The Joy of Life:)

Ok once again we are needing to apoliges for not keeping up on our writing. I (Amanda) have been feeling better and we have been busy trying to catch up. We have had friends over more and we have went on a couple trips. Here in Mexico the kids get two weeks off from school for Holy week and their spring break. We did a lot of running around town, bought a vehicle, been helping out other friends and we took five young adults camping over the Easter weekend. Also Alyssa and I caught a good bug over this vacation. We are all doing better now though. Need less to say our the girls time off from school went very fast. O ya we celebrate Easter during that time also :)

The girls started school again today. They were very excited to see their friends again. We are also able to celebrate our friends birthday today. We are going to go eat with the and then having them over for cake and ice cream at our home. What a great way to start our week off. We are starting to prepare our presentations and slideshows for our time home on furlough. We are having to start a little earlier than we thought because on the 3rd of May I am going into the hospital to have a historectomy. The doctors figures it was for the best to take it now because of all the problems I have been dealing with. This is a six week healing process for me. Our mothers are coming the end of the month to help us out while I am in the hospital. Need less to say we are very busy now trying to prepare for furlough and surgery.

Within these next two weeks we have two trips planned. Next Friday and Saturday we are going up to a mountain village to take up food and clothing. We are very excited about this trip. Please be in prayer for us that we could build strong relatonship with the people and the church there. Also our mothers are coming down and we are going to celebrate Zoe's birthday while they are here. In two weeks we are going with a family to a town called Cornavaca for the day. Hope to also show our mothers some of our everyday places we go and some fun areas of the city we have found since the last time they where here. We now have a vehicle so this makes it a lot easier to go and do things. Also to see so crazy new parts of town.

We are excited to go to Williston and see family and friends during our time of fundraising. Every weekend we have a meeting planned. We are trying to keep our fundraising and teaching to two or three days a week when we are home. This way we can see our families and friends, but if you would like a meeting with us send us a email and we would love to come and visit.

When we return to Mexico we have many things that we are planning on doing. My oldest niece will return with us for about a month to help us. We already have three villages we plan on going to visit while she is here. Ross will also be starting to teach english in a school here. He is able to do a 30minute Bible study before class everyday. Him and his students are excited for school to start. We are going to still be helping in the social help area with our good friend and his wife. We will be going to CIFAM houses and little villages every other weeked. Also we made some connections with an orphange that is wanting someone to come in and teach Bible studies. This is something we are in prayer about now. Please also pray for us so we could see God's next steps clearly when we return. As you can see we will be very excited to return to our home and work. Thank God for time away though. He knows everything that we need, even before we ask of it.
Blessings in His name! Amanda

From the Hospital -

As many of you know, Mandy and I were in the hospital the other day because she had internal bleeding and it was causing many problems with her body. Well, after they found out what was wrong with her, they took her into surgery around midnight. While I sat by her empty bed I began praying and writing. As I began thinking about what to blog about today, I felt like I was supposed to just copy what I was feeling while sitting there all alone, spending time with my Jesus. Here is word for word what I was "journaling" about.

"As I sit here tonight in the hospital with my wife in surgery and my children at a friends house my mind is flooded with thoughts of frustration, confusion, unknown and many other things. I am pouring my heart out to God and then I feel His warm embrace. As I sit the storm in my soul begins to calm and I become conscious of the cool breeze coming in the window behind me. While we live in one of the largest cities in the world it is remarkably quiet outside the hospital tonight. There is only an occasional car going by and I hear the gentle rustling of the trees. Somewhere not far behind me I hear the sound of an ancient Aztec flute being played. It fills the air with the gentle, joyful, sound that only a wind instrument can make. I wonder if it was sent here by God to calm my spirit. It is times like these that I realize that we are truly living in the center of His will. I know that this is a strange place to thinking about the will of God, but I know that this is the truth. I think about all the places in the world that I could be right now, but I don't want to move. As I sit here writing this I become keenly aware that I am scared to move. Not because of the circumstances around me, but because I am afraid to loose the embrace of my Father the King. I came into this hospital tonight wishing that I was just about anywhere else in the world, but now I don't want to be anywhere else in the whole world. It has been a lifelong process learning to follow the will of God, and I know that I am not done yet. I am slowly learning that the most important thing to say to Him is," yes". I can't imagine where my life would be at right now if I would have told Him no, when He told me to "Go". I know that from this point on the answer to Him will always be yes. He is not done with us yet, and I look forward to what He has for us here in Mexico. They have a saying in here about Mexico that goes, "Anything is possible in Mexico". Now as I sit here tonight, alone, I am beginning to change my vision of my God. I am starting to see the truth of that statement. However, I have the desire to add just a couple words to this statement. The truth looks like this, "With my God, anything is possible for Mexico". I love this city, I love these people, and I love this place. It is no accident that we are living here at this time, and in this place. We are a long ways from being done with what God wants us to do. I know that the surgery will be fine and she will be better off after this."
Now I have to say, I wrote this while my wife was gone, and I had not heard anything from the doctors. I am happy to report that God has confirmed in our lived what He so gently whispered in my ear that night. Yesterday we went and visited with one of our great friends, and a leader in a program called "Social Help". You will probably be hearing more about this as more time goes on. We are now moving from a position of stalking shelves, and counting cans, to a position of taking and distributing food, cloths, and necessary items to people all over Mexico, and Mexico City. We have a great couple that love God with all there hearts, souls, and mind, that will be working with us. I believe that this is the plan that God is moving infront of us for, "Such a time as this". We are excited to get out there and get our boots dirty. Right now it is difficult for us because of medical limitations, and God has been telling us to wait on Him. We are however getting ready and helping to areas close to our house, now. Also I have the wonderful opertunity to help in the Christian school here teaching english. I took the whole month of March and taught for 1/2 hour every day on Matthew 5:1-12. I am humbleded to teach the leaders of tomarrow about what a life of following Christ looks like. This is one big aspect of what God told us we were coming here for. This for me is one of the most joyous things in the world to do.
Thanks to all of you that have spent time praying for us and helping us reach Mexico City for Christ. Ross