My Mexican Sink

Last week we were in Mexico doing some work at Hope House, our mission in San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico. Hope House is a home for teen girls and single moms where they can find refuge in time of crisis, or to stay for an extended period to learn skills by which to support themselves and their children. A group came from Bedford, PA, to do some work that needed done at Hope House. They poured a concrete pad/porch for the washing machine, taped, spackled and painted the ceiling, and helped tile one of the bathrooms. It was a great week and we got even more accomplished than we had hoped.

While we were down there, we took the group to Algodones, which is a town on the border that has vendors of every sort for tourists to buy "souvenirs" from. One of the things I was interested in looking at was a Talavera sink for my Master Bathroom. Next year we are planning to remodel it and I was curious to see if they had any sinks that I would like for my bathroom. I have seen some with sunflowers or calla lillies, but the backgrounds were always blue. Blue is not my favorite color:-) So I was curious to see if I could find something with green that I would like. I had looked at these online and they were very expensive. So I thought perhaps if I found something I liked and the prices were better, then I could get it on another trip to Mexico in the future (closer to when we are planning to remodel).

Well, I found ONE sink that I really liked. I was NOT prepared to buy that day, but if you know anything about these vendors, if you like something, they will NOT let you get away if they can help it. The starting price was $180!!! There was NO way I was going to pay that much, even if I did really like the sink. He kept coming down on the price because I kept telling him I couldn't buy it today anyway. When he got down to $80, I told him I had to get my husband to talk to him. He followed me all the way to where my husband was waiting for us. By the time we got back to the sink, he had gotten his boss involved. My husband made an offer of $60 and they took it!!! So, we bought a sink. It is a very large sink and that is a really good price! I really like it and now I am hoping to remodel part of the bathroom a little sooner:-) I will just have to keep my eyes open for a good deal on a vanity or antique chest.

Apache Reservation Missions Trip - Day 3

Last evening, in spite of the rain, the Lord gave us the promise of a good day today with a little help from a beautiful sunset and two stunning rainbows! Mind you, it was still RAINING! But this morning, the work started at about 5:30am and the breeze overnight dried most of the building, with a lot of help from the sun this morning.

Check out the double rainbow, with them being mirror images of each other! We were sitting on the porch of the church eating dinner when this beautiful sight appeared right in front of our eyes and spanned the church perfectly! What a neat sign in the heavens for us!

Dinner was tacos, spanish rice, salad and desserts. The gang from Tracy, CA, sure are great at improvising and being creative with what they have to work with! They kept their spirits up and didn't let the rain wash them out.
Some of the guys had to take a break from time to time and be silly. Here they are just showing some of their unique personality.
Some of our fearless leaders: Mike Sorg from Tracy, CA and Darrell Martin from FreedomGate Church in Tempe, AZ. They are heading up most of the construction project and the work is moving along so very well!
The group from West Virginia are building a playground for the kids at Riverside Church.
Here is a shot of the whole gang who were working so hard today on the construction, as well as VBS and the playground.
Lunch was served: Ranch Chicken Wraps, Zucchini and Celery sticks with dip, oranges, chocolate chip bars, pasta salad and more!! A huge thanks to the great folks up in PineTop preparing all of the wonderful meals!! Nothing could be getting done at the sites without the fuel to keep us all going, so THANKS!!!
Aaaahhhhhhh!!! Relief at last!! Those Porta Potties were getting REALLY FULL!!! Thank goodness that they finally came and emptied them!!! You have never seen a group of people so thankful to see this guy as our crew was!!! Now we no longer have "Stinkum Muchum" at the church (and that's a long story:-)
Last night, there were alot more kids at VBS. They had a great time sharing with the children and having fun! Tonight there is a play, so it should be tremendous!! And I am sure even more kids will show up.

Here they are, hard at work first thing this morning up on the roof. Some of the guys and gals from the WV group have come to help get the roof finished, too!

Some folks are still hanging sheetrock inside. These kids have got it down to an art!
So far, a tremendous day! We are praying that the rain will pass over and not fall in East Fork, AZ today!! Great progress has been made on the building today and we don't want to see rain until the roof is completed. These guys and gals are working so hard for SO many long hours today! God will truly bless them for their hard work and serving hearts!!

Apache Reservation Missions Trip - Day 2

It has been a great day - until it started RAINING!!! The ONE thing we really didn't need was rain! The roof is wide open on the ends, the tar paper is a mess and they haven't begun to shingle yet! Oh, tomorrow should be VERY interesting!!!
The kids have been having a great time on the roof, as you can see here. They are alot like monkeys! They spent alot of time today chasing bundles of shingles as they slid down the roof! Seems to be a little silly.
Here are "Los Jefes" (The Bosses:-) - at least they think that they are! Supervision is VERY exhausting work - I should know!! And what exactly are they supervising, you may ask??????

The crazy guys hanging the eaves!! They look a little like monkeys in a cage, don't you think? These young guys are learning a TON of stuff from their fearless leaders (I'm serious now).

And here are even more monkeys climbing all over the roof!! Sure wish there were shingles on that roof BEFORE it started pouring down rain!! Pray for good weather tonight and tomorrow, please!
And I bet you were wondering just what new skills our young ladies were learning. Well, here are some of them hanging sheetrock. Mike Sorg is so wonderful about teaching and organizing these young people as they learn to do things they never even tried before!

All in all, it has been a great day! In spite of the rain, they are making good progress and having a great time! Time to take dinner down the mountain for this hard-working crew - Tacos!! Check back tomorrow for more updates (and hopefully I won't be so tired and silly:-)

Apache Reservation Missions Trip - Day 1

We are up in the White Mountains of Arizona on the Apache Reservation. The group from Southwinds Church in Tracy, CA, arrived yesterday afternoon after driving about 17 hours straight! They were very tired, but real troopers! They had to set up camp, move the porta potties, camp out in the sanctuary and unfinished fellowship hall, and rig some electricity to have lights when it got dark.

Today, they are hard at work both on the construction project of the new fellowship hall, and also preparing to begin their Vacation Bible School for the children that begins this evening. Most of them are hard at work doing whatever is presented to them to do. They are a great group with great leaders!!

It has been such a blessing getting to see some of our friends from their trip down to Mexico last year!

Feels Like A Million Muffins!!

The last few days, I have been baking muffins for our upcoming missions trip to the Apache Reservation in the White Mountains of Arizona. I am baking for a total of about 120 people, so it is ALOT of muffins. Add to that the fact that we are making MINI muffins, and you can imagine how many that is!!

I have baked apple muffins, banana muffins and blueberry muffins - about 4 dozen of each - if they were normal sized. I don't even know how many hundreds it came out to, but I would estimate about 400 or more total muffins! Ok, that is ALOT of muffins!! I am very glad I am done and don't want to eat any until at least next week:-)

Hope House Update

It has been a while since we have sent out a newsletter, and we wanted to take this opportunity to bring you up to date on what has been happening here in Mexico.

A few weeks ago, we had an official opening of Hope House with a dedication and time of prayer and fellowship at the house. It was a very nice time and there were about 35-40 folks there from the church of our director, Maria Meza. Many of these women are helping out and working at Hope House and have provided many things for our resident family. Maria and her husband, Pastor Mariano, have been blessed and excited to see the fruition of their vision to minister to and help single moms and teen girls. They have taken on this project with all their hearts and energy, even though they were already busy pastoring their congregation and feeding about 100 children each morning Monday through Friday at a local school.

I would like to introduce you to our current resident family. The mom is Diana and she is 20 years old. She has two sons - Arturo who is almost 2 years old, and another baby boy (no name yet) who is about 3 months old. She came to Hope House from a very violent situation and is very timid. She has been hurt a lot and hasn't learned things we take for granted like basic personal hygiene for her and her children. The wonderful ladies at Hope House have been encouraging her and demonstrating proper care for her children, assuring that she feels safe and is learning and growing during her stay there.

Ricardo and the guys at Eliacim (men's rehab center) are doing well. We hope to get some blankets to give to them real soon since it is starting to get a little chilly here at night. We are hoping to begin supporting them financially on a regular basis real soon.Back in the summer, we felt God was releasing us from living in Mexico and bringing about a new season in our lives. After seeking His direction and discussing what He had laid on our hearts, we made the decision to move to the Phoenix area. Well, the time has come and we are making that move the beginning of December. Now that Hope House is up and running, we are only needed for oversight, direction and funding. We will be making monthly trips down here to do just that, as well as trouble shoot any issues that arise. We are hoping to be able to spend some time in the next year fundraising for Hope House in order to get a regular budget established that will cover all the costs as well as be able to pay some of the staff salaries. Right now, everyone is working there voluntarily!

We will also be working with Freedom Gate International Missions with Rick and Susan Bennett in Phoenix, helping in whatever ways we can be of assistance to them at their mission base. We will also be able to offer our assistance in outreaches to the Latino community in the Phoenix area, as well as begin to build relationships in other border towns where we can establish Hope Houses in the future.

We, as a family, are really looking forward to being part of Freedom Gate Church and participating in many areas of their ministry. We have lived in Mexico for the last 5 1/2 years, and the things we missed the most were being part of a vibrant church family and being able to host friends and family at our home on a regular basis. We also felt a great burden for our children. They have sacrificed many things during our time in Mexico, and we feel it is time for them to live in the states and have some of the opportunities that they have missed out on these past 5 1/2 years. They are entering their teen years, and being part of a great church family is very important to us for them.

Last weekend, God led us to a great house to rent in northwest Mesa and Joe is going to be able to transfer to Phoenix with WalMart, thus giving a continuity of income for our family. Then, when we get settled, he will find a better job with more income and consistent hours. Joe has worked at WalMart since January, riding his bicycle 6 miles each way to work in order to free up more monies to support Hope House as it was getting established. His hours have been inconvenient and he has had to work most weekends, but God has provided.

Please keep us in your prayers as we make this move. We are trusting that God will provide all that we have need of and more! He has opened all the doors and provided all that we have needed over the past 5 1/2 years. He has taught us, more than anything, to wait on Him and see His hand at work. And He is in the process of working out all the details for us in this move.

As we approach this holiday season, we are overflowing with thankfulness to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, for always keeping us, providing for us, loving us and growing us! He is truly awesome!

Hope House Welcomes Lupita and Her Children!

I would like to introduce you to Lupita and her children Diego, Ruby and Brenda (the baby). They will be moving into Hope House this week and be our first resident family. Lupita is 19 years old and a "widow". When she was 15, she met Francisco, who was 42 at the time. She became pregnant and while she was expecting, they began to attend La Sombra, a church pastored by some missionary friends of ours - Rich and Lori Barcelona. They accepted Christ and began attending church regularly. Unfortunately, Francisco was still married to his first wife and had children in another part of Mexico who were older than Lupita. They wanted to get married, but circumstances made that difficult and they were unwilling to separate, so they left La Sombra and began attending another church that embraced them and their unwed status. This last fall, I believe in September, Francisco had a series of heart attacks and then died, leaving Lupita and her children alone and with no means to support herself. Some neighbors gave her a house to use and she found some work here and there to feed her kids, but it has been tough. Then this past week, the family asked her to move out within 10 days. When Lori Barcelona heard about this, she called me to find out if Hope House was ready. I was elated to say "YES" and we would love to invite Lupita to live there!

Some of you may remember that Lupita was one of the first young ladies that we mentioned when we were first beginning to plan for Hope House. Today, I went to pick her up and bring her over to see Hope House. She is very happy that God has provided this for her and her children. She will most likely be moving there this coming Wednesday.

God is going to fill Hope House with those He chooses and we are waiting for Him to lead and guide us. All the details are not ironed out yet and there are still a few projects that need to be completed, but we are very excited to be able to help Lupita!

We still have some needs and we also need monthly support to begin to take care of the added expenses of getting Hope House running and filled with women, children and teen girls. We are estimating that our minimum costs will be about $2,000 per month more than we currently have coming in for Hope House. That would cover 4 or 5 teen girls and 3 moms with their children - about 15 people. Please pray with us that God will move on hearts to provide the funds to support Hope House!

Here is a current list of needs:
Washer and dryer
Shelving for storage areas
Bi-fold door for storage area
Windows/glass (currently there is only plexiglass in the windows)
Parts to repair evaporative cooler (before it gets too hot)
Exterior lighting
Walls and/or fence around property
Small playground for children
Shed to house washer and dryer
Plywood or T111 to block back fence
Bookshelves
Books in Spanish and English

If you would like to donate any items or send funds to provide any of these items, please feel free to email me at dolphinplus@juno.com.

Also, we are having a Giant Yard Sale in Yuma, AZ this coming Saturday, April 12th, in order to raise funds for Hope House. I am specifically hoping to raise about $500 to purchase the Bible curriculum in Spanish and English that we are planning to use in Hope House. If you are in the area and would like to help, contact me. I could use all the help, and prayers, possible!

Finally...the After!

After 5 days of work, and a trip to Algodones (for shopping and wonderful fruit smoothies), we had a time to gather over at Hope House, see the finished product and reflect about the work, the week, the ways in which God had used each and every one of the group from Southwinds.
It was a very moving and emotional gathering - thinking about the women, girls and children whose lives would be touched and changed because of the work they had accomplished in the house this past week. Where there was once one large room, there is now a not-quite-so-large room, 3 bedrooms and an office. Both bathrooms received shower enclosures, as well as replacing all the damaged drywall and painting them. The exterior was given a second coat of paint all the way around.
They also worked in the kitchen, the back bedroom (which will be for the teen girls), the ceilings and they even completed some projects over at our house (aka The Burgan's Mexican Campground).This group worked together like they had been doing it for years. When one student tired of a specific job, there was someone else to step in and give them a break. I never heard of any fighting or arguing. They all enjoyed one another, as well as all the kids who gathered around Hope House. I never heard one word of complaint when asked to do something, or about taking cold showers (for more than one day that was the ONLY option), or dealing with our dogs, or camping outside. By the end of the week, many of them were exhausted and the smiles were not quite so bright, but they always were kind, gracious and loving to one another (and us!). During the week they were here, a number of incidents occurred in our neighborhood that we have not seen in the last 3 years that we have lived in this house, but God used each one to underscore something that Joe or I had shared with them about the realities of life here in Mexico. We shared about the fact that according to the Mexican government, 50% of homes experience some type of abuse and then several members of the group witnessed a man "under the influence" mistreating our next door neighbor who happens to be pregnant. We also talked about how many girls as young as 14 or 15 years old are getting pregnant and having babies. During the week, one of the teen girls in the group was asked by a Mexican boy if she had any children. How poignant was that?I cannot begin to express our thanks for all their labors, their love shown to us and the children around the neighborhood, and the great work they have accomplished for the Kingdom here in San Luis! THANKS A MILLION!

And we miss you already!!! Come back again next year (or sooner if you can)!!

The "After" Photos - Check Back Later Today!

I apologize for not getting another post about our wonderful week with the folks from Southwinds posted on this blog! We had an absolutely wonderful time and I really want to share the "after" photos with you all. But the batteries died in my camera on Saturday and I haven't had a chance to replace them and get the photos downloaded and then uploaded here. I am going to try to do that later today, so check back!

It was a very emotional time when we met back at Hope House on Friday evening to see the finished product and reflect on the week! Many tears were shed - not the norm for a building project. But I truly believe these folks caught our heart and vision and left their mark on San Luis Rio Colorado and Hope House! What a blessing it is!

Victory in the Park!

The day began with pancakes and ended with churros, but much progress was made on Hope House and the group was instrumental in reclaiming the neighborhood park for the families, at least for one night! We have been able to introduce many of the group to different cultural experiences, including the tortilleria (where they make the corn tortillas), an open-air market bustling with activity (where I buy most of our produce), the churros maker (ok, I think Bob visited them almost every night), the local neighborhood store (where my kids buy snacks and bolis), the regular grocery store, the water place (where we buy all our drinking water) and many other places.
The walls have all been finished, the bathrooms are well underway. There are only finishing touches to be put on the house today and everyone has had a chance to work hard, play hard and be a light in San Luis. I can't wait to show you the "after" pictures with all the furniture in place, walls painted, bedding and kitchen stuff and all the great things that Southwinds brought for Hope House!! I don't know if I can even express how exciting it is to see Hope House actually come into being after three years of vision and hoping, planning and waiting. There are tears flowing from my eyes as I think about how cool this is to see happen! These guys and gals may never get to see the lives that will be changed because of Hope House, but they are as integral a part of this ministry for the work they have done here as anyone else. And God is going to richly bless them for giving of their time, their strength, their love, themselves to help change lives here in Mexico.

Last night was our main outreach and we took about 160 hotdogs, buns, chips and sodas to a park that is only a block from Hope House. (I apologize that the photos are not good - still trying to learn how to take nighttime photos) When we arrived around 7pm, the park was already full of families. We didn't realize what a miracle this was until we talked to some of the people who live right around there. They said that the gangs (and "wanna-be gangs") had taken over the park and families just didn't come here anymore. Well, last night you would never have known it! We fed over 120 children and their moms and God kept multiplying the food!! The girls in charge of the hotdogs said that everytime they looked into the pot after giving out 20 or more hotdogs, there were the same amount of hotdogs left! The students from Southwinds fed these kids and decided they would not eat a hotdog because these kids needed them more. So after spending some time playing with the kids, we all went to Chipilon Tacos (the BEST in town!!), had a grilled jalapeno-eating contest (I think a few guys will be paying for that this morning:-), and stopped on a corner to buy the best churros in town.God is at work in the lives of these folks from Southwinds, and He is using them to touch a little part of San Luis!