Pray for Selena

One of my favorite little girls, Selena, suddenly got very sick about a week ago. She apparently went into a coma and had no pulse. The health care providers at the government hospital could not determine the cause and sent her home once she appeared okay. She is still extremely pale, and the family has no answers. They are extremely poor but want to try to save money to take Selena to a private practice doctor to get the diagnosis and treatment that she needs. Please pray for this beautiful, precious 4 (or maybe 5 now) year old girl!

Christmas Celebrations

Throughout last week, we celebrated Christmas with each of our Bible study groups. Then on Saturday night we had a dinner for our Wednesday group, giving them an opportunity to invite their husbands/dads to join us. As we crowded 35 people into a tiny space, we sang Christmas songs . . . . . . ate dinner . . .

. . . then distributed our Christmas gift bags and watched the kids receive them with such excitement!
Then I took pictures of most of the families in front of the litte tree.

Then the women started saying that it was my turn to pose for a picture. Since I had no interest in standing alone for a "family" photo, I politely declined. That's when they told me that they thought it should be a picture of me with all of my "students." I loved that idea, and I love this picture!

Feliz Navidad!

Girls Groups

When you have to miss a week with a group, there is always the risk that the group will fall apart. After only having met with my new pre-teen girls groups two Mondays, I prayed that my one Monday away in Puerto Vallarta would not cause the groups to fail. Monday morning I headed out to see if my 2 girls would be there. I was still pretty tired after my long day of riding buses back to town and my short night of sleep, but I was hopeful. Myrna was already there and had brought her 12 year old sister as well. Daniela soon joined us, and we had a good morning. They even asked if we could have a Christmas celebration this month.

In the afternoon I had my 3 girls from before plus 2 new ones! What a blessing to see these groups not only continue to exist but to grow! Please pray for these 8 young girls to understand more of God's love and His plan. Also pray for God to protect them from the dangers they face growing up in such a rough neighborhood. I am praying that He will continue to show me ways that I can bond more with these girls and pour His love into their lives.

Birthday

On Thursday during my time in Puerto Vallarta, I celebrated my birthday. I was overwhelmed by all of the phone calls, emails, and facebook posts from friends and family. What an amazing reminder of how very blessed I am!!! Plus, my dear friends Preston and Courtney went far above and beyond what I could have imagined to ensure that it was a great day for me.
Preston brought home these beautiful flowers while Courtney cooked a great breakfast.

In the afternoon we went for a walk on the malecon, looking out over the ocean and drinking Starbucks (mine, of course, was chai tea!) Then that evening we went out for a seafood dinner where we could watch the sunset over the ocean. (Can you tell I love the ocean?)

In many restaurants, when the servers are informed of a birthday, they gather and sing and bring a dessert to the guest of honor. Bubba Gump was no exception. As they circled the table and sang and clapped, our primary server held a cup of ice cream and seemed to have intentions of feeding it to me during the song. In reality, his intentions were to smear the ice cream on my face. I have to say, I laughed quite a bit in the process of trying to avoid it!

Thanks to all of my wonderful friends and family, including Preston and Courtney as well as all who sent a message or called, for helping make my day far more special than I dreamed it would be. What a blessing you are in my life!

Vallarta Ministry

While a few things I had planned to do in terms of ministry while in Puerto Vallarta did not go according to plan, I am excited about some things that did happen and have learned not to be surprised or overly upset when things don't go according to plan in Mexico.

• I was able to share informally with Preston and Courtney and a few key people in their church a bit about my role in Aguascalientes and an idea of how they could come here on a mission trip to support this ministry.
• I was blessed with the opportunity to spend some time with some people who have become dear friends over the years of my trips to Vallarta, attend a party in honor of one friend who is getting married soon, and meet a couple more people.
• The church there has just acquired a new building where they can meet. Preston has done a lot of work to get it ready for them to use, and then Friday night and Saturday we worked hard to paint over the crazy green walls. It was an honor to be a part of this momentous occasion in the history of the church, including attending the first service in the building. In spite of the associated aches and pains and paint on my clothes and shoes, it was also pretty fun to bond a bit more with these friends by working shoulder to shoulder on this project.
• Saturday night Courtney and I invited some women over to make Christmas cards. Things like this are a great way for the women of the church to have a little time in fellowship together as well as a great opportunity to reach out and invite people who don't come to church.

While I didn't get nearly all the pictures I wish I had taken, the past week added some precious memories that I don't think I will need pictures to remember. Such a blessing to be a small part of the work there and to have such special friends there. Please join me in praying for the church, La Esperanza de Vallarta, as they reach out to the people in the neighborhood where they now meet. Pray for each member of the church to continue to grow deeper in their personal walk with Christ and to reach out to those around them. Pray for Preston and Courtney and their daughter Callie as they continue to serve there and to seek God's direction for their ministry.