Our Journal: His Plans are Greater than Our Plans...Still in Vega de Alatorre

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Tuesday (5/8) morning, we went to get some gauze for my knee and find a Cyber. We received an e-mail saying that some friends of ours were driving down in a van from Arizona to Honduras. We had already been in contact with them for a couple of weeks, but they got on the road that very morning. They wanted to know if we wanted to ride a bit with them…they needed to visit some churches in Cancun and Cozumel. We could ride as little or as much as we wanted. We couldn’t believe it…I can’t walk and now someone was offering us a ride. Who would want a free trip to and free accommodations in Cancun & Cozumel?!! So we started praying…it would be a LONG ride, and it wasn’t the same way that everyone had told us to walk. We would go into Belize and miss most of Guatemala, but to say the offer was tempting is an understatement!

Tuesday afternoon, Miguel and Oscar were out of school, so Chris played with them…I had to just sit and rest. I was able to talk with Brenda (the nanny) quite a bit. She has a really sweet spirit about her, and I think that she authentically loves God. Her family is going through a really rough time right now. Her dad and her mom have been unfaithful to each other, and they just recently moved to Vega de Alatorre to get away from some of those situations. Unfortunately moving away from the other people involved didn’t solve their problems. Her parents have still been fighting a lot, and her dad left Monday night. She doesn’t know where he is or if he’s coming back. She wants to keep studying, but right now she has to work. She was in school up until April…she’s 2 months away from completing this year in school and it looks like she’s going to lose all of it! Please pray for her!!!

Wednesday (5/9) morning we went with Dra. Dulce to

Miguel’s kindergarten. They were celebrating Mother’s Day there…each class

did a little dance or sang a song. They all had special little gifts to give to their moms. It was precious. We were so glad that we could be there because Dra. Dulce doesn’t have a camera…Chris took plenty of pictures for her!! On our way back home from the celebration, we stopped by

Oscar’s school and his mom bought him a special snack!!

Wednesday afternoon, Brenda’s brother—Pancho—was at the house as well. Chris and I decided that the kids should do something special for their mom, so we took them

downtown and bought tissue paper and pipe cleaners to

make flowers. The kids were excited about surprising their moms…we even took a different way back so that Dra. Dulce would see us out the window of her office at the clinic. After lunch, we got to work…Oscar and Pancho caught on pretty quickly, but Miguel was struggling. He ended up just picking out the colors and helping with the stem, but it was awesome to see them working together. Then we found a hiding place for them until Thursday morning. (In Mexico, Mother’s day is always May 10th –no matter what day that falls on.) We finished and cleaned up everything just as Dra. Dulce was coming into the house. Perfect timing!

Wednesday night, Michel and Susy invited us to spend sometime with them…the door hadn’t opened at any churches in the area, so we felt like that’s where we needed to be. Michel owns a gym that they just relocated to a building they built…they won’t have to pay rent there!! So Chris stayed and talked with him while Susy and I ran a couple of errands.

Thursday (5/10) morning

Pancho came over again, so while we were waiting for Miguel to get out of school, Chris and I talked to Pancho and to Brenda about Jesus. We showed them the evangecube and talked to them about asking Jesus to forgive them of their sins. Brenda told us that she had done that, but Pancho wanted to wait until later. At least we planted some seeds...he knows what to do...now when God says it's time to surrender to Him, he'll know what to do.

Thursday evening,

Oscar's school had a Mother's Day presentation, so we went to support him in that. All the kids in the whole school sang "Las Mañanitas" for their moms (a special song about moms--from what I understand it's one of many songs that they know for the occasion)!! They really know how to celebrate a special occasion in Mexico! After all the kids sang, each class (1st-6th grade) had a special presentation--a traditional dance, a song, a skit, etc.--for the moms.

While we were watching, a young man--Gustavo--came up to us. He said that Dra. Susy had told him about us, but he just hadn't seen us around town until that day. We talked a little bit and learned that he is a Christian, and he goes to Agua Viva-Living Water Church. He wanted us to visit with his pastor. We told him that we would stop by his house after the Mother's Day program was over. We said our goodbyes, and Gustavo left (or so we thought). About 10 minutes later, Gustavo came back this time with another man...it turns out that Gustavo's preacher-Pastor

Francisco-was also at the Mother's day program. We ended up talking with them for 30-45 minutes...they are so in love with the Lord. Pastor Francisco invited us to speak at their church Sunday morning. Then Gustavo told us that he wanted us to speak to the youth on Saturday night. He said that he was going to check with his leader and let us know if it could work out or not. We told them that we would be praying because we thought that we may be leaving Friday or Saturday (with Marc and Olivia). We parted company all agreeing that we would be in prayer and that we'd be in touch.

(Chris and I really started praying seriously about the decision that we had to make about going with Marc and Olivia since I couldn't walk or staying to speak at this church. We just want to be in God's perfect will not in His permissive will!! Our bodies said, it would be nice to have a vacation...to rest a bit...then to start again. We also really wanted to see Cancun and Cozumel. At the same time, it appeared that the door wasn't closed in Vega de Alatorre. What to do?!!)

Friday morning (5/11) the boys are both out of school, so Chris spent a lot of time playing with them. (We've both played with them a lot this week, but Chris especially has...they boys have loved every second of it!!) We also worked some on the blog and talked with Brenda some more. She's asked me a lot of questions about the Bible and "different religions." (That's as she calls everyone who's not Catholic.) We gave her some batteries for her CD player and two CDs that Aram gave us in Papantla. He put the book of Psalms and James on CD, so she's been listening to them quite a bit.

Friday afternoon, we received a phone call from

Olivia...they were 45 minutes away. I gave her directions, and Chris and I prayed some more! We were super excited when they arrived! Will was also with them...he's going to work with Marc in Honduras for a month. It's been quite sometime since we've seen a familiiar face who speaks English fluently! They are so strong in their faith...it really was a source of renewal for us! It was awesome because

Dra. Dulce, the boys, Brenda, Susy and Michel all got to meet them and talk with them. Olivia planted a few more seeds...she didn't even know that they weren't believers! God is so awesome!! Dra. Dulce invited them to stay the night, but they were anxious to move on. We still didn't know what to do...go or stay. Gustavo hadn't stopped by yet to let us know if we could speak to the teens or not. All five of us went separate ways to pray a little more. Chris and I knew that we were to stay...we just didn't have peace about leaving yet. Marc said the same thing when he came back...He said it appears that the Lord has opened the door here and things aren't complete. Aahh and the peace that comes from doing God's will...indescribable!!

Dra. Dulce, the boys, and all of us decided to go downtown to see another Mother's Day presentation. Right as we walked out the door, Gustavo came up. He just wanted to let us know that his youth leaders said that we could come and speak on Saturday night! Hello...God's confirmation!! Marc, Olivia, & Will ended up staying longer than they thought they would...we ate supper together and continued sharing. Instead of making a quick stop as they planned, they stayed the night...but in a hotel, so that they could leave really early in the morning! What a great time of fellowship and sharing!!

Saturday morning (5/12) Dra. Dulce looked at my knee and realized that puss was still coming out of it! She was concerned, so she cleaned it and told me that it wasn't closing up like she had hoped...that's the problem with the knee. I was glad that we didn't go on with Marc and Olivia...because I still have a doctor 24-hours/day. She told me that we would keep an eye on it...she might have to put another stitch in the lower part. We are praying hard that won't happen!

Saturday afternoon, we went with

Dra. Dulce, Oscar, and Miguel to the beach.

Chris and the boys were having a ball in the water...I wasn't going to go in, but I couldn't just sit there...they were having too much fun. I figured the salt water might be good for my knee. The four of us had a great time! After a while, I decided to sit out and talk to Dra. Dulce. Chris started searching for sand dollars...he found 10 that were still completely in tact!! He remembers searching for them with his Grandma Embler when he was little, but he can't remember ever finding one that was whole since then!!

Saturday evening--Youth group at Agua Viva (Living Water) Church: The teens were practicing for the Mother's Day program and making

floral arrangements when we arrived. However, they quickly circled up and we got started shortly after we got there. We were shocked to see so many teenage boys! What a blessing!!

We had a pretty informal discussion with them...we explained what we were doing, but then asked if they had any questions. It ended up going really well...we were able to share all that we wanted to share, but we didn't just talk at them for 45 minutes. Before we finished, Gustavo told us that they had a gift for us! It was a brand new Spanish Bible...(I've had 2 others, but I gave them away!!) They all signed their names and wrote a note! We were so excited!! What a great surprise! After the service, the boys circled up to play a little soccer...Chris was right at home! I was surprised when the

girls gathered around me to chat! Oh, how I miss being with teenagers!! We had a wonderful time! We couldn't believe that time went by so quickly...before we knew it, it was 10:30. We said goodbye until Sunday and headed "home."

Sunday (5/13) Happy Mother's day to all of the moms who are reading...especially to the two best moms in the world--we may be a little biased!!!! We went to church at Agua Viva. When we got there, we saw a table with CDs...we thought a CD might be a great gift for Dra. Dulce, so we picked one out. We asked how much it was, and the pastor's wife told us that it was free--God had already put it on her heart to let us pick one out! Wow! Praise the Lord!

The

service was awesome! This was the first

church we've been in since we got into Mexico where we felt free to worship...the focus is not on legalism but on having a relationship with the Lord. The people were just pouring their hearts out to God! By the time we went up to start speaking, our hearts were prepared to share and they were prepared to listen! After we finished speaking, the

teens had a special presentation for Mother's Day...by the time we left we had been at church for 3 1/2 hours. No one got up and left, no one looked at their watch...we didn't even realize that any time had passed!

P

astor Francisco, Juani, Kevin, and Melvin took us out to eat for lunch so that we could talk a little more. They shared with us a few programs that are going on at their church right now--the 40 day fast and Compassion Mexico--are two that really stuck out in our minds. The 40 day fast is to spend more time with the Lord, so they are fasting from TV and from the Internet. So far it's going well...even the little kids are adjusting. Compassion Mexico is a program that is part of Compassion International. People from the US, Canada, Europe, etc. sponsor needy children here in Mexico and other 3rd world countries. The goal it to share Christ with them and to teach them a trade so that they don't continue in their impoverished state (spiritually, emotionally, and physically). They have about 220 kids in the program, and about 185 of them come on a regular basis each Saturday. The entire church is involved in the program...they even provide part of the money! It's pretty amazing!! The church isn't just standing around waiting for a hand-out from the US...they are doing what God has called them to, and He is providing for their needs!

After lunch, the

teens invited us to go to the beach with them. We loaded up in 3 cars and went down...it's only about 20 minutes from Vega! The boys (including Chris) almost immediately started

playing soccer, so I went with

Myriam and Alicia to play in the water. We all had a great time fellowshipping together! It looks like God is providing another peice of the puzzle...we'll probably be back to work with them in the future!!

Sunday night,

Dra. Dulce took my stitches out...she said that by Wednesday, I should be okay...it was looking a lot better! Praise the Lord!!!

Monday (5/14) was basically just a work day for Chris and me...we worked on journaling, pictures, the blog, etc. Then we took the boys-Oscar and Miguel-to the

plaza to play and get some exercise.

Tuesday (5/15) Dra. Dulce invited us to go with her and

Petra, a community voluteer, to vaccinate

children who live on the little ranches in the district of Vega de Alatorre. Many of them have no way to get into the city to have their shots. The ones who didn't need an actual shot still received a vaccine orally...

2 drops which serve as a booster to combat polio. In February, May, and October, the government sponsors a vaccination campaign...each campaign lasts 2 weeks. It was a pretty interesting experience...I definitely never dreamed that I would help with something like that! Chris said that he had thought about it because when he was a little boy, he wanted to be a doctor...whoever said, "dreams don't come true." doesn't know the God we serve!! ha, ha, ha!!

We spent some more time with the kids today, and we've got to know the new nanny,

Reyna. She seems really nice...she's going to be living here during the week...Please keep praying for this little family!

We are hoping to walk tomorrow (Wednesday 5/16)...I think that my knee is fine...we'll say what the wonderful Dra. Dulce says. We'll be in touch soon! We love you! God bless!!

1) Miguel giving Dra. Dulce the flowers that the boys made. 2) A scorpion that Dra. Dulce saw just in time...it was by her foot under the table!!