Images of Isla

We are in the states today, catching up with friends and family, but ever mindful of the friends on the island. Cecilia, on the far left, is a Mayan woman we have the joy of knowing. She has 3 children and is married to Alex. Thanks to God and His precious people, we have been able to provide her children with shoes. She walks the beach all day selling handcrafted goods from Chiapas, and some days goes home without a sale! But... she believes in Jesus and that He is a rewarder of those that seek Him. Her attitude is one of love and joy and trust. A true gift to our hearts. The little boy with the blue shoes just wanted to hug his new sandalias!

You can see video games, la isla style, on the left, and our new friend Enrique. Enrique has been a recipient of the shoe ministry and, as a result, the door to connect with his grandmother has been opened to us. We pray for connections with people every day. People are all that matter, and so we continue to go because you continue to give. We thank God for you all everyday!
We thank God for the brilliant Blaine and Bethany Franger, who supplied us with a few of these photos!
Please pray for us as we sojourn in the midst of Mexico, and travel for a short time in the states.
Hebrews 13:20-21

We hope that all is well with everyone and that your summer is warming up. The thermostat has been turned up another few degrees here on the Island as our home stays between 85 and 87 24/7. We are trying to stay away from the air conditioner as much as possible but sometimes it must be used. We have had a few events since last updating the sight. My father(pictured above) graduated to be with the Lord on June 8, 2009 after living out an outstanding life before us for one week short of 87 years. He was a hero to me as we were able to be home with him and my family for his final days here on earth. He invited in with peace and dignity his final walk here and took the hand of Jesus with confidence to sit at the foot of his throne. See you soon Dad. We have returned to the Island but are getting ready to go back to Central Oregon for a previously scheduled trip from July 2-16. The shoes that so many of you have blessed us with are still seen running around the Island and we keep returning to the locations that we handed them out in to see if they are in need of another new pair. We are connecting with a dear friend Marisa and her husband to meet with new families. She has an inside track to alot of the poorest of the poor here so we shall use her as another means of reaching out in the name of Jesus.

We thank you for your prayers and support as we press on for His glory and honor. We will be back the middle of July and kick off another round of shoes for the children.

outreach ministry to Rancho Viejo

Well... today we went to Rancho Viejo, the providence of Isla Mujeres over on the main land back of Cancun. We took Rance, Bender, and Andrew, the three young men from the States that came down to do missions work. Alfonso, the minister from a church in cancun picked us up, took us out to his church where he dropped us off, left. We were in the midst of strangers for the next 4 hours. What a treat is was to come along side of fellow believers who were there in the little church to serve food and share Jesus with the 30 plus kids that we gathered outside of the school and walked them over. We made friends on the way, even though the Spanish is not happening from my perspective, but God is a God of universal languages and love. He broke down the barriers, we loved on them none the less and had a great time watching and helping. The photos speak for themselves as we sat and listened, danced and sang with them, and then ate. Afterwards we went out and played soccer in the street, since we were pretty much in the middle of a jungle but the street was a wonderful soccer field. Lots of laughs today and warm smiles from all. The staff there are true servants of the Lord as they ushered in the kids, taught the word with the felt board, fed the hungy little tummies, and then off they went after a little bit of legos and soccer. They even had Vegie Tales in Spanish for them. Sweet stuff since it has been many years since we have watched Larry boy go for it. God is so amazing as we see new things, meet new brothers and sisters in our walk down here. Enjoy and talk with you soon.

Evelyn Gidalti Colli... Her Grandpa works down at the beach club here in front of our Casa. He wells up with tears each time we talk about her over his excitement that she is getting the opportunity to learn English at the La Gloria English School. (www.folges.org) I was able to get her a sponsor so that she can go free. What a blessing to see her blossom as she learns new words and grows in confidence when using them. Another chance to see how God is using us to touch and reach these precious kids on Isla.

Pinatas and Faith

We went to a birthday party yesterday. Karen was turning 3! We had the great blessing of bringing a pinata filled with candy! Although we mumbled our way through the social event, played with the children, and smiled a lot, we were constantly aware of the struggle to fit in! (Natalie, perhaps more than Greg, as many of the men speak a bit of English, while the women seldom understand a word!)It's a little awkward at times and helps us understand why, at the tower of Babel, the people who spoke French moved to France together, the Spanish speakers headed toward Spain, and the English huddled trying to figure out how to make their language a universal one!
However, when it came time to put up the pinata, although we could only sing a few lines of the pinata song, we felt like part of the family. As we all joined together in celebrating the life of a sweet little girl, we felt an overwhelming sense of God's faithfulness in allowing us to connect with this precious group of people.
And, we really felt like we fit in!
God has reminded us once again that we need to take one step at a time, trusting Him to make "all things beautiful in His time", and rejoice in the little treasures He provides along the way. It was so good to feel like we fit in, when most of the time we know we don't!
It was a reminder of how God tells us that, by faith, we can move mountains. Our "outsider" status is like a mountain that we long to move! I remember asking the Lord about that scripture once. It seems that there are so many mountains we have wanted to move. And in his still small voice, He spoke these words of courage and hope.
"Yes, faith does move mountains, but sometimes those mountains are moved one bucket at a time. Grab a bucket."
God is so good! Today is filled with hope for our future here as we grab our buckets and walk by faith.

Loving My New Shoes