A Great Birthday Present from Eagle Lake, TX

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Well, on Monday we worked most of the day in the library...up-dating the blog, finding addresses, writing e-mails, and talking to the librarians. Mrs. Patty was the first librarian we met, and she was very interested in our story. Our plan was to work just a little bit and then head out of town. We talked to Mrs. Patty quite a bit, and she started making phone calls. She called area churches and organizations who work with children. Then she called the newspaper. At first, very few people seemed interested in hearing our story. Then Cindy, a lady from the newspaper--The Eagle Lake Headlight, called to say that she wanted to come on her lunch break. She asked a couple of questions, and Chris shared details of our journey with her. The time flew by and before we knew it she had to leave. For our late lunch we went to Simple Simon's Pizza...it has just recently re-opened, and the food is delicious. By then it was almost 3 pm, and Chris didn't really want to start walking that late in the afternoon. So we explored the town and met several people. We met Nathan at the library. He's wanted to research birds, so we thought he had a project to do. Nope, he just likes birds, so he researched to learn more. Then we met the pastor's wife of one of the Hispanic churches in town and a counselor at the local alternative school. As we walked around the town, we met John at a stop-sign (After asking several questions, he wanted to help us along on our journey.) and another lady walking to her car with supper for her family. (She was just curious about what we were doing.) We stayed one more night at the little hotel where we stayed the night before.

Several people called to check on us and to wish me a happy birthday. We even heard from Guy Adams. (finally!) He struggled a lot with Johnny's death in the month of January because Johnny's birthday is Jan. 11th. We knew it was a hard time of the year, so we tried to call as often as possible. Guy didn't answer the phone or return our calls, so we prayed more and more. We finally called his brother, Alex, just to make sure Guy and Haillie were okay. Alex told us that he had talked to Guy that day, so we knew they were physically okay. We just kept praying, and we finally got a phone call late Monday night!

Tuesday morning: We prayed and read and decided that it was time to go. We went next door to the Sportsman's Restaurant for breakfast, so that we could walk as far as necessary that day--the next real town is about 40 miles away. "It just so happened" (ya'll know what always happens now after that phrase...) that the co-owner--Mrs. Janie was waiting tables. Normally she doesn't do that, but her waitress's daughter was sick and couldn't come in. Mrs. Janie saw our packs and started asking questions. We very quickly learned that she loves the Lord a lot! She told us that the Lord put a song on her heart that morning, and she wanted to share it with us..."God will make a way, where there seems to be no way..." I couldn't believe it...not only was that one of my favorite songs in Spanish, but it was also very appropriate for the journey that we had before us that day! She was such an encouragement to us...just speaking scripture over us each time she came to our table. She wouldn't allow us to pay for our meal. Then she introduced us to her husband who was also working that day. As we were getting ready to leave, her friend, Olivia, came in. So Chris and I prayed with Mrs. Janie and Olivia. Wow...I had been a little sad not to be with friends and family on my birthday, but the Lord is faithful. He's given me a wonderful husband to walk beside! He also sent encouraging words from His Word just when I needed to hear from Him!! When we left there, I felt like I could walk all the way to Peru that very day!

We went by the post office to mail a few other letters and headed out of town. As we neared the outskirts of town, this man got out of his car and waved for us to come over to his yard. He introduced himself as Lyle Anderson, and he told us that he heard about us on Monday. (Apparently Mrs. Patty had called the Andersons while she was calling around town.) After talking with us a few minutes, he invited us to come into his house. (Lesson learned…we don’t have to worry about leaving too early from a town…if we are supposed to be there, God will turn us back around! Praise the Lord!) We met his wife, Dana, and went into the living room to share a little of our story. Oh were we in for a surprise...God moved them back to Eagle Lake just four years ago and he placed a burden in their hearts for the youth of Eagle Lake. He gave them a building, and they started The Lighthouse 3 years ago. The first day only one little girl, Veronica, came, and they thought they had missed God's plan. Before Veronica left, she asked if she could brings a friend. The Andersons welcomed this idea, so 20 came the next day, and 30 the next day! The first year, they averaged 30-40 kids. There was a hot meal everyday for anyone who came...Dana said that it was like the miracle of the feeding of 5,000 every day. God did it...there was no other explanation...there was no money and only a little bit of donated cheese. They began to get to know the kids by giving them short questionaires. When asked where in the world they would like to go, the kids responded with places like Houston (which is only 60 miles away) or "my grandma's house" (which was only across town, but the child's family didn't have a car, so they didn't get to see her). There were very few people who consistently volunteered their time other than Lyle & Dana.

Three years later, let me tell you what Chris & I saw...3 buildings (one will be arriving in the next week or so) including an "Art House," a basketball court, a football field, 7-9 consistent volunteers, a reading enrichment program, kids getting along (there hasn't been a fight on the property in 2 years), a daily hot meal (the community now provides the food and the meals)...and the list continues! God has done amazing things!! His ministry through the Lighthouse has grown by leaps and bounds!! Now they average 70-80 kids daily! Over 450 kids have come to The Lighthouse over the last 3 years, and they've served over 13,000 hot meals.

As you probably guessed, the Andersons invited us to work at The Lighthouse! Oh, what a great birthday present! We fell in love with the kids, so we stayed all week! I played ping-pong with Marisol and Maria. Chris played foosball with Nathan (the same young boy we met at the library!!) and Jason. We talked with several groups of students about our hike. Chris played football, basketball, soccer, and pool with the guys. He also observed the reading enrichment program. I raced some of the kids...Nicole won! I also spent some time over at the Art House admiring the kids' art, attempting to create art, and watching Dana's interaction with the kids! It was amazing!! We had the best time! We even set up our tent and let the kids carry around our packs. We shared a little of our hike. I showed them the Evangecube (Thanks, Pastor Wheat, for giving it to us!) Several of the kids prayed to accept Jesus as their Savior. Pray that the seeds that we planted and for the thousands of seeds that the Andersons and other volunteers plant daily will take root in fertile ground and that they will grow and bring a great harvest for the Kingdom of God!!

We've really been enjoying our time with the Andersons. They are so wise and know so much about the Lord. We are just soaking it in!! They both have such beautiful testimonies of God's faithfulness in their lives. Lyle & Dana have a love for Israel, and Lyle has spent a lot of time working on Christian sites in Israel. Lyle also plays the guitar beautifully, so we have enjoyed several nights of just praising the Lord through song. Dana cooks like you would not believe, so we've eaten well this week! She's also a talented artist. God knew it was time to re-do our pack covers in Spanish, so he sent un an artist! We also met Lyle's mom, Mrs. Gay, who is a really interesting Christian woman. We enjoyed learning from her and sharing. We are hoping to go to her house tonight for a fellowship meeting. (It's Friday.) Then we are prayerfully considering leaving Eagle Lake tomorrow morning!
I want to leave you with pictures from The Lighthouse. It's a great encouragement for all who love the Lord and love kids! It's something that could and should happen in every community! God can do it anywhere...Pray for your community and that God will raise up workers in it--maybe He's calling you!

1) CE with Dwight who plays the drums at a local church. 2) Playing football!



3) Carselin, Paige, Destiny, and crew pose for the camera. 4) Making preparations for the new building...

5) Chasity looks on as Dana paints. 6) Marie & Marisol hang out inside the tent. Marie wanted to take a closer look at the Evangecube.

7) Jacob (pictured with CE) is a former youth pastor. He and his wife, Lori just moved back to Eagle Lake this year, so he's been volunteering at The Lighthouse this school year. 8) Mrs. Mary watches over the game room. We caught her playing Jeffery in a few games of Connect Four as well! (Lori's mom, Angie also dropped in to visit!)

9) Rodney grilled the hot dogs on Wednesday while Chris & CE supervised!! 10) Nathan wanted to carry the pack for a little while, but he soon learned how heavy it is!












11) Jacob and played a short game of pool. 12) (Pictured l to r) Chris, Deshawne, Nick, Chad & Rodney (seated) stayed after on Wednesday, so CE & I were able to talk to them for a while. They are all very talented young men and trying to set a good example for the younger kids how are watching them!! They really made an impression on us! (Rodney found me in the Art House to tell me bye on Thursday since we probably won't see him for awhile. Chris came after baseball practice on Thursday to tell us bye as well...he even brought two guys from his team to meet us as well!)











13) Each student who is in the reading enrichment program has his/her own mentor every day. Here, Mrs. Judith (also the director or the program) works with Demarcus. 14) Trey created a "hat" out of plaster, so he wanted to model it for the camera!












15) Dana & I grabbed Marisol for a quick hug and a picture! 16) Nicole showed off the cards she made in the Art House. Then she gave me two so that I can remember her! They are so pretty...I'm not sure if I can actually send them to anyone!! I might have to save them to hang on a wall if we ever have a house.












17) Alex and Krystal are hard at work in one of the "quiet rooms" in the Art House! 18) Jesus displays his masterpiece--they are ready to be hung on the wall!












19) Trey works on his new plaster creation...this time he hopes to make a head not just a "hat." 20) Ms. Jo mentors Marisol during her reading time.












21) Pictured l to r eating some garlic bread after they finished their spaghetti: Jason, Xzavier, Nathan, Marie, Nicole, & Marisol. 22) Mrs. Eurma works hard in the kitchen making sure everything is in place and cleaning up after the food is all gone!

23) (Clockwise from the bottom left) Nikki, Blanca, Nicole, Demarcus, and Nick all work around one of the big tables in the Art House. (Britany was around the table too, but didn't want to be in the picture.) 24)A group of students were gathered around Lyle when I started to take this picture...some of them are a little more shy than others!! (back: Ryan; middle l to r: Marie and Nicole; front l to r: Nathan, Diana, Nalda)

25) Gregory and RJ play a little pool...Gregory also helped me take on a few other kids at the foosball table! 26) A picture of Jesus laughing rests on the top shelf that displays the kids art work.

27) The art wall was one of my favorite things to look at...the kids have done a wonderful job!!