A Busy Week

We’ve had some rain this week, and some windy days but it’s starting to warm up here in Tepeyac, and today is a nice day for hanging clothes on the line, with a little breeze, and the birds chirping all around.

Last week, Blas brought a boy named Alejandro, one of Paula’s nephews, over to dig the new outhouse hole and the boy invited his friend. We’ve been talking about it for awhile but are finally getting it done. Guillermo spent the day with us, had breakfast, and hung out with his friends while they worked. We served them drinks, lunch and sugar cookies I baked, and they listened to their MP3 player while they dug the hole. They completed the job and as soon as we can get some help, we will move the outhouses over the new holes.



Alejandro (on left) and his friend digging the outhouse hole for us.

One of our beautiful sunsets thru electric lines...

 

This week, we have been collecting things for the men in the prison. We have handed out all the New Testament Bibles we had but look forward to next month when Greg will be bringing some down from Aspermont Community Church.  

One man has a wife in Eagle Pass who just had a baby by C-section. He asked me to call her and find out how she’s doing, and I’ve tried calling several times and finally spoke to her on Saturday. Señora Magda Gonzales and her baby boy, Alan, are doing fine, but mom found out she’s anemic and is taking vitamins. He was born February 3^rd and his mother plans to bring him down for a visit this coming weekend.

Saturday, we were invited to have dinner with Samuel Villaroja, the previous dentist of Jiménez and his friends in Dolores, across the bridge from there. We had chicken taquitos and grape Jell-O for dessert, and before we ate, they asked me to pray for our meal. Bill and I shared about our lives and what God was doing in Tepeyac and at the prison. They invited a neighbor over, David, who is from Connecticut. We had met him in November when I painted at the store in Jiménez. He is retired military and has lived there for several years. The home belonged to a young woman who is the librarian in Jiménez, and since we asked about it, they told us a little about the children’s home there in Dolores. It was enough to peak our interest.

After we left their house, we drove to the children’s home, (Casa Hogar,) Rancho Jovenes Del Rey (Youth of the King Ranch). The director, Geronimo, was very nice and told us that he and his wife, Stella, and their two children are moving this week to the Casa Hogar in El Moral, on the way to Piedras Negras. Both homes are supported by the ministry we visited in Quemado, Bob King Ministries. The home in El Moral only has girls and the home in Dolores has boys. At present, there is only one 15-year-old boy residing there who is autistic, and has lived there for the past 5 years. A couple from Piedras Negras is moving in to replace Geronimo and his family this week. We hope to spend more time with these ministries and see great blessings there for the children in their care. We asked Geronimo where the children come from that live at the home, and he said DIF brings them, which is Mexico’s version of Child Protective Services. As it is in the states, they are an understaffed group of government workers and need lots of prayer as they make decisions for the children on their caseloads.

Maria and Socorro and the kids stayed after church and Blass helped them clean up the back area and burned most of the brush and old cactus. It looks so good now. I made a big meal of chicken spaghetti, cornbread and un-frosted cupcakes and we enjoyed a sweet time with all of them. We took them home about 5 p.m. so it was a full day of fellowship.

We’ve had a surprise this week when we received our electric bill. Our electric bill was over 2,000. pesos, (almost $200. US.) and although it’s for two months, it was much more than we thought it would be. When we received our last bill, we unplugged our big refrigerator and just use the little fridge in the trailer now. We saw other people’s bills that had the same amount of kilowatt hours, but cost a tenth of ours. After talking to our local electrician, we found out that the electric company charges 10 times more for churches and businesses here than for residential customers. Needless to say, we’re disconnecting the majority of our appliances, even though we don’t use them much. We can cut back a lot but we need to get moved to the house we’re going to repair to live in. It’s a long way from being livable but in the meantime, we can do a lot to lessen our usage at the church. I thought it would go down when we disconnected the fridge, but apparently that wasn’t the problem.

Bill did some patching on the roof of the trailer Monday with ”cold coat,” a sort of rubbery paintable liquid to seal the holes around the vent. The sunny day made it a great time to get that job done.

I have been doing Beth Moore’s Study on Queen Esther. It’s so good, and has been a real eye-opener for me. I have enjoyed it very much.

Thursday we had a visit from Manuelita and her son, Christian, who live in Tepeyac. She is Guillermo’s cousin, and she came to see if we could help her with her son’s need for diapers. He was born with a birth-defect called “neurogenetic bladder” and has had a catheter since he was 2. He has had surgeries and she showed me his scars and catheter, and said she wondered if we could help with diapers as they are very expensive and he has to use two to go to school. He attends kindergarten, and was one of the children who received a Christmas box when Greg and Robin came down in December.

If anyone has a desire to help with this need, please contact us or Greg Goza. We hope we can help Manuelita and her son with this need. His diaper size is 5, and I am not sure if that's the same in the US. He is an average-sized 5-year-old boy., as you can see in the picture below.

We’ve had several kids come over this week to paint. One girl, Samantha, had an art project she needed to do and her painting was an abstract design. She needed paint so came by to paint her picture at our house. I asked her where she got the fabric (it looked familiar) and she said her mother cut up the inside of a bedskirt, the fusing part, to make her canvas. Pretty smart, actually. She covered a piece of wood with her “canvas” and painted a nice abstract.

I have been sick most of the week with a bad cold that has gone into my chest, and I am finally feeling a little better, but still coughing a lot. I appreciate your prayers for our health.

We thank the Lord for you and your interest in the ministry here in Mexico. We want to see many souls come to a saving knowledge of Christ and hope to be a part of the solution here.

Walk with the King and be a blessing!

In His steps,

Toni and Bill

Manuelita and her son, Christian

Valentine's Day Within Prison Walls

Our Valentine’s Day afternoon was spent with the men at the prison near Piedras Negras, and we had a wonderful visit. We arrived a little after 1 p.m., and after trading our licenses for “fichas,” we were led to the big metal doors where the guards stay on the outside and we walk into the prison yard. Almost immediately, two of the men we’d visited with Monday met us and helped us carry our bag and plastic bucket, filled with some canned goods, candy, Bibles and tracts. We also brought some sandwich bags with instant coffee, deodorant, soap and toothpaste, some of the items they had asked us to bring.

We walked down the gated walkways that traverse the yard, and greeted every man who walked past us or was sitting along the sides. Most of them greeted us with “Buenas tardes, Hermana,” and “Buenas tardes, Hermano.” Some even said, “Dios le bendiga.” (God bless you.) Some men were playing soccer in the yard as we walked by. Some of the men were washing clothes, hanging them on the cyclone fences.

One of the unusual things Bill noticed was that there are dogs inside the gates of the prison. He saw about 20 dogs there. I guess I don’t remember ever seeing a dog inside a US prison before, except the guard dogs that search for escapees.

Under a covered area, several men were cutting wood and making cutting boards and tortilla boards in the shape of apples, carving details in the leaves and stems. Nearby, we sat down with several men at a cement table with benches and listened to them as they began to share about their lives and their testimonies. We read the Word together, some of them sharing their favorite verses. I told them about Bill’s life and shared my salvation experience, coming to Christ after the death of my first son. They asked how long I’d been walking with the Lord and it was the first time I thought about it being over 30 years. Today is my son, Brandon’s 30^th birthday. What an adventure, walking with Jesus!

We got their names and told them we’d be praying for them. This morning, Bill and I prayed for each one individually, trusting God to transform their lives and use them for His glory.

The men introduced to two musicians, who invited us into a church nearby, framed with 2x4’s, and covered with blue FEMA tarps. The hand-painted sign over the door read, “Ministerio Carcelario Bethesda.” Inside, it said “Casa de Misericordia, Escuela de Fe.” (Bethesda Prison Ministry, House of Mercy, School of Faith.)

We joined them in the little church, with a few folding chairs on a broken, concrete and dirt floor, one bare light bulb giving light in the semi-darkness of the blue tarps, and sang praise songs with the men and their families. It was uplifting and encouraging to us to join that Spirit-filled congregation.

Antonia, the lady I met 10 days ago our first day at the prison, and her mother and sister from Torreon were there to visit Antonia’s son, Jose Luis. It was a wonderful service, and the men took turns giving their testimonies and sharing favorite songs with the little group of about 20 people. The guitar player, Jorge, led the service and asked us to share. I translated while Bill told the men that he hoped they would listen to an old man who has spent many years behind bars, and wasted most of his life doing crime. He said he hoped they would take the Bible seriously and start using it as their life’s manual. I told them that ever since I first saw the prison I desired to share the gospel behind these walls, and now God has opened the door for us to do just that. It was encouraging to meet and shake hands with these men, and to pray with them and praise the Lord with them in the little makeshift room.

We talked to several more men on our way out, and prayed with 5 more individuals that Bill stopped to talk with along the way. The last man we visited with was Pedro, a troubled 26-year-old who lived in Denton before being deported. He said he’s being released in two weeks, to move home to Monclova, and said he knows his three enemies are the devil, the world and his flesh. We prayed for him before we left, and prayed God would deliver him from his lifestyle, and help him to walk with the Lord the remainder of his days.
 

We appreciate your prayers for the men at this facility and for us as we share the love of Jesus with the men and their families behind the walls. Bill got to hold several babies that came to visit family members for Valentine’s Day. It was a good day and we look forward to returning soon.

On a different note, Guillermo still comes over every day. This morning, he watched  Hope Ranch on the DVD player the Goza’s gave us. He loves to watch cowboy and horse movies and laughs out loud, which I love to see.

Someone recently told me they didn’t know how to pronounce his name. Guillermo means William and its pronounced “Ghee-air-moe.” (Ghee sounds like key) I don’t know how else to put it. It’s the same name Bill uses when he introduces himself, and here, they give him the nickname “Memo.” It’s like Bill in Spanish.

Our doctor here still hasn’t got a referral for us to a specialist for Guillermo’s hearing problem. We know the wheels move much slower here, so we are patiently waiting for God’s timing in all of this. In the meantime, I am blessed that he enjoys spending time with us.

We are grateful for your interest in what we’re doing here. We know that God is holding us in the palm of His hand, and is opening doors for us every where we turn.

God bless you today, as you keep your eyes on the King of kings. He’s our only hope.

Clinging to Jesus,

Toni and Bill

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
   because the LORD has anointed me
   to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
   to proclaim freedom for the captives
   and release from darkness for the prisoners,^[a]
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
   and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
  and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
   instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
   instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
   instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
   a planting of the LORD
   for the display of his splendor.

Isaiah 61:1-3

Broke Down and Feeding the Homeless

It’s Thursday morning, and we are sitting in Del Rio at the McDonald’s (with free wi-fi) having breakfast. I had to take a picture of Bill. Yesterday he spent 9½ hours, mostly under the van, while he took off and replaced the alternator and then the voltage regulator. The 1976 Dodge is difficult to access the parts, so poor Bill had quite a time. We were in the Auto Zone parking lot from 7 am to 4:30 pm, and it was a dirty job.

After we finished, we went to get a $5. footlong sandwich at Subway and a homeless guy was sitting in front of the store. We invited him to join us and visited with him while we stood in line. He’s from Iowa, his name is Tony and he’s a mechanic who came to Texas with the oilfield boom some time ago. Anyway, he grew up in Monterey, Mexico until he was 10 and his family returned to the US, and only he and his little brother are legal because they were born here. We talked to him about the Lord and he said he’s a believer. It was nice to visit with him.

Yesterday was quite a day for us, as we got pulled over two times. Once, by the police and the second time, by the border patrol. The first time was at 4:30 in the morning and the policewoman said she wondered why we were driving down the road at that hour. (We were in Carrizo Springs where Bill was looking for work, and we had slept in the van on the side of the road. We woke up at 4 am, I read the word for a while and then we went to a gas station to get coffee.) She ran background checks on both of our with our ID's and asked Bill if he'd ever been arrested. His response: "I'm 67 years old...of COURSE I've been arrested!" I had to laugh, but later told him that not every 67 year-old person has an arrest record. Only Bill and his sense of humor... The second time we were pulled over between Carrizo Springs and Eagle Pass, the Border Patrol officers said lots of drugs get hauled in vans like this one, and lots of illegals. I guess the old 1976 Dodge has a bad rap....I was sort of thinking of doing prison ministry from behind bars yesterday....but it didn't happen.

By the way, the Border Patrol officer told me I cannot have a Texas license when I live in Mexico. He said he wasn't going to cite me and returned my license and insurance paperwork to me, but he said that I need to have a Mexican license and get rid of my Texas license. I told him I lived in Mexico 7 years with a California license and he said, "Ohhh, but that's California!"

So, if you don't hear from me for awhile, one day you might receive a snail-mail letter from me with a number after my name. If that's the case, just pray for many salvations as I serve behind bars for my life of crime. It sort of made me feel like I'll stay on the other side of the border, thank you, where things aren't so exciting. :)

Today we're in Del Rio, and we will pick up and send out mail, do a load of laundry at the laundromat, get a few supplies (including a washboard) and some spark plug wires for the van, and head back across the border to home. Bill decided too many things were against him finding work, so we'll head back to Tepeyac and get started with the prison ministry. I am glad, and pray the Lord multiply the finances and bring many to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ in Tepeyac, the prison, and the surrounding areas. May God get the glory!

Thank you for reading our little blog, and for praying for us and commenting. We appreciate you and your prayerful support.

Until next time, we're in His grip,

Toni and Bill