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| Happy to be bringing gifts to Mexico |
On Friday, December 11th, Bill and I met with Pastor Greg and Robin Goza in Del Rio, along with Pastor Jeff and Amy Oliver, from First Baptist Church, Eagle Pass, to prepare for the delivery of 260 shoebox gifts for Tepeyac and the surrounding communities.
We unloaded the U-Haul trailer and reloaded the boxes in our 1989 Chevrolet Van, and Greg's car, and headed across the border with Jeff and Amy joining us.
We went to deliver gifts in Nueva Jarita first, then picked up Lucero, Socorro, Aniceto and Estrella Martinez in Palmira before heading for Tepeyac. We were able to give out most of our gift to children attending a meeting at the Catholic Church with their families. They came over to Yessica's house nearby as we distributed shoeboxes to children and mothers.
After Tepeyac, we headed for the Children's Home in El Moral, where 8 young ladies were getting ready to go to church in Piedras Negras. We gave gifts to all the girls and the workers that were there, including the pastor's wife.
We stopped at a little store in El Moral for something to snack on, and behind the store, three men were unloading bales of hay, and children were jumping on the bales. We introduced ourselves and Greg gave the men gloves and bottles of Powerade, and we gave the children and mothers gift boxes. It was fun to take their pictures, as the guys posed with their new gloves.
From there, we headed to Centinella, where we first went to the Agua Viva Rehabilitation Center. We gave gifts to each of the 8 men living there, and the pastor, Alejandro Alvarado, his wife, Veronica, and their 7-year-old daughter, Priscilla. Then we went to every house and gave gifts to all the children and most of the mothers. We were able to hand out almost all the gifts, with a few left over for families that were out of town in Tepeyac. I was able to take them to their homes in the week following our delivery.
Greg and Robin and the Olivers headed back to Del Rio to the motel and I took the Martinez family home and delivered more gifts before returning to Del Rio to spend some more time with Greg and Robin.
It's always a joy for me to have time with friends from the U.S. I miss the fellowship and appreciate every opportunity to spend time with good friends.
We are so very grateful for all the people who made this year's shoebox program a success. We especially want to thank the members of
Aspermont Commuity Church,
Swenson Baptist Church and the
First Baptist Church of Eagle Pass for all the shoebox gifts they sent to the children and families in Mexico. You gave these families hope and love in a special way this Christmas. God bless you as you share Christ's love in the coming year.
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| Breakfast Saturday morning with the Greg and Robin Goza and Amy and Jeff Oliver and girls. |
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| Ofelia and her brother with her children. Sweet family in Tepeyac. |
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| Greg Goza and the youngest Oliver |
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| Jahaziel and his regalo. |
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| Our favorite family in Nueva Jarita. |
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| Cristian, receiving his gift from Rebeccah |
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Great guys working unloading hay in El Moral.
| With new Gloves and Powerade, we made friends. |
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| Little Brother and Big Sister! |
The girls from the Children's Home in El Moral.
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| A Happy Little Girl with her shoebox. |
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| Expectant Mother and her son |
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| This young man lives in Centinella. |
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| Sweet Kids! |
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| A Happy Family |
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| Proud Boys! |
