The fruit of the Spirit Los Frutos del Espíritu

Gloria saying the fruits of the Spirit in Spanish. She learned them through a kids song we sing in devotions.
Gloria diciendo los Frutos del Espíritu. Los aprendió en una canción que cantamos en nuestras devociones.

Christmas Time! Tiempo de Navidad!

So its been a while since we last did a blog. In that time, we traveled to IL for the first time and celebrated our wedding reception (after a year and a half of marriage!) Praise Jesus for the Visa and the opportunity to spend time with family and friends back there. Christmas is rapidly approaching and we have done some decorations to make our home a little more festive. José asks us every day "How many days until Christmas?" I will tell him, and somehow he understands it to be like 2 days. He still doesn´t understand weeks and months and how long that is. We are excited to celebrate our Lord and Savior´s birth more than anything. With all the preparations, family time, activities, we can lose so fast our focus in this season. We are celebrating when God became a man, sent to earth to live the perfect life for us, and to suffer and die for us, in our place for our sins. What a glorious season this is! It is so much more than trees, presents, food, family, and friends. It is even more than a baby in a manger, because without the cross of Christ, the manger doesn´t mean a thing. It is Jesus, God himself, leaving his glory in heaven to live among us, his enemies, in order that we might live with him for eternity. Joy to the World!

Pues, ha sido un rato desde que hicimos un blog. En este tiempo, viajamos a Illinois por primera vez y celebramos nuestra recepción de bodas (un año y medio después de matrimonio!). Gloria a Jesús por la Visa y la oportunidad de pasar tiempo con familia y amigos allá. La navidad está acercandose muy rapidamente, y nosotros hemos hecho algunas decoraciones en nuestra casa. José nos pregunta cada día "¿Cuántos días faltan para la Navidad?" Yo le digo, y el siempre lo entiende como que faltan 2 días, aunque no es lo que dije. No entiende semanas y meses todavía y cuanto tiempo esto es. Estamos emocionados de celebrar el nacimiento de nuestro Señor y Salvador Jesúcristo más que todo. Con todos los preparativos, tiempo con familia, actividades, podemos perder el enfoque de la temporada. Estamos celebrando cuando Dios se hizo hombre, enviado a la tierra para vivir la vida perfecta por nosotros, sufrir y morir por nosotros, en nuestro lugar por nuestros pecados. ¡Que temporada gloriosa! Es mucho más que árboles, regalos, comida, familia, y amigos. Es aun más que un bebé en un pesebre. Sin la cruz de Cristo, el pesebre no significa nada. Es Jesús, Dios mismo, dejando su gloria en el cielo, para vivir entre nosotros, sus enemigos, para que nosotros podamos vivir con él por la eternidad. ¡Al mundo paz, nació Jesús!

José super exicited decorating his stocking. José muy emocionado decorando su bota.

All the kids with their stockings. Los niños con sus botas.

This is where we put the stockings. Aquí pusimos las botas.

The kids made ornaments for the tree and decorated it. Los niños hicieron decoraciones para el árbol.

They made ornaments with their names. Hicieron decoraciones con sus nombres.

Luisa - she´s a charmer. ella es ecantadora.

She really likes these puzzles, more putting the pieces in her mouth and hitting them on the ground than anything.

 Le gusta mucho este rompecabezas, pero más que todo poner las piezas en su boca y pegar con ellas en el piso.

Like father, like daughter. De tal padre, tal hija.

Danger! but she´s just so cute. Peligro! pero es muy linda.

Prayer Requests:
-That the church here could see the true meaning of christmas
-That God would continue working in the hearts of the kids
-That God would continue santifying us to make us into Godly examples

Peticiones de Oración
-Que la iglesia aquí pueda ver el verdadero significado de la Navidad
-Que Dios siga obrando en los corazones de los niños
-Que Dios siga santificandonos al fin de hacernos ejemplos piadosos

Summer Review (Resumen de verano)

We dont want to be those bloggers that are always apologizing for the amount of time that has passed since their last blog. We feel the obligation to write the blog but also to things here. So I wont be apologizing from here on out.
No queremos ser de los que"bloguean" y siempre se disculpan por la cantidad de tiempo que ha pasado desde el ultimo blog. Sentimos la obligación de escribirles pero también tenemos nuestras responsabilidades aquí. Entonces, no nos vamos a disculpar desde ahora en adelante. 

Since our internet is slow and takes forever to upload photos, we will update you all on part of what has happened in the last month or so. And the rest will follow in a later post.
Nuestro Internet aquí en la casa es muy lento y dura una eternidad subir fotos. Entonces vamos a poner parte de lo que ha pasado en el último mes, y el resto lo vamos a poner después. 

 A week ago Juantan´s brother and sister came to visit for a week. They were a big help. We had just said goodbye to Bere´s mom and brother when they arrived. Allison was a big help with Luisa and Gloria, and also helped Bere a lot in the house. Clayton helped me get a lot done outside. And he also taught the boys a little about being a farm boy. I dont think the boys slept in past 7 the whole time he was here. Nor did I. We had a great time with them and appreciate their visit.
Hace una semana los hermanos de Juantan nos visitaron por una semana. Nos ayudaron mucho. Habíamos despedido a la familia de Bere antes que ellos llegaron. Tere había ayudado mucho a Bere con la concina, los niños chiquitos y la limpieza. Entonces Allison tomó su lugar, ayudando a Bere en la casa y con Luisa y Gloria. Clayton me ayudó afuera haciendo trabajos que no había terminado. También enseñó a Ram y José como es ser un niño granjero. Creo que ellos no durmieron más tarde que las 7 de la mañana durante la semana entera. Tampoco yo. Nos divertimos mucho con ellos.

Clayton and Ramses helping José Roque put down our front walk. You can see the finished product in a later photo. Clayton y Ram ayundando a José Roque a poner nuestro camino en frente de la casa.

Allison painting the girls´ finger and toenails crazy colors. Gloria now has lime green toenails. :) Allison pintó las uñas de las niñas con sus colores brillantes. Gloria ahora tiene las uñas de sus pies verde limón. :)

 Here are some photo gems of Luisa for your viewing pleasure. Papi showing Luisa how to dance, her first car ride (not really but first picture in the car), she smiles all day long.
Aquí hay unos fotos de Luisa para deleitar tu pupila. Papi le enseña a bailar, su primer paseo en el carro (en verdad no, pero es la primera foto), y ella sonríe todo el día. Es una niña feliz.

Gloria teaching Luisa the art of playing Gloria enseñando a Luisa el arte de jugar

The First Day of School! also take note of the finished front walk...Good work Clayton and Jose R.! the left side looks amazing.  ¡El primer día de clases! También pueden notar como quedó el camino. Buen trabajo Clayton y José R.!

This was God´s canvas for us tonight. It left us speechless. Esto era el lienzo de Dios para nosotros esta noche. Nos dejó sin palabras.

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Salmo 19:1 Los cielos cuentan la gloria de Dios, y el firmamento anuncia la obra de sus manos.

Sleeping Beauty (La Bella Durmiente)

With our crazy summer schedule, Gloria has not had much nap time. They have summer school from 9-12, Nere, José, Ram, and Aarón (Bere´s brother) go to swimming lessons from 12-1. Reading time is from 1:15-1:50 for all the kids. Lunch is at 2. More reading time from 3-3:40 for all the kids. Gloria has swimming lessons from 4-5, the other kids do their chores in this time, and Alexia swims from 5-6. Supper is at 6:30 or so. So the other day around 5 or 5:30 Gloria was in a bad mood and not obeying. So she went to sit in time out. We came back to check on her a little later, and she was out like a light. We laid her on the couch to sleep to supper, tried to wake her up for supper but she was not happy about that. So she went back to bed and slept until 8 the next morning. She slept 15 hours! Incredible. Needless to say we are trying to work in some more nap time for her.

Pray for some sanity during this crazy summer schedule. Summer school is over after next week. But reading program and swimming will continue thru the summer.
God bless you all!!

Con nuestro horario tan loco de verano, Gloria no ha encontrado mucho tiempo para dormir durante el día. Los niños tienen escuela de verano de 9-12 (Gloria tiene clase de 10-11). Nere, José, Ram, y Aarón (hermano de Bere) tienen natación de 12-1. El programa de lectura es de 1:15-1:50 para todos los niños. La comida es a las 2. Siguen con el programa de lectura a las 3 hasta 3:40. Gloria tiene natación de las 4 hasta las 5 y los otros niños hacen sus trabajos en este tiempo. Alexia tiene natación de las 5 hasta las 6. La cena es a las 6 o 6:30. El otro día, alrededor de las  5 o 5:30 Gloria estaba de mal humor y siendo desobediente, entonces le pusimos a sentar en su silla por un rato. Cuando regresabamos para checarle, así la encontramos; le dejamos dormir en el sillón hasta la cena; tratamos de levantarla para cenar, pero fué imposible. Estaba de mal humor. Se fué a su cama y durmió hasta las 8 de la mañana del día siguiente,  15 horas dormida! Ahora estamos tratando de encontrar más tiempo de siesta para ella.

Si pueden orar por favor que podamos guardar nuestra sanidad mental durante esta locura llamada verano. La escuelita termina despues de la próxima semana, sin embargo, natación y el programa de lectura siguen por más tiempo.

Dios les Bendiga!

Summer Vacation

The kids have been out of school for the past 2 weeks. This week marks the beginning of summer school, reading program, and swimming lessons. However, we had to try to occupy them for 2 weeks before what now will keep them busy all day. So in the mornings the boys and Juantan worked on the landscaping out front, and the girls and Bere worked on the house and outside in the flower garden. We did this in the mornings before the day got too hot to be working outside. We had temperatures around 100 to 110 F for much of this time. In the afternoons, we did our daily chores (cleaning rooms, sweeping, mopping) and had time for activities, crafts, reading, and relaxing.
Los niños salieron de la escuela hace dos semanas.  Esta semana es la primera de la escuela de verano, programa de lectura y lecciones de natación.  Sin embargo, tuvimos que mantener ocupados a los niños por dos semanas antes de que empiecen las actividades que los van a mantener ocupados todo el día.  Entonces, en las mañanas los niños y Juantan, trabajaron en la parte de enfrente de nuestra casa, y las niñas y Bere trabajaron en la casa y afuera en el jardín de las flores.  Nosotros hicimos ésto en las mañanas antes de que el día fuera muy caliente para estar afuera.  Nosotros teníamos temperaturas cerca de 40 a 45° C por varios días.  En las tardes, hicimos nuestros trabajos diarios (limpiando cuartos, barriendo, trapeando) y tuvimos tiempo para hacer actividades manuales, leer y relajarnos.

Ale y Nere making baskets for Luisa´s room and flowers for their hair.
Ale y Nere decorando una canasta para el cuarto de Luisa y flores para sus cabellos.

Finished products
Productos terminados

José and Ramses with Juantan on the tractor
José y Ram con Juantan en el tractor.

Ale y Nere pulling weeds in the roses
Ale y Nere quitando malahierba en los rosales

Great helpers!
Buenos ayudantes!

Making scotcharoos..mmm
Haciendo postres

On Saturday, Bere´s mom Teresa and brother Aaron came to visit during summer vacation. We loaded up the kids and headed down to Hermosillo to pick them up at the airport. After working hard all week we decided to reward the kids for their hard work with a refreshing trip to the water park in Hermosillo. The kids had a blast.
El sábado, la mamá de Bere y su hermano Aarón vinieron para visitar durante las vacaciones de verano.  Nosotros llevamos a los niños a Hermosillo para recogerlos en el aeropuerto.  Después de trabajar duro durante las semanas decidimos premiar a los niños por su trabajos con un viaje a un parque acuático en Hermosillo.  Los niños se divirtieron mucho.

Wave pool
Alberca de olas

Gloria loves swimming
A Glori le encanta nadar


Prayer request:

• Patience with the kids during summer vacation
• Wisdom and grace in teaching and instructing the kids
• That God reveals the lies of satan that we have believe
• That the power of darkness be destroyed and satan be humilliated in Magdalena

Peticiones de oración:

• Paciencia con los niños durante las vacaciones
• Sabiduría y gracia en la enseñanza e instrucción a los niños
• Que Dios nos revele las mentiras de satanás que nosotros hemos creído
• Que el poder de la oscuridad sea destruido y satanás sea humillado en Magdalena

God works all together for good…to conform us into the image of Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:28-29)

Family and Friends,

It has been a loooonnnggg time. A lot of things have happened, a lot has changed. I don’t even really know where to start this update. My time has been limited, and that is not an excuse for not taking the time to do this. So anyways here is what has been happening in our lives.

Notice I said “our.” On January 21, 2010, the love of my life, Berenice Navarro Cervantes said yes to my proposal of a life lived together for the glory of God. We visited her family, in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico, in February for two weeks, and to begin wedding plans. We came back to CVE for a couple weeks, and Bere left again for Morelia until the wedding in April. I followed a couple weeks later. We were united in marriage on April 25, 2010. We spent our honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It was beautiful and relaxing. On May 3 we trekked back to CVE by ferry, taxi and bus, until finally arriving at our little ole house in Magdalena.

We lived in town, babysat kids while the counselors took days off, vacations, etc. I supervised the maintenance of the vehicles and helped out with construction, and Bere was helping out with summer school and when the school year came around, she helped out there as well. This was our routine for the first 7 months of our marriage.

On Thanksgiving day 2010, Bere’s birthday, our 7 month anniversary, we moved to the “Green House” to baby sit 5 kids for a couple that was visiting their family. We planned on being there for about 2 weeks. Well, it turns out that ended up being the beginning of our new adventure. We knew going into it, the couple leaving was unsure about their commitment to stay here. So when they decided it was time for them to move, we were somewhat prepared. God gently and rapidly laid it on our hearts that these kids needed stability. We were finding out that we were that stability that He was seeking to put in their lives. So after much praying and seeking God’s direction, we decided to move in with the 5 Arcoverde kids.

This is our family just before we took off on our Christmas adventure. Starting in the center backhe oldest is Alexia (12), and circling around to the front right is Ramses (10), followed by Nere (9), José (7), and Gloria (2).

Christmas Adventure

Before we had planned to take care of the kids we had bought plane tickets to go visit Bere’s family in Morelia. Someone here at CVE suggested to us, when we found out the other couple would be leaving, that we should take the kids on a road trip for Christmas. So we transferred our tickets to someone else, and packed up one of the big vans, and headed out due south. It was about 2 days driving 12 hours a day, and I was the lucky one behind the wheel. God blessed the trip so richly. The kids behaved pretty well, especially in the van. It probably helped that they were drugged up on Dramamine. It turns out they aren’t used to long road trips. We had vomiting within the first 2 hours. Dramamine kept the vomiting down and the kids calm and usually asleep.

We had a great Christmas with Bere’s family. The kids enjoyed all the posadas, which is a celebration Mexico has a couple of days before Christmas for Joseph and Mary search for an inn. The celebration ends with a piñata, and lots of candy. We returned to Magdalena with a bushel of candy. The whole trip was an excellent opportunity to grow together in our relationship with the kids, and to give the kids a look at Bere’s family and customs for Christmas.

We returned to Magdalena between Christmas and New Year, and when we arrived, my brother, Clayton was waiting for us with a dog, a minivan, and a lot of my stuff from back home. It was good to see him again, and to spend time working on the house with him.

On May 25, CVE received a new baby, and we soon found out she was the little sister to the kids we had in our house. God put it on our hearts to unite her with her family. So for the next week and a half or so we prayed that God would lead our hearts into this, giving us the desire and joy for caring for all 6 brothers and sisters. And on June 3, Luisa Fernanda arrived at our doors, and since then we have been pushed to our knees looking for strength and wisdom as we seek to pastor these 6 kids to know their heavenly father.

We hope to sometime be able to visit Illinois, God willing. We applied in last June for a visitor’s visa and we were denied. We hope to apply again this summer. Pray that God would provide this opportunity for us. We know it is completely in His hands, and all He has to do is say the word and it’s done. So that means there is something to learn through all this, because everything works together for good, and to conform us into the image Christ. It has been hard on Bere and I and on my family, that we have not been able to come back there to visit you all.

Prayer Requests:

-Wisdom, patience, grace, and strength in caring for these 6 precious souls. That God would place in their hearts a love for Jesus which results in worship and obedience to Him. 

-Protection from satan and his servants here at CVE. That God would send an army of angels to encompass us and protect us from their works and effects.

-Above all, that our King Jesus would be glorified by His work here and throughout the world. We serve a mighty, powerful King who loves us despite our rebellion and sin, so much so, He gave His life to purchase us, to adopt us into the family of God our Father.