Elk Crossing!

We left Salem Oregon Dec. 7th after a truly wonderful time with Pastor Rick, and Sharon, and all the tremendous people of Calvary Chapel. Arriving in Klamath Falls that same night we were met by our dear friend Bernie. Leaving the train station about 10:30pm we headed toward Medford, about an hour and a half drive. A half hour from our destination two elk crossed the road in front of our car. I still have the image of the enormous animals in my mind, and you can actually see the form of the head on the windshield. Sitting in front I ducked as the collisions startled us throwing glass all through the vehicle. Praise God nobody hurt, and the car was able to continue on its now freezing remaining miles to Bernie's home. The police had to end the suffering of the animal sorry to say. Please pray for Bernie's process if dealing with the insurance. We believe God to provide a better vehicle for her, or repair this better than before.
God bless you all and have a wonderful day!

Greetings from Oregon!

The Pastors of the Calvary Chapel church in Independence Oregon took us up the cascade mountains to see some snow. We had a wonderful time with them on the trip up and spending a few days in their home. Pastor Rick was brought to the Lord through the ministry of Frank Gonzalez so he has a special place in his heart for Casa de Ninos. God has given us a wonderful time in the USA meeting so many wonderful people. Tomorrow we will spend the day with Dave and Barbara Sanders who live in the area and have the Fishin Mission Ministry near the Casa. We thank God for all that he has done. We thank you for having a heart for our ministry. From here we leave Wednesday for the Medford Oregon area where we will be with our great friend Bernie. Many blessings to you all and have a wonderful day!

Greetings friends! I believe you are all aware that Irma, Ana, and I are in the USA. We are presently in Minnesota where it is very cold for us. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving here seeing family and eating a excellent meal. Our travels have been full of blessings staying with great people like Pastor Ubaldo & Isdelda at Mercedes Christain church, then Robin Walker in Austin Texas. We then jumped on the Amtrak train and went up to Longview Texas where we enjoyed a few days with Dale and Janis Simpson who have the Mission Support Team ministry. Next stop was St. Louis and we had our first Thanksgiving with my son Jeremy &  Socorro at their new home. Great time there! St Paul Minnesota was next  where we were hit hard by the cold, but many warm blessings, and yes Thanksgiving number 2. It was so nice to see most of my family; Rachel, Dan, and Steven, and the rest of my 10 grand children, dad, and brother. Tomorrow, 10:30 pm we leave here on the Amtrak heading for Oregon. We have had great time with family and doing some important fund raising. Thank you for your support and prayers as we continue on and heading eventually back to Tepic.

Tamales!
There is allot to learn from a tamale! To start with tamales are one of my favorites, but like many foods it has to be done just right. There are bad tamales, very good tamales, and hot tamales. I will only be able to open up one valuable principle that is within this tasty treat. Tamales are so much like we are. Husks that we would just throw away are used to put this wonderful combination of ingredients inside. I believe God's design was used when tamales were invented. If you were just to look at this food you may never want to know what is inside, but you need to open it up putting that outer shell to the side later just getting rid of its temporary home. Then you get to what the tamale really is. Such a wonderful combination of things that are inside.
Are we any different? Do we reject many because of what we see on the outside? This is our work at Casa de Ninos. Getting to that taste inside. You may get you fingers messy, and it is usually hot to the touch, but there is a very pleasant tasty surprise inside. Our body is just that outer shell that will one day be discarded. Our relationships need to focus on the inside.

Picnic fun!

As we are still without regular house parents for the girls Irma and I spend more time being with them. They love going on outings so we try to do that as often as we can. All of our kids have been through very hard circumstances and that comes out of them if different ways; they compete for attention; have a hard time receiving love; use pinching or pain to get attention; silence; crying; and other ways. They need love and attention like everyone, but do not have the God given parents to do that for them. Irma and I do a pretty good job loving them in the way that their parents should have.
God bless and have a wonderful day!

A moments notice children can arrive at our doors. These cases are complex and often times on the verge of a legal mess. It is necessary at times to avoid revealing any details of the children. These children do exist but in essence have no real identity. Lack of parental guidance, abuse, and abandonment leave children in survival mode.
It was very interesting this day as my wife and I were watching this boy. As he was new to our home we instructed him to play in areas where we could see him. After he left that defined area twice we sat him down for 5 minutes and explained the importance of obedience. After the 5 minutes ended he was free to return to play in the large open area that we have. To our surprise he did not want to play or even get out of the chair after we told him his 5 minutes were over. Rebellion, payback time, pain, not knowing how to respond to good discipline, or just enjoying not being abused. We were not sure of his reasons but after 15 minutes or so he was off to play.
When new children arrive the effects of bad or no discipline, and abuse are very evident. We work hard at that challenge of showing love, and teaching the importance of obedience. Pray with us for these children. Support the work we do here. The children need us to be there for them.

One of three new girls that just arrived at the Casa is seen here with Irma. One thing that has happened many times before but is both touching and sad. Irma talking to the girls and asking about their mother. The oldest girl says that mom is never there or always out, but the youngest quickly saying that we don't have a mother. The oldest sister was so quick to respond saying that Irma can be your mother. From that point on the little one has been hanging on Irma every opportunity that she can. It is a good feeling to see them give that confidence so quickly but sad to see the desperation or great need of love. Big shoes to fill.

Irma and I took the girls to the park this day. This is something that they love to do. Getting out, doing something different, or just breaking the routine. I am the one behind the camera. We spent the afternoon walking around the park having spontaneous moments of fun along the way.
I liked the bubbles in this picture as it made for a cute photo, but I could see much more in what was obvious. Bubbles can be like dreams or thoughts. Many times we dream about things but only dream. Bubbles will drift away or pop and they are gone. Our dreams can be similar to that. I know that I dream allot and don't see most of those dreams come to life, but what really spoke to my heart was the children here that dream much about their home or what they would want to come of their lives, really wanting that dream to be real. They seem to be caught in that dream world unable to get out on their own. Pray for the children and for us to have the wisdom to guide and love them through. Dreams can come to life if we really believe, and begin to walk toward our dreams.

Happy ending

My wife and I were going into our chapel area on the second floor of the school building and we noticed a bird laying on the floor. My wife stooped to pick it up and noticed that it was still alive. She held the bird in her hands and said a simple prayer. Then she set our new feathered friend on the ledge to see what would happen. To our joy the bird flew away.
We get hurt children in our facility and with that same tender loving care we work to restore joy, peace, stability, and love in their lives. Our prayer is that all of the children that pass through our doors will have a happy ending. It is a great challenge in our work dealing with all types of children without professional help. Our passion and God's guidance are the tools we have. It is our greatest joy though to see damaged hearts being restored. Seeing joy, love and peace where before were only fear, pain and doubt.

A fun event at Casa de Ninos. Creativity, color, music, and dance made for an entertaining time that day. The children behind the masks each have their very distinct personality which adds color and life to the atmosphere at our Casa.  
What did impact me was the thing of the mask. God has done a marvelous work within us all, but we hide behind a mask not allowing people to see the wonderful work within, or we have allowed the world to suppress the beauty within. Let that beauty within shine out and  bless those around you. 

Life sometimes seems to take us for a spin. This is why our focus needs to be clearly looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith. 
Our job is to hold up these little ones after life has given them some pretty bad spins. Holding, giving them assurance that the dizzyness will pass. 
God's love and peace have that calming affect on us if we allow him to take hold of our hearts. 


God has placed a star on us. We are his special ones. 
Feel special, that is what God wants you to feel.
Continue to pray for Irma and I in our work here at Casa de Ninos.

Irma and Lorenzo

Lorenzo has problems that do not allow him to act "normal". He is 10 years old but seems more like 5 years old. His dad visited once for a few moments then left and has not returned. We do not have the facility or the expertise to deal with Lorenzo so we do the best we can in loving and teaching. We do feel frustrated in not being able to accomplish more. 
This really does emphasize the importance of being faithful in prayer. God works within our system as bad as it is. Prayer opens the fragile doors that God does respect so that He can move more freely in response to our prayers. God is willing, able, and even anxious to help. We do need to open those doors that sometimes only our prayers can open. It may sound silly that God will wait respectfully outside a door that is almost falling off its hinges. God is limitless but limits his movement according to the hearts of his people. Pray with us for Lorenzo. He needs a miracle to help him develop. God bless you all.

Me and Daniela

Daniela and I are real good friends. She has speech problems so it is somewhat challenging to communicate with her. The good thing is that affection does not need words.

I believe our heavenly Father loves to be with us. I do not know anyone that has actual verbal conversations with God but I do know many that have a good close relationship with Him.
We should not spend less time with God because we cannot communicate with him verbally. The relationship is important on both ends. God loves to be with us and we should learn to love to be with him. If we know someone that is deaf we can choose to learn sign language and then be able to have a conversation with that person, or we can choose to ignore and just move on with life. Communication with God is different than communication with your friend. Don't give up on God because he is well worth the extra work that is takes to communicate. Just as we could learn to communicate with someone that speaks a different language we can learn to communicate with God. He can understand us well when we speak but we do need to work at understanding him when he speaks. Improve you listening skill with God. Do not settle for understanding a little. Work for a good level of communication between you and your God.