Blessed... Yet Again!

Pan de Vida was blessed again by a team from Yucaipa Christian Church in California.  Many from the team come each year and this year there were 3 new members including a father daughter team.  Leanne was a real trooper doing construction duty along with all the adults each day.

Dario's brother Ron had always been an active part of the team in the past but was unable to come last year because his ministry in Mission Aviation Fellowshipwww.maf.org had transferred him to Idaho.  This year he was able to reunite with his friends and teammates.  They have been coming and contributing to the ministry so many years now that they are all a part of the Pan de Vida family.

The team worked so hard that Ira could not keep enough supplies on hand.  It was amazing to see the apartment go from a shell that had been prepared by the previous team to a place that had defined areas of space.  All of the gyproc was installed, taped, filled and prepped to be sanded.  Also the layout of the apartment had changed and doorways and windows were added or removed to accomodate.  It wasn't possible for me to get photos of the overall areas to really give justice to the work that has been done but it is incredible.  After this next team, the bathrooms and tiling will all that will be needed in order for it to be ready to move in.  The goal is for the beginning of November.

Also the construction on the storage room off the kitchen continued and is near completion.  It will be ready to be painted this week.  We all stand in awe of the work that has been achieved over this past month.  God has really blessed us with these teams and we know they have been blessed by their contribution as well.


      

Blessed

We have been blessed to have the staff, directors and family of Children of Hope Canada come down to do service in missions.  In addition to the family, the team also had a couple from Abbotsford, British Colombia and a father/daughter team from Waterloo, Ontario join them.  But we are all family through our relationship with Jesus Christ. 

It was a busy week as what we normally do in 2 weeks was achieved in 10 days.  The trip started with an outreach to the Otomi House in Amealco, which is also a ministry of Children of Hope.  It was an event filled day as the work project was to build a chicken coop so they can now raise chickens to sell.  In addition to that, roof repair was done, along with grooming of the landscape and even children's hair.  There was a clown ministry with a message along with packaging and distribution of toiletries, clothing and snacks.  The team also had fun with games as well.

The project at Pan de Vida on the apartments for long term volunteers continued.  There was an electrician that was invited to come and do as much of the electrical as possible and after working day and some nights with much help, the wiring for Justo and Elia's apartment is finished and now the rest of the work is advancing with leaps and bounds.  The ceilings are finished and the petitions installed along with much needed sanding and sealing done to the walls.  There is also some work being done to extend the storage for the kitchen.

There was also time spent at the hacienda with the boys.  Fellowship happened around a fire roasting hot dogs and marshmellows and sharing testimonies.  A couple of teams members also shared testimonies in the church services.

The team took a day to go to Aguascalientes to visit Dulce Refugio, the sister orphanage and also a ministry of Children of Hope.  You can follow that progress here http://www.xanga.com/childrenofhope

The team ended the trip with a Quinceañera for Becky who is the daughter of Brian and Bety.  They lived and volunteered at Pan de Vida for many years but returned to Canada 3 years ago to serve for Children of Hope.  Turning 15 is a very special occasion for the Mexican Culture and it was a blessing that Becky could experience it with so many family members from Canada and Mexico present.

    


 
         

  

Hecho a Mano ~ Made by Hand

This past week The Levi Youth Group of Pan de Vida, which is made of the youth age 15 and over,  hosted Summer Bible School for children under 15.  The closing won't be until Sat Aug 8th but we have a team arriving from Canada and going to Amealco for an outreach ministry so I wanted to post some pictures and information now.  

Elena and Paco, the Youth group leaders did an excellent job of organizing and coordinating the whole event. It was also great to see them facilitate many activities to the youth.  The Levi worked very hard on all the decorations and props.  They all  displayed great team work as they performed to the songs and led the workshops.  Their ideas were very creative and it really kept the kids attention.

As of Thursday, we had 145 kids under the age of 15 attending the Summer Bible School and 50 of those were from outside the orphanage.  We had a van daily go to the colonies to pick up the kids who wanted to attend. This made the total in attendance over 200 when you included the Levi Youth Group and volunteers.  Each day more and more visitors came and even 11 adults started attending.  Levi had arranged for a workshop for the parents and when the number increased, Ira and Lupillo were scrambling to make more of the projects.  We hope these will be things they can take home and be reminders of what they have learned in this week.  We also pray they will attend church and grow in faith.  It is so true that so many are hungry for the Daily Bread and thirsty for the Living Water.

The theme this year was Hecho a Mano which is Made by Hand in English.  It is a lesson on how God is the potter and we are the clay.  The life of Peter and his experiences were used in each lesson and the children were taught how God takes an ordinary man and makes him to be a follower of Christ...so much so Peter was a rock...a chip off the ole block you might say. They learned of the storms he faced and the victories he made.  Each lesson was introduced by a skit.

Each morning session started with the theme song to actions along with a couple of other songs.  We will all be humming and singing these for many days to come.  Then there was scripture memory time.  How precious it was to hear all those sweet voices reciting the scripture as they learned it.  I know for me personally this is a great thing because the scriptures I am most familiar with are the ones I use the most to apply in my life.  

After the opening, the kids were divided into age appropriate Bible studies and workshops.  Their were also workshops where they made crafts and  played games.  Even the instructions to the games were explained in life application.  For example when they had to run a distance but only using the stepping stones, if they fell off they had to start over.  Much how when we walk, God directs our steps but many times we slip and it sets us back but we start over and start taking the steps again.

The little ones had a craft with bread and the butter was colored blue to represent the water and then raisins were added that were the footprints where Jesus walked on water.  It made my heart smile when I saw the little ones eating these during lesson time after.  They had blue faces, tongues and teeth.  

After the workshops, the kids had snack time and were able to run off much energy from being so still for a while and then they returned to the auditorium for more song and actions and testing on how well they remembered the scriptures they had learned so far.  Each day had the kids excited to come and learn more.  We especially pray that those from outside of Pan de Vida will feel welcome and attend Sunday School and church and come to know Jesus and Lord and Saviour.  That we will all be surrendered to being molded by the potters hands.

Isaiah 64:8 Yet, O LORD, you are our Father.  We are the clay, you are the potter, we are the work of your hand.



              


I can't post as many photos as I would like so here is a link to my facebook album on Hecho a Mano~enjoy
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=144001&id=511160411&l=1743b51810

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