There's No Place Like Home....

I am sitting in the Subway in Del Rio to update the blog and marvelling at God's awesome way of directing our steps.

The past week has been wonderful. Visiting friends in Aspermont Community Church last Sunday was like going home, and everyone made me feel so welcome, missed and loved at the same time. Sharing what God is doing in Mexico and knowing they are supporting the ministry is such a blessing, and I look forward to seeing some of our friends in Mexico for the Shoe-box Christmas program in December.

Before I left Aspermont, I had a flat tire, and William Gholson plugged my tire and aired it up again so I could head down the road. I stayed Sunday night with Greg and Robin in Anson and we had a wonderful visit. Monday I had the tire fixed and got on the road to Mexico. It was a beautiful ride and I was so excited to finally be back at home Monday night.

Tuesday, the dogs and I headed for Bill's in Asherton, and it has been a nice visit with Bill and Billy.
This morning, Bill and I went to church at the Asherton Baptist Mission and had a wonderful time with the believers there. We shared a meal with them afterward and look forward to visiting again the next time I get to visit Bill. Pastor Frank Flores and his wife welcomed us like family.

On my way through Quemado, I stopped to visit a ministry that Brother Ralph from Asherton told me about. Lori and Steve Mercer of Cornerstone Children's Ranch welcomed me and we visited in their home for nearly an hour. I asked them about how God brought them to Quemado and they shared the amazing story of what God had done over the past 16 years of the ministry there. You can read about it on their site. They supply clothing and food to ministries on both sides of the border and God is doing amazing things through them in Texas and in Mexico. They offered their help if I am in need of anything, and I hope we will be able to work together in the future. They are an amazing couple.

This month has been such and encouragement to me, fellowshipping with friends and family and getting energized for what God has for the future in Tepeyac and the surrounding communities.

I appreciate your prayers for me, and for Bill, as we seek the Lord and His will for our lives. We want to be on God's agenda, and we know He directs our steps if we allow Him to do that.

We thank the Lord for you and your loving support, and we know we couldn't do anything without your prayers. Thank you for being there for us.

In His loving embrace,
Toni and Bill


Post Script:

While I was visiting Brandon and his family, a mother bear and her two cubs came on the ranch we're living on and the neighbor caught one of the cubs. These photos were taken by the family on cell phones and I thought I'd share them with you. The mother and second cub are still loose, but this cub was taken by authorities to the zoo in southern Coahuila.

Leaving the Metroplex for Aspermont...

Wednesday night, I had the privilege of sharing about the ministry in Coahuila with a wonderful group of believers in Dallas at the Primera Iglesia Asamblea de Dios. Reverend David & Lillie Lara and their church welcomed me like I was family, and after sharing about the ministry in Mexico, the members came up and hugged me and blessed me so much. They gave me a case of Reina Valera Bibles for the ministry, and some brought me Sunday School supplies, art materials and notebooks. One lady donated sweatshirts and another donated tables. They are planning another trip down to Tepeyac for Christmas and I look forward to seeing some of those saints again soon.

The last two weeks visiting my family has been so wonderful, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to visit with so many friends here in Texas.

Tomorrow, I will be heading to Aspermont, and am looking forward to sharing at the Community Church on Sunday morning. Many of those friends have been involved in our lives during the past ten years and it is always sweet to fellowship with old friends and new ones. Their support, both prayerful and financial, has been what has kept us going all this time in Mexico, and we have no doubt God will do amazing things in the coming years. He's protecting us, providing for us, and using us in the lives of those we minister to in Tepeyac and beyond. May God help us to lift up the people of Mexico.

Bless you for standing with us,

In His strong embrace,
Toni and Bill

"Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts. Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice." 1 Chronicles 16:8-10



  

Our Day At The Zoo

Earlier this week, I joined Jessica and Abigail for a wonderful day at the Fort Worth Zoo. Here are some of the pictures I took that day. Hope you enjoy them!

Saturday Update from Watauga

I am sitting at my computer at the kitchen table at Brandon’s while Abigail watches Dora the Explorer on tv. We painted a picture frame and a hippo penny bank after naptime today. She said, "That was funny, Grandma Toni!"

 

In a few hours I will be driving to Rule, and in the morning, I will be at First Baptist Church in Haskell. Pastor Jim McCurley has given me the pulpit tomorrow morning, which is an honor, and I pray God will give me the words to encourage all the sweet friends and supporters we have there. Yuvi called me today and told me they’re having a potluck meal afterwards so I’ll get to visit and am looking forward to the fellowship.

 

Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll head for Lamesa where I will visit with friends from the Nazarene church there. What a blessing to touch bases again with Pastor Lee Lennon and many others there. For years, we participated in the church builds in Chihuahua and I miss those days. J.D. Josey was the one who connected us and a few years back, he went to be with the Lord.  Lee invited me to join a smaller group going to Juarez in January, and I hope I will be able to join them once again.

 

Last night, I joined friends at a Missions Convention in Garland at the Iglesia Alfa Y Omega Asambleas de Dios and the praise and worship was awesome, as well as the message brought by a long-time missionary, Mike Powell. The church members dressed in clothing from countries all over the world and carried flags from many countries supported by their church. It was very impressive, and Mike said he had been in all but two of the countries represented by flags in the room. 

 

They served delicious food from all over the world afterwards. We enjoyed sweet fellowship and I met some new friends there, and got to talk to some old friends, too.



I pray the Lord is using your life for His glory and that in these times of challenge and difficulty, you are drawing closer to Him than ever before. Our purpose on this earth is to bring Him glory, and I pray we each do that in every way possible.

We appreciate your prayers and support for us and we look forward to hearing from you.

Serving Him with joy,
Toni and Bill

Visiting in Texas

What a blessing to be visiting friends and family in Texas for a few weeks. What an amazing trip it has been already! I got up early Friday morning at 6 and packed the pickup, and went to have coffee with Guadalupe and José, the neighbors. While we were enjoying our coffee, a vehicle pulled up and three men from town got out, apparently looking for me. We walked out of Guadalupe's house and they told me they needed some of the heavy duty wire I had purchased for our house. During the night, the wires for the pump on the water tower had burned out and Tepeyac residents were left without water. They cut lengths from each of the three rolls of wire I had and asked me how much they owed me. Of course, I said nothing, and was glad to be of help. The funniest part of the story is that Don José, the electrician in town, had told me I didn’t need the heavy duty wire because they never used that type of wire here in Mexico. But it sure comes in handy for community water pumps, I guess. Thank the Lord I had it to give.

After many good-byes in Tepeyac, I finally got on the road about 9 am and picked up mail and filled up with gas in Del Rio before getting back on the road. I purposely came up on Thursday to join Treasures of Grace at Haskell prison. I went to Tim and Linda Burson’s when I arrived in Haskell and had supper with them. Carolyn Herring came by to join us for prison, and we headed to the facility before 7. Paula Sammons joined us there and we had 12 immigration detainees come out to join the study. Carolyn led worship and the girls joined in the singing. Linda shared from Psalm 139, about David and his understanding of the presence of God. No matter where we are, God is there.

When we finished the lesson and gathered for prayer, Linda asked the girls if anyone wanted to know Jesus Christ personally. Six girls came forward and prayed a sinner’s prayer, and we all praised the Lord for His Spirit touching these precious women. What an encouragement it was to each of us. Pray these women continue to seek the Lord and walk in His ways. God has a wonderful plan for each of their lives and we were so blessed to be there when they made their decisions.

The second group of girls from the county was smaller but just as sweet. We all hugged one another and prayed for them, knowing that God is moving His Spirit in that facility.

Friday morning, I headed for Brandon and Jessica’s and arrived in time to watch Abigail while Bran and Jess went to a friend’s wedding. Abi and I have enjoyed our time together, and although I will be heading back tonight to be in Aspermont in the morning, I look forward to coming back next week to spend time with my family again.

This morning, we went to get some Jamba Juice and to the Verizon store to straighten out my cell phone. I have had lots of roaming charges the past month and needed to find out why. They straightened it out and hopefully I won’t have that problem any more. We also went to get some yummy cupcakes from a little shop in Keller.

Will keep you updated as I am more apt to get an internet connection here in Texas than in Mexico, praise the Lord.

I look forward to seeing friends at Aspermont Community Church tomorrow morning, and at Swenson Baptist tomorrow night. May God be glorified.

In His strong embrace,

Toni and Bill

Worship, Washboards and Witnessing

We had a wonderful visit with the church in San Carlos Sunday morning. We enjoyed worship and sweet fellowship at the little Vida Nueva church near the old train station there, and it was so encouraging to all of us. What a blessing to visit other believers and praise the Lord with them!

It has been very hot here, as I'm pretty sure it has been most everywhere lately, and I've been working early and trying to get things done before it warms up.  Since we moved and our water isn't hooked up yet, I'm back to the "olden days" of washing clothes on a washboard. Sure makes me appreciate water, washing machines and the like. My neighbor, Guadalupe, has a lovely tree over the area where we wash clothes, and the chickens mill around while I'm scrubbing there. It's really quite enjoyable, all things considered. 

Since our increase in military personnel, I have had many more opportunities to share the Lord with the soldiers. It's amazing to me, but the other day, one of them, upon arriving at the checkpoint, asked me if I was the woman who lived in the church in Tepeyac.I was surprised he remembered me, but you never know. I pray I can make a difference in at least one soldier's life here in Mexico.

One of the women in Tepeyac just returned from the hospital in Acuña where she's been receiving treatment for a partial amputation of her foot due to diabetes. She had just received the Lord as her savior about two months ago, and was baptized in Comanche, Texas. Please pray for Lydia and her speedy healing. 

Bill remains in Carrizo Springs and this week, he's making a few runs to Victoria. Should be an adventure, as he says. He hopes to come home this weekend, and it will be great to see him.

I am prayerfully planning a trip to visit Aspermont and Haskell the first part of September, and look forward to fellowship with old and new friends there. 

We appreciate your prayers for us, and thank those of you who have written. I apologize because I'm very behind on correspondence right now, and will try to catch up this coming week. 

I leave you with this scripture:

"Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go." Joshua 1:7



Serving Him with joy,

Toni and Bill

Buildings, Babies and Baños

I am sitting in the Seoul ChinaLatina Restaurant in Del Rio, and just finished painting for today. I am tired and looking forward to heading home, but took this opportunity to use their WiFi and update our blog.

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday with Bill in Carrizo Springs and was able to get his place in order and all of his clothes and bedding washed and put back in place while he was at work. It was great to spend time with him and he especially had fun reconnecting with the dogs.

Last night, I was awakened at 11:30 by my neighbors, Jose and Guadalupe, to tell me that the marines were going house to house, confiscating guns. Jose's mother had just called him to say they had overturned her furniture and took her pistol. Henriquetta is in her 80's. Needless to say, although I don't own a gun, I was a little rattled at the news and thought of soldiers entering our home and ransacking it for weapons.
I spent the next two and half hours sitting outside under the stars, praying for peace, wisdom and for all the people that came to mind. I thought of friends serving the Lord in Thailand, enduring hardships there, and I thanked God for the peace I usually experience living in Mexico. God remains on the throne and I want to serve Him until it's my time to go home. I prayed God would use me in the lives of any soldiers that might enter our home and that I could be a light to those in darkness.

I woke up grateful that it was my alarm that woke me at 6:30 am and not a knock on my door. Over the past month we have had the military as part of our everyday lives in our area, and I've had many opportunities to share with individuals in uniform as God has allowed me opportunities to speak to them.

The house project is coming along, and I am trying to upload photos of it so you can get an idea of what it looks like.
Sorry these pictures are out of order. Completely backwards chronologically. Took the picture of the house today. The workers were last week and the tractor the week before, digging the septic tank.
The outhouse was installed over a week ago and I put a stain-sealer on it. It smells like you're sitting in the forest! Love it! Even has a t/p holder, made of wood, that I bought for less than $3. at Lowe's.

So many good things going on, can't tell you how blessed we are and how good God is. I am enjoying serving drinks and lunch to the workers. It has been nice and they are amazing, working through these hot, hot days in Mexico.

My friend, Yessica, gave birth last Saturday to a little (big) boy, who still has not been named. He weighed over 9 lbs. (4.3 kilos) and is such a sweet baby. I took this picture of Yessica the night I brought her to the hospital in Acuna. She was there from Thursday night at 8 pm until Saturday before she gave birth by C-section at 3:20 pm. They released her on Monday morning. Long hospital visit, so she was very glad to be home again. She and her husband have 3 older children.

Newest Addition to Yessica and Epifanio's Family



May the Lord bless you abundantly as you keep Jesus first in  your life. I will try to keep posting as the opportunity arises.

Thank you for your prayers, love and support. We praise God for our friends and family.

Serving Him with joy,

Toni and Bill