Back on Track

Well, it has been a long 6 months for us around here to say the least. Greg started a repair and paint project on our Condo building back in August of 2011 thinking it would take a couple of months to complete. Here we are almost to March 2012 and he still needs to put the finishing details around the building to be completely finished. We have seen how easy it is to get busy and how it tilted ours lives to a pretty amazing degree of upheaval. Natalie had to start doing little things around the house that Greg had been doing for four years. We have not even had time to go to the beach and say hello to all our friends that work there as Greg's exhausting schedule kept him working eight hours a day, six days a week. Natalie became his biggest cheerleader and kept him looking towards the final time he would have to set up and tear down the scaffolding around the building. Shipped it back to Cancun last week and he is now back on solid ground for the rest of the painting. Praise God for giving us the strength and support to make time for several shoe drops and to love on the kids of Isla Mujeres. They are always so appreciative for the shoes and we are so blessed to be able to hand them out in the name of Jesus thanks to the folks that continue to give for His glory.

Blessings In The New Year

Meet Nancy (in the orange dress) and her little sister. Nancy's mother is blind and Nancy is constantly seen leading her mother to her school in the morning. Once there, Nancy's little sister leads mama home. They are a beautiful sight to us and a wonderful example of caring for others in life. We pray that in the New Year, you may be blessed to hold the hand of someone in need, or that someone will see your need and hold yours! We always take comfort in knowing God's hand is constantly stretched out to us. He is our ever present Help in time of need. Loving Him and you in the New Year, Greg and Natalie

Christmas Shoes

We want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year, and to thank each and every one of you who have been a part of Zapatos Para Los Ninos! On Christmas Eve we were able to deliver almost 300 pairs of shoes, and for the first time, every child who came for shoes got them! Whoo hoo! We had many generous helpers who brought shoes, toothbrushes and toothpaste, new clothing, hats, blankets, and special gifts. It was a real festival! Our local friend, Manuelin, blocked off the road so he could set up several piñatas. Chairs lined the street, a few of the local ladies made tamales for everyone, and then Santa Claus showed up for a visit. It was so special to see the children all dressed up in their best clothes, and excited for new shoes. When we first began delivering shoes to certain parts of the island, almost none of the children wore shoes. Now when we go to deliver shoes, we are more likely to replace an old worn pair! Praise the Lord!And thank you to Kirk Blackburn for putting together this slideshow!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

This morning we woke up to 54 degrees and 90% humidity. Cold to say the least for Isla Mujeres. Downtown in the plaza the decorations are going up and homes around the Island are starting to glow with a Christmas theme. We are gathering quite a bundle of shoes and assorted goodies as we prepare for our annual Christmas outreach. Such an exciting time for the kids here in anticipation that Papa Noel (Santa Claus) is coming to town. As Christmas approaches we are reminded of the greatest gift ever given, Jesus Christ and the price He paid for us. A gift given with unmeasurable love and our desire is to share this love with every pair of shoes. Blessings during this wonderful Christmas season and thanks for all you do.

Blessings

What a blessing for us to be able to stand back and watch others love on the kids here. We struck up a conversation with a group of ladies we had met before on the beach the other day and they informed us they had shoes. A few days later they asked us if we could go with them and help out. Of course we said yes, and set the time and place to meet. They went down to central and bought shoes from Ely, our favorite store owner and helped her make rent once more. Upon meeting with the group, we found out that 5 of them were from Milwaukie, Oregon where we had just been for 3 weeks visiting family. Small world and God is so faithful in bringing folks such as these to love on the little feet here. Over 100 pairs of shoes were fitted that day by loving hearts and gentle hands. Simple acts of caring and giving bring big smiles and memories for these kids. Thanks for sharing your time in helping us love on the precious feet of Isla Mujeres.

TIME

We have referred to this word many times in our past postings, and it is still one we find worth pondering. Time never stops moving forward. We can not turn it back as much as we would like to sometimes. "Timing is everything" is a favorite phrase in our society. "Time just got away from me... where did the time go?... I don't have the time. We use it in many ways to either excuse ourselves from not keeping an appointment or recognizing that time really did get way from us and wonder how it happened. We just returned from a 3 week visit to Oregon to see family and our wonderful son graduate from The Art Institute of Portland in Photography. Sitting down this morning I realized it has been a "Long Time" since the last posting. We have had folks from around the states contact us and deliver shoes here for the kids. Met many new visitors on the beach and given the chance to share why we are here and what we are doing. We took one family into a new colonial to hand out shoes and the need is great everywhere. We are still amazed at the response over a new pair of flip flops or sandals for those precious little feet. So many parents let us know that we came at the perfect "TIME" as their other shoes had just fallen apart. As we continue to share and show others our journey here, they have taken it upon themselves to come again and go hand out shoes on their own. Praise God for their love for the kids and desire to keep impacting them in little ways. We keep seeking out God's will with each rising sun and He continues to leads us to new families and friends.

A WILLING VESSEL WITH A SERVANTS HEART

A SERVANTS HEART: I read this morning in Luke how Jesus came to serve and His example of humility is what we should all be desiring in our own lives. We were touched by our friends from New Jersey once again with their love and serving towards the kids of Isla Mujeres. Debbie, along with her family came down with shoes, little flashlights, glow sticks, Frisbees, and a whole lot of other stuff for the kids. We were blessed by getting to go with them and take photos as they loved these precious souls in the name of Jesus. She is the C.E.O. of the Original, "JERSEY GIRLS" that we have written about in past blogs. This trip she brought her 2 daughters and husband to join her first hand in what she has been doing the last couple of years. They have heard all the stories and seen the photos from past visits but this time, they came and experienced it together. What a blessing they were to the kids as they marched right in like they had done it everyday and loved on them as they handed out all the goodies. It is great for us to stand back and allow others to take home a changed heart, experiences of a different culture, and most of all, their testimony as to how God used them to serve others. Our desire here on the Island is to be "WILLING VESSELS WITH A SERVANTS HEART" as we continue with the work God desires to do through us. The GLORY is all His and we are humbled by the folks He directs to us for the furthering of His Kingdom. Thanks Joe and Debbie for sharing in this journey with us.