Shoebox Gifts Bring Lots of Smiles

Greetings in the glorious name of Jesus Christ!

Saturday started a little earlier than usual for me. I set my alarm for 6:30, and when I got up, I prayed God would have His way and that He would be glorified in all we did that day and every day.

Greg Goza and his wife, Robin from Anson were coming to Mexico with some of our good friends from Aspermont. Matt and Tamera Freeman, Rosie Calamaco and Eva Greer all made the trip down to bring 160 shoebox gifts for the children of Tepeyac.   

We gave out gifts to every man, woman and child who came to meet us in the ejido. It was a sweet time of hugging kids, greeting mothers and grandmothers and bringing love to the families here in our area. We drove to two neighboring pueblos to bring gifts to children we have been working with and families we knew there.

Then we came to our house, and Maria and Socorro made a wonderful meal for us of fried chicken, French fries, fresh pico de gallo salsa, rice and homemade flour tortillas. We ate in the kitchen, and some sat on the van seats that double as sofas in our new house. Everyone had a great time visiting, talking and the kids played and ran around like kids do. Manuel, who is 5, enjoyed pushing a cinderblock around on the hand-truck Greg and Matt used to move my washing machine and washer from the church to the house. They replaced an old outlet on the outside of the trailer and leveled the trailer up for us after setting the washer up for me.

Since we moved to the property in August, I have been washing clothes on a washboard at the neighbor’s house, so it is a wonderful blessing to have a washer again. Our water comes directly from the windmill on the property so when the wind blows, we have water.

What a blessing it was to spend time with these sweet friends.  God blessed us when Swenson Baptist and Aspermont Community Church came together to make this year’s Christmas a special one for the children and their parents. Thank you, Lord, for the love and generosity of Your saints.

Visiting Family

Greetings from Watauga!
I came up last Thursday, December 6th and had the privilege of joining Linda and Carolyn at the prison that night in Haskell. We had three groups of women come for the study and a woman named Esmeralda from San Luis Potsosi, Mexico made a decision to follow Christ that night. We pray God works in her life and uses her when she gets deported to her family in Mexico soon.
Tim and Linda gave me sweet hospitality that night and I left in the morning to pick up Todd in Aspermont. We drove to Brandon's and had a wonderful weekend with family. Amber and Jayden had flown in on Thursday from Sacramento so it was the first time we've all been together in one place in several years. Saturday was Abigail's 3rd birthday party and they had it at an indoor pool. The theme was the Lorax and we made mustaches and truffula trees for the party. Everyone had a nice time, and Abi especially loved her Lorax cupcakes.

 

Kaci, Todd and Meg, hamming it up with their Lorax mustaches.
 

We enjoyed our time together and Sunday afternoon, after Brandon took pictures of our family at Trinity Park, I took Todd back home and made the long cold trip back to Brandon's to spend the next few days with them before going back to Mexico this week.

Amber and Baby Jayden at the birthday party Saturday

Last night, Brandon and Jessica took us to their church for a fun evening at the Christmas Festival. They had tube riding on snow hills and a hayride, petting zoo, and bounce houses for the kids. It was very cold but very fun. The kids had a great time, too. Even Jayden went down the hill in an inner tube by herself.
Then, they hired a babysitter and we adults went out for a dinner at Truluck's Seafood Restaurant in Southlake. It was so nice and we had a great waiter named Rob who was amazing. The evening was perfect and it was fun having adult time with Jessica, Brandon and Amber. They ordered the desserts to go for the perfect end to a perfect day.
Tonight, we're going to drive around and see the Christmas lights on homes in the metroplex and Abi and I are especially excited and looking forward to it. We did that last year and had so much fun.
It has been such a blessing to spend this time with my family and I thank the Lord for my children, my grandchildren and God's provision for this trip.
Thank you for your prayers for us and please keep Bill in your prayers as he continues to work in the Carrizo Springs area. His son, Paul, is working and living with Bill now, so Bill isn't all alone.
I will try to do a better job of updating our blog and I appreciate your comments, as they let me know you're reading all my ramblings! We love you, thank the Lord for you and look forward to hearing from you when you get a chance to write, call or email us.

In His loving embrace,

Toni and Bill

 

 

Catching Up

It has been such a long time since we last updated our blog and I apologize for the lapse in communication. I have lots to share and am excited about what is happening here in Mexico.

Two Saturdays ago, our friends José Alberto, Rito and Epifanio finished putting the roof on our house in Mexico. Today, they started plastering the outside walls. Saturday they finished the inside walls. We are excited to see the house coming along. Every day the men are working is a day of ministry for me. None of them are believers yet but we pray over meals, and I serve lunch, coffee and cool drinks all day while they’re working on the house. It has been a great chance to share the love of the Lord with these men. I pray God be glorified in our home, in the ministry and in all we say and do for the kingdom.

I have had some wonderful opportunities to read the Word with neighbors and friends in their homes, and some of these people are devoted Catholics, but don’t read their Bibles. My personal feelings about sharing the Bible with Catholics is that when they ask me questions, I bring them to the answer in their own Bibles. Then, they aren’t confused about my version of the Bible that might differ from their own. I often find my Catholic friends are surprised at the answers I share from their own Bibles. I pray God keeps opening doors for me to share His Word and that God would move His Spirit in the lives of those with whom He allows me to share.  I have been the transportation for women bringing home babies from the hospital and recently I was given a new name, “Sister Stork.” I had to laugh but am grateful they trust me to transport their precious gifts home from the hospital.  I have posted pictures of the two new babies I brought home to Tepeyac.

In November, I had several chances to travel around Texas and I visited churches, AA and NA meetings, and with individuals along the way. I am grateful for every chance I get to share how good God has been to us and how He never fails to protect us and provide for us.

The friend I have been studying with since the first of October has been attending our little church in Tepeyac with her children lately, and that has encouraged all of us. Yesterday, I took her and her family to San Carlos where our Tepeyac church shared a service and a meal with the church in San Carlos. We are seeing lives changed, new believers joining in fellowship and pray God continues to grow our little body. We are looking forward to this special season, and know that the love we show to others will go a long way in touching lives for Christ. I am posting a photo of yesterday’s group in San Carlos.

We recently baptized two girls, Estrella and Isabelle, from the church in Tepeyac.

We thank the Lord for each and every one of you, and for your encouragement, letters, support and prayers. We couldn’t do anything without you, and we are so grateful for your love for us. May God bless you and your family abundantly this Christmas season, as we remember that Jesus is the reason for the season.

In His loving embrace,

Toni and Bill

October Update~Belated

 

It’s an overcast Wednesday here in Tepeyac and the weather man gave a 40% chance of rain for our area, according to the neighbors. We had 4 inches of rain one day the week before last, but like most of the area and most of our neighboring Texas, we are lacking moisture and praying for rain.

Today I have been working on the flyers for the evangelistic concert and outreach in San Carlos after the Cabalgata on November 24^th. Last year’s event brought many to the area and several came to know Christ as their Lord and Savior at the Concert that night.

Last week, I started a study with a good friend in Tepeyac. We are reading through “El Poder de la Esposa Que Ora.” (The Power of the Praying Wife, by Stormy Omartian.) She really enjoyed the forward and the first chapter and I wrote down every scripture referenced in the book. We spent nearly 4 hours together the first day, reading and discussing what we read. I brought back that book and Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life in Spanish. The first day we met, there we three of us. The second day, there were five. I pray God uses this study for His glory, and to make us more prayerful women.

I finished painting the wall mural at the kindergarten in Palmira. Here I’ve posted pictures of the before and after. They didn’t want to paint a new mural, but to freshen up the old one. I spent 12 hours all together on the two days I worked on it and I think it sure gave it a fresh look. It was a blessing to donate time to the project and since I had the paint, the school didn’t have to pay for anything. I had many opportunities to share with people that came by to visit while I painted. Several children painted figurines I had with me and they enjoyed that very much.

Recently we have had an increase in military and policemen. Yesterday, we had two vehicles in Vicente Guerrero with over a dozen military men. Today, the helicopter flew over for about an hour, concentrating on an area within miles of our home. Every opportunity I get, I try to bring something to the officers and soldiers. Usually I bring bottles of Coca Cola. Sometimes, I bring cookies and chips along with the soda. 

Last week, I had the opportunity to take two people to the Centro de Salud in Acuña. When we stopped at the military checkpoint outside the city, all of the men acknowledged me with a smile and a wave hello. The response of the soldiers amazed my passengers and it was an opportunity to share with them what the Lord had put on my heart to do for these men who are protecting us.

So many things have been happening in our area lately, and we are prayerful that the Lord will continue to give us favor as we minister in this area of Mexico. The enemy is alive and well, and we are seeking our Savior to protect, direct and anoint us as we share the love of Jesus with the lost here.

Thank you for your prayers and support for us. We are so grateful for you and your burden for the lost below the border.

In His loving embrace,

Toni and Bill

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!