What happened??

This is a picture of the pool that I was baptized in last summer.  Lee’s theory is that God washed all my sin away and that is why the pool is so dirty.  Ha… ha…Lee….

It was sort of a joke all week (well, at least for Lee it was funny). 

In all reality, we were told that they stopped messing with this pool in an effort to cut costs.  B2B has had 1/3 of their teams cancel this year.  Please pray for their ministry.  Jesus own the cattle on a thousand hills and we know He will provide.  Please pray for Mexico.

Psalm 50:10 “for every animal of the forest is mine and every cattle on a thousand hills.”

~Heather

Feet and Mickey Mouse….

Two things that the blogs I post usually include:  feet and Mickey Mouse….

I hope you enjoy these pictures of 2  (strangely) of my favorite things to blog about!

These are Lee’s fabulous work shoes!  I think he used an entire roll of duct tape to keep them from falling apart. 

Are these not the cutest shoes on a little guy at Casa Hogar Douglas??

His toes poke out of the alligator's mouth!

  Proof, yet again, that Mickey Mouse is loved all over the world!

 

And a few pictures of Mickey in the dorms at Casa Hogar Douglas…

 

 

~Heather

We're home!

We arrived at HCBC NW around 4pm. We were so blessed by this trip. As God was building the team we kept praying for more men to sign up to come. We had 2 men, one teen boy, and one 10 year old boy. The other 8 team members were 7 women and a 10 year old girl. After arriving we learned that the large team from Ohio had an agenda that slowed the construction and physical labor projects down so that the the man power and resources could be utilized by the soccer camps this week. God knew that our team did not need a ton of strong men. He knew that we needed to be a smaller group, too. It would have been harder logistically if we were a larger team. Also, we were able to focus on loving and blessing the staff at B2B. Many times we were told that our team was a breath of fresh air in the middle of a hard summer. Praise God that He used us!
On our last morning people shared their "picture of the week" and I saw that God used this trip to personally touch each team member. I believe it was the starting point of change in many people's hearts. They all mentioned the desire to seek what God's next step would be for them. I look forward to seeing what God will do in the coming months with what we experienced in Monterrey.

Thank you for taking the time to read the blog. 

~Heather

Te doy Gloria

A few great pictures…

 

 

Planetario Alfa

Today we took the kids from Casa Hogar Betesda to Planetario Alfa (a HUGE science center).  It was a wild time!  The teens that are here with us brought kids from another children’s home.  There were 5 buses of children!  The science center is 5 stories high and it has an Imax theater.  There is also a planetarium and an outdoor play area.  Everyone wore the same t-shirts.  So, if you can imagine about 100 children and about 100 adults running around this place.  Insanity…. but the kids were having a blast!

On the ride back, our bus broke down on the side of the freeway.  Thankfully, we had plenty of water and Tete had a tortilla in her fanny pack. 

“Unbelievable….” says Tete.

~Heather

Te Doy Gloria, A Ti Jesus!!

 

40 years ago a small chapel was built on the hill by Casa Hogar Douglas .  Over the years it fell into disrepair and the people began to pray that God would restore it.  A couple at B2B started to pray for it, too.  Praise God that He provided the funds to renovate the chapel.  Tonight we went to the dedication ceremony.  We sang praise songs and held hands to pray for the church.  Scripture was read and the children from the Casa Hogar danced.  We truly felt the presence of God there.  The children in the Casa Hogar would not have an opportunity to go to church without this chapel near their property.  I kept thinking about what a special place this will be for them.  A shelter on the hill where they will learn about and worship their Heavenly Papa. 

Con una corona de espinas, te hiciste rey por siempre.

With a crown of thorns, you became King, forever and ever….

~Heather

Casa Hogar Douglas

Today we spent the day at Casa Hogar Douglas.  We played with the kids, put up a chain link fence, and the men dug 3 deep holes for beams.  They are eventually going to make a covered area using the beams.

Here are a few pictures of our day.

 

 

Psalm 9:9-10

“The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble, and those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, Lord have not forsaken those who seek you.”

~Heather

Baby In A Bucket??

Today we went to Cadereyta to work on the church there.  Cadereyta is what they call a squatter’s village that was along a river and the government moved them to an area outside of town.  It’s an area with houses built of cinder blocks and dirt roads.   There is no plumbing or running water.  They fill jugs from cisterns.  They have only recently been provided electricity. 

Many of the children who arrive at children’s homes come from these areas.  B2B is helping a pastor and his family with the ministry to these people.   Their hope is that through support and encouragement, these families will stay in tact and the cycle of children being abandoned will be broken.

We spent the day working and playing with the kids.  Then we had an outreach where we served the kids oranges and cookies. 

The baby in the bucket lives in the house next to the church.  His parents are so proud of him.  He was just hanging out in a bucket of water trying to keep cool.  They do not have much by worldly standards but they are an intact family filled with love and joy.

 

Here are a few pictures of our team working…

   Rhonda Ruth and Kendall (Emily is the intern on the ladder)

Marcus

 

  Diana

(Hey Carlos, Diana has a future in construction!)

~Heather

Fiesta! Dos parties in uno day!

Every year a soccer coach from an Ohio school comes down here with teens from the school he teaches at.  They host a week long soccer camp at each of the children’s homes.  We are here this year with them and they included our team in the party.  There are 87 teens on their team.  They had a fiesta tonight to kick off the camp and bused all the children from the children’s homes.  It is such a neat thing they do for the kids.  It’s a really big deal.  They give each kid their own soccer ball and two t-shirts.  And they teach them how to play soccer.  One of the nights there will be a big soccer game between the children’s homes. 

They put everyone on campus in matching t-shirts, put up a big tent, cooked up some arrachera (skirt steak), got a band, and served about 500 people dinner. 

They kicked off the party with an ice cream eating contest.  There were 2 kids from each children’s home.  They were blind folded and one child had to feed the other child a bowl of ice cream.  The first one to finish won. 

Some of the teens that live in the children’s homes got up and gave a testimony.  They were trying to encourage the kids to trust in the Lord for their future.  And the kids from Imperio De Amor got up and sang.  There were kids running around everywhere and you know they were feeling something special tonight. 

Isaiah 58:10

“and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.”

~Heather

Feliz Cumpleanos!

We went to Imperio De Amor to have a birthday party for the kids who had birthdays in January-July.  Each child was called down individually to receive their gift and then we chanted for them to open it. 

 

We filled up the small chapel with balloons….

We filled a giant pinata with candy…

We filled some tummies with cake and a little frosting….

And I pray that we filled some hearts with the love of Jesus Christ.

~Heather