The Adventure Continues

It's amazing to me how much joy fills your spirit when you are walking in the center of the will of God. 

I have been so very happy in many stages of my life and I know God had me in those place for a reason and for a season. But that moment when you finally walk into the promised land and into his will is just amazing. 

Here I am in Tijuana, Mexico. Materially - I have less than I ever have. Spiritually - I have so much more than I ever dreamed. 

Who would have thought that when God said - "hey move to Mexico and start an orphanage" that it would bring me more joy than I've ever experienced. Now I have these kids around me, my house is full, and my spirit is overflowing with His living water. 

Even as my heart aches at not having all of my children around me and not seeing my oldest son much, my heart is still full of so much joy. 

I realize that this adventure will be difficult. I realize there will be times when I'm not sure where the milk will come from or maybe it's just beans for lunch. I realize the first time a child leaves will break my heart. But I also realize that just as Peter stepped out onto the water believing in his whole heart that Jesus would provide a way for him to be able to walk on it - God will make a way where there seems to be no way. 

He called us here and on His path - we simply CANNOT fail. 

My God is faithful. 
My God is powerful. 
My God is victorious. 
My God is bigger than anything I will face. 
My God is love...

...and that love is what we will share with everyone we meet in Tijuana. 

The Adventure of being All In with God continues and no matter what we face, I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Just Amazing

I’ve always known my son was different…special.  When the diagnosis of Autism/Asperger’s came to us it wasn’t really a surprise.  It was difficult at first as I think about all the things my son might never do, but I also began to see the beauty of it.  I was told to pray for a miracle. I believed the miracle had already come in our son.

You see, my son can be very childlike and the beauty of that is that he isn’t jaded and the Lord tells us we should have childlike faith. My son has great childlike faith. If the Bible says it, it’s true – period – end of discussion.  God says He will provide so of course He will. Why are you worrying? God says He works all things for good so what are you stressing out about?

The other miracle that has occurred in my son is that he has great understanding of spiritual things. He will listen to a message in church and instantly understand what it means and how it applies to his life. And sometimes these are concepts that adults have a difficult time grasping.

There are so many other little miracles have exist in my son and I marvel at them every day. Today was no exception.

As you know we are in Mexico to start an orphanage. God called us here and Christopher has been with us from the very beginning of this call. As a matter of fact I believe He heard the call first. Today, we learned that it is a possibility the regulatory agencies may not let us keep our pets. Now if you know Christopher, his pets are his world. These pets are how he connects to the world, they give him joy when he is sad, they help him cope when he is overwhelmed.  So to hear this news would be devastating to him.

He cried, of course he cried. I reminded him of some scripture that we have been memorizing and tried to encourage him that we shouldn’t worry about these things until we know for sure.

Do you know what he said?

“Mom, if we have to get rid of them, let’s just make sure they go to a good home.”

He knows why we’re here. He is ready to make a sacrifice for the work that God has told us to do. Would it be painful and hard? Absolutely. But he’s ready. He’s already sacrificed. He’s given up his home and his friends. But he’s ready to do what he needs to do. After all God sacrificed for us. Why wouldn’t we do the same.

My son is amazing! I see a miracle in him every day. 

30 Days

30 Days...It's only been 30 days. And yet so much has changed in such a short 30 days. 

There are experiences in life that change your life forever. 4 years ago a mission trip to Mexico that I went on simply because my son wanted to changed my life forever. 

30 days ago a leap of faith and a move to Tijuana changed my life forever. 

One walk into a girls prison to share the love of Christ changed my life forever. 

As I walked into that room today prepared to talk about the love of Christ and share verses from John that they too could be free, I had no idea the afternoon would hold so many tears, fears, and thankfully - forgiveness.  Those young girls who know what they've done and whose only hope is forgiveness opened their hearts and lives to us and how can you not leave there changed? 

Such a change from what I'm used to. Normally it takes time to build relationship and trust with people before you even hope they'll open up to you. But these girls...these beautiful girls are so desperate for hope and forgiveness that they open up right away. 

What a privilege to be in that room as they receive Christ in their hearts. What a privilege to be able to hold them and share the peace that comes only from Christ.
What a privilege to offer them Hope. 
What a privilege to be able to go back week after week. 
What a privilege to be part of their lives. 
What a privilege to have a Refuge and offer more help.

It's been 30 days...And moments like these have changed my life forever. 

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