Changes


There has been a lot going on in our lives, this year.   For a while, we have been feeling like God has been trying to get our attention in our ministry but we couldn't pinpoint what it really was.  We resisted these tugs for so long and of course questioned everything until we started feeling frustrated and discouraged.  I guess we really weren't ready to face the truth that things were about to change. 

Over the course, God has presented us with a need at La Aljaba Children's Home in Leticia, Colombia, South America.  The Children's Home has received notice that they until the end of Dec. to move from the home that they have called theirs for the last  7 yrs.  We were able to go there in February with one of the Founders and CEO of Orphanos to meet with the Director and other team members of La Aljaba and see the ministry 1st hand.  While we were there, a piece of land was purchased to start on the vision of a new home. In the meantime, they have found temporary housing until the major construction of the new place can be done.

Ira and I have now made a decision and committed ourselves to go Leticia Colombia, serve in ministry, assist with the construction and work with teams.  Now that we have done that, things have started moving pretty quickly.  As part of our preparation, we are making plans to come to Canada Sept 5-18. Wayne, from Orphanos, will join us Sept 12 so that we can have a "Meet and Greet" on Fri. Sept 14th at the South Side United Baptist Church.  At that time, we will do a presentation on the new ministry and share more details with you.

Don't think we didn't challenge God on what we felt He was doing.  We have 5 years at Pan de Vida. We have fallen in love with the kids here, we have friends, we are actively involved in Bible Study and we are comfortable in our little apartment among many other things.  But the reality is that Pan de Vida is built, the major projects are done and God has grown local Mexicans to serve Him within the Orphanage.  With the awareness that another home is needed to grow children in Christ, we realized that God has used this time to teach us and prepare us for the challenge.

We cannot express enough how grateful we are for your continued support.  We are truly humbled by your faithfulness and believe with all our heart that we are a team that God has orchestrated so we can serve Him.  What a blessing it is to be able to be a part of something that is much bigger than us!

Please Keep us in your Prayers!  We truly feel lifted up by them!!

To partner with us through financial support:

Make donations payable to the following with a note enclosed that it is for Missionaries Maxwells:

IN CANADA:  South Side Baptist Church               
                     c/o Barbara Thurber                                        
                     54 Bayview Drive                                           
                     Barrington, Nova Scotia
                     B0W 1E0                                                                  
                                                                                 

IN USA:   Orphanos Foundation                                         
               PO Box 1057
              Cordova, TN 38088-1057

 Orphanos Foundation On-line Donations


Romans 1:8-10  First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.  For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 



Martin TN Team

Pan de Vida was yet again blessed by the service of a team from the 1st United Methodist Church of Martin, TN.   It was also extra special for Ira and me because our daughter, her fiancé and his parents were among the team members.  This gave us an opportunity to not only serve together, but get to know each other better since we will soon be family.  


Upon arrival, everyone was pleasantly surprised at the nice weather because there was a heat wave of over 100F temps that had been hovering over West TN.  The first night it rained steadily and everyone enjoyed a much needed rest from a heavy travel day.   However, at breakfast, as we all chatted and discussed the joy of sleeping to the sound of rain and the opportunity to have the windows open and feel the fresh air, Freddy arrives to tell us that the heavy rains caused the drains to back up and all the classrooms in the school had flooded.  Welcome to Mexico!  


The team was in no way discouraged.  They hit the ground running and pitched in to empty the rooms of everything and start the work of cleaning the mud out.  One of the things I have learned during this journey is, that no matter how hard the job is, if people pull together and work as a team and with a heart to serve, it can be so much fun.   However, it was mentioned that as the rain fell the night before, many had thoughts of how nice it was.  They now rethought it and said if it rains again in the night, they will be thinking more like "UH OH!"


The team project that Ira planned was for the roof of the school to be repaired, sealed and the outside of the building to be completely painted.  Now that rainy season seemed to be showing up, we weren't sure how it would work.  Ira had a Plan B in mind if needed because there is never a shortage of projects that need to be done.  It turns out that we were able to stick to the original agenda and never had another rainy night for the remainder of the time the team was here.


In addition to the school project, the team did an outreach to The Otomi House in Amealco.  Over 200 families of the community received food hampers and hand knitted caps and scarves that were made by women of a knitting group from their home town.  One team member, who is a dentist, did a dental screening clinic and of course everyone played with the children.  Afterwards, we took a scenic route home and visited a local pyramid and waterfall. 


With the kids out of school for the summer, the team was able to have plenty of time to interact and play with the children.  They treated them to an activity with bubbles and crafts.  They were here on the 4th of July, so we celebrated the USA Independence Day with a Pizza Party, which is always a big hit with the kids.  And what is a pizza party without a water balloon fight?  As it was set up, you could see, in the kid's faces, a question of what was going to happen but as soon as the first balloon was launched, it did not take long for everyone to get involved.  Even the adults joined in!  It always brings a song to the heart to see everyone laughing and having so much fun!


On Thursday night, Becca gave the Biblical message.  The team also joined the children for the Tuesday night Prayer meeting.  As I write this, and reflect on all the things the team did to interact and build relationships, I am reminded how they invested so much of themselves into the lives of the children.  They made every effort to remember each child's name, leave them with letters and pictures of the journey they had during the week, spend the night in their dorm rooms, play soccer, try to learn as much Spanish as they could, minister through sign language and most of all, they loved and were loved!  The kind of love that only comes from a heart devoted to Jesus and His great commission!

   
         
       
   
  
   

Summer Begins


Well, can you believe it?  School's out for summer!  Last Friday, Pan de Vida held it's end of the year program, recognizing the students that had been promoted from Primary School to Jr High and those from Jr High to High School.  Also following in tradition, each class did a special performance to Glorify God and His provisions for another successful semester. 


As technology advances, most guests now attend with digital cameras and video recorders.  The kid's felt extra special as more people took the front row and even sat in the aisle to document their dances and skits.  You can tell by the smiles on their face that it makes them feel extra special to have the undivided attention of their peers.  They all practiced hard and were very dedicated to coming together to present the message of their selected song.


This year, we had a volunteer, Nadia, come to give art lessons to some of the students.  The pieces of art were displayed in the auditorium for the end of year event.  I was so impressed by their imagination, creativity and skill.  It reminds me once again that we all have gifts in one way or another and they can be combined to do a great work and often create a masterpiece.

                 

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