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.

Manuel's Birthday with Spiderman and a Cuban Gallo

Blessings to you from Tepeyac, "en el nombre maravilloso de Jesucristo!"

We have been busy with vehcile repairs and taking care of little lambs and this week we were able to celebrate Manuel's 7th birthday at Maria and Rito's house.
Bill decided to buy him a little rooster. The feed store told us it was a Cuban rooster, rather small and very tame, and lets you hold him in your lap.
I had to post this picture of him riding home on Bill's shoulder.

 

We brought a cake from HEB to Manuel for his birthday and enjoyed a great meal of cooked goat, frijoles rancheros and tortillas with the family before we had a piece of the Spiderman cake.

The little rooster was the life of the party, and Manuel was so happy that he crows so much.  

 

We thank the Lord for you and your interest in the ministry here. May God continue to use you for His glory, and help you to be a light in the darkness.

 

In His loving embrace,

 

Toni and Bill



Cristian's Upcoming Kidney Transplant

Greetings from Coahuila, Mexico in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

We have made many friends during our two and a half years in Mexico this time, and one special family we've befriended is the family of Manuelita and her sons, Jesús and Cristian Vasquez Hernandez.

Manuelita and Cristian

Cristian will be 8 in May, and has had 5 operations since he was born, due to a condition he has called "neurogenic bladder." His kidneys are damaged and he is awaiting a transplant, with his father, Ignacio, found to be a compatible donor.
Since Manuelita lives in Tepeyac and her son's surgery will be at the Seguro in Monterey, she will have expenses during her son's 2-month stay in Monterey. She has to find housing, probably a motel but hopefully we can locate a family or church that will offer her housing for little or no cost.
This past Sunday, we had a fundraiser for her in San Carlos, about 12 miles from Tepeyac. After all was said and done, $2,000. pesos (or $160.00 US currency) was raised. We made food to sell, played games, painted faces and received donations from local businesses and individuals. But that is a long way from what she will need to eat and get around Monterey while her son is on dialysis and recuperating from his transplant.

Cristian, in front, at his birthday party last May

If the Lord puts it on your heart to help with this need, please contact me by phone, email or snail mail. We especially covet your prayers for this family and specifically for the surgery for Cristian.
Thank you for reading this. God bless you as you seek and serve the King of kings.

In His grip,
Toni and Bill

Bella, Muchachos and a Little Ewe

Greetings in the glorious name of Jesus Christ!

I am finally updating our blog after a long delay. I apologize for that. Things here have kept us busy.

The first weekend this month, we had a nice visit from Susan Carver and Robert Strickland from Knox City. They brought Robert's one-year-old female Great Pyranees named Bella for a local rancher. Mario Ramos had asked us if we could get him one of these dogs for his ranch in Palmira. He raises pigs and sheep there. He was pleased with Robert's great gift of this dog. We were able to bring Susan and Robert to the rehab to meet Alejandro and his family, and the men who reside there. We had a great time visiting with everyone that weekend.

Bobby, Bella and Susan

Bobby and Susan visiting the Rehab with us

We have been spending more time with the Agua Viva Rehab in Centinella and yesterday we took Alejandro and Veronica to run errands in Piedras. We picked up enough garbage bags full of food for the pigs from a restaurant, filling the bed of the pickup overflowing, and they received several kilos of tortillas from a tortilla factory there. We also went to the store and picked up some tomatoes, jalapeños, onions, potatoes and eggs for the “muchachos” (boys) as Alejandro calls the residents there. When we got back to the rehab, they unloaded our “treasures” and washed the pickup completely. It’s been some time since we washed it. I guess it was well overdue.

Last week I spent the day at the funeral home where the family gathered to mourn the passing of their 14-year-old son, Ivan. We have been supplying Ensure and diapers for him for over a year and we are saddened that the Lord took him home. He had been disabled since 2 months old, and was a sweet boy, always smiling when we came to visit him. Please pray God comfort his family. His parents are Teodoro and Yolanda.

The past week I have spent several days transporting people to the hospital and clinics in Piedras and Acuña.  Last night, I drove Manuelita, her son Christian and his father, Ignacio to Acuña to meet the bus for Monterey. Christian in waiting to have a kidney transplant and his father has been found to be the compatible donor. Lord willing, this will happen soon. Christian will be 7 in May. We are working with the family on a fundraiser to help them as they have many out-of-pocket expenses for this major surgery.

On my way back home, I picked up some cappuchinos and some cookies for the soldiers outside of Acuña, and they were grateful. It was after 11:30 pm and I'm sure a cup of coffee was a welcome treat. I has asked them when I passed going into Acuna if they'd like some coffee and they all said yes.  I told them "God bless you," and headed on home.

We are pleased to announce that the fire extinguishers for the rehab have been supplied by Aspermont Community Church, and that Alejandro was able to pay his license plate fees in payments, and they have new license plates on the pickup now, so are free to travel throughout Piedras for their supplies and donations for the rehab center.

Recently, our neighbor’s sheep have been having their babies, and two nights ago, one of them gave birth to 3 little ones. We are now feeding a female baby sheep in our home, and it‘s been quite an adventure. She’s so sweet, black with a few spots of white on her. We picked up a special formula of milk for her yesterday at a feed store in Piedras and hope it will be just what she needs to gain strength and start growing. I admit, it’s taking me awhile to get used to the constant ‘baaaaaaaing.’ Eileen Cochran of Aspermont gave me some pointers on the phone today. She has lots of experience in the area of raising farm animals.

Bill giving the baby lamb a bottle of milk

 

We want to thank all of you for your notes, calls, texts and prayers for us. We thank God for our friends and family and we want you to know how much we appreciate you.

I will update this post with pictures soon, and appreciate you reading our updates.

May God bless you and keep you, and continue to use your life for His glory.

In His loving embrace,

Toni and Bill

 

Three King's Day in Tepeyac

Greetings from Mexico in Jesus' name!

It's been busy here for us lately and we are always blessed to share another opportunity to bring the love of Jesus to the people of Mexico.

Sunday, the 5^th we were able to bring a group up to the Rehab in Centinella and enjoy the service with the saints there. We brought a cake and had “La Abuelita” hot chocolate to warm us up. It was great fellowship and we all enjoyed our time there. We’ve been visiting the rehab during the week, and spending time talking with the men who live there.

 

Cake with friends at the Rehab in Centinella

 In Mexico, another big celebration relating to the birth of our Savior is Three King’s Day, the sixth of January. It is a day dedicated to the memory of the Magi who came to visit the Messiah and they often celebrate with a special meal and a special bread known as a Rosca, round with dried fruit baked on top and a small plastic baby representing the Christ Child.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The other part of the celebration for children is gift-giving. We were able to participate in this part of the day by handing out stuffed animals, Beanie Babies and Porcelain dolls to the children of Tepeyac. We loaded up the pickup with 4 large boxes of toys my sister, Jennie, sent down after Christmas. We went to every house in Tepeyac and the children were able to pick the toys they wanted out of the boxes. Moms and Grandmothers picked out dolls, too, and it was a sweet time of hugs and “Feliz Año Nuevo’s”  (Happy New Year) greetings to all the women I know here in town. It was sweet and we enjoyed the time together. Maria, Socorro and the girls, and our friend Veronica from the Rehab in Centinella joined us with her daughter, Priscilla. It was so cold outside on Monday, we were all bundled up but it was fun. We are so grateful to my sister, Jennie, and her friends, Clay and Sharon who donated the dolls for Mexico. What a blessing to the children here.

The afternoon was a wonderful time of fellowship with Alejandro and Veronica and Maria’s family enjoying pozole here at our house with the fireplace warming us up on this cold winter day. We had cupcakes and peach cobbler for dessert and lots of coffee and hot chocolate to warm us up for the gift-giving adventure.

That evening, we enjoyed the last of the pozole at Maria and Rito’s house by lantern-light and the last evening of the visit of Margarito, Rito’s brother who lives in Saltillo, the state capital. He came last week when their uncle passed away.

I had an amazing conversation with Margarito over coffee. I shared my testimony with him and we talked about the Lord, the gospel, and salvation. He was very receptive and we talked about Christians being persecuted in other countries for their faith. Rito wanted to know more about this and said he didn’t know anyone was being persecuted for being a Christian. I get the Voice of the Martyrs mailings and want to share with him about what’s going on in these other countries. I told them we are blessed that we presently don’t have a problem sharing the gospel freely here in Mexico but that can all change. Margarito was adamant that that will never change, and I pray he’s right, but in my heart, I feel he’s not.

We are so grateful for all of your prayers and love for us, and we thank God for the privilege of serving the Lord here in Mexico. We pray this year brings many good things and wonderful opportunities for all of you to share your faith with the lost.

May God be glorified in our lives as we share the gospel with the lost and hurting around us.

In His strong embrace,

Toni and Bill