Mexico Express

Hello everyone! September is here, school is in full swing, and life continues at Casa del Pastor. We give thanks to God for His provision, that through the love He has imparted to this ministry these families have not lacked for anything.

Last week we were overjoyed to hear that a new member of our family, Ana Yazari was brought into the world to Carlos and Reyna. Reyna is one of Jeanie Sue's many spiritual daughters, who married early last year. Though they are a state away and we have not yet seen her face to face, we give thanks to God for this new life imparted to these two servants. We ask God to bless their ministry at the orphanage in Bachiniva, Sonora where they are serving, and to protect and keep their newborn daughter. We hope to see them soon, and Lord willing that others who have known and loved Reyna can get a chance to

meet her child. :)

For this past summer, Shelley our educational director prepared an extensive summer school program to keep the children's minds engaged and learning throughout those long weeks. This year we had over eighty children participate daily in this program! For two hours each day, our children read, read to younger children, completed math and reading worksheets, journals, and many more activities. It was a great deal of preparation and oversight by many of our staff and volunteers, but a resounding success. We pray that these children continue to grow academically, grow to love reading, and stand out in the local schools as good, God-fearing students.

Last month our kids received new school uniforms and shoes, thanks to the generosity of teams from the Gathering, Calvary Emerald Coast, and various others, who went to great measures to provide for our children. School supplies were donated as well by Revival Christian Fellowship, and new shoes by Red Barn's Soles for Souls ministry. From kindergarten to high school, all of our kids are ready for the year! Thank you all for being such an incredible blessing in the lives of our families, and for investing in their future. We ask for prayer for them this year, that they would be beacons of light in the public schools of San Vicente, and be strong for Jesus in the face of the world.

Many of our long-time friends and missions teams are familiar with the Las Brisas camp in Camalu, south of San Vicente. Our missionaries have visited the camp many times over the past 25 years, ministering, feeding, and preaching Christ to hundreds of families altogether. It is a difficult environment, as these families live in cramped metal-roof shacks that are sweltering in the summer and freezing in the winter. Last year a fire destroyed a section of the poorest part of the facility. Now, we have heard that Las Brisas will be closed down, as it is in a flood zone and rebuilding efforts will not be permitted there. Families that have been there for over eight years will supposedly be receiving homes in a new area, though the camp itself, like many over the past decade, will not be reopened. We hope to find where these families will be relocated, so that we can continue to be a part of their lives, and ask for prayers that the Lord provide for their needs and that their new homes will come through.

This month we would like to share a bit about Sebastiana, a mom who has been with us for nearly a year. She was born in the southern state of Puebla in 1975, part of a large family of 12 siblings that all worked in the fields, even at a young age. When she was twenty, she moved north to Hermosillo, in Sonora, to work in the vineyards. Over the twelve years she lived in that city, she met a man and had two children by him, Jesus and Lluvia.

This man, while kind at first, quickly turned abusive to her and her two children. He would hit her with chains, sticks, rocks, anything he could get his hands on. She did not see any way out of her situation, even after they moved to the Las Brisas camp about seven years ago. The abuse continued, as he would force her to work while doing nothing but heap abuse upon her and waste her earnings while she and her children went hungry. They would get in arguments which would end with him choking her neck. He burned her on the arm with a frying pan, and threw rocks at her. When her daughter was born, the man refused to accept her initially, and even kicked the premature infant across a room. He would also throw Jesus against the wall and kick him when he got angry.

Sebastiana was desperate for help. She had met Jeanie and Lisa, as well as Scooter and Katrina, through their frequent visits to the camp. She began to learn about Christ, seeking help from ministries in the area who would offer her food and teaching. The man would not let her go to church or these ministries, and would beat her when she did, but she went anyway. After a large group of missionaries had visited the camp and given out bibles, Sebastiana found a discarded one in a trash can and took it as her own. During this time of her life, she came to accept Jesus Christ as her savior, the only one who could rescue her from this man.

While at Las Brisas, she had heard about a shelter in San Vicente that would take in moms in her situation. After a horrible night in which the man attacked her with a machete and broke a broom handle over her head, she took her two children and made her escape to San Vicente. There, asking around for directions, she found Casa del Pastor, and was taken in.

After three months in the shelter, her man made contact with her, promising that he would change and everything would be different. Against the counsel of Jeanie Sue, she left CDP and returned to her man. For two weeks he was gentle and kind. Then he went right back to his old ways, beating and berating and abusing her. After a fight where he cut off some of her hair, tore up her clothes, threw a knife at her which barely missed, and locked her outside in the rain for two hours, she came back to CDP with her children.

She has learned and grown a great deal in her time in the house, and is well-liked by many. Her children, seven year old Jesus and four year old Lluvia, are healthy and happy (Lluvia always has a bright smile!) The Lord rescued her out of a terrible situation, and has blessed them immensely. Sebastiana would ask for prayer for her children, that they would grow up strong in Christ and not have to endure the things she went through.

We have had some issues still with our school transportation vehicles. Earlier this year the team invested in a new school van purchased here in Mexico for a bargain price, knowing full well that it was a fixer upper. While it saw out the rest of that school year, we have had difficulties in repairing it for this year. Lord willing the issues will soon be addressed, but we yet pray for a new school van if it be within His will, that is dependable and reliable to keep the children safe to and from each school. We are also in need of a new vehicle for use in crossing the border, as our only insured car has had serious problems over the past months. Prayer for both of these needs is greatly appreciated.

We pray that all is well with you in the states. May God strengthen you in trials, and bless you all abundantly. Your love for this ministry is no small thing, and we cannot state enough how much it means to these families, all that you make possible for them. Through His love, imparted through you, families like Sebastiana are rescued out of the darkest and most desperate situations, and given a chance to begin again with Christ as Lord of their lives. We hope to see many of you down here again soon, or have opportunities to visit. :) Jeanie Sue and Lisa are planning to visit friends in Washington very soon, and hope see some familiar faces. Dios les bendiga!

Kindergarten