July 2006

Dear Friends and Family,

What a month this as been! A team of 18 people from a four square church in Massachusetts came for a week and then another team of 6 people from Washington state came for 10 days. We had the privilege of hosting three of the Massachusetts team members in our home. One of which was an 82 year old woman named June who was an inspiration and a blessing to us all. .

The Massachusetts team was honored by Susy (the lady who began the ministry at the rancho), for giving the money to build the ministry buildings. We had a dedication service and a time of ministry where John (our pastor) preached and two young men came to the Lord. (Dedication picture)

The thing is that these two boys are part of a group of young men who usually just stand off at a distance and watch. But this day John spoke right to them and they were really touched by God. They knelt down in front of the entire crowd and confessed Jesus as Lord. It was a beautiful thing. We believe that these two young men are just the beginning of what God is going to do with the young men in this community.

Jim and the team also got up a game of “futbol americano” with the guys from the Rancho. It was awesome to watch. Most of them had never played before and one particular young man, who is a gang leader in a nearby town, was standing in the distance watching until Jim challenged him to play and made him the captain of the team. The guy’s eyes got big and he listened intently as Jim explained what to do. He did it and he turned out to be pretty good. The look of joy on his face at being a part of it all was something to behold. Moments like those are the ones we reflect on when it’s hard and things don’t “seem” to be changing.(football picture

We also went with the Massachusetts team to city 2000 a poor inner city community. Over a hundred children came out to be a part of the ministry time of dramas, face painting, Bible stories and crafts. (inner city picture)

The Washington team helped with repairs at a school for mentally challenged children and also ministered at the rancho. They helped finish putting the sealant on the roofs of the ministry buildings there and got to help in dedicating a small church at another Rancho thirty minutes up in the mountains. They also had a burden to buy shoes for the children of Guadalupe Victoria. So, while part of the team was with the children telling Bible stories, making balloon animals and doing crafts, others were measuring feet! The team then went to Leon a town an hour and a half away to purchase the shoes. Leon is the capital of leather making in Mexico, so Susy was able to get a really good deal on the shoes. (Measuring feet)

Many were blessed because the teams were here. None of the least of which were the team members themselves. During the debrief the night before they left many expressed how God had touched their lives and the changes the experience has evoked in their lives.

Gloria Dios!

Over all our family is doing well. Patrick turned 14 on July the 12^th and I turned …...well older….(.cough 54)…. on July 31.(picture of Patrick and I back to back to see how tall he is)

My days are spent doing house stuff,( those pesky dirty clothes and dishes seem to always show up even down here in Mexico) carting Patrick around to visit friends and basketball practice, journaling our life here and helping Jim with writing descriptions for the web site . Jim works his advertising job as well as developing the web site.

On Monday nights we have a meeting at our house for a time of prayer and planning for the rancho. Some new facets of the ministry team have been added We have a woman who is going to teach the women how to crochet and knit. We hope to purchase yarn for them in the fall and have them make scarves that can be sold in San Luis. Eventually we hope to offer them on the web site as well. Then we will give the profits to them so they can better provide for their families. We want to help them develop skills so they can grow in dignity as well as financial relief. One man on our team is going to be teaching them to read and write. Many of the women there are illiterate. We also have a visitation group that will go out into the village and visits those who are reluctant to come to class or who are physically unable to come. This is as another step in establishing relationships.

On Saturdays we go out to the Rancho and help with the teaching classes, pass out any food we have and just love them up in general. We are limited some what right now because of the language but we are learning more Spanish all the time, But, what we are learning is that just showing up speaks a language all its own. We are so grateful to be here.

We know that playing football and knitting and reading and writing are just activities. There is no preaching or Christian tracks involved in it. But, relationships are being established and our love for the people here and their love for us is growing all the time. We believe that out of that love will come their desire to know Jesus.

Thank you all for your continued interest in our work here. We love hearing from you. Your encouragement means so much. Please continue to pray for us.

Prayer requests:

*That we will find a good place to continue our Spanish classes and that we will have the finances for it.

*Our 501C3 is now official. If you feel lead to help us financially, you can make a tax exempt contribution to Servants International.

*Our Web site is up! PTL! www.mextraordinary.com Please pray for its financial success so that we can make our living from it.