Poverity and Drunks

My friends. This is Estella, her 12 year old daughter, Rosa and her mother, Irmalinda. Estella was at my home today cleaning and when she was done I drove her home. I don't normally do this but we had a box of food to give her and it was too heavy to carry to her home. So we arrived at her home and her daughter ran outside speaking extremely fast in their indigenous language and said that Estella's husband had escaped the rehab center and was there at the house. She said he arrived at the house already drunk and was screaming at her and her brother. So Rosa ran into their home grabbed her shawl and a bag with some shoes in it and left. I drove the two of them to her mother's home and that is where she will stay until things calm down. Poor Estella. Her worst nightmare has come true. Only sooner than she had hoped. Please pray.

Here is a picture of Estella's mom's home.

We went to visit Marielena and Alfre, her son. They said that she was not going to lose her home and she was doing well for now. She even had a smile on her face! Please keep praying!

We went to the house of our blind friend, Irma. She wasn't home b/c her husband had been drinking all week and it just isn't safe for her there when he is drinking. She was at her son's home. Her daughter-in-law allowed me to take pictures of Irma's home. Remember this is a very sick, blind women and this is how she lives. Sadly, this is still much better than how Estella lives.

This is the other side of the home. Her kitchen in the corner.

I just liked this photo of the pots on the wall and the view in the background.  It also shows that it probably gets pretty cold in there.

This is the outside of the home.

This was Irma's daughter-in-law's home. 3 people live there.

This is the road in front of Irma's home. The view is beautiful, but she can't see it. It also happens to be the same view we have in our backyard. We are blessed. I thank God for my health and my vision!

Please pray for our friends. The poverty is bad and the alcoholism is worse. The two together makes for a very depressing life. It depresses me every day I see it. Love you all! Missy

My Estella

Okay, so it isn't the greatest picture of me, but it isn't about me, so overlook it, okay? I just love this lady.     I mean, the more I am around her the more I just want to take my arms and just squeeze her tight. After posting the story of how she lived I got a chance to talk to her a little about her situation. 

She got married at 13 years old. She married very young because she was scared of her step father because he continually tried to do things to her that made her feel uncomfortable. So, she decided that it would be better to get married to a guy she had only known for 15 days. This would be the husband she has been married to for 17 years now. She said that out of those 17 years the longest time he has gone sober was 4 months. He will get out of a rehab center at the end of this month and she is scared. ( He has been in and out of rehab numerous times and she says he never lasts more than a month) She said when he gets out he will probably make her quit going to the Bible study. She said, "He doesn't have much else to destroy, he has ripped up our floor, torn up our beds, there isn't much else to tear apart, except for me." She said he has never touched her kids, he only hits her. I am begging you to pray for her. Pray for him. I am consumed by thoughts of her; of her life. I would do just about anything for her. Only I don't know what to do, except ask the one who created her for help. Love you all! Missy 

Broken Heart

Sometimes living here will just break my heart until it truly hurts.

I have no picture to show you the reason for my broken heart because I thought if I took a picture of what broke my heart, it just might break the heart of the already broken. Make sense? In other words, I didn't want to offend this precious woman who has become a dear friend to me.

Let me explain. When we moved here I started praying about a maid. I needed to hire a maid b/c with teaching 3 children and having some kind of ministry obligation 5 nights a week, I was needing some help. Now finding a maid isn't the hard part, finding someone I trust and that I thought would be a decent helper was an entirely different story. So I prayed. I thought I found someone when I met Marielena. (She was pictured in the last post and was in jeopardy of losing her home) However; that did not work out b/c her in-laws would not allow her to work. Then I found this sweet woman named Estella. She has 2 children who are 13 and 16. Precious lady who attends one of the Bible studies we are working with. She came to my home and did an excellent job and I started to learn more about her life. Her husband is an addict. I mean in every sense of the word. Alcohol, drugs, you name it. He is in a rehab center right now and she says when he is there, she has peace in her life. ( He has been there before) When he is home all he does is work for a little bit to get money for his addictions and then he destroys what little they have. I didn't know where she lived until last night. I went to her home and saw how she lived, right before we started church. I cried through the entire service.

In the 5 1/2 years that I have lived outside of the US, I have seen a lot of poor people.  None of them have been as poor as her. Her home was a small adobe home with no door. It had a dirt floor and inside this home she had some bricks together for her stove. There were 3 beds made out of a few blankets which were piled neatly in the form of single beds in 3 different spots on the floor. No bed frame, no mats, just blankets on the dirt. There was no tv, no radio, just 2 small wooden chairs and that was it. My precious maid, who works so hard cleaning my filth, lives like that. My heart broke and it must have been visible b/c she said, my husband broke our beds when he was drunk. He tore up the floor as well. Needless to say, I am asking you to pray for a better life for my Estella. She is so sweet and has this soft voice and kind spirit. She wants to serve God and is scared once her husband gets out, she will have to stop going to church. PLEASE pray for her. Thank you.

Our Week In Photos

 What a week. Sun up to sun down we have seen God at work. It has been lots of fun and lots of work. But... lots of fun! We saw many people open their hearts to the Lord and decide to make the very important decision to make Him their one and only Savior. Our kids have been so involved in our ministry here and as parents we could not be any more proud of them. They have really enjoyed being in this new area and we are seeing all of them thrive in every way. Just check out these pictures to see what we did this week.

Celebrating Jesus at an outdoor worship service. This was in a village that has a few believers, but the group there has a desire to grow. We went there to help them reach others in their village. It was an awesome night!

While we were there we met this family. A mom, and 3 kids, abandoned by their father. They were literally starving and ate 2 bowls of the food that was served and their mom said she wanted to come back and hear more about Jesus. She needs prayer. Her name is Maria.

This is Maria and her other daughter. They were so cold b/c they didn't have enough clothes. (It was probably 60 degrees and that is how they were dressed.

I gave the two smallest ones my rebozo (shawl) and they were happy! Later on that night I took the mamma to the store to buy some food and you would have thought I had given her a million dollars. It was wonderful. I am blessed to have this job!

Another night this week we had anther outdoor service in another village and again my kids helped lead worship. It was a fun night and lasted until 11. So glad we home school and could start late the next day!

This was the taco bar that they offered the people who came. It was some taco bar too! I loved how they had everything heated with these little fire cans and they were all on bricks, so clever. I helped the other "pink lady" serve the some 100 people that were there. It was a long night! The funny part was that every woman was asked to bring something. They didn't think I could make anything Mexican so they asked me to make this Mexican hot drink called "Ponche." Which of course I had never made either! ;o) However, I did my best and made enough for the 100 people and it was a hit.  You can see the picture below!

Look at that food! Umm boy, it was good!

Hungry?

Here I am standing on a stool at my stove, cooking the ponche. Don't you love that pot?

Halfway through the week, Annie and I decided it was time for a break! We wanted to go to the beach, so we did! We made the foods we would eat at the beach, got our bathing suits on and went on our rooftop porch, played songs from The Beachboys and got in our pool. It was a nice break from a busy week! Annie loves to do stuff like this and she made it very special! 

Annie in her pool!

Sweet tea with lemon, book, and Annie even added flower petals for a nice touch!

Okay, even I have to brag about this lunch I fixed for our beach day. It was delicious! We have found that just like inventing the beach, if we miss things from the US, sometimes we just have to learn to make those things too. This is better than anything we have ever eaten at a restaurant in the US! If you want the recipe, just ask, it was to die for! 

Our week continued as we tried be the hands and feet of God and share His love to a sweet little blind lady. Look at her street that she has to walk on, can you imagine? She walks about 35 minutes away to go to church. The church is really only about 5 minutes away but being blind and having to walk on this road to get there, it takes them about 35 minutes to get there. Then of course they have to walk back home when it is over. So, if you ever feel too tired to go to church, think of her! 

Annie, my precious sweet girl on her way to visit.

We continued the week meeting with a new  believer who is extremely sick with diabetes.

We brought him some food and he too was delighted!

Annie playing with a little boy named Isaac while we met with this man.

Yet another meeting this week with a woman we met about a month ago who lost her husband. She is struggling financially as she has no job, no money and now no husband. She could lose her home which would destroy her. Please pray for her; her name is Marielena.

This is our storying group that meets every Tuesday night. We had a special night with them and were excited b/c Marielena came for the first time. We are hoping she will continue to come and hear these stories. Thanks so much for your prayers for all of these people. 

Love to you all! Missy and family 

Birthday Celebrations!

This weekend we celebrated 2 birthdays, Mexico's and Jerod's! We had a wonderful time celebrating Mexico's Independence Day with lots of friends here. It was a blast! There was a short church service outside and then there was food and karaoke. We all had fun and didn't want the night to end. I have to say, when Greg told me about 2 years ago that he thought it would be best to leave our old village and move to a new area after we returned to Mexico, I cried. I did  not want to do that. It has been the very best thing for our family as a whole. Our kids have so many friends here and they fit in so well. We are blessed! 

Jerod's birthday is actually on August 23, however we have been so busy we haven't had time to actually celebrate his special day. We went out to eat on his birthday but as for celebrating with his friends, there just wasn't time to do so, until yesterday. Oh my what a fun day! We invited the whole youth group to a pool not too far away. It turned into a church social which was wonderful. The pictures below say it all! Much more than I can say! 

Please pray for us, it will be a long week as we will be busy every day. There is a team coming to help us work with our people. They aren't coming to stay with us, they are connected through a "B" church here and 4 of the 6 don't speak any Spanish. Since we have partnered with this church (which is in all the pictures) we will be helping them to do some ministry projects with this team throughout the week. We are excited to see what God does this week! Love to you all! Missy 

 

Jerod decorating himself for Mexican Independence Day!

Annie and our good friend, Nacho. We call him Nacho cheese or Nacho Libre!

Our family lost a game we were playing and had to sing a fun Spanish song in front of everyone, hand motions and all! 

Annie and the pastor's daughter, Sara. We LOVE her! I want one!

Her she is again!

Alex was running with the flag.

This is a family we are trying to reach. They are part of our Tuesday night storying group.

J's Day, they started off playing basketball. 

Trying to get up the nerve to get into the ICE water.

They did it together!

SOOOO cold!! 

Annie and Sara again.  God was taking care of Sara for sure! She fell into the pool when no one was around and one person just happened to see it and dove in after her. It was one of those times when you see a great day turning into a tragedy very quickly. She wasn't under for more than a minute and was fine, but sooo scared. Her Mama and the rest of us couldn't help but think of how blessed we all were that God kept things from going in another direction. For sure we will always have someone by the pool the next time we have an event like this. In the US we take our lifeguards for granted! Hug your kids!

This is their tradition, anyone who has a birthday in that month, gets thrown in the pool!

Even the pastor1

He had extra clothes and seemed to have expected it! 

While I was taking the pastor's picture someone pushed Greg, (who was NOT expecting to go in) right in with all his clothes on too! FUNNY!

Annie enjoying friends.

Change of the cultures. This was funny, this little girl, Flor (Flower) came up to me and asked me for some Doritos, then Annie came up and whispered to me that she wanted one of Flor's mom's corundas. Corundas are special bread like things made in the indigenous villages here. So, her mom gave Annie a corunda and I gave Flor Doritos and they were happy!

Our birthday party.

The traditional cake in face. 

He said it was good!

That's all folks!