church. That was a very interesting and entertaining conversation! You guys just don't know what you are missing! Do you know how many times I wish you were with me. I am always thinking, I can't wait to share this with my friends on the blog!

Anyway, things are going well. Virginia, who I mentioned in the last post, is still doing about the same. I fear she may linger here for awhile before He takes her home. A PRAISE is that the music at 6 am took a break on Thursday morning and then today it didn't start playing until 8:30 am so, I have gotten a few days of "sleeping in!"

I have a prayer request for some other missionary friends who are with another organization. They live in a village with an indigenous group also. They have done a great job entering into this village and making relationships among the people. This is a group of people who are very closed to having foreigners live among them, however, they have embraced this family. Until recently everything was going well and they had started a small study in the house of some believers in the village. People were coming to know Jesus as their Savior and you could see the hand of God moving in this village. However, a few people have seemed to be bothered by God's movement and have made threats that they are going to be brought in front of the local government in the village. Some are saying they want to have them thrown out of the village. (This has happened to foreigners who have lived there in the past) This family has peace that God has everything under control, but we would like to ask you to pray that His will is done! We are praying that they can continue to work among these people and that this village will soon see a movement of God's hand like never before! Thanks for praying!

Another Grandma needing prayer!

This is "Grandma" her real name is Virginia. About 6 months ago they discovered she had cancer. The Drs. felt she had probably had this cancer for about 4 years. It was spreading. Her son, Salvador, ( who we have mentioned many times before is a recovering alcoholic) was determined to use all of their money to fight this cancer. So for the past 6 months she has been recieving chemo. A few weeks ago they decided to give her 4 times as much chemo as before. They felt this was because she was getting better, however Greg and I thought it was their last effort to help her. Last night we went to see her and pray over her and she was the worst we have seen her. Her lungs have filled up with fluid and she couldn't breath very easily. We feel her time is near the end and are asking you to pray for her family. (She is comfortable and in no pain!) She accepted the Lord as her one and only Savior about 5 months ago and we feel sure she is ready to meet her maker. However, some of her family don't understand this and are all very concerned about her future. Please pray she will not linger here on earth in a state of unconciousness for long and her family will feel the peace of God during this time. We thank you for your prayers!

GOOD MORNING ..........!!!

Do any of you remember the movie, Good Morning Vietnam? Well.... I think I am secretly being filmed for it's sequel. Each year our village gets a new priest. This year is no different and the new priest has started off the year with a bang! Our village has big speakers above the houses and you can pay to have someone make an announcement that you are selling bread or meat or whatever you want to say. You can even just have them announce that you are very happy you have a new grandchild. Whatever. So, we are very used to announcements being made at all hours of the day, usually from 7am-11:30pm. Well, the new priest has this tradition of playing about 6 songs on the loud speaker to let everyone know it is time for Mass. No problem. EXCEPT he does this EVERY day at 6am. Yes EVERY day at 6am. I am not a morning person, and this is NOT fun for me! It is kinda becoming comical because no one is happy about this and we are all trying to figure out how to sleep through the LOUD music which lasts 30 minutes. He then begins his sermon over the loud speaker by saying,"Good morning San Lorenzo!!" So, when you are asleep on Saturday or Sunday or Monday or whatever day, you can think of me lying in my bed, with cotton sticking out of my ears and a pillow over my head trying to shut out the noise and thanking God for this precious man! ;o) Just had to share!

51!

This was in our new place of worship, you can't see
them all, but they are all there!



Last night couldn't have gone any better! No kidding,we were absolutely floored with how God worked! We started out at our home and we didn't have enough room. (or chairs) Which was huge because it made them better understand the need to move locations. Greg shared with them that a church isn't a building but a body of believers and we were that body. He then told them we would all go over to Barbara's home and finish our study there. So, ALL 41 walked across the street a bit and entered into our new place of worship. Not 5 minutes later 10 more NEW faces entered into our group. We couldn't have been happier! I was crying with JOY! Our group had purchased chairs and it was made clear last night that they will need to buy more! Please continue to pray for us as we continue on this journey! God bless you!

God's plan

Icho and Barbara, happy about what God is doing!


Now you know why my legs and arms hurt!






I was trying to show these Purepecha women
that I AM NOT some weak American that can't
do manual labor. Of course I was thinking, "I
will pay tomorrow!" And I am! ;o)



Moving some roof covering off the floor and
onto the roof.



Job done!

Hi everyone, I write to you all with a very happy heart, sore legs and arms and a very big smile! Yesterday we had a work day at Barbara's home. ( home of our new meeting place) I know it was Sunday, but it was the only day it could be done, so I think God understood! It was a great day and in a matter of a few hours we had the room looking like a Purepecha church! Windows and doors are being made and chairs have been purchased.

Only about half of our group know of this decision to change locations. After the leaders of our group talked yesterday, they all decided we would start meeting there as soon as possible. So... tonight, (Monday) we will all start our meeting at our house and then we will take everyone over to Barbara's home to show them what God has had planned for many years. We are wondering how everyone will take this, and hoping they will all be excited about the new place of worship! Please pray that everyone will feel God's presence and that they will all know this is what God has planned for them. After we were done and we were admiring our work, Barbara said, " I think God has had this planned for many years. I always wanted to use this room for a tv room or something and never did. I never knew why until now." She went on to say, " I know that the criticism is coming, but that is okay, I am strong and ready." PLEASE pray for them. We know that the people, Barbara's family included, will be very critical of them. We are praying that God's blessings on their lives will far out number the amount of criticism they will receive. My smile has turned to tears now as I write, I am thinking of this sweet, precious woman who is truly willing to lay down EVERYTHING for Christ. I don't understand why, when people change for the good and want to follow Christ, that is when they are criticized most. I guess some things haven't changed that much since the days of Christ.