In Mexico

Hello Everyone!
Yes, I am back in Mexico. And let me tell you I it the ground running! Jonny and I flew to Tucson, AZ on Thursday and spent several days with our dear friends the Hawkins. Love those guys, they are the best! Then Sunday night around 8 Jonny, Jason Slusher, and I boarded a Tufesa bus and we hit the road. We stopped at the border to get our visas and to my horror they made me push the magic button. You see at the border they have this contraption that looks like a traffic light, only no yellow light, just red and green. You push a button and the light turns either red or green. If it's green you're free to go. If it's red they stop you and search everything. So, I was pushing the button for the whole bus. If the light showed green everyone would have to get off and then we'd have to unload all the luggage! It would mean adding another hour or so to our journey. OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I told the immigration officer, "Really, I don't want to push the button". But do you think he listened to me?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!
Anyway after all my sweating, worrying, and hair pulling I pushed the stupid button !
Guess what?????


IT TURNED GREEN!
You know what that means??!?!?!?! Ya'll were praying!!!!! I thankyou, everyone one of you, so much for your prayers. I realized afterwards that I should have volunteered to push the button to begin with. I was most definately covered with my prayer than anyone else in that bus, hahaha. Praise Jesus!

So, we got to the ranch around 6 am the next morning. I'm still unpacking. I've realized that I need more storage space, shelves maybe.
All of the ladies' studies this week are canceled because of Christmas so Tuesday morning I spent with the fish. It was good to see my old friends! Tuesday evening we were off to Tesia. It was so great to see everyone. I missed them all so much!
Wednesday, yesterday, was fish and Mezquite trees all morning. The Mezquite trees were a bit more brutal than the fish. For those of you that don't know about Mezquite they produce thorns much like the ones that made up the crown of thorns that was put on Jesus' head at the crucifiction. They're quite dangerous. Always wear gloves and long sleeves when dealing with them! They have to be taken care of though because they show no mercy on car tires! One of those babies in the tire and it's flat, fast.

So there's my first 3 days back at Rancho Maranatha everyone!
More later, God Bless!!!!

Just As I Am

I'm listening to a song by a Spanish artist named Jesus Adrian Romero right now. The song is called, "Just as I am". It speaks of the Lord accepting us just as we are. A sweet sacrifice, a precious incense to Him. It speaks of how we come to Him with nothing to give but yet we give our everything.
That is SO the truth. What do we have to give our King? What do we have that He needs? He doesn't need our wisdom or our insight, that's for sure. We know that He is the Alpha and Omega, He sees and exists outside of time, He DOES NOT need our opinion, hahahaha. He doesn't need our strength for He can calm the wind and the waves. He doesn't need our humor. I know this because He used His own sense of humor in creating me! He doesn't even need our adoration because He has legions of angels to worship and praise Him. He is perfection so why did He create us? Just so that we could mess everything up? I mean we ruined the garden of Eden, and then the world after the flood as well. And since He is omnipotent He knew what we would do before we did it!!!! SO, why, why did He place us on this piece of twirling rock in the middle of the Milky Way? Why did He create us amidst a billion galaxies each with billions of stars?????

L.O.V.E
The creator of the universe chose to step out and offer us love. He chose to create beings that desire love and affection. And because God is love He gave us the ability and the freedom to choose. We can choose whether or not we will love and serve the creator of the universe or whether we will love and serve ourselves. The logical deduction is pretty obvious isn't it? We obviously should choose to live and serve the perfect, loving, all-powerful being.

I know for most of you this is elementary stuff. You've heard it all before. You read your bible every day and are reminded of it. But please, don't lose your sense of awe. Don't forget that we are so puny in comparison to our God. This whole planet, over 6 billion people right? We are a little piece of rock among trillions that He put in the sky just to declare His handy work. Don't forget that every breathe you have is a miracle. Don't forget that it's our God, our Savior that holds everything together. He is the evolutionists' 'cosmic glue'. He is the unexplainable, the great mystery. And we, little, tiny us have the opportunity to know Him. He has called Himself our Father, our friend, our Savior, our lover.

He made us for His glory. Let Him use you for His glory however He might please. Let Him blow your mind, everyday. I am begging Him to move me beyond the trials and trivial things of this world. I've asked Him to make me heavenly minded, to see the big scheme of things. The beauty of God is that the more you see, the more you learn, the more you experience the more you realize how much more there is to know. There's no end of the road with God. He is everlasting!

Long time

I had a great time in NY! Cati and Tim's Grape wedding was a smashing hit. They are now happily married. And I'm considering the fact that I'm almost an old spinster (lol, jk)

I also spent some time with my wonderful Grandparents. They took me apple picking :)

Yes everyone, I know it's been way tooooooo long... However I have been enjoying myself immensely. It has been such a blessing to be here with my family and friends. This Sunday I spent with my CFC church family, what a blessing! I also had the priviledge to have my little bro lead worship besides my mother and I :) :) :) (teary eyed moment).

Friday my wonderful father took the family to Silver Dollar City, the best amusement park in the country (in my humble opinion)! We had a great time. We rode the roller coasters in 40 degree weather. Drank hot chocolate, ate funnel cakes, and saw "The Christmas Carol" play. We were enthralled by all the lights and stayed to watch the little Christmas parade at the end. It was a ton of fun.....

This last Saturday we celebrated Christmas as a family since Jonny and I will be heading back to Mexico on the 16th of this month. It was a blessed time :) :) :) We opened presents, ate lots of cookies, and had lots of laughs!

So I have a week and a half left with my family..... I'm trying to write a christmas card....... I'm trying to figure out how to get everything I want and need into 3 suitcases. I'm also trying to get all of my finances in order, fun huh.......

Blessing to all and a Merry Christmas :)

"But none of these things move me; neither do I esteem my life dear to myself, if only I may finish my course with joy and the ministry which I have obtained from [which was entrusted to me by] the Lord Jesus, faithfully to attest to the good news (Gospel) of God's grace (His unmerited favor, spiritual blessing, and mercy)."

What moves you?? What moves me? What moves the world? What motivates us? What makes us strive for whatever it is that we strive for?

Paul said, "But none of these things move me"........... What was he speaking of? Paul's life was definately no tea party. Could he have been talking about the slander and lies spoken against him? How about his imprisonment ? His beatings? The times he was stoned? Or maybe the multiple shipwrecks that he just so happened to be involved with. NONE of these things moved Paul. He was on a mission. Think Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible.... Ok, maybe not quite.....
But why wasn't Paul moved? Why didn't he throw a huge pity party? Why didn't he give up?

" For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. FOr as many a are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God".
Romans 8:13-14

Paul was endwelt with the Holy Spirit... Paul recognized what his purpose was. He understood why his creator had put him on this earth. He was not moved, not distracted. I'mnot saying that Paul was perfect. We know from his past that he was far from it. But was driven and enpassioned by the Holy Spirit... I want to be like that. I want to live and breathe Jesus. I want every beat of my heart to remind me why I'm on this earth.... To testify, to be an ambassador.

"We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God". 2 Cor

"He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. " Acts 10:41-43

I think that I am beginning to understand Paul's mentality. It may cost so much more but it is well worth it. Nothing else will ever satisfy us. Right? Have you found anything under the sun that satisifes you? Anything that makes feel complete besides Jesus Christ our Lord?


“ Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” 3 What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun? 4 One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever. 5 The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, And hastens to the place where it arose. 6 The wind goes toward the south, And turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit. 7 All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, There they return again. 8 All things are full of labor; Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing. 9 That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.

Our souls are eternal. They can't be satisfied with something finite.... That's why our creator created us; to have a personal relationship with Him.... What satisfies us is pleasing Him. What pleases Him is us denying what satisfies our flesh.. So we must deny ourselves to sastisfy ourselves...... interesting huh..... It all comes down to the fact that we were created to worship and glorify our Savior.... So, let's live it :)

3 weeks

So, I've been in the states for about 3 weeks now.... Two of that here in NY... I'm freazing, slowly but surely. They may have to send me back to MX as a solid block of ice...... They'll have to chip away to get me out.... :( So yes, I'm cold..........

And I miss Mexico, terribly........

My best friend gets married next weekend!

Then I'm heading to TN to see my Grandpa and family!

From there I return to MO for Thanksgiving. I'll be there for another 3 weeks before heading back south of the border.....

So, I am having such an extremely blessed time. The Lord is spoiling me! :) It is so good to see all of my brothers and sisters in Christ... Even though I am freezing....

Once again though, I miss my Mexico family terribly.

So, this is just a shout out to ya'll to let you know that I'm alive and well!!!!

Sorry that I don't have anything exciting to write about.

back in the US of A

Two words everyone: I'M HOME..... Jonny and I arrived safely last night. Here are some pics!

heading stateside

My brother has been busy during his stay !!!!! :) :) :)

This is Florencia's house in Navojoa... We went Thursday and cleaned up, bathed the kids, and also shared some of the word. Please pray for Florencia and all of her children and grandchildren. One of her daughters, Monica, has TB. In the states TB is treatable and not necessarily a big deal. Unfortuantely in 3rd world countries amoung people who live in filth and poverty it is often a death sentence. Monica has been very sick. This last week she did look a bit better though, thank Jesus... She has two boys, Hugo and Nacho, who's pics have made it into past updates.

Tomorrow Jonny and I will be heading toward the border. We should arrive in Tulsa late on Tuesday if the Lord wills. Please pray for safe and smooth travels.

Also please keep Rancho Maranatha in your prayers! The ministry continues every morning. Every day there are new challenges and struggles. There are few laborers and so very much to do!!! Thankfully our Lord is faithful!!!

Love to All!

hhhhmmmmmmmm

It's Sunday, communion Sunday. . I'm sitting here enjoying a monstrous bag of peanut M&M's. Dave and Cher Bales, I LOVE YOU GUYS. And not just because you buy me chocolate ;)
I am so blessed. The Lord is giving me a glimpse of how much He cares for me. How He uses other people to love on me. Such a blessing...........

I have a visitor right now. My brother, Jonny, is here!!!! It is such a blessing to have him here. He has been working hard and making me laugh alot. Jo and Jerry Farabough gave Jonny a ride down here. It's so great to have them back at the ranch. We have missed them terribly this summer.
On Friday night we went to Las Minitas, Jonny, Lolita, and I had to ride in the back of the truck.... He's been complaining ever since that his butt and his back hurt. He's gotten soft since leaving MX. Last night we took him to Alamos for tacos. With the first taco half way in his mouth he proudly declared that the first bite was for Gabe! So Gabe, there you have it. He had a happy tummy. We made it ever happier afterwards by stopping in the 'Michoacana' for a "fresas con crema' (strawberries with cream). Yummy stuff....
Right now he is on his way to Las Minitas again!!! Not in the back of the pick up truck this time though. He's with Rogelio going to pick up the people for church.

Jonny's arrival has made my departure reality for me.... 9 days....scary....... And yet very exciting as well. I cannot wait to embrace my family. I have missed them terribly. I also can't wait to see my home church, CFC.

Lord willing Dan and Ana will be heading to Tucson tomorrow to pick up Roshon, Aaileyah, and Obed. They should be home at the latest on Thursday.

Being the beginning of the month it is 'despensa' time again. This morning Jo and I put all the bags together. They will be despersed this afternoon after church. They are so many people in need of the help.

"Where the battle rages there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battle fronts besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point". Martin Luther

May God be Glorified

The last Friday of every month Ana does a biblestudy in a Hihiri. Here are some pics for everyone.

Unfortunately I missed out since I wasn't feeling well. But obviously the show went on without me ;)

The fish project is going quite well!! Last week we harvested a bunch of fry out of the big pool and transferred them to a tank at the house. This is wonderful because it means that our fish are reproducing :) We also separated a fish that we suspected to be carrying eggs. Tilapia carry the eggs in their mouth. So, when they don't eat you know that something is up. It was quite fun trying to get our mommy fish out of the big pool. Rogelio and I had to get in. Yes, we got in a 10x17 swimming pool with around 400 fish. I'm just thankful that the water wasn't clear so I wasn't aware of how surrounded I really was. We then stretched a net across the width of the pool and slowly walked from one end to the other. Trapping all the fish (or atleast alot of the fish) on the other side of the net. After 5 or 6 tries we got our momma fish. I think I only got slapped by jumping fish a couple dozen times..... And thankfully I didn't slip so I never went completely under, hahahahahahahaha. Don't ya'll wish I had a video of it :) Plus the other day we moved a bunch of fingerlings into a bigger tank. So right now we have tilapia of all shapes and sizes. Eggs, Fry, fingerlings, and full grown!!!

This past week we've been blessed by tropical storm, Georgette. Lots of clouds, rain, and winds. We can't get enough of the rain. Unfortunately because of the rain many of the bible studies had to be canceled. When it rains the roads become unpassable. That happens often when your 'roads' are actually dry river beds, hahahaha. Thankfully last night we were able to go to Las Minitas after missing three weekly studies there. The only car that can make it there this time of the year is the truck and until yesterday it was without a spare. Hence, no trips to Las Minitas.

On Thursday the angels in heaven were rejoicing, another soul was added to the Lamb's book of life. Domingo Ivan gave his life to the Lord while hitchhiking with us. He's a young man, probably in his early 20's, from Mocuzari. Please pray that he would follow through with his decision. Ana's nephew Rogelio was the one that witnessed to Domingo on our way to Mocuzari. The Lord has really gifted Rogelio. He has an amazing way of showing and presenting the gospel. Plus, Rogelio never turns down an opportunity to share. He is such a blessing. I am convicted so often by his fervor.

Abuelo (Grandpa) Vico is back from the mountains. He arrived last night with his son Miguel Angel. I can't wait to go and hear all the stories that he has to tell from this trip. The Lord always uses him mightily when he goes to the mountains to preach.

Please pray for Pastor Dan, he's been a bit under the weather lately.

I want to leave ya'll with a scripture verse. Proverbs 25:28 says:

"A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls".

Tough verse right? You're probably thinking, "Geez Chelsea, why not something encouraging or something to lighten our load a bit?". But I want you to look at it from this point of view..... The body of Christ, the church, our family and friends are that city. We are the walls. We are the Christians, the ones with the truth. If our guard is not up the city is in danger. The purpose of the walls of a city is to protect it from attackers, robbers, diseases. The gate was always watched and guarded in bibletimes. The guards ready and waiting for trouble. When we lack self-control, when are not living so as to receive the fruits of the Spirit, the walls are down. We are endangering everyone. The Lord convicted me this morning. My city right now is Rancho Maranatha. When I lack discretion, discipline, self-control, or love it affects my city. It affects this ministry. Being part of the body means that we are never alone. Sin is never lonely....
I must, you must, we must walk in the Spirit my friends! It may seem tough because it means dying to the flesh, right? But all good things cost something. Our walk with God, our commitment to Him has a price. That price is sacrificing our flesh. Denying our desires and our predisposition to sin Remember that we are ambassadors for Christ. We are that city set on a hill. We are salt and light. Spread your light today. My prayer today is that the Lord would give me the strength and self-control to bring my flesh into submission.

May God be glorified!

Some Prayer Requests

Hello Everyone!

I wanted to throw some prayer requests out to all you prayer warriors!!!!

(1) Eliot. Eliot, 17, is Marilu's younger brother. He had been staying on the ranch but had to leave due to circumstances. He's now somewhere temporarily in Obregon, I don't know exactly where right now. The social services said that they would have a hard time placing him because he doesn't have a very clean 'record' in the children's system. Please, please pray that the Lord would touch this young man's heart. That he would have a desire to change, a desire to succeed, a desire to live a holy life. He doesn't have very many more chances. Soon he will be 18. When he turns 18 he'll be on his own, completely. Eliot lived with my family for over 2 years when we ran the boys' home here at Ranch Maranatha. He is close to my family's heart.

(2) Cars........ We are having serious issues with our transportation right now. Our entire ministry here revolves around cars, around going places, around moving people. Several of the villages that we minister to have vehicles that we have given them to be able to come to church. Mocuzari has a school bus. Osobompo a Ford 15 passenger that is decades older than me. Tesia has a bus as well. Only problem is, none of them are working right now!!!!!!! We have a 15 passenger van for Jusibompo and Navojoa but it is not big enough. It is horrible to have people that want to come to church but dont' have any way to arrive. 3 of our cars here on the ranch are in the shop right now as well. So please pray for wheels!!!!!!! We know that the Lord will provide and that his timing is perfect but please pray!

(3) Pastor Fidel. Please continue to pray for him and his family. Fidel along with his wife, Trini, his daughters Dahlila and Abigail, and his son are such troopers. They've been fighting their way through his sickness. The doctors say that he is on the mend but he still is not feeling well. He hasn't been able to work for months now. More than anything please pray for peace and joy in their house. They have been such a light and example to their village through this whole process. They are not fretting but putting the whole situation in the Lord's hands.

(4) Abuelo Vico. Abuelo (grandpa) is Ana's father. He left yesterday for the mountains and will be gone for around 15 days. He goes to help Ana's brother, Miguel Angel with his ministry. Abuelo is quite te evangelist and loves to share Jesus with everyone. The area tat he is going to is very dangerous. The drug trafficers rule and reign in every aspect of the lives of those who live there.

(5) Please continue to pray for all the villages that we minister to. Here's the list again;

Osbompo (where Pastor Fidel lives)

Mocuzari

Las Minitas

Jusibompo

San Antonio

Huazahuari

Tesia

Navojoa

Please pray that there would be growth and maturity in the congregation. Also that there would be untiy.

(6) The picture on the right at the top of this update is of the men that minister in the prison every monday. From front to back; Tonito, "Plata" (which means silver, not sure what his real name is :)), Pastor Dan, Julian, and Lupe. They get together every monday and go to minister inside the prison. Dan is thankful that he is able to go in every monday and come back out 2 hours later. For months last year he did not have that option. How great our Lord is to make beauty from ashes. Speaking of that, Tonito. Tonito is the first man in the picture. He was in prison as well for quite a while. He was definately on the road to destruction. But he gave his life to the Lord and now is quite the servant. Tonito is a ray of sunshine, always trusting and praising the Lord. We would like to to be able to give him some new teeth. I know you can't see them in the pic above, sorry. So, if the Lord moves your heart to pray for Tonito pray as well that the Lord would provide him some new 'pearly whites'.

Well that should be enough to keep ya'll busy for now. It's a splendid day here, overcast, quite the treat for us. I just finished two loaves of banana bread and have an apple pie in the oven.....

Baking when it's 90 degrees inside isn't the brightest idea but I had to do it sometime.

I have a poem that I would like to share. It brought me to tears yesterday, it's written on my wall now ;)

He giveth more grace, when the bordens grow greater.

He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;

To added affliction, He addeth His mercies,

To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,

His power has no boundaries known unto men;

FOr out of His infinte riches in Jesus,

He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,

When our strength has failed 'ere the day is half done,

When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,

Our Father's full giving is only begun.

His love has no limit. His grace has no measure.

his power no boundaries known unto man;

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!

baptisms,biblestudies,blessed be the name of the Lord

Gaudencia, pictured above with Ana, was baptized this past Sunday. She gave her life to the Lord decades ago but is just now getting baptized! The angels in heaven were rejoicing!
The girls below; Clarissa, Maria, and Melissa watching the baptisms.

These next pics are from our ladies biblestudy in Osobompo today. Pastor Dan made the wood dove in the picture. The biblestudy this morning was such a blessing. We're going through the book, "love and respect" with Carla. It's a biblical look at marriage and how love is required from the man and respect from the woman. This book puts most of the responsibility on the female's shoulders though. It's a wonderful and convicting book. I know that I don't need this info quite yet but I'm stowing it away for later. The concept of respecting their husbands completely is quite hard for these women because many of them are unequally yoked. Many of them go home to drunks or men who don't work often. Yet they are being obedient and following what the Lord requires of them as christian women.

As you can see our lighting here in MX is as high tech as it gets.

And this would be Lolita with Carmina's beautiful little boy!

And this would be little old me writing on my walls, such a bad girl. Actually I'm covering my walls with scripture. It's in chalk so it'll wash off.... This way I can wash and erase whenever i want to change verses. I would highly reccomend to ya'll putting scripture EVERYWHERE. It's wonderful to have His word in front of you everywhere you turn.

Faith, you can't see it

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redeption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance". Romans 8

Carla shared these verses in devotions this morning, they really hit home for me.

"But hope that is seen is not hope"....... How often to we say, "Lord, if I could just see?!?!!" How often I ask Him to let me see the plans He has for me. I ask to see my future. Or sometimes I ask just to see tomorrow. Sometimes I simply want to nkow the end of the conversation I'm having. Funny isn't it. We always want to know, we want to see. Sometimes I remind myself of Curious George, knocking down every stand in the grocery store just to see behind a counter..... hahahahahahaha..... Or the saying, "Curiosity killed the cat". I think that saying is so true. The Lord doesn't let us see because we're cats. The curiousity will kill us. How so? I don't think we could handle the future if we saw it. I don't think we'd be able to face tomorrow if we knew. Why? Because the Lord has us on a path. We learn as we go. He prepares us for the steps ahead. All that He requires is that we put one foot in front of the other. Like a good soldier. Obey and ask no questions. I wish I was more like that. I wish I would just let my curiousity go. I wish I could just be at peace with not know. We need to be at peace with anticipating. We need to just take His hand and put one foot in front of the other. After all, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. One bite after another til it's gone.

Here's a pic of my sunday night class in Osobompo. We have a great time! You can tell it was hot though, we're all shiny with sweat!

To name a few of the kids; Ximena, Abigail, Valeria, Alexis, Briseida, Lupita, Jesus, Fernanda, Juan, and several others.

Things are great here! Today I went and bought another months worth of despensas. It's so much

fun walking through the store and throwing 10 ro 20 of everything in th carts. Thanks to Lola for helping me :)

Marilu is officially a Schubert now. The wedding was Monday night. The was beautiful and the groom beaming. What more can one ask for. They are now heading for Montana. Please pray for the Lord's hand on their marriage and that Marilu wouldn't freeze to death, LOL !

Last tuesday at the Ladies's study in Osobompo we had a new lady come. Her name is Laura. It was a blessing to have her. Best part is, she accepted the Lord!!!!!!!!! So, if you can remember please pray for Laura!

Ok, time to go make dinner. We're having tostadas with every topping imagineable. Yep, I'm suffering on the mission field, hahahahahaha. Love ya'll!!!!

Trying this again

Ok, so I just wrote a beautiful, long, detailed post.... But guess what???? It's gone, disappeared into cyberspace.............. So, I'm going to try to rewrite it. Only problem is, I'm not sure if I remember everything I wrote. Then again you guys really won't know if I leave anything out will you?!?!?! Hahhaha, OK, here we go.

It's hot here, really hot. I'm really sick of being sticky and wet. I mean liked soaked through with sweat wet, like all the way to your undies......

Ana and Marilu made it safely home from Juarez, THANK YOU JESUS. We were praying, praying, praying. We are so thankful that the Lord got them home safe and sound and so quickly. God truly gave them favor in all of the diferent places that they had to go. They made record time throughout the whole trip. We are so happy to have them back even though they were gone for such a short time. Marilu is now working on all the final preps for the wedding. She will become Mrs. BJ Schubert this next Monday evening.

Tomorrow I am going water heater hunting with Ana. A very generous person has donated some money to Rogelio and Carla. I was blessed with the opportunity of figuring out how to spoil them with it! So, that will be fun. They are going to need the hot water with little Naomi on the way. Carla and Rogelio are such a blessing for this ministry. Rogelio teaches several biblestudies and also works all week doing whatever needs to be done. He has such a servant's heart. Carla, who is 6 months pregnant, teaches the ladies biblestudy in Osobompo as well. As I said, they are such a blessing.

I have a praise report. Some of you know who Carolina (15) is, others do not. Carolina was a part of the children's home until it was shut down last year. She's a beautiful young lady that we all love very dearly. After the girls were taken away she went to live with an aunt in Navojoa.Her aunt does care for her but it is a very worldly enviroment and she has alot of freedom. Last year Ana's sister, Edy, and Edy's husband, Paco, wanted to take Carolina back to Mexicalli with them after their visit here. It ended up not working out. However this year, they were successful!!!!! Carolina is now in Mexicalli with Edy and Paco. For now the plan is for her to stay for atleast two months. However it will be up to Carolina to decide whether she wants to stay permanently. This is an answer to prayer for so many of us and a Godsend for Carolina. Edy and Paco will make her part of the family. They will teach her to follow the Lord as well. So, please continue to pray that the transition will go well and that Carolina will feel at home in Mexicalli.

I also found out this morning that we need to be praying for Carolina's cousin, Anahi. Anahi also lived here for quite a while. She is 18 and is now living in Mocuzari and is pregnant. Actually her due date was several days ago. We found out yesterday that she was taken to the hospital in Obregon. Apparently her water broke but she didn't tell anyone until 48 hours later. We are not aware of her current condition. Ana has been calling the hospital all morning but is not able to get through. She will be heading to Obregon later today with Dan and will go to the hospital. We are praying for the safety and health of both the baby and Anahi.

I bought a plane ticket to NY several days ago. I will be arriving on the 21st of October. I can't wait to see all of my friends and family and to stand by my dear Cati Gerwitz's side at the altar. Obviously before and after my time in NY I will be in MO with my family. I can't not explain or describe how much I'm looking forward to that. I have missed my family so much since I left them in March.

Last night I had 6 girls in my sunday school class, not a single boy. I had a hard time getting a word in edgewise, hahahahahaha. We read about Adam and Eve and the beginning of sin in the garden. Some of the girls, the new ones, had never heard this story before. Think about that, children 8 years old who don't know who Adam and Eve are. Suprisingly that would include a large majority of the population of this planet. It's hard for those of us who were raised in the church to comprehend. Anyway, after I finished the story one of the little girls had a question for me. "Teacher Chelsea, were Adam and Eve friends or were they married?"
I know that it is quite a logical question but I found it extremely amusing. It kept a smile on my face for quite a while afterwards...........

Ok, well I'm going to go attack some weeds. The greenery is about 4 feet high everywhere you look right now. Take care and God bless!!!!!!!!!!

It

It

Summertime

Summertime is officially here. That includes the rain and the heat. The temp everyday is around 105 I believe, I try to avoid looking at the thermometer though so i'm not sure if that's exactly accurate. The rain has also arrived. Making the grass grow 3 ft. tall everywhere. The cows are loving it! We're not exactly enjoying all of the creepy crawly things that come along with the new foliage though

Rancho Maranatha update 8.11.10

"Yet when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days " (John 11:6)

This miraculous story begins with the following declaration: "Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus (v. 5). It is as if He were teaching us that at the very heart and foundation of all His dealing with us, no matter how dark or mysterious they may be, we must dare to believe in and affirm His infinite, unmerited, and unchanging love. Yet love permits pain to occur.

Mary and Martha never doubted that Jesus would quickly avert every obstacle to keep their brother from death, "yet when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days."

What a startling word: "Yet"! Jesus refrained from going not because He did not love them but because He did love them. It was His love alone that kept Him from hurrying at once to their beloved yet grief-stricken home. Anything less than infinite love would have rushed instantly to the relief of those beloved and troubled hearts, in an effort to end their grief, to have the blessing of wiping and stopping the flow of tears, and to cause their sorrow and pain to flee. Only the power of divine love could have held back the spontaneity of the Saviour's tenderheartedness until the angel of pain had finished his work.

Who can estimate the great debt we owe to suffering and pain? If not for them, we would have little capacity for many of the great virtues of the Christian life. Where would our faith be if not for the trails that test it; or patience, without anything to endure or experience and without tribulations to develop it?

It is good to be back home at the ranch, although the first day we were back from Hawaii we so wanted to go back to the ocean water. The Lord is good and we continue to be amazed at all He does. We knew everything would be green when we got back home and it is so great to see the beautiful mountains and hills covered in green and gleaming with life. To Him be ALL glory and honor FOREVER!

Grandpa's teleprompter

Josie is back home with us!!! Thank you so much all of you that had been praying for this to come to pass. She will start 11th grade in COBACH Alamos (High School) on Monday. Please continue to pray for Carolina, she is visiting right now and so wants to come back to the ranch too, but her aunt she lives with will not allow it. Pray for the Lord to touch the aunt's heart. The environment at the aunt's house is really bad. Anahí spent the night here last Sunday. Monday, August 9th was her 19th birthday. Her due date is August 25th. Do pray for her too. It is hard to see the consequences of the life she has chosen. At this time we have two other girls from Navojoa visiting for the week, besides Carolina. Pray for us to be able to share the Lord with them and make a lasting impression in their lives to have a heart for Christ.

Dulce & Josie Jesús & Dan

Dulce will be a senior in High School this year. Her brother Jesús, 13 years old from 'Las Minitas' will start 8th grade in Alamos this year and will live with us on the ranch too. I ask for prayers in that rewards too.

Elyott, Marilú's brother, is back at the ranch. CASA PROVIDENCIA, the place were he had been given an opportunity to live, go to school and learn to be responsible, brought him back to the ranch even before we got back from the US. He did not follow their rules or behave in the required manner so he was not allowed to stay. He was warned again and again of what was required of him without change. DIF Hermosillo gave Marilú 'custody' per se of her brother, ...Elyott has a history of not listening or really paying attention to things required of him. He does not make a conscious effort to follow instructions. Please pray for wisdom for us, and also for Elyott to start being responsible of his actions. We want him to work out!

Marilú's wedding is scheduled for Monday, August 30th. Hopefully, if it is God's will, it will be held here at the ranch. Things have been a bit stressful with all the paper work and changing of dates due to matters related to BJ's work & government requirements. Please do continue to pray with us for God's hand to be over all the details yet to fall into place. May the Lord open the door wide, or close it shut at He sees fit, according to His perfect plan and will. Marilú & myself are planning to leave for Cd. Juárez, (yes, you read correctly), if the Lord allows it, next Saturday. We don't know how long it will take to acquire the required documentation there, hopefully not too much longer than a week.

Cd. Juárez, border town of 1.6 million people. Reliable global crime statistics are hard to pin down, but a Mexican study says that the murder rate is about 250 people per month, this places Cd. Juárez well ahead of other notorious world crime capitals such as South Africa's Cape Town, Moscow, Baghdad, and Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby, Caracas, Venezuela, Medellín Colombia and the U.S. City of New Orleans. Cd. Juárez (a manufacturing city across from El Paso, Tx), already has a stained history with the unsolved murders of hundreds of young women in the late 1990s. 800 hundred women and students from working-class neighborhoods have been kidnapped, tortured, raped and killed since 1993.Nearly 23,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since a US-backed military crackdown on cartels began more than three years ago. The year 2009 was the deadliest in the drug war, with over 9.600 people killed. The death toll is on track to be even higher in 2010. There are 130 murders for every 100,000 residents for year on average.

Okay, why do we want to go to Cd. Juárez then?...We don't, but are compelled to. Cd. Juárez has the American Embassy where Marilú HAS TO GO to get her visa. So, please, keep us in your prayers. I know you are and that you will continue, MAHALO! (thank you!).

Okay, it is official!

Josh & Vicky have set their wedding date for Wed., December 29, 2010. Vicky just finished her bachelor's degree in 'Industrial engineering' this Summer. Josh will still have two more semesters to finish his school after he gets married in December, plus his internship. Please do keep them in your prayers. Josh left on Monday and already started his 7th semester. Pray for God to guide his life as well as Vicky's. Our prayer is that they glorify God with their lives and that the Lord will be the center of their lives.

Daniel's perspective: Last night in Tesia we were in Romans 12. I usually do a chapter a week but I was only able to get through 3 verses! Here they are: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith" (Romans 12:1-3).

What a blessing and encouragement last night to be able to speak about being a living sacrifice and to be able to look out at all the people there that are doing just that. I see the body of Christ here maturing and really paying attention and it blesses me to no end. It's so easy to be conformed to this world and to think that we are supposed to be like the Brittany Spears, Madonnas and singers, actors etc., of our day and age. I absolutely love that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. We don't have to keep up with what is in and what is out. (When was the last time you looked at the shorts us guys were wearing in the 70's?:)We just need to be renewing our minds and changing our way of thinking to conform to how Jesus thinks. He is our example and we never have to worry that He is going to show up and be different and us be out of step. He is our example, He is our goal, He is our role model!
So, don't be conformed to this world thinking that it's okay to do things like even other Christians might be doing them. Be instead, transformed be the renewing of your mind. Ask Jesus to let you see things the way He sees them, and if you pray for us, pray that we would always do that as well.

God bless you all,

Daniel & Ana

Kapuna Kane & Kapuna Wahine *Grandma & Grandpa!

P.S. Please continue to pray for our friend Michael. He had his surgery a week ago tomorrow and will be having radiation treatment later. Also our friend Linda Dew as she battles with side effects from her radiation and Chemotherapy. 'Come quickly Lord Jesus!

www.facebook.com/php?aid=2073093&id=118o136761&1=c0e3fl0384

Hello everyone! Supposedly this link will allow you to view my facebook album. I have been trying for days to upload an update for ya'll. Unfortunatley the website won't let me put any pictures up. So, hopefully this will work.

I'm doing great. I thank you all for your constant prayers, I really do feel them.

Yesterday was communion sunday at the ranch. It was a huge blessing. Dan shared on Colossians 3. I love communion sundays for many reasons. I love that it's on the ranch, all I have to do is walk out of the house and across the yard, lol. I also love getting all of the people together. Communion sunday is the only time that we get ALL of the villages together. Vans come from Las Minitas, Mocuzari, Osobompo, Tesia, Navojoa, and Jusibompo. Then there's the people that come in cars, bikes, and buses. It's like a big family reunion once a month :) After the study we eat! Last night we had Posole. Posole is a soup or I guess a stew, really yummy. You eat it with tostadas and then add, onion, cilantro, and lime. It's a wonderful thing! We might be crazy thought for eating something served hot when it was around 100 degrees out.

The other thing I love about this culture is that they are continually saying hi to eachother. When the arrive they greet you. After the study they greet you. Then they say goodbye before they leave. There are hugs, kisses, and handshakes galore. There is nothing quite as sweet as a kiss on the cheek from a sister or brother in Christ.

This week we also had Pastor Fidel back with us. Thankyou to everyone who has been praying for him. His health is slowly improving. He still is unable to work though and still struggles eating. I have been told by his family that the Lord is using him just as much staying at home as He does when Fidel is out and about. It was good to have him back standing with us during worship.

Carla and Rogelio are having a little girl, due in November!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rumor is her name will be Naomi. We're all so excited to meet her.

Josie is also back on the ranch. For those of you who don't know Josie used to be part of the girls' home when the children's home was up and running. Josie is one of the family, we're so happy to have her. She'll be starting school in Alamos this next Monday.

Ana and Marilu will be leaving for Juarez this saturday to go to the consulate. Please pray for them. I'm sure you all know what a dangerous and dark place Juarez is. Please pray for their protection and favor at the consulate. If this all goes as planned Marilu will return with her visa to be married on August 30th. From there she and BJ will head to Big Sky Country to be welcomed by all of his friends and family waiting to meet her :)

I start with a new English student tomorrow. Please pray for that.

I thank the Lord that I seem to be acclimating a bit to the heat. The past several week si haven't been feeling so well because of it. I'm drinking lots of water!!!!

I just finished putting the rest of the food packages together for this month. We give 10 packages out eat month to very needy recipients. The packages contain; rice, beans,oil, lard, flour, cornmeal, salt, macaroni, tomato pure, sugar, coffee, soy, TP, and detergent . Basically all the basics. To sponsor a recipient it takes about $30 a month. Most of our recipients are very elderly ill people. There are also some families wiith children. This program is literally a godsend for it's recipients. This morning I went to drop off two of the packages with Ana. The people are so humble and grateful. One of the packages that we dropped off went to a very elderly couple in Alamos. They live at the end of a road, up a hill. So, we lugged the bags up and said, "Good Morning". The old man sat in the doorway with a baby parrot that he is nursing. Funny since to me it seems that he's the one who needs the nursing. After setting down the bags he proceeded to ask about many people by name. Ana told me later that he has an incredible memory. He remembers everything, names, dates, times, numbers as if he wrote them down and saved them. So, with a , "Dios te bendiga", off we went. It's bothering me that I can't remember his name....... If I remember to ask Ana for it I'll let you know later on.

Ok, peace out everyone!
Dios les bendiga!
Chelsea Rae