Christmas Shoes and Party 2013

Christmas Shoes and Party!    

We are counting down the days to our Christmas Party! Last year every child who came to the party received a pair of shoes, a meal, a small gift, and lots of love from all the Helpers!
We are collecting shoes now for our December 24th fiesta grande!
Thank you for all your support and prayers. It seems like an impossible thing to collect enough shoes so that each child will get a pair for Christmas, but we serve a God who loves to prove that nothing is too difficult for Him. Christmas is such a blessed reminder of Gods greatest gift to us. He gave big, He gave with purpose, He gave in love. He gave it all in Jesus!
Again, as you give, we gather and go in His name, celebrating the One who gives the soul worth.

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
‘Til He appear’d and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

A little bit goes a long way

Greetings from the land of sunshine and sunshine. We are grateful today for the cloud cover and North winds here on Isla Mujeres that is keeping the temperature down a few degrees. As we have stated in previous posts, 2-3 degrees here on the Island is a huge swing for us. It has been very warm for October with inside temperatures hanging around 90 in the afternoons and cooling off to 86 at night. Today we woke up to a pleasant 81 and it is holding at 82. Our past month has been a busy one with us moving once again and we have settled in for a long winters nap as to say. We have moved into the Colonials and it is amazing how many sounds we get to hear each day and recognize the services rendered with each blast of a horn, banging of wrenches on propane tanks, speakers blaring, or a whistle letting you know the knife sharpening man is coming down the street. We did not get to experience these wonderful events out in our other home and we are enjoying it on a daily basis. We have posted before about a blind woman who has two young daughters we met years ago named Jenny. We have taken a special likening to them and have tried to help out as much as possible without getting in the way. In Septembers post, little Candi and Nancy are seen getting new school shoes and on this day, Nancy informed us that Candi had been in the hospital in CanCun due to the living conditions in their home. Dirt floor+animals+rain+humidity+???= not a good situation. She told us they would really like a new floor so Candi would not get sick anymore. So off we went and we prayed about how we could be of service to them. Well, God placed a couple in our path a few months ago that have a ministry called "Keys 4 Life". Knowing what they stood for and their hearts desire, we contacted them about praying for Jenny and the girls. I told them around $300.00usd would give them a new floor and a gift of this magnitude would forever change their lives. Two days later Ken and Debbie contacted us and said, "It is a go." Praise God for giving hearts and a ministry answering this prayer request. Without the two of us being involved in the actual organizing or work, we contacted others folks on the Island and they got a new floor. The joy in their faces speaks for itself and we give God the glory in seeing how He brings it all together as we seek out His will and ask for His covering. We continue to be simple servants for His Kingdom and conduits of His provisions as we make new friends around our new home and pray that they see Jesus in all we do. $300.00usd is not a lot by our standards but for these folks, it is a huge chunk of money that seems impossible to come up with at one time. Jenny's dad wanted to delay the project so he could help. He has a bad knee and he takes medicine that costs him $50 pesos (about $4.00usd) a week so he can get around pain free. He had not been able to afford the medicine for the last 2 weeks and thought if we waited for another week or so, he would be able to get $50 pesos together so he could help. Our friend that spearheaded the project gave him the $50 pesos and dad got to help out plus he got to be blessed by helping out his daughter. Yes, a little bit does go a long way for these folks here and we are so thankful to God for allowing us to see this and keep life in perspective. Lend a hand when you can, bless the socks off of someone out there, and do it for the glory of God. Remember, a little bit does go a long way for someone.

SIMPLY AMAZED

We continue to be amazed at the speed of time as we love on the kids here on Isla Mujeres. We get up with good intentions to update our blog and then the next thing we know, 4 months have passed. Life is that way no matter where you live we believe and it is a simple reminder to us to complete the tasks before us as God lays them on our hearts each day. Do we tend to say "Tomorrow" with so many little events (Not that our Blog is a little event) that come before us throughout the day and then realize that it has slipped away for a month or more? Since our last post, we have handed out 100's of shoes to the kids here and are always so humbled and blessed by the support of so many. Every pair is given in the name of Jesus and every foot loved on as we enter into the lives of so many here. Friends from Canada brought down 65+ pairs of soccer shoes for the kids and another family just left after handing out over 100 pairs of shoes while here. A soccer Co-op donated the shoes and the Holden families church group cleaned them all up for the journey down. The Leonard triplets sold cookies and lemonade for a year to be able to buy shoes and what a blessing to see 12 year old triplets wanting to serve kids who are less fortunate than them. We are in the process of getting school shoes for special kids that we have come to know throughout the 6+ years we have been here. Yesterday, we started out just to see if the shoe store was open, to see if they were having school, and to maybe buy a few pair. God moved in a mighty way as we ended up buying shoes, finding the kids that are scattered around the Island and also coming upon the man that sells shoes from his V.W. van for a living. When we got home we sat in amazement how it had all come together for us and thanked God for every piece of the puzzle. When we sat back and relived the day, 20 seconds either way in our journey would of meant missing the kids as they were walking home from school, standing on a corner,riding their bikes, etc.. What a treat to be able to come driving down the road and see Dyna just standing there looking around in the middle of the Colonias and to pull up and hand her a pair of school shoes. Off we went down the road to get a new toilet seat, (yes a toilet seat was our agenda during this leg of the journey), and then to have Isleni come walking across the street playing with her top. Joy filled our hearts as she went running towards her home as fast as she could go with her new shoes. Another prayer answered as we had not seen her for a couple of months not knowing

if she had moved from the Island or to a new house. Blessed for sure since where we saw her she was not close to her home but praise be to God, because He knew where she was and placed us there at the exact time needed. We love seeing God work this way as we asked for directions in our day and He answered them above and beyond our wildest imaginations. We will try to do better in keeping the blog updated in the future so that those of you that read it can be blessed along with us as God moves here on Isla through us. Blessings wherever you are and however God is using you for His glory.

We did it again

YES!!!!! We did it again. We let another 2 months pass and no updates. Please forgive us. We returned to the States for the first time in over a year and a half for the birth of our first Grand child. We welcomed into this wonderful world little "Locket Laveda Lockhart" on April 12, 2013. What an amazing thing it is, to be a part of such a marvelous event. Upon returning we hit the ministry field with four wonderful ladies on the 2nd of May with over 275 pairs of shoes going out to the kids here. Every pair of feet went out the door with new shoes and a great big smile on their faces. God is so gracious to us in providing a constant flow of support from folks abroad and in allowing us to be a part of His grand plan. Thank you Jesus and all that continue to help us "LOVE" the kids here in this beautiful part of the world. Met some new visitors the other day and a person who has lived here for a lot of years and they both had the same conclusion. The people that live here are by far the friendliest and giving folks they have ever been around. That is the main theme about the locals here on Isla Mujeres and we agree with them one hundred percent. Our shoe ministry stretches across so many areas of outreach with the locals. One great testimony of your love for them through us is with Ely, our shoe store lady. Not seeing her for a few months and returning from our trip, I thought I should go and see her before our next shoe buy. I was greeted by her friendly smile and hello but she seemed a little down on this day. Asking her what was wrong, she informed me that she had been sitting there praying to Jesus (her photo of Him on her wall) all day. I was her first customer in the door and she was asking Jesus what she should do since she was three months late on her rent. I smiled, felt such great joy, and asked her if $12,000 pesos would help her situation. She gave me a big hug and started crying and thanking Jesus for her angels, Greg and Natalie. The four ladies showed up two days later and bought $12,500 pesos worth of shoes and her rent was caught up once again. We are so humbled to watch how God uses us for His glory and it all goes to Him. So off we went to blessed Guadalapana with all those shoes and a few more for the next trip somewhere here on Isla as God leads. We have also been able to hand out numerous Bibles to both the locals and also a missionary named Rueben from here who is taking the Bibles into villages around Chiapas. The summer heat is starting to rise and we are back settling in for the summer. Thanks for being patient with us as we continue to try and keep pace with our blog and life as well. Blessings from Isla Mujeres and Thanks for remembering us in your prayers.

ABUNDANT BLESSINGS

It does not seem like almost two months since we last posted about our journey here on Isla Mujeres. We have had an over whelming amount of shoes given to us and purchased since writing last and what a blessing it has been for the kids here. February we handed out over a 100 pairs of shoes and the month of March we gave away over 200 pairs as well. We went to Guadalapana, the community we love on the most and also did a shoe outreach in the community of La Gloria at the home of Evelyn. We can not thank everyone enough for supporting these efforts with love, shoes, and donations as we continue to love on the precious feet of the kids on the island. God is so faithful and we keep seeking out His will in our lives as we share His son Jesus each day granted to us here. May your days before you be richly blessed.

2013 IN FULL SWING Christmas was a grand event for the kids here on Isla. With all the normal festivities that the Island holds, we were able to hand out over 250 pairs of shoes and provide a meal with entertainment as well. Instead of Santa showing up, a clown came with his two helpers and created a lot of smiles for a few hours. Turkey sandwiches and spaghetti for all the kids along with glow sticks and a small gift. Thanks to everyone involved in making this happen for the children whom we love so dearly. February is shaping up to be another great month as many folks have contacted us to bring shoes/or buy them here and go find some precious feet to love on. Stay tuned for February as 2013 is shaping up to be an exciting year that lies ahead, as always... "Lord willing."