12 and counting...

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.  Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!” (Psalm 127:4-5). I truly am a blessed man.  Just as the psalmist declares, blessings come from arrows (children) being added to your quiver (family).  That is exactly what the Lord has done once again this past week…bringing us 3 more children to care and minister to.

Pastor Luis, Kim, my dad and Erasmo took an unexpected trip back up to Corareyvo last Monday.  There had been discussion and talks of Erasmo’s sister, Maria Ana, wanting to come to the orphanage.  We hadn’t received confirmation of that, but felt like we needed to step out in faith and make the trip.  Either way, every trip up to the beautiful village is a blessing, as you get to continue sharing Jesus with individuals.

We anxiously waited for their return on Tuesday, to see if she decided to come live with us.  As the van pulled up, that beautiful afternoon, our children ran out to greet whoever was in it.  There she was, Maria Ana, looking shy and nervous, but excited to be here.  The Vargas’ then told us they had an extra surprise.  The van door opened, and out came running, Judith (Erasmo’s older sister).  With a huge smile on her face she gave me a giant hug.  WOW…I wasn’t expecting her to be there.

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Judith Maria Rascon, 15 years old...

Maria Ana

Maria Ana Rascon, 12 years old...

When we took our first trip to Corareyvo in October of 2013, we wanted both Judith and Erasmo to come down.  When we went to get Erasmo in January, I was hoping his sister would decide to come as well, however, she was gone.  Word was, she had left town with a bunch of other youth looking for work and adventures.  I was sad, discouraged, and felt like it was my fault because we didn’t bring her here in October.  However, we can take comfort knowing that with the Lord, His timing is always perfect.  No matter what the situation looks like, He works ALL things out for good.  Although I wanted her to come back in January, the Lord wanted her to be here in August!

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First time meeting Judith (last year)...drinking some coffee...

During this time, we received another call from the DIF, regarding a young man named Juan (10 years old).  Juan happened to be in the same orphanage at one point with Luisito.  The DIF felt like our home would be a perfect fit for this young man, because of the success and progress they have seen with Luisito.  So, this past Saturday, three DIF officials, Maricela (director of the DIF in Guerrero) along with Eddie and Ana, brought Juan.  Eddie and Ana are the two who first brought Luis to us in February, and they were very excited to see him again.  In fact, as we met with the two of them and Maricela, guess who was sitting comfortably with them on the couch?  Luisito!  They were amazed at how well he is doing…and very excited to see the same transformation with Juan.

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Reunited

Maricela, Eddie, Ana and Juan... Luisito...reunited with his friends...

JUan

Juan Morales Marquez, 11 years old...

Our Family

Now, we are a family of 15...13 kids (including Antu), Jackie and myself…truly a blessing!  Please continue to pray for Juan, Erasmo, Jorge, Judith, Adrianna, Maria Ana, Aaron, Myron, Sandra, Pablo, Luisito and Gael.

VBS in Corareyvo

We will be returning to the beautiful mountains of Corareyvo, for a third time today. A team of 14 of us will be hosting the very first VBS in this little town nestled in the mountains. This is something that has been on all of our hearts, ever since our first trip up there, to meet Erasmo and his family. This trip will be extra special, as we will be bringing Erasmo back with us. I can’t believe its been 3 months since we first brought him to our children’s home. It has been one of the biggest joys and privileges in my life, to see this young man commit his life to Christ, and grow in his relationship with the Lord. I love spending time with him, reading through the scriptures together and talking about our favorite verse. He has also started praying with me every night. Normally when the boys go to bed, we all pray together, and then I specifically pray over each boy. 3 or 4 nights ago, as I came to pray with Erasmo, he said, “yo, primero” (I first). He then proceed to pray for the boys, our nights rest, Jackie, Antu and I and then his family! Every night since then, he prays first and then myself.

We would deeply appreciate and covet your prayers Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

• Please pray for safe travels, the van, and our 8 our drive up to the mountains.
• Please pray for our team, Luis, Kim, Becky, Leti, Sergio, Josephina, Letzi, Sergio JR, Nena, Anna, Claudia, Lola, Erasmo and myself.
• Please pray for the gospel presentation through the 2 day VBS…that the hearts of the children, youth and anyone else who attends would be surrendered to Jesus.
• Please pray for Erasmo…as this once shy, un-talkative young man who now is a child of the most high God, helps share the very good news that changed his life!

Looking forward to sharing pictures and stories with you all!

Update On Erasmo...

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he shall not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6). One of the most memorable things for me, growing up, was when my dad would come in and pray over me at night.  Almost every night, without fail, my dad would lay his hand on my forehead, and pray.  I remember parts of his nightly prayer, that I have been using, as I pray over my sweet little Ayantu Faith….“help her to wake up refreshed and renewed, ready for a good day tomorrow…”

As I was getting ready for bed the other night, it suddenly dawned on me…there is another young man in our home, that is in need of prayer, Erasmo. We have been praying at meals, before work with the team, and even before we all head to bed, however, I hadn’t prayed over him like I do with my daughter.  So, one night I went into his room, told him I wanted to begin praying over him, and have done so every night.  It’s one of the highlights of my day, as I get to lay my hand on his head or shoulder, and commit him into the hands and care of Jesus.  I am able to pray completely in spanish, with a few english words in there, when I get stuck…but I don’t think Erasmo minds.

What a blessing and joy it has been having Erasmo with us.  He is so full of life and is really starting to come out of his shell.  He has such a contagious laugh and smile and is discovering/learning new things every day…how to ride a bike, staring at the popcorn popper, trying to figure out the little black machine that prints out paper from my computer, mastering Chinese checkers and bocce ball, eating everything he sees in sight (especially croutons), helping with work projects, cleaning duties, etc!  He has become my little buddy, and I often find him walking into my office, sprawling out on the couch and just wanting to hang out.  One day, he was leaning over my shoulder, watching what I was doing, and then started dancing to the music that was playing.  We had a good laugh at that moment.

I think one of the biggest blessings to us, is watching Erasmo’s heart  being incredibly softened towards the Lord.  He loves going to church and youth group on Saturday nights, and even more so it seems, he absolutely LOVES reading the bible.  Not a day has gone by when I haven’t seen him, at some point, reading the word. He has been reading through the Psalms and discovering all kinds of things about a God who loves him.  Every night I go in to pray over him, there he is, with his head lamp on, reading the word with a smile on his face.  Please continue to pray as he learns more about our God, and Lord willing, places his full faith and trust in Jesus Christ!

Ayantu and Erasmo act like they are bother and sister.  Antu is constantly bossing Erasmo around (I think its because she’s turning 4 next month) and Erasmo is always watching out for her and helps her when she is in need.  Antu is constantly asking me when we are bringing more kids in to the home to care for.  I think both Jackie and her are itching for some more girls to come to the home.

First doctors appointment...clean bill of health!

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Speaking of other children, exciting things continue to happen down here.  I shared a little, in the last post, about our trip to Chihuahua, the end of January.  Well, we ended up making a stop at the DIF and I was able to meet with the director, Raquel.  She shared how excited she was about our home and had heard nothing but good things, from Paty, Sergio and Lupita (who came out and paid us a visit last month). She wanted to know a little bit more about Jackie and I, the children’s home, and why we were doing what we were doing.  This was obviously a great opportunity for me to continue to share the LORD’s heart in this…which is, of course, why we are down here in Bachiniva.  The Lord brought, Paul’s words, from Romans chapter 13, regarding authorities, that I was able to share with her as well!

"Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God" (Rom 13:1).

Towards the end of our meeting, I asked Raquel about the phone call I had missed, from the DIF.  She explained that they were calling to see if we could take in a 10 year old boy named Luis.  Luis has been in 4 or 5 different children’s homes, but only lasts 2 or 3 days.  The care-takers end up sending him back to the DIF, because he is to hard to handle (so they say).  I asked her why?  Is he dangerous, disobedient, abusive?…What would cause people to send him back?

Raquel showed me a picture of Luis and shared a little of his story.  Luis saw his parents killed right in front of him, most likely, they were shot.  He has no family and no one to care for him.  People are saying he is autistic and that is why he acts the way he does, however, the DIF and Raquel think otherwise.  This a traumatized child that has seen something horrendous, and is in great need of being loved and cared for.  It was a very powerful and incredibly emotional story to hear.  At one point, Raquel wrapped her arms around herself, saying all he needs is someone to hold him and love him, and they think we would be perfect for that.  I immediately said, yes, we will take him…how could we not?  The DIF believes that because we are a newer children’s home and don’t have a lot of kids yet, we will be able to give him the love and attention that he needs….which we are excited and ready to do!

We spoke with Raquel this past Friday, and she is contacting the towns where Luis is currently, as well as a few other girls, who might be coming next week.  We should be hearing back from the DIF this week regarding these children.

Last week we had the blessed opportunity to host some dear friends from Calvary Chapel Northwest, in Bellingham WA.  Isaac and Tara Heist have a burden for Mexico and their hearts have been stirred of late, regarding the missions field.  We invited them to come down, hangout and see what the Lord might have in store for them.  It was great having their company, fellowship, help around the orphanage and we are excited to see what doors the Lord might open up for their family and Mexico!

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One last thought...we have been praying through and working on our support program for the children.  This is a way that we can connect families and individuals in the states, with a child at Casa de Bendicion.  Our desire is not just to have people that will give financially each month to their child.  We would love to partner with those that would be committed to praying regularly for their child, send emails or notes of encouragement and even possibly visiting them sometime.  We will have all of the specific details and info for you by next week.  As we prepare to receive more children, I wanted to share this opportunity so you, your family or your church could be praying about this, if this might be something you'd like to be involved in!

Please also continue to pray for the final work projects, preparations, little Luis and the other children that will be coming, Erasmo and our team serving each day!

May the Lord bless you and keep you in His perfect peace today and this week!