Quinceañera


 


This year Pan de Vida had a "Quinceañera" for 5 girls, Ines, Vanesa, Maria Rosa, Ana Velia and Margarita celebrating their 15th birthday.  In Mexican tradition it is held to commemorate a girl entering womanhood and is usually as big as or bigger than a girl's wedding.  In attempts to cherish the girl's heritage, Pan de Vida always hosts an event to recognize this time in their life.  The ceremony is very spiritual and focused more toward the responsibilities of seeking God's direction in their lives.  




Since the budget Pan de Vida has is used to solely run the daily needs of the Orphanage, events like this are only possible through extra donations of others.  We are grateful for the groups and individuals who have shown a huge heart in generosity to make this possible for the girls.  This year each girl took time to express their thankfulness and reflect on God's provisions in caring for them.  Each one shared a favorite scripture as well.

 
Psalm 51:10 ~Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

 
Proverbs 4:23~Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

 
Song of Songs 8:6~Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.

 
Ecclesiates 11:9~You who are young, be happy while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.

 
Psalms 27:10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.

Of course no celebration is complete without a reception.  Everyone feasted on a special meal and were entertained by the girls doing special dances.  It really makes a person's heart swell to see the girls beam with so much joy as they feel like the princesses they are.  We are truly blessed to see the work God is doing in their lives.

I'm back!


I am sorry it has been so long since my last post.  For the most part everything is pretty routine with the kids in school.  We know this will soon change as Christmas Holidays approach. In the past it has proven to be a very busy time starting as early as November with it being the season that most companies want to do something special for children.


Sunday November 6th is Global Orphan Sunday. It is a great time for you to start sponsoring a child and investing in their future if you don't already.  You can contact www.childrenofhope.info  in Canada or www.orphanos.org  in the USA

I love the opening statement in the Orphanos brochure and I think it sums it up the best. 


I am an orphan, but I am not a ghost.  Please see my body.  Don't try to meet my spiritual needs when my stomach is empty.  I am orphan, but I am not a corpse.  Please see my spirit.  Don't bring health to my body but leave my soul undernourished.  You will only prepare me for my burial. Feed me.  Clothe me.  Teach me.  Love me.  Give me the opportunity to choose to know my Father.  Then I will no longer be an orphan.

September


September has been filled with lots of celebrations. 1st the kids started school so that made us all happy to get back into a routine of activities.  As much as everyone enjoys the break, we are all equally excited to return to some structure.


Then the Pan de Vida Church celebrated it's 17th anniversary of ministry.  It was a time to reflect and give thanks to God and His provisions.  The worship team played songs from the previous years and each Sunday School class did a presentation through skits.  Dario, the Director, shared a testimony on how the church began and testified to God's faithfulness in sustaining not only the church but the Orphanage.  The ladies of the church then blessed everyone with a wonderful lunch that allowed everyone to continue the praise to God and His goodness.


On Sept 16th, we then celebrated Mexican Independence Day.  This continues to be on of the major events of the year.  The auditorium was decorated in the Mexican colors of red, white and green.  Everyone, from the youngest to the oldest dressed in traditional clothing for the celebration.  There were games, activities, dance presentations and food tables.  So not only do we rejoice in the freedom of Mexico but we parallel the event to the freedom we, as Christians, have through Jesus Christ.  We continue to give thanks to our Heavenly Father for allowing us these continued blessings and time of fellowship.

Soldiers of the Spirit


The Pan de Vida youth group rounded up their summer with a 4 day camp as "Soldiers of the Spirit."  It was based on Romans 8 challenging them both physically and spiritually.


The leaders made this a real boot camp experience for them with early morning runs, conditioning exercises, construction of forts, obstacle courses, hikes and more.  As the youth transformed into soldiers, they were also divided into squads with the leaders as sergeants.  The message being that they are more than conquerors in Christ (Romans 8:27).  As soldiers, they are preparing for battle and it requires obedience to the Lord and they will encounter suffering but they will be victorious.


Their instructions came through daily devotions, prayer and messages from their leaders.  After the intense boot camp, everyone felt a great sense of achievement as they persevered through the challenges.  It gave them the feeling of unity through teamwork, a respect for soldiers and an understanding of perseverance.  

The Buffalos!

This years football season for "The Buffalos", girl's flag and boy's tackle teams, is officially over.  There was a special event this past weekend to recognize the players for all their hard work, dedication and growth.  Both teams did exceptionally well with the girls winning the semi finals to make it to the championship.  They ended up losing the finals but they were ultimately winners with the way they worked as a team and displayed great sportsmanship.

Another achievement this season is that the Pan de Vida on-site football field was inaugurated and is league approved and eligible to host official games.  Now the kids can be active in all practices and games without the obstacle of transportation and conflicts of schedules interfering.  We have a Coach, who is Christian, that is very committed to come to train the youth not only in skills of the game, but also in character of being great team players through attitude.  The kids have been able to interact with other youth on different teams to exercise everything they are learning.

It has also been fun to have the games at the orphanage so that the other kids, volunteers and friends can watch.  We make up the biggest cheering section with our pop bottles of rocks and graffons for drums.  It is a real family event and we are so grateful that people have had a passion to contribute for this to all be possible!




Tesoros Escondidos/Hidden Treasures


Daily Vacation Bible School at Pan de Vida was a huge success.  This year the theme was Hidden Treasures/Tesoros Escondidos!  The youth group and leaders worked very hard in preparation and God blessed the ministry abundantly with not only the children of Pan de Vida attending but also close to 200 children and parents from 4 surrounding communities.  Some of the vans had to go back and forth 3 times to each area to bring everyone in.


The auditorium and classrooms were decorated with a jungle theme and each day different "treasures" were discovered.  The Biblical lessons were based from Jesus' parables about The Mustard Seed,  The Yeast, The Good Samaritan, The Good Shepherd, The Great Banquet, the Pearl of Great Price, and The Net, and each with a corresponding Scripture verse.


In addition to the classroom teaching, lessons were done through drama, cooking classes, crafts, games and songs with actions.  The whole week was filled with excitement with each activity.  Even the Moms of the children were ministered to through workshops set up for them.   Each day the kids made more progress on the memorization and actions to the songs for the final presentations.  


The evangelism was truly blessed by all the hard work from each volunteer that exercised their spiritual gift through service whether it was teaching classes, cooking, driving vans to pick up children, doing the sound for music, etc.  Everyone worked together as "The Body of Christ" and all the glory goes to God!

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