Our first week!

This past week our team from Las Vegas came to visit. Wow! What a blessing they were. The first couple of days we worked on unpacking and organizing the house and putting together bunk beds for the kids. I cannot tell you how much of a blessing it was to have them here. 

On Thursday we went out to the juvenile prison and were able to have a group with some girls. We talked about Jesus and their wounds and were able to speak life into them. There was one girl in particular that was just emotionally torn and we were able to minister to her. The Holy Spirit was there in a big way and what a privilege it was to be part of it. 

We then went to Revolution Street and handed out food and supplies and the Word of God to some homeless and less fortunate. We were able to pray with several people and to see their hearts receive a blessing from the Lord was amazing. 

  

Finally on Friday we made great progress in officially setting up our organization. We filed step 1 of the paperwork and should have a letter that it's ok to begin operating within a few weeks! 

God is so good! What a privilege it is to minister to homeless, helpless, and hurting people of Mexico. My heart is full. 

Would you like to know more about our ministry and see how you can help? Visit us online at www.BuildTheRefuge.com  

Here we are!

We are finally here! We've arrived on our mission field. Making the move has been very difficult and the first week was spent unpacking (even though there is really, still so much more unpacking to do) and getting settled in. Our team from the states is here now and I'm so excited to get started doing what God called us to do. 

Before we take in any kids we have paperwork to file and approvals from the state to receive. So the question is, what do we do in the meantime? I'm so glad you asked!

This week we are going out to the Juvenile prison. We will go out twice this week. Once to minister to the girls and once to minister to the boys. We're very excited to meet these young people and love them with the llove of Christ.  We also are going to be going out doing a prayer walk and handing out supplies to some people on the streets. 

We may not be able to take kids into our house yet but we can let them know we are here and begin to lay a foundation. 

God is so good and I'm so excited to see how he will work here in Tijuana!

How can you pray for us? Again, I'm so glad you asked! Please pray for us to have wisdom with the paperwork that we need to file, and things that need to be set up, pray for The Lord to soften the hearts of those we meet and to go before us, and please continue to pray for finances as setting up an orphanage and caring for young people is not cheap (the cost for school alone is daunting!). 

Thank you for your prayers and support! 

Connected Hearts

Last night we went to the home of some dear friends for dinner. We wanted a chance to have one last meal together and pray together before we begin our journey to Mexico. 

I have made it a practice, not to say goodbye because I truly want to say connected. I'm not leaving their lives I'm simply relocating while still having our hearts connected. So I was relieved when they didn't want to say goodbye either. 

We had a wonderful, home cooked American meal and wonderful conversation with good friends. It was relaxing and wonderful and I loved it. 

Then it came time to pray. I love to pray and I love to pray with friends and my dear friend and have prayed countless times together. To pray with her before I leave and to have her pray over me and my family and give us a word from the Lord was an amazing experience. 

They prayers were beautiful, the word from the Lord was right on target and exactly what we needed. They painted such a beautiful picture of what is to come in Tijuana. We left feel armed, protected, and ready. But most of all we left feeling our hearts connected. 

As we leave for Mexico I know that we're not leaving Las Vegas behind but we take it with us. We take it with us through so many connected hearts, memories of the past decade, and the support of friends who are more than just friends - but family. 

I no longer feel worn, I feel ready! I'm ready to step into the adventure of All In!

All Things

As time winds down here in Las Vegas, our move to Tijuana is coming up quickly. In just 9 days, we will pull the uhaul out of our driveway and begin our journey to Tijuana, Mexico.  

Accounts have been closed or are now scheduled to close. Most of our belongings are already in Tijuana and we are busy packing the rest. 

Moving to Tijuana to begin a home for kids is a big undertaking. I know the Lord equips us but somehow I feel like an underdog in such a large task. 

Then I decided to watch a movie...Invincible. Have you seen it? It's a football movie and a movie about an underdog. A perfect combination for me and I loved every moment of it. One of the best things I loved about the movie is Vince Papale's motivation. Every game he would look at a note his ex wife had left him that said "you're nothing, you'll never amount to anything" and more...until the day they won their first game. On that day, he decided to tear up the note. He stopped believing he was nothing, tore up the letter, and decided to believe what he knew about himself. 

It would be very easy to believe that I'm not equipped, that we won't have the money, that we should stay in Mexico. But I refuse to believe those things. You see, I have a a big God. I believe in the God of the universe, a victorious God! I have a God who equips! And He loves these kids and for whatever reason He has appointed us to help them. 

So I will enjoy every moment of this underdog story. I will abide in Him who already has this figured out. And I will believe the things He has already written. I will believe in who He is and know that He abides in me! 

Watch out Tijuana! Here we come!

"All things are possible to those who believe" Mark 9:23

The Big Day Is Almost Here

Wow! I knew leaving would be hard but the reality of it so much more than that. After living in Las Vegas for ten years, and not just attending but working at the same church for almost as long I have begun deleting myself. 

My mom and dad have been gone for many years, my grandmother passed away earlier this year, and my church family has been vital to my growth and really so much of who I am today. And now I've begun deleting myself. When you leave a church family it's hard. They're not just my church but they truly are family. Leaving is hard in any circumstance but when you work there I think it's even more difficult. I have to train my replacement to take all that I've done and make it her own and feel the free to change what I've created. I have to delete myself from systems, take my name off the website, out of the database, and I don't even have a mailbox any longer. 

When I go into my home much of my furniture has already been taken to Mexico so I walk into a house filled with less furniture and more boxes. We're eating off of paper plates so I could pack our dishes. 

When I see friends I hear about how much they're going to miss me - which is awesome. I'm so glad they're going to miss me and not just write me out of their lives but it's still painful to hear because I'll miss them too. 

And then there's the in between, I'm not gone yet and I also haven't yet arrived. I'm in limbo. I'm not longer here but not in Mexico either. 

Leaving is hard. 

So what is left? Remembering all of the amazing memories I've created over the past ten years. Treasuring every moment and every sweet goodbye. And also, looking forward to the lives I'll invest in when I arrive in Mexico. Looking forward to reaching girls that have to enter the world and aren't quite sure how to do that. Looking forward to snuggles from little arms that used to be homeless but that now warm my heart as they have a warm bed to sleep in. Looking forward to reaching out to the kids - yes the children that you'll find in the red light district and praying for their escape. 

Yes, the in between is where I am now. Looking back as well as looking forward. It's a difficult place to be but it's a place I will cherish. 

It's Official!

The moment has arrived! The consulate called and the visa is ready. Official residents of Mexico. That moment where extreme excitement comes as we watch the Lord's plan unfold. Followed by the moment of grief as we leave our home behind. 

What a roller coaster of emotions I've been on and I'm sure will continue for the next 50 days.  Things happen so slowly and you thing progress will never be made and then all of a sudden everything starts moving all at once and you can't help but think it's moving too fast. 

How do you move forward - ever so quickly - when you are still grieving? It's all about perspective. I will choose to focus on the girls that we will bring into our home. The girls that won't have to be on the street. The girls that we will see Jesus. I will focus on the new country and city that we will embrace and love, that will be our new home. 

The enemy of the best is the good. I will keep my eyes fixed on Him as He bring us His best. I love you Lord. Where you go I'll go. Where you stay I'll stay. I will follow you!

God Provides

Time in Las Vegas is growing short. We are less than two months away from our move to Tijuana Mexico where we will begin a transition home for girls who are turning 18 and must leave the orphanage. Everyday I see the statistics of human trafficking and hear about the stories of kids on the street and it breaks my hear that we aren't there already. But there is much to do here in Las Vegas before we go. 

The financial attacks on our family haven't ended but we have faith in our God who is infinitely bigger! We met with an attorney to set up the non-profit organization and the cost is $3,000. Since I had been working on our budget and set up costs for furniture and things, that $3,000 nearly overwhelmed me. But I turned to God and boldly asked for provision. 

God is faithful! Immediately, that day we received a donation of dressers for the girls. That was followed by a donation of a bunk bed and two mattresses. And finally yesterday another donation of a bunk bed and mattresses.  We are officially furnished to receive four girls when we arrive in Mexico. 

Now all we need is to raise monetary funds so we can set up the Non-profit organization and the monthly funds needed for their education, care, etc. But God is faithful! I know He provides and He will provide for these girls. He loves them even more than I do. 

As I begin to train my replacement at work, build a structure for the organization and home, pack my home, contemplate the logistics of moving our things to Mexico, and say goodbye to dear friends, I think about the girls-those we know and those we have yet to meet. I think about who they will have the freedom to become in safety. And I thank God for the privilege of being able to be a part of it. 

God is good! Let's keep moving forward!