Hamburgers, Hail and Giants

Today is a beautiful spring day, with a gentle breeze and cloudless skies in Mexico and here in Eagle Pass, as I sit in McDonald's parking lot overlooking the traffic on Garrison, and update this blog.

I had a wonderful visit with friends that came down to Tepeyac from Knox City this weekend, and they put the pump into the well and hooked it up but are missing a few parts to actually have it running and bringing water out of the well. Slowly but surely.

We enjoyed a fun Saturday evening at Rito and Maria’s house, making hamburgers and French fries for dinner and ice cream cones for dessert. I brought bats and balls and the kids had fun playing baseball in the yard. I don’t pitch as well as I used to, but the kids had fun anyway.

Wednesday, we had a bad storm and lots of wind and dirt blowing with some rain and lots of hail. Thankfully, we didn’t have any damage at home except some tree branches that broke off. In San Carlos, there was lots of damage, with roofs blown away and car windows broken out. I got home from VBS just in time to get pelleted by marble-sized hail balls from the pickup to the house. I was soaked to the bone in the few minutes it took to run 100 feet. Thank the Lord for the moisture. We are grateful for every drop.

Yesterday was sad as we had a graveside service for Candelario, a 70-year-old man who was born and raised in Tepeyac. He died from complications of a stroke he had ten days before. He was a sweet man who never married and had no children, but was kind to everyone. He will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him. Please pray God comfort his family during this sad time.

This morning, I got up at 6 and left before 8 to bring Diamantina to Piedras Negras, and we stopped to visit with Alejandro and Veronica at the entrance to Centinella. We had a sweet visit and it was good to see them after nearly a month in Zacatecas. Their vehicle broke down, and finally they were able to get used parts at a wrecking yard and head back home to Coahuila. I will be visiting them on my way back this afternoon to bring some hair clippers for the “muchachos.” Right now, most of the men I see in the rancho are sporting burr haircuts, and the rehab needs a pair of clippers to “keep up with the latest fashion.” (I hope you realize I’m just kidding!)

On my way into Eagle Pass today, I stopped at the Mexico Customs office to investigate residency paperwork for me living in Mexico. I have been dragging my feet as the costs quoted me were way more than I could have afforded. Like most times in my life when I think I am facing a “giant,” I find, when I actually stand up and face it, it’s not as big or scary as I thought it was.

The man I spoke to told me the requirements and I am going to do my best to make it happen in this next month or two. I want to be completely legal living in Mexico, and I believe God will make a way for that to happen.

Please pray for our Children's Day outreach on Wednesday afternoon. We had it last year and hope to have an even better turn-out this year. We are doing lots of games and races at the church, with a gospel message, and prizes, refreshments and hot dogs for everyone who attends. Please pray God use this outreach to touch lives there in Tepeyac and beyond.

 

Here are a few pictures from last year's event...

 



Sack Race using my pillow cases.
Decided to re-think that when most of them were completely shredded after the race...



 

I am blessed beyond measure and pray that God is doing the same in your life. May you see His hand in everything you do, and I pray you keep an attitude of gratitude for every way He blesses your life. 

Thank you so much for reading the blog and for your prayers and support for us. We are truly grateful for each of you.

He is our hope,

Toni and Bill



 

 

New Tires for the Tundra!

Greetings in the amazing name of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world! He is risen and we are so blessed to be forgiven. We don’t deserve His forgiveness, but He gives it freely, desiring that none would perish. We only need to ask His forgiveness and embrace all the promises He has for us. What a privilege to serve the Living Savior!

It is 5 am and I am making bread-dough ornaments for the VBS we’re doing in Tepeyac these two weeks of Easter vacation. The kids are enjoying the singing, Bible stories and crafts. Every day we’re serving a snack before leaving. Today they will be decorating sugar cookies with icing and sprinkles. I just hope they don’t mistake the bread dough ornaments for a cookie!

My camera died last week so I am attempting to use my phone to upload pictures but have yet to be successful at that. Am praying I can make it happen, with God’s help.

The picture of the tire I have posted here is my flat from two weeks ago when I went to Del Rio to find some good used tires for the pickup. This exploded when I was between Calles and Nueva Palestina, about 40 minutes from home. By God’s amazing grace, two men stopped and changed my tire for me within 10 minutes, and I was so grateful. In Del Rio, I found a tire shop and asked if they had used tires my size, and the man sold me two for $30! That was a blessing!

What remained of my tire after the blowout in Mexico

New tires from PIBCC!

Then last week, Pastor Jim and Brenda Garcia from Primera Iglesia Bautista in Corpus Christi called me to tell me the church decided to buy me NEW tires for the pickup! I was so blessed, I was crying when they told me on the phone. God is so good, and Monday morning I got up at 5 and went to Eagle Pass to meet they and have the tires put on while we went to the post office and the dollar store after breakfast. We had a wonderful visit and we all headed home that afternoon. I can’t tell you the last time I had new tires! What a great feeling! I am in awe of God’s lovingkindness.

The end of this month we are planning a festival at the church in Tepeyac for Children’s Day. We had one last year and it was a lot of fun for everyone. Even the mom’s enjoyed it!

This year, we plan to have a simple meal afterwards to spend more time with the families, and the kids are already looking forward to the event. Please pray that the gospel message touch lives and that God uses all of this for His glory. We want to see lives in Tepeyac changed by the Holy Spirit.

Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it… Psalm 127:1a  God bless you as you continue to bring light into the darkness in the world while Jesus tarries. May He give you a fresh anointing and a renewed burden for lost souls.

With much love and gratitude,

Toni and Bill

A Matter of Perspective

Early this morning, as I was praying for my daughter and her husband, praying for God to protect them when they travel around Sacramento on their motorcycle, I was suddenly gripped by fear at the thought. Immediately, I felt God’s peace come over me, realizing how my friends and family feel about me living in Mexico, in an area the media describes as dangerous and infested with drug lords and criminals.

I realized then, (as I’m sure I have on numerous occasions) that our faith in God often depends on our point of view and our personal experience.

I doubt my daughter is afraid to ride the motorcycle with her hubby. I am certainly not living in fear in Mexico, serving among people I know and love here, and many I haven’t had the chance to meet yet.

Isaiah 59:1 says, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.”

This week my granddaughter, Abigail, fell and broke her collar bone and had a concussion. She is healing slowly but I thank God for His protecting her from a worse injury. I wish I could have been there to prevent her from her injury, but I am sure that I couldn’t have prevented it from happening, any more that my son could. Sometimes things just happen that we can’t prevent. I love my children and grandchildren, and I know God loves them even more than I do.

God is good, and I am so grateful for His loving care of my family. He is able to post warrior angels around my children and He is fully able to keep me and my husband safe here in Tepeyac and the surrounding communities we visit. He has kept us safe inside prison walls for all these years we’ve shared the gospel there in Texas and now below the border. When I think of all the things God is doing that I am not even aware of at any given moment, I am so in awe of His loving kindness towards me.

We have put many, many miles on the Toyota pickup I use for ministry here over the nearly two years since it was given to us. During that time we’ve purchased several used tires. The tires we have right now are getting so full of patches, one is nearly bald and the spare has two big bubbles on it. But in my mind’s eye, I picture God’s angels holding the tires together, fingers in the holes like the story of the little boy with his finger in the dike, preventing the water from flowing out of it.  When I had one of my tires repaired again this week, the man at the tire shop in San Carlos took one patch off and put two more on top of the one that was holding the air in the tire with a hole in it, the size of my thumb. So three patches and one angel are protecting us. How good is my God! I pray we will be able to buy some good used tires pretty soon, but I believe, by God’s loving grace, that until that day comes, His angels work as hard as they can to keep us on the road, taking people to the doctor, hospitals and everywhere they need to go when they ask me for a ride.

Philippians 4:19, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

When we went across the border yesterday, I had the opportunity to talk to a wonderful friend in Canada. For some reason, God put us on her heart and she sent us a gift. I was overwhelmed at God’s heart for us and how He put us on our friend’s heart to share what He had blessed them with. I am often in wonder at why He would love me so much. I fail to be the transformed woman of God I strive to be. With tears flowing now, I am acutely aware that He’s never forgotten our needs and He is always on time. Why He loves us so much, I’ll never know. But I am so blessed to be here serving Him and loving Him and His people. When I see how much He has done over these many years of my life, I am unable to thank Him enough. How could He take a wretched person like me and use me for anything of value to His kingdom? I pray my life brings Him Glory.

Thank you for your encouragement, comments, cards and support for us. We are so grateful for each of you and we pray God is doing a new thing in your life as you serve the Risen Savior. He is our reason for living, and we pray He will use you in your sphere of influence to bring the love of Christ to the lost.

In awe of His faithfulness, Toni and Bill

Bill with the young man DIF brought from the streets of Nava.

He's unable to communicate but is slowly adjusting to life in Centinella.