New Book Rolling!

I am cranking hard on work this week… lots of phone calls, lots of writing, and lots of designing layouts. Here is this week’s work on the new VBS kid’s book for the age group 10-12. (Ignore the tiny bit of color... it will be all black on the computer when Im done, and separated into red and black for the printing. The little yellow guy will be red) This cover is supposed to look like a kids magazine cover! :)

The inside of the cover isnt done yet as you can see, but lesson one is!

What do you think??!! Cool, huh? This one feels like my best design and puzzles yet!!! (Although I think it is pretty normal for me to think that every year)

A week in review

It’s been an interesting week.
• Everyone is trying to get back to normal after the flooding. Lots of cleaning going on. The whole area stinks really bad now… actually smells like the beach. But, it isn’t the salt water, it’s the rotting water in puddles everywhere, turning green, and leaving a white crusty substance. Some people have the smell in their homes even! If I open my door, the smell hits me square! Oh, and there are extra mosquitoes outside!!! (I work at keeping them out there and not in here)

• Wednesday we took an adventure! Paz lives 15 minutes away, but across the river… and the only way across is driving up to 5 de Junio,(most the way to Navajoa) turning back, through San Pedro, and across the bridge at Bacobampo, then grabbing the back-highway to Sahuaral de Otero, then taking canal roads to Las Parras! Dwight and I drove the huge loop around, in total visiting 3 staffers and 3 pastors, having tried a few others who were not home. The total trip took us 7 hours!!! We knew it would be a long one, so we packed sandwiches, chips, diet coke, water, and I made up some Gatorade from powder. We also loaded the van with New Testaments, tracts, clothing, coloring books and crayons to give away as God pointed out to us the needs.

• So, we visited Paz and his family on that big day, and his whole family is doing great. His wife and kids were across the street visiting the neighbors when we pulled up, and they started screaming and running across to their home to receive the visit! (the kids) They were barefoot and sooooo cute. Las Parras, their town wasn’t flooded! The neighboring town was, and Paz spent some time helping them fill sandbags. In fact, when we made the trip the men of Citavaro were baggin still because of water being let out of the damn up in the mountain.

• When we pulled up to Ruben’s house, he was actually working!!! Yipee!!! We could hear music coming from the house, and kids singing! He was recording their voices on our new CD for 2009. He came out and visited with us and we were able to pay him. (We decided to have him work at home this week with the recording since he also lives on the other side of the river, and because we had to cut him down to two days)

• German and I have a work schedule on the wall, to keep us on track for getting the curriculum done. I had a deadline on there to have the VBS lessons finished by this past Friday. On Monday and Tuesday I tried to work on the VBS as much as possible, but it was a total struggle. It’s been a hard project for the last couple of weeks, and I haven’t made much headway. I would hit a road block, and end up either not making much progress as I pressed through, or I just give up and go on to something else. So Wednesday morning I was sharing the problem with Dwight, and I was able to articulate that I am just not happy with it. I didn’t like the outline of the VBS! So, I decided to pray about it, and sure enough, I felt God was telling me to throw it away and start over!!! So Thursday morning I started fresh, and created a new outline for a totally different VBS, and it was laid out by noon! Then I just dove into writing the lessons… and by Friday afternoon, I had all 5 lessons written and all 5 dramas to go with!!! That really was a record time, and I felt anointed during the whole thing! Isn’t that crazy to try so hard to push against the problem, when it wasn’t the right one!??? In the end I made my deadline to have the VBS lessons written! Praise God that He does give me direction. It really is stressful knowing that this VBS will go out to sooo many churches…. (this past year 870 so far… and we are hoping for 2700 churches next year!) I can’t give all these people an un-anointed VBS, it just HAS to be from God!

• As a part of our cut-backs, we had to lay off Olga, the cleaning lady. It’s a perfect time of year for it, and since there are less staff here to mess the place up, it hasn’t been so bad for me. (I know, you think I was just spoiled having her in the first place!) Well, Dwight wants to bring her back, but for now, I’m trying to do the same working-woman routine that all working women do. I work in the office all day, and at 5pm, I clock out and start working on dinner and house maintenance; just a little each day or the place turns into a pigsty overnight! Then on Saturday I do the actually cleaning of the whole place, sweeping, mopping, dusting, and laundry. Last spring we were still feeding the staff lunch, and there were 10 total… and the mess in the shop and the office was a daily beast, so it was pretty necessary to have the help, or I couldn’t get my work done.
• Saturday, as a part of my cleaning day, I took down all my decorative vases and cleaned them, pulled out the fall decorations, and went to town decorating my kitchen. You see, when we woke up yesterday it was raining outside, and it felt very fall-like. So, I pulled out a Christmas CD, and with a totally illegal move, listened to Christmas music as I decorated my home for fall! (Those who know me know that I was in hog-heaven!)

• While at the Ley store this week, I asked the lady at the meat counter how she was handling the flooding, and she let out a big gasp. She said they were just talking about it, and that they decided that it just isn’t going to be easy getting their home set up again, so much stuff was wrecked! She said it is hard to go on, but that there is no choice, you just have to.

• Enrique Figeroa, a pastor from Navajoa had his whole church and compound flooded, and has had groups of people helping him clean up. His whole place was waist deep in water or higher, and lots of stuff got wrecked. He has a Christian bookstore, and all the books on the lower shelves got drenched!!! It really is a tragedy for many people around us. We went out to see him this week too, but they were not around. Here is his link if you want to see his pictures.
http://figueroas2.spaces.live.com/photos/cns!9DA6B9F0D008E714!4111/

• The neighbor lady came by Friday to ask my help in looking for her sons that she heard were in jail in AZ. I took her into my office, and we checked online… as well as called the prison office, but since it is Sat, we didn’t get anyone. The online database doesn’t have her sons in it. She looked pretty poor. Her teeth were eaten away from the top down… which was different to see. She had sores all over her arms… like maybe 6-8 per arm… large spots, some dried and a few fresh. She was pretty dirty… long fingernails with dirt under them. Matted hair from dirt, pulled back and up with a pinch comb. Her face had spots too, like maybe pock-faced, from when you have pimples early in life, but some of them seemed to match the huge spots on her arms. She only looked maybe 45 years old. Her clothes were dirty, but you could tell she dressed up for the visit. She had a tight skirt on, knee length, and a nice blouse with a low neckline, plus wide wedge heals. No make-up on. There was a huge red sore on her lower lip that looked painful. I told her that I would call the prison office back on Monday, and let her know whatever I find. Sometimes I can forget my surroundings when I am sitting at my desk working on curriculum, or putting up my fall decorations! One funny thing is that she told me several times that she has been watching our place for weeks, trying to get up the courage to come over and ask for this favor. She said she waits and watches till we go outside, then she tries to come over, but we have left in the car before she could get over here. Isnt that crazy? This was a reminder that I live in Mexico and have very poor neighbors. I will make sure to get back to her tomorrow.

• Another week has passed, and here we are starting again; diving into another week of work. In two weeks Lon Smith will be coming down for a trip, and then we go to Mazatlan with Christopher and Diane Mock! We also hope that Dwight's parents will be joining us down here at the end of October. So, I have got to keep grinding on this VBS, and get a bunch done in the next two weeks! God Bless! :)

Flooding Video

Check out this video of the flooding here!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98UzLBssDyc

Declared National state of Emergency in Huatabampo

Our whole area has been flooded, and the people who were evacuated are starting to pick up the pieces, move back home and clean up the mess. Even though many have gone home, there are still over 20,000 who are waiting to return home from the official rainfall of 300 millimeters (aprox. 12 inches. Portland Oregon will float away with 2 inches in 24 hours). We are thanking God for His protection that our facility was not flooded, but the water did get really close!

Our driveway was flooded, so during the worst of it, we couldnt get out to see the mess, get groceries, or check up on our friends.

The government activated the emergency fund for natural disasters (FONDEN) to give immediate attention to the people who have been in a state of panic since Friday. Huatabampo has 19 shelter stations set up in schools and churches, Etchojoa has 20, and Navajoa has 9. Most all of the pastors that we have been working with here locally have had 80-200 people staying with them in their churches, while they provide for their basic needs. (There was documented over 22,000 people in shelters at one point, apart from those who left to live with family or friends in other cities) In each shelter the government provides the food, one meal a day cooked, and groceries for the other two, as well as toiletry needs, medicine, etc. There are clinics set up around town, offering hepatitis vaccinations and bottles of water disinfectant.

There are still many towns that cannot be reached, except by helicopter, including 'Las Parras' where our good friend Paz and his family live. We also have friends in Pozo Dulce, San Pedro, and other towns that are still flooded and have no dry roads to get in or out. Most grocery stores are low on food, mainly the basics, because Huatabampo has been disconnected from the nation from all sides. They are still evacuating people from... El Rodeo, San Pedro Nuevo, Chucárit, colonia Nacozarit, Navolato, El Quinto, Huitchaca, Jitonhueca, El Centenario, Baburo, El Carrizal, La Línea Basconcobe, Las Guayanas y Campanichaca; all towns from the county of Etchojoa. Huatabampo county has it's own list of towns, as well as Navajoa.

This is the main highway from Navajoa to Huatabampo. It was underwater for days, stretching as far as the eye could see, and then finally the water went down to just this section. The water broke the pavement, but they have made repairs, and there is now one lane open as seen below.


Lots of people are out and about, sight-seeing the flooding, visiting others, and talking about the amazing tragedy of the flood. We ran into pastor Juan Carlos at the bridge in Navajoa. After discussing the flood he mentioned that the kids in his cabin from camp still email him and are begging for the next camp! He said that God was in it, and I could sign him up again next year!

The main flooding in Huatabampo came in the middle of the night on Friday in a huge wave, coming down from the mountain and fields. The water canals and river system couldn't contain the 300 million cubic meters of water, and broke down in multiple locations. The government went around waking people up and trying to evacuate the city, but many people were caught off guard. Within 15 minutes, many sections of town were flooded up to the waist with water, giving people little time to escape. Most grabbed their family, maybe one item, and got out. They have returned to find everything wrecked from water damage. The sight today around town is furniture spread outside trying to dry... mattresses, couches, and clothes hanging, and people cleaning up as much as possible. There are still people in all the shelters, with sections of town still underwater. There have also been several more deaths from drowning or electrocution.

I'm gathering this information from 'El imparcial' a national newspaper that has many articles covering this official disaster zone. One article states that the following towns couldn't be reached... Sebampo, Baynorillo, El Chórit y Mabejaqui, where the water had reached 1.5 meters high, (aprox. 5 feet high) and had caused many families to take refuge on their roofs!

As we visited pastors, they seemed happy to see us, and we prayed for them when we could. Many had worried how we were, because they couldn't reach us by phone. One pastor's wife had a total look of shock as she exclaimed, "I thought you'd be long gone by now!" Isn't that amazing!? Why would we leave them now? We still cannot reach the pastors in those towns mentioned as there is no way out there by vehicle, and we dont have a helicopter handy. :)

Please continue to pray for the people, that they could get back to their lives, and let go of the fear and panic. Pray for extra strength for the pastors as they minister to hundreds more people in shock, sadness and fear.

Flooding Update!

So the water levels went down enough yesterday for Dwight and I to go out... we went muddin in the astro van to get outta here, but we were able to shop for groceries. Then last night the water rose and flooded a peice of our land including the driveway. It kept rising all day today, so that we are still flooded in, stuck here at home again tomorrow.
Good thing its no commute to the office for me! :)

Thats the local news... still stuck here, and Huatabampo is still cut off from us by a flooded highway. Its amazing what water can do.

Major Flooding!

Greetings!!!
The hurricane Lowell has given us much trouble, even though it was a tropical depression when it hit us then dissipated, it dumped a lot of water on this area, more than the canals, the damn up in Alamos and drainage system can handle. The bridge across the canal in front of our home is flooded, so we cannot drive up onto the road, which means we are stuck at our home for now.
We hopped on the tractor though and drove out the back way to confirm the reports… and YES, it’s flooded out there! There were lots of people walking bare-foot in the mud to go see the flooding as well. We are cut off from Huatabampo by a huge lake of water that is waist high! The whole colonia (catorce) on this edge of Huatabampo is flooded up to the waist as well, which means our favorite grocery store LEY is flooded! Officially we are also cut-off from Etchojoa, but it is a low flow of water crossing the highway, and we were able to pass it with the tractor. The bus lines are all stopped and there is no going through. In fact, the main highway 15 is closed north of Navajoa and south, towards Mochis. Navajoa is officially cut off, and the flooding has made the national Mexico news!

The news states that much of Navajoa is flooded, up to 3 meters high in several sections of town, and they have set up 9 main shelters in schools. All schools are closed in Huatabampo, Navajoa, and the surrounding towns, giving people a place to go. The army was released to be of aid in Navajoa as the authorities are evacuating and helping people as much as possible. They have reported another death in Navajoa, from electrocution.

We thank God we are dry, and that we have enough drinking water and shower water to last us a couple of days. We also have enough food in the fridge and cupboards so that we will do fine although closed off from the grocery store.
The power has gone off multiple times in the last few days, but gratefully is has always come back on. It is really hot and muggy now; 90 degrees with 85% humidity.

We were quite the spectacle driving out there on the tractor! People just stared and smiled, or full-out laughed and waved. There still is a strong cast system here in Mexico, which is a whole topic for its own blog, but suffice to say, we looked weird to everyone. They consider us upper-class because of the color of our skin, and therefore we shouldn’t be out and about on a tractor. Especially with me riding side-saddle on the wheel well. HA! We had fun surprising them, and we enjoyed the sight-seeing trip. I saw lots of kids playing in the water everywhere, even naked kids here and there playing in it. Lots of yards were totally flooded, including the outhouse, which obviously is a major health problem.

We dropped by Gero and Tonita’s home and visited with her and Olga who was also visiting. (both ladies have worked her quite a bit this past year) Both of there yards were dry, but Tonita’s house had one room fall down. Aparently her first house was made up of adobe mud, and then they added on two more rooms with brick. The original adobe room fell in the storm yesterday, so her two daughters now have no bedroom. Their section of town had another house fall as well. Everyone is talking about the different towns, which ones are flooded, and how bad. We have friends who live in towns that are rumored to be flooded, and when we hear the news, it doesn’t sound good. Paz lives on the edge of his town, Las Parras, and we suspect he was evacuated with his family yesterday, but we have no way to get to him. He lives on the other side of the river, and the bridge to get across is a long ways north by tractor. (would be a 2½ hour trip in our van!)

So, here we are stuck at home, witnesses of major flooding. The news has stated that our area has not seen flooding this bad since 1960. Of course we wish there was something we could do to help people out, but there is nothing we can do for now except pray. We will keep you informed.

More Flooding...

A neighbor just dropped by to warn us of the upcoming doom... (this culture really loves to imagine the worst, just so you know up front)
He says that the road to Huatabampo from here has now been closed, as well as the road to Etchojoa, from water rising over the road. We are blocked on the backside by the river. So, according to the neighbor, we are now stuck, and can not get to any stores.
He said that the city of Huatabampo came by yesterday to evacuate them, but they refused to go since they didnt want to leave their belongings behind to be stolen or destroyed. (as well as some other neighbors) He is worried now that they will not be able to get out at all, and hopes the city will come back for them.
Dwight and I are going to hop in the tractor (since the bridge across the canal is too wet for our van to get out) and drive down the 2 kilometers to see if is account is true. What an adventure!!!

"JUST" rain

I guess I shouldnt have said that this storm would bring us 'just' rain, since this much water can cause a lot of pain. We thank the Lord that we are all safe here at 'Rancho Provision' since our new drain system is doing great. Our land isnt flooded, but the neighbors is... as well as the road inbetween us, which makes it impossible to drive outta here. :) The rain water filled our swim pool, and Dwight went for a hike out to the road, and the water went up to his knees!

Yep. Thats all rain water in the pool!

Neighbor's race horse field is flooded!

The hardest part is what the community is going through. Areas of town have been evacuated, flooding in peoples homes, including German's. I imagine other friends of ours are also struggling with the water in their homes, but German hiked through the water to our home an hour ago to borrow our water pump to help get some water out of his home. The news says it will rain more tonight. A young man drowned in Navajoa today, he was playing soccer with a friend and their ball fell into the canal. Two of them jumped in to get it, and only one was able to get out. The current carried him away. One pastor's wife in Navajoa said that her church is flooded.
I wish there was something I could do to help them.

Storm headed our way!

Its raining cats and dogs outside, and the news says that it will keep at it for the next few days till tropical depression Lowell passes over. Probably won't bring us much but rain, but it is heading directly for us! It's going to get muddy around here.

I surrender all

I surrender all…
I have always wanted a family. In fact, on our second date, I told Dwight that I wanted a dozen kids, and I wasn’t kiddin! He was shocked and concerned, but apparently it wasn’t a deal-killer. He was looking forward to becoming a father too.
We tried getting pregnant from the first month of our marriage. As the months went by, it became clear that something was wrong. We did the normal book-buying, thermometer work-out, monthly emotional ups and downs, and finally testing with the doctor. We only got as far as to find out that something was not working in my body and the doctor put me on some hormone pills which ended up wrecking havoc on my emotions. We spent some time in prayer and decided that God knows exactly how to get me pregnant, and that we should not take our lives into our own hands.

Haven’t I given my life to God? I surrender my desire to be a mother.

Two years into our marriage we started looking into adopting and becoming foster parents. Just as we were finishing the training course, we received our first phone call to accept a baby! Oh the excitement!!! So we prayed… and God said NO! Again He said… “I have your life in my hands. I have your best in mind. Please don’t make your own plans.” Dwight and I both felt that it would be disobedient to take a child at that point. That very same month we received a CALL to missions in Mexico and we realized that we could not have taken a foster child to Mexico.

Haven’t I given my life to God? I surrender all.

Over the years I have worked to maintain a surrendered will in this area. One mother’s day I burst into tears at New Song, and Gary Duckworth was surprised to find out that I even wanted to get pregnant. The tears were an outward demonstration that I had not really surrendered my will. Later that week Gary and Joy prayed over Dwight and I and we experienced a new level of peace. Since then, mother’s day bliss or seeing others’ joy in their children hasn’t given me pain.

I have given my whole life to God, and I will not take back any part of it. I surrender all.

I rejoice that throughout the years I have sustained a surrendered attitude. Once in while some ‘self’ rises up and I work to put it down again. I had another episode this August. As we were making camping plans for my family… with my parents, my siblings and their kids, it dawned on me another blessing in life that I will be foregoing: grandmother. I always assumed that some day I would be a grandmother with lots of little ones, planning a Christmas dinner or a campout for the family. I burst into tears realizing that I have to also let go of that dream. As I give up my ‘right’ to be a mother, I will be giving up the grandmother joys too.

Dwight and I just prayed again tonight. God is still asking us to trust Him with our family. He has a plan for our lives, and for now it does not include children. I celebrated my 35th birthday this summer. God still has a few years available, but He may choose to never give us children. I was hoping God would let me go to the doctor to check things out again, or maybe just take some progesterone or something. The answer was no. Don’t I still want His best for my life? As I responded to God, choosing once again to surrender this dear part of my life, this worship song came on…

“…Everything I once held dear
I count it all as loss…

Lead me to the cross where your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to you
Oh, lead me
Lead me to the cross”

God is good to me, ministering to me as I need it. I enjoy my life and I like what He has done with. I choose to surrender all.

BUGS

Living in Mexico always has its share of wildlife... BUGS!
I don’t particularly like tarantulas or scorpions, although we find those around here from time to time. Right now it is mosquito season as well as knats. Lots of knats. When we took that trip to the river on Friday, you had to continue swatting at your face, or they would just settle into your eyes. Yuck!
Dwight and I have been going for walks in the morning, and some routes require constant swatting. Once last week we walked along the canal behind ‘la Rosita’ (the little town behind us) and Dwight started to be eaten by mosquitoes on his back… right through his shirt! I looked to see, and sure enough there were 5 on him… I swatted them for him, and another 5 landed, and so forth. I swatted his back for him as we walked… then we just gave up that route, turned around, and started running back!!! I’m sure we were quite the sight to behold!!!
Then one morning when we walked in the front door, there was an infestation of flying ants all over the wall by the house front door, all over the floor just inside the door, and around the corner into the office. I bet there were thousands of them! Dwight got out the bug spray and killed ’em all! I got a picture of one little batch of them… up close and personal. :)

At the top of my irritating bugs list is the cricket! Man, they are everywhere right now!!! It seems that 4 or 5 are getting into the house daily somehow, and they can really make some noise. Almost every night I am woken up by some cricket in the bathroom. Last night was my first cricket-free night in quite a while. And no bug blog is complete without the fly: the classic irritating animal, which comes in large, medium and small formation here in Huatabampo. At least they don’t bite or sting, make a lot of noise, or get in your eyes. So I guess I like the flies the best… and right now I think the cricket is least on my list. How about yours???

WATER SAGA ENDING!

WATER!!!!!!!

You are not going to believe this but... (drumroll please)

The city of Huatabampo is running a water pipeline out to el Caro to provide water for several towns!!! We arrived home from Oregon to find a new ditch with a HUGE waterpipe going in...

RIGHT NEXT TO OUR HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

We asked of course if we would be getting water, but they said 'noparoonies'. The workers said that it was going straight to larger towns beyond us.
But then this past week the city water truck swung by to give us a water delivery (miracle there!) and they informed us that.... (another drumroll please)

THE CITY IS PLANNING ON CONNECTING US TO WATER THIS DECEMBER!!!

Of course we expect some delays, but water is on the way!!!

Praise God and thank you so much for all your prayers!!!!!

WE WILL BE GETTING WATER SOON!!!

The river is UP!

The river is up!!! It has been for the last two weeks. This means that Paz and Ruben both have trouble getting here to work. Paz rides his bike here, so he just has to ride the boat with his bike every day each way across the river. (for a charge of coarse) Ruben drives, however, and has to take the long route around, to the nearest bridge in Bacobampo.
Friday Dwight and I took the drive around to the back side... and it was quite the adventure!



Here is the back road we took... which actually had at least 10 different spots where the road was washed out. Most of them had plenty of road left to use, like this one we took photos of, but one had me genuinly nervous!

We decided to check out one of the crossing spots. These two ladies I noticed hitch-hiked from one town to the next, and then caught the boat across... each girl with her baby in arms.

We only had one errand to run on the other side of the river, but it turned out to be an adventure date with my honey, who loved the drive. The news down here says the river will stay high till the end of September. (They are letting water out of the damn from up in the Alamos hills)

A perfect bedroom Fix-up!

I took labor day to finish my bedroom project that I started on Saturday... and here it is...
It's maps, hot-glued all over the wall!

I like my new shoes! (I found some nice end-of-summer deals, perfect for the Mexico weather)

Dwight helped me rearrange the furnature, and he set me up a new mirror by my dresser.

One room at a time we are getting the house put together.

We even took the rugs outside and washed them. It took them 2 days to dry!
Cool, huh? Im ready to start work tomorrow. :)