The Beauty Of Yellow...

I have never been more excited to see the color yellow than I was when I saw this picture of Mexico.  

This is a very good sign for Mexico in their fight against COVID-19.  Mexico uses a color system (red, orange, yellow, green) to determine what “phase” we are in. Chihuahua state is the big yellow one.  For the past 15 months we have spent most of the time in either red or orange (the highest phases).  I think we hit yellow once last September but that only lasted 2 weeks before going back to red.  Every two weeks, Mexico announces what “color phase” we will be in for the next two weeks.  Talk about exhausting, things changing every two weeks.

View fullsize

I assumed that 2021 would be a much better year than 2020.  I assumed Mexico would follow suit with the United States as they have opened up more and more, restrictions are lifted, no masks for the vaccinated, and things return back to normal life.  I assumed the border would be open again, school would have resumed in person and mission teams would be able to come down and serve with us.  Unfortunately, that has not been the case so far this year.  It has definitely been tiring and discouraging at times, literally feeling like this is never going to end.  Who knows what will happen after this week or what phase we will be in, but for the moment, we are enjoying the color yellow and having a bit more freedom.

Carolina and Natalia continue to thrive living with us.  They are both doing great with their online schooling.  Caro has officially finished her junior year of high school.  She did an outstanding job with excellent grades.  Natalia is finishing up her final year in elementary school (6th grade).  She is now fluent in English and speaks more English in our home than Spanish. Ayantu is in her final weeks of 5th grade and both Jackie and I can’t believe our baby girl will be in 6th grade this August. We are hoping and praying that school will be able to resume in-person classes this coming school year.

Our house addition is going well.  We are adding 2 more bedrooms, a bathroom and laundry room.  Meny and Juanito have done an incredible job on the project. We hired Juanito to help and its been a blessing having him work with us. Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to him today. He has a great opportunity to go work up in Idaho. He was able to get his visa and paperwork to be able to work. What an exciting opportunity for him, but we are sad to see him leave. 

Thank you again for all your prayers after our car accident in April.  It was definitely one of the scariest things I’ve been through.  So thankful that Caro and I were safe and escaped with only minor scrapes and bruises.  Last week we finally received our settlement from our insurance.  It was huge blessing to get over half of what we initially paid for the vehicle.  I don’t know whats normal in a situation like this but for down here in Bachiniva, we are thankful for the amount.  Now its time to find a new vehicle.

Jackie and I hope you are all doing well and enjoying a little more freedom.  We often think of you and are so thankful for your faithful prayers, encouragement, financial support and kind words via text messages, emails, phone calls, etc.

Have a wonderful rest of the week and weekend!

Jason, Jackie, Ayantu, Natalia and Carolina

An Exciting Video Update...

Things looked quite a bit different around here this time last year. This week I came across some pictures that I took in February of 2020. Things were very busy and very exciting. The orphanage was noisy with children. Our english classes for the community were off to a great start. We launched our sewing project which provided jobs for some of the moms of our kids at the orphanage. We had begun construction on a building that would become our new recreation room.

And then things drastically stopped and everything seemed to change. During this time of change, we have sought to continue to care for and minister to children and those in need here in Mexico. Even though that looks very different now, the intentions and motivations are the same. In fact, in some regards, we are even more excited about the new opportunities that change has brought forth.

For the past 2 or 3 months, I have sought to find the best way to share with you all some of these changes. Last month I was in Florida for a board meeting as well as sharing at a church. I asked my good friend Daniel (who is one of my board members) if we could do a video interview. So the two of us sat in his office and talked through some of these changes and answered questions that have come up as of late. I’m really really excited about the 21 minute or so video that came from our time together.

Many of you have faithfully walked this journey with us over the past 8 1/2 years and we are forever thankful for that. Jackie and I would love if you would take a moment sometime, grab a cup of coffee and watch this video.

The Steadfast Love...

This past Monday I had a meeting at the high school.  It was the first time i’ve been there since things shut down back in March.  My temperature was checked at the door, seats were marked with an X for social distance seating, and of course everyone had their face masks on.  The teacher talked about how the students are doing working remotely, possible plans for when the school might reopen and then passed out the first quarter report cards.  We are REALLY proud of Carolina who is in 11th grade.  She is excelling in school and had an overall score of 9.4 out of 10.  Even though school has been either from her room or the office, she is doing a fantastic job.

At the end of the meeting, the teacher said something really interesting.  He was talking about the challenges that some of the students and families are facing doing remote schooling.  One of those being the amount of cellphone data that is needed for assignments and communication.  For the high school, all communication and homework assignments are done virtually via an app called WhatsApp. He went on to say that normally when the students would come to class, he would collect their cellphones in a box so they wouldn’t be a distraction during class.  Now, students are having to rely on their phones because that IS their class time.  He finished by saying “isn’t it interesting how things in our world have flipped around due to this pandemic.”

Some might call it “the new norm” or “unprecedented times.” 2020 will definitely be a year that will always be remembered and really changed the course of things.  It was so difficult having to cancel missions trips, golf tournaments, speaking engagements, basically everything this year. Especially because those things are such a vital part in what we do down here in Mexico.

Thankfully, even in the midst of a global pandemic and things being completely turned upside down and cancelled, we have a God who forever remains faithful.  He has continued to show His faithfulness every single day.

Take our annual House of Blessing Golf Tournament for instance.  Having had to cancel our two physical tournaments in WA and FL, someone suggested having a “virtual” event.  I really had no idea how this would turn out or if it would even work.  I was absolutely amazed to see over 45 people who participated, playing golf, mini-golf and disc golf from 3 different states, and raised over $2100.  Amazing!

What about our Back To School Drive?  Normally, we do a big drive every year to raise money for school supplies, fees, uniforms, etc for all our kiddos.  Since school is remote and via television, I wasn’t sure there would be an interest to raise funds.  Once again, I was amazed.  A church in Oregon raised over $2600 to help with school needs.  Incredible!

As we head into the weekend may we be forever reminded of the goodness of the Lord and these wonderful words…

Lamentations 3:22-23…The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; GREAT is Your faithfulness.