We had quite a layover in Dallas on the way home. Our plane was delayed about two hours, so was had a lot of time to just relax!
The girls were hard at work many nights, preparing for the next day's painting. The kindergarten looked awesome!
Marcos was so excited to let me know that he finally learned how to "snap" and I now could teach him the "hit-snap-clap" game.
Little Marcos was my "pal" the whole week. He didn't handle me leaving very well. He was teary-eyed the whole morning. It was so hard to leave, but Lord willing I will hopefully have the chance to go back next year!
Here is Katie Reynolds serving away in the kitchen. Her and her mother Barbra made every meal for us and they were all superb!
These are the four oldest boys (l-r: David, Jovanny, Antonio, and Alfredo). One night I asked David if he knew if Jesus died to forgive his sins and he told me yes. It was so encouraging to here. I'm not sure about the other three, but I pray for them daily. The orphanage doesn't have a high school so they go to public school and face many of the same struggles and temptations we do here in the US.
I was able to grow pretty close to these boys (l-r: Estevan, Jonathin, and Miguel). They were so much fun to be with.
We spent almost every night under the "sombrero" playing soccer with the kids, having sing-a-longs, or just hanging out and talking. There wasn't one night that wrapped up before midnight! Obviously the younger kids were in bed, but the older ones were going strong til one or two am some nights.
Brian Crabb executed excellent leadership and was the reason so much work got done on the PC in a little over one week!
This was at the Sovereign Grace Church in Juarez. Mr Hughes spoke that Sunday and he gave a great message on Rev 5 about worship in Heaven. I was able to ask a few of the kids later how they enjoyed church and they said they really like it. It was encouraging to hear that the Holy Spirit is working, ever so slightly, in their lives.
This restaurant was the Mexican version of Hardees. It was the first time our group went out to lunch with all of the kids. They had a blast! Evidently, the owner of the place knew Dean (who runs the Ranch) and he treated all of the kids to a free meal. It was so special to be able to go to church and to lunch with them.
After lunch, we went to the market in Juarez. It was a blast! All of us sporting our new hats :)
This swing was a favorite of many of the young kids.
On the last morning, I went up to the cross to see the sunrise. It was so amazing to see a reflection of God's glory in His creation!It has been about three weeks since I was in Mexico, but it doesn't seem that long ago. I had such a good time while I was there. God truly did a work in my life that week. The last morning during morning worship we sang the song "Let Your Kingdom Come" and a line that really stuck out to me more than usual was "Lord use us as you want, whatever the test." I went in with an attitude ready to serve in whatever way I could. On my last trip everyone stayed at the Ranch to work all day. We'd start work after breakfast, eat lunch at about 1, have a siesta time until about 3:30, then go back to work until dinner. I thought this year was going to be the same type of thing and so that was the type of serving I was looking forward to. Upon my arrival, I found out that this year was going to be different. Each day, a team of men was formed to go to Juarez after breakfast and work there all day on the Latin American Pastor's College. We'd pack up around 5:30 to be on time for dinner at 7:30. I was on this team four out of the five work days. The first few days were difficult for me. My friends had to continually remind me that I was here to serve! In my selfishness, I wanted to be back at the Ranch to be with the kids. After all, that was why we came, I thought. I'm so thankful for God's faithfulness in turning my selfish heart into a heart longing to do His will. I can honestly say that my heart slowly changed as the week progressed. That is why that line sounded so sweet. Though I failed " the tests" many times, I have a savior who has succeeded in every way for me and gives me power to succeed the next time.
