New Year

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Ira and I are still in Canada.  We have been blessed to come back and enjoy time with our family here.  Time has gone very quickly as we did all the holiday things with friends and family.  Now that the New Year has come, we will preparing to return to Pan de Vida. We still have some logisitics that we are trying to get ironed out in order to keep our vehicle in Mexico.  We needed to renew the vehicle registration, but in order to do so, we need insurance but the company doesn't insure vehicles that have been outside of the country for 6 months etc.  However, the insurance company has been very helpful and we now think we have a way to get the insurance temporary and registration renewed so the truck can legally re-enter Mexico.  Have I told you how much I don't like government paperwork??

We have a couple of presentations that we will be doing for Children of Hope.  Ira has been invited to a men's breakfast from a nearby community.  We are very excited over the interest people have to learn about what we have been doing.  This time has allowed us to reflect and refresh to return with a renewed spirit for the ministry we feel God has called us to.  As much as we have enjoyed our time in Canada, we look forward to returning and getting back into the work and activities.  We both have a refreshment and know God has so much to teach us.

Thank you all for your continued encouragement, prayer and  support.  We are joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod.

I am posting a picture of our family and another of Ira and me with a few kids from Pan de Vida.  Hopefully soon we can get a huge group photo done...so that can be something for you to look forward to. 

Also, as we enter the New Year, I want to make sure God gets all the glory He deserves, so I want to post a scripture.  It may be in relation to the post or not...but regardless, I know it is always food for the Spirit and pray you will always be blessed by it!!

"This is what the LORD says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." 
(Isaiah 43:16, 18-19)

  

Christmas Celebrations

Before we left Mexico to come to Canada for Christmas with our family, the Christmas celebrations had already started for the kids at Pan de Vida.  Last year Ira and I were at Pan de Vida for the holidays and if you scroll back through the posts, you can read about that experience.  


The leadership at Pan de Vida strive to keep the focus on educating the kids on the birth of Jesus and how He was born to be our Saviour. On Christmas Eve there will be a huge meal which is usually tomales and they drink a hot drink called atole which is a corn based hot drink and the children prefer chocolate flavored, so it a bit like hot chocolate. On Jan 6th, they have "King's Day" which is symbolic to the day the wise men would have come bearing gifts for Jesus.



The month of December is filled with day groups coming in to do skits, piñatas, meals and lots of candy as I have posted earlier.  Just recently the kids were treated to an event at the Wal-Mart in the city.  Last year they did the same but it was for the kids aged 12 yr old or less.   This year was special to us because they included every child/teen/adolescent of Pan de Vida.



The employees of Wal-Mart receive pictures of the kids and then they individually pick which one they will adopt to give a gift to.  The kids are transported to Wal-Mart and the employee gets the opportunity to give the gift personally to who they picked.  In the meantime, snacks, lots of snacks, are fed to the kids and afterward they have a meal....and this all happens at the end of the check out lanes!!



Most of the younger kids get a coat,  pair of pants, a top, undergarments and a toy.  The older kids get a coat and some toiletries.  It is a great time for the kids to feel loved by people who don't even know them and also for them to share stories of how God has provided for them through the ministry at Pan de Vida.


     

Goodbye for now

Ira and I are headed to Canada tonight.  Since it has been 1½ yrs. we are going a bit early since we have some personal things to look after with  the belonging we had to leave behind. In addition  we need to get vehicle permits and license renewals etc.  

We have been invited to speak at a couple of Christmas banquets and after the New Year we will do an update to what God has been doing in and through our lives as we serve Him here at Pan de Vida.  We are very excited to see our children and other family and friends.  We know God will use this as a time to refresh us spiritually.

In preparing to leave, I wanted to post an update of a few things. For the most part, things have been pretty routine and things are gearing up for the Holiday break with lots of groups coming to host activities for the kids.  Tia and the girls have made many crafts and gift boxes to sell as a fundraiser to buy supplies and food for the Christmas Eve celebration.

I think I mentioned that the 7 youngest girls have moved into a new dorm.  Now that the boys have moved to the hacienda, there has been a shift in sleeping arrangements.  The youngest and medium aged girls will move over to the old boys dorms.  The dorms  need some work but one was finished and the littlest ones have moved over and the mediums will probably move after the New Year.  I have been blessed to be able to help in the afternoons and do laundry for them.  Before, an older girl was assigned to a younger girl to assist with daily needs and hygiene.  Now the younger girls have 2 older girls living with them in the dorm and after the New Year, a volunteer from Orphanos wll be moving into the supervisor`s room to oversee the girls.

This month Pan de Vida also says good-bye to Jami.  She is from Ontario and has volunteered here for 4 months. She taught the special needs children in school.  This story was posted in the Children of Hope newsletter but I feel it is worth repeating. Maggie, who was born from a brother sister relationship, struggled with keeping up in school even at preschool level.  With the individual teaching Jami offered, Maggie quickly learned to spell her name and with the change in dorms, her disposition and confidence has dramatically improved to make her feel more confident in herself.

Ira finished up many odd and end jobs as well.  He installed some privacy doors and also replaced many overheads lights in the kitchen that have not been working for a while. Since we will be away, I won`t have much to update you on, but please keep checking.  I am going to try to get updates via e-mail and will post what I can.  

Please keep the Ministry in your prayers.  God is doing a great work in the lives of these kids.  We know that they are here from tragic situations but God works everything to the good!!

     

Levi Youth

The Levi (La-Vee) Youth group recently celebrated their 1 year anniversary.  The name is short for Levites and was chosen because God chose the Levites to look after the Tabernacle. We believe the kids at Pan de Vida are God's chosen for this ministry. The group is open to youth aged 15-22.  In the last year it has grown from 14 members to over 40.  One factor is that the youth at Pan de Vida are getting older but also there are several from the local communities that attend as well.

For the anniversary, the Levi performed a couple of skits in ministry.  There was also a worship band from the Horizonte (Horizon) Church that came to minister through music.  It was a great time for the kids to celebrate how God has worked in their lives and how He is making them into disciples as they do more outreaches throughout Querétaro.  For this to happen, it takes great commitment from the Youth Leaders.  

The leaders come up with many of the creative ideas for each weekly meeting but the youth have shown more interest in doing their part, creating some of their own ideas into skits.  It has been a great way for the kids to learn more about God and His purpose in their lives.

The mural is their mission statement.  Igniting hearts to light up the world!!


    

Party!

Let the parties begin!  Each year as December nears, individual groups come to Pan de Vida to hold special events for the kids.  It is a way they give during the holiday season.  Many groups bring bags of staple foods like beans, rice, flour, oil, washing powders etc.  Some groups will do puppet plays or musicals and EVERY group will have piñatas. 

The kids love the time and by the end of the week, all the volunteers are pulling the kids from the rafters from the sugar over-load.  However, the supervisors do take the candy and put it in a room and hand it out in moderate amounts.  We want them to at least get through school until the Christmas break comes. 
Today was the second event and I have posted some pictures for your enjoyment!!


 

getting the kids lined up

  
stringing the piñata 

 
setting it in place 

 
taking the 1st swing  

 
there goes half of it 

 
more swinging  

 
little ones making every effort

 
taking a beating 

 
we have break through

  
free for all~if you dare

  
MORE~one for each age group 

Everyday life

I wanted to keep things fresh and since it has been over a week, I thought I would post a few pictures of everyday life here.  To make a facility of 140 children function, cooking, cleaning and  maintenance is non-stop.  

The budget is to be as thrifty as we can to do repairs which makes the wood planer in the work-shop one of Ira's most valuable tools.  He has recently planed scrap boards to make doors that he will install to allow more privacy in shared facilities.  He has built a cabinet to organize and protect some of his screws, nails etc.  He is also working on pumps to the kitchen and girls dorm for water.  That is the short list of projects for now.

I am also posting a few pictures of the kids doing chores.  Even the little ones pitch in to do their share.  There is also a picture of one of the girls in her football jersey that was donated to the team of girls by Port Maitland, Nova Scotia team.

The Levi youth group recently celebrated 1 year in ministry and on Nov 20th, we will celebrate the Mexican Revolution. They love fiestas in Mexico and I will update those as I can.


 

 
    

Thanksgiving

This Saturday, several of us volunteers got together to celebrate a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner together. We picked a date between the Canadian and US dates.  There were also a couple of native Mexicans and one from Ecuador enjoying the great feast as well.

There are several of us that have now been here for long term and built friendships.  Some of the volunteers are newer in their service, and we want to start having regular reunions to help them in their transition as well.  Being away from our own family and friends of our countries, we have come to know how important it is for us to become unified as the family that God has built here.

Richard and Ximena recently went to Texas, so they were able to pick up ingredients necessary to make meals of the North American culture.  Even down to dessert of Blue Bell ice cream!


   
   
This Saturday, several of us volunteers got together to celebrate a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner together. We picked a date between the Canadian and US dates.  There were also a couple of native Mexicans and one from Ecuador enjoying the great feast as well.

There are several of us that have now been here for long term and built friendships.  Some of the volunteers are newer in their service, and we want to start having regular reunions to help them in their transition as well.  Being away from our own family and friends of our countries, we have come to know how important it is for us to become unified as the family that God has built here.

Richard and Ximena recently went to Texas, so they were able to pick up ingredients necessary to make meals of the North American culture.  Even down to dessert of Blue Bell ice cream!
      
 

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