cositas (Stuff)

Little Ruth spent this last weekend with us. I'm helping her with her reading :)

Hi all!!!!!

Salutations from Rancho Maranatha!

"But Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossble, but with God all things are possible". Matthew 19:26

Living this life for Christ in our our strength is impossible..... It's only in the knowledge and acceptance of His mercy, grace, and love that we can become truly like Christ.

"You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body".

1 Cor 6:19b-20

Only in Christ, dwelling in Him, abiding in Him, are we able to glorify Him truly. What truly glorifies Christ in not our actions. It's not just in our acts of service. It's not just in our aiding the widows, loving the orphans, or feeding the poor. Glorifying the Lord is not simply self-denial or rigorous discipline. Glorifying God is not just doing great and daring things in His name that will be made into a book some day. Glorifying God is desiring to know Him. Glorifying God is expressing your desire to be closer to Him. Glorifying God is seeking His face with all of your body, soul, and mind. Glorifying God is falling madly in love with Him, the Creator of the universe. Glorifying God is making "Jesus Loves Me" your lovesong. Glorifying God is recognizing is grace and love. Glorifying God is allowing that grace and love to penetrate your heart and your mind. It's allowing that grace and love to change you. Glorifying God is allowing that peace that passes all understanding to penetrate every fiber of your being. Glorifying God is to live and rest in Him.

Josie shared her testimony at the Ladies' day this Good Friday. It was such a blessing to have such a young life setting such a Godly example. Dulce did the same in sharing her testimony. Both of these teen girls truly desire to serve God. They both have seen miracles worked in their lives.

Sunrise service on Cerro Prieto was breathtaking as always. How humbling it is to stand there victorious because Christ died for us. If that isn't proof of God's love, what is?

Pedro worshipping as we watched the sunrise. A wonderful young man who has come to the Lord in his youth. Pedro works in a factory. He was telling me last week that He struggles with the worldly enviroment he works in. He desires to take Jesus to his co-workers. Pray that the Lord would open doors for this young man and that he would be encouraged in his walk.

The Rancho Maranatha girls. From left to right; Josie, Carolina, Maria, Monce, Dulce,and Danny. Oh ya, the really dark native on the far right is me :) These are the girls that I bunk with and spend quite a lot of time with. Please pray for them all. Especially Carolina who has just returned to us after living with relatives. We so desire to see fruit in her life and to have her seek Jesus wholeheartedly. Maria pretty much lives with us on the weekends. She's a very smart young lady that we hope to encourage in the things of the Lord.

Anybody want a ride???? I think they could fit a couple more on there.!!!!!!

Family 2

Hi Everyone :) Well as most of you know my mother, brother, sister, and Larry were just here for a visit. It was a wonderful time. They left yesterday for the states. I would lie if I said it wasn't hard to watch them go. The time was so special and so much fun. I was very much the proud daughter and sister showing off my family to everyone. They all worked hard while they were here. Especially Larry! Below is a picture of Gabe and Larry organizing our construction shed. It was well overdue. They went as far as to organize all of up diferent screws and nails. What a blessing!!!!! Gabe had a sunburn from sitting in the sun organizing all day :) The group from Montana was also here last week. They built an outhouse for Dona Lupita in Navojoa and a bathroom for Don Ernesto in Alamos. Both of these elderly people were in dire need of these facilities. Thankyou so much Montana for doing this. You guys rock! This next weekend the group from Life Christian Fellowship church in CA will be arriving. They are going to help finish the bathroom that the group from Minnesota started. Talk about bathrooms galore, we've got them everywhere!!!! THat's a good thing though. There is a serious shortage of them around here! As a reminder 2 Fridays from now, the 22, is the Ladies Day. The theme for this year is Galatians 5:22, the fruits of the Spirit. Please keep the preparation of this event in your prayers. Also pray for hearts of all the woman who will attend, that they will be open and moldable. Of course that the Lord would use the speakers as well. That it would be His voice and His message that would be spoken and heard. We hope this year to have many ladies that are unsaved attend. We pray that it will be the day of salvation for many! While Sonora was here she helped get the favors ready for the ladies' day. The ladies from the Montana group helped as well. Everyone has done lots of glueing and cutting. This is my Sunday morning class. Do you like our classroom ? Ana, Lola, and I took Mom, Gabe, Sonora, and Larry to La Aduana while they were here. La Aduana is an old mining town. We also took them to Alamos and the mirador :) This past Communion Sunday two ladie gave their lives to the Lord. Maria Juana and Chita are now our sisters in Christ!!!!!!!!! Maria Juana's husband is in jail. Dan met him durning his stay though. But he is now the in-jail pastor. I cannot imagine how happy he must be to know that his wife is now walking with the Lord. Chita's son, Chemalito, has been saved for some years as well. We rejoice with him in his mother's new life! The meeting with DIF Echohoa about bringing girls to the Ranch wel went. It seems that soon we will have atleast 2 girls coming to stay with us. So yes, recently things have been quite crazy. Lots of peope coming and going, lots of plans being made. I'm restful though because I know that my God is on the throne! Nothing can change that :) Remember He's coming soon! God Bless <><

Family

Well everyone, my family is here! Well. most of my family anyway. My mother, Gabe, Sonora, and Larry are here visiting!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm one blessed girl. So, so ,so glad to have them here. Last night in Las Minitas my sister made balloon animals for the kids. Next to her is a pic of the two Gabriels. They were little tikes of 5 years old running around playing in the dirt not to long ago. Now they're both close to 6 ft tall. Scary :)

L

Larry has been amazing! He's been keeping Gabe company. Teaching Gabe how to paint (my room :) and challenging him in the basketball court as well. I hear rumor that Larry's going to be cooking for us tomorrow :):):)

Gabe has been painting in between his air guitar solos!!!!! The last pic here in the right is of the group from Minnesota that was here several weeks ago. They were a huge blessing! Thank you guys!!!!!!

God bless ya'll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yoke?

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery”. Gal atians 5:1

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”. Matthew 11

In the past whenever I thought about the yoke of the Lord I considered it to be a burden. I always thought a yoke was a burden. However, on Sunday, visiting Calvary Chapel Alamos, Pastor Javier shed new light on the subject. He said that the yoke the Lord has put upon is not to weigh us down, but to unite us to Himself. The yoke is a union not a burden. Think about that…. The weight, the burden is purposed not to tire us but to unite us to Him. It is through the yoke that we become one with him. This revelation simply overwhelmed me…. The consequences of this revelation are mindblowing…. What a relief I felt. What a sense of rest. The gratitude that I felt toward the Lord made me want to cry. Through our trial, in our time of need, we are one with Him. United, doing the job together! This is the purpose of trial and tribulation to push us into that yoke with Him so that we will not be alone.
God is good my friends….. God is good.

Last time I wrote I believe the group from Minnesota was here. They left shortly after. We are so thankful for their help and willingness to serve. I’m thankful because my vocabulary was stretched and grown while on the job site with them. I will probably never be a master builder or a contractor but I did learn quite a lot. The bathroom that the group started is not finished yet but is well on it’s way. We need another group to come and finish it!!!!


Soon after the group left I relocated to Alamos for a short time. A dear friend had surgery so I have been playing nurse and helper for the past week and a half. It has been a blessing and honor to serve her. I am still here in Alamos staying with her. Tomorrow or Friday I look forward to returning to the Ranch. I have missed my daily activities and obviously all of the congregation. It will be great to be back to my Sunday school classes as well after missing two Sundays with them.


I ask ya’ll to continue to pray as the meeting with DIF(social services) about opening the children’s home again draws near. April 4th is when they will be coming to speak with Dan and Ana. Please pray that the Lord would give all wisdom and understand to Dan and Ana regarding this situation. We are all very excited to see what comes of it.

I am also very excited to announce that one week from today my mother, yes MY MOTHER, my younger brother, my little sister, and dear friend, Cher, will be arriving!!!!!!!!! I am so blessed and excited!!! Please pray that the Lord would be with them as they travel.

My love to all. And a special shout out to my dear, dear, friend, Cati Grape who turns 21 today!!!!! Happy Birthday Cate J
God Bless!

pics

HI Everyone :)
After the Minnesota group leaves on Thursday I will send out a more in depth blog. But for now I wanted to share some pics with ya'll :)
1. Rogelio, Carla, and Noemi!!

2. work, work, work.... We've been busy building a bathroom in Navojoa.
3. Three little girls that have my heart; Lupita, Dislania, and Maria Elena.

Dwelling

"How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Bessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion............For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!" Psalm 84

To dwell- To live or stay as a permanent resident.

To live or to stay.... To stay. Stay is an action verb. It requires effort to stay. In this case staying requires not only physical action but mental as well. Being a Christian is not about the decision we make one day to follow Christ. It's about the decisions you make daily to walk with Him. Dwelling in His courts is part of walking with Him. We can decide one day that we want to dwell with and in Christ, but it doesn't end there. Dwelling with Him, in Him, is a choice that we must make each and every day. Are we willing to sacrifice what must be sacrificed to dwell in Him? We know that He is light and in Him there is no darkness. So, we must shed our darkness to dwell in Him. We must deny our flesh and take on His desires and His heart. To dwell in Christ is to have constant peace and joy. Peace and joy that are not affected by our circumstances or surroundings. On the contrary if we are dwelling in Christ we should have an effect, we should an impression, on the world around us. To have His peace and joy we must decide daily to dwell in Him. We must wake up every morning and put ourselves mentally, spiritually, and physically in His courts. Then throughout the day we must continue resolutely, we must stick to His side. We must not abandon that peace and joy for our own 'strength'. We have to give way to His desire, His ideas, His plans for us in that day. Dwelling in His courts not only makes perfect peace and joy available to us but it also gives us a clarity that we will find nowhere else. When dwelling in His courts becomes our focus and purpose everything else pales in comparison. His joy and His peace bring us spiritual clarity and a heavenly mindset. When our hearts and minds are set on heaven worldly problems become almost insignificent. Why? Because we know and understand that these do not affect eternity.
So make the choice with me today. Choose to dwell, choose to stay, in the courts of your King. Do not allow the world, it's people, it's problems to steal the joy and peace found in His courts. Be heavenly minded. Let your little light shine :)

something smells fishy

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end”. Eccl 3:11

The depth of this verse is just now hitting me for the first time. Let’s break it down.

1. He has made everything beautiful. Everything means everything right ?!?!?! That means no exceptions, no circumstances or conditions change that fact. I am included in ‘everything’, so are YOU. I am beautiful, you are beautiful. But, in HIS time. In other words no matter our rebellion, our pig-headedness, our stupidity, or our pride, He will make us beautiful. This beauty has nothing, I repeat, NOTHING to do with either you or me. Beauty, from God, is perfect. I am not capable of perfection. My heart holds no beauty……..”For out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery………..”. So how are we going to be made beautiful if our heart is inherently wicked? “Humble yourselves, therefore under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you”. I have this verse written on my wall, and for a very good reason. Most people know the next part, “casting all your anxieties on him, because He cares for you”. But the beginning of the verse is key, “humble yourself”. Humble yourself and then “at the proper time” (sound familiar?) He will exalt you. If we humble ourselves, in His time, at His proper time, He will make us beautiful. In our humility He will exalt us.

2. “Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end”. In other words God instilled a desire in us for ‘more’. He created us to always be looking beyond the horizon. Always searching for something better. He’s put a taste of eternity in our spirits. A desire to be sanctified, holy, and perfect. But we cannot do anything about it. Makes you want to say, “ Nice guy, huh?” But there’s a reason. You see, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”. If we understood eternity, if we knew the beginning from the end, why would need Him? If we knew our ‘ending’ why would we ask Him for strength in the things to come? But thanks to our Father we have the hope of eternity. The hope of freedom from this wicked world. And He has given us love and peace while we remain on this earth!

His offer is to make us beautiful, for eternity. Our obstacles are the world, and all the cares and worries that come along with it. We don’t need magic words or a new doctrine to obtain the prize. Just a willing and humble heart.

So, what’s going on down here at Rancho Maranatha?!?! Lots, as always.
Dan and Ana left yesterday for Quintana Roo, a state in southern Mexico. A dear Christian couple took them to have a little vacation. I’m so glad that there are getting a chance to relax. Pastor Dan will be sharing in a church in Merida, Yucatan while they are there. Roshon will be leaving next week as well. She has to go to CA to meet with the leaders of Aaliyah’s school. So it’s up to Jerry, Jo, and I to keep things up and running!!!! Pray for us!
Dan left me fish sitting. I pray that both the fish and the plants will flourish under my care. I’ve considering taking my guitar down and serenading them.

This morning we had biblestudy in Osobampo. The ladies there continue to bless me so much. They all sacrifice so much to be able to make it to the study. Carla has been teaching on biblical childrearing. I’m trying to store as much info as possible for later use!

Below is something that I wrote about my beloved fish the other day. I hope you all enjoy it.


Right now I am sitting down in the greenhouse. I'm fish sitting, yep fish sitting. You would think it would be a piece of cake right? Give them their pinch of flakes every day. Make sure to keep their bowl clean. IF you want to get really eccentric you could always play them some music right?!?!?!
NOT SO. I would rather babysit anyday! Without a doubt I confess that it is easier to keep kids alive than it is to keep fish! Kids are simply so much less complex. Identifying signs of stress or disease in children is much easier. If your home remedy book doesn't have the answer you can always resort to google. If your self diagnosis through google seems a bit sketchy you can always open the phone book. There are lists and lists of family doctors and pediatricians. Kids are simple. If they are hurt, the cry. If something is bothering them they whine. If you're 7 yr. old charge is hungry you will know! You don't even have to listen for the rumbling of his tummy or wait for signs of lack of nutrition.
Why?!?! One word: COMMUNICATION. Kids can talk! They can tell you what they need. Plus since we were once children we can many times foresee their needs and desires. We know that they'll want pizza for dinner, not brussell sprouts. We know how much sleep they need. We know how much exposure to extreme heat or cold they can take. We know how to properly prepare them from these perils. They're human, we're human, it works.
I have discovered something. FISH ARE NOT HUMAN. Time and time again I take my human knowledge and try to apply it to this wet and slimy species. It simply doesn't work. You don't know when a fish is hungry? You can't ask him if there's enough oxygen in his water. Neither can you tell whether the nitrate, nitrate, ammonia, or ph levels are too his liking. Usually you don't find out he was a bit uncomfortable until he's floating, belly up, in the pond. Once he is in this position there really isn't much you can do. Mouth to mouth isn't an option. Zapping won't work on him either, lol....... Putting those paddles in the water can be tricky business.
When you meet a fish the first question you ask isn't, "What's your name?", but, "Are you male or female?".
You see with fish the answer isn't quite so simple. The males don't tend to wear their hair shorter. The females do not have longer eyelashes. Then again, in our world today sometimes you have to stop and ask people as well.
If I ever go to school I've decided to study Marine Biology, there just aren't enough of them in the world.
Even though fish are undoubtedly high maintenance I can't say that they're guilty of any wrong. I have most pleasently spend many of my saturdays in their company. They really are quite agreeable, not very argumentatitve. They also enjoy the same climate that I do. 80-85 degrees F is their heaven :)
As far as their taste in music, they seem to be quite openminded. They like christian contemporary, worship, a bit of rap, some heavy metal occasionally. They've also grown to love Antoine Dufour, relaxes them I believe.
As far as their preference to either English or Spanish, I am not sure... Still working on that. I think they might enjoy a facebook profile... What do you think? Perhaps a fan page.
So yes, I've grown quite fond of these quaint creatures of habit. However I must admit that I enjoy them most when you throw tortillas, salsa, and guacamole into the mix. It's like having a fiesta :) :):)

By now you're probably thinking that I've completely lost my marbles huh?!?!?!?!
I'm actually quite sane, though perhaps a bit fishy......
I hope you found that amusing.

Well as my dear friend, Cher, would say, "See ya,here, there, or in the air!" :)