Getting Closer

The day is getting closer for us to have a child in our home. Last Wed. we received a phone call at 4pm. We had the opportunity to get a 2 month old baby boy, but we have not yet moved to our 2 bedroom apartment. Our apartment should be ready by the end of this week or the beginning of next week. Please pray that we will be able to get in and have everything ready for when we receive the next call for a baby. Thanks!

New News!

A semester, Christmas, New Years, and now Feb. has passed and we have not done a very good job of blogging. All the above have been good times. We have had a great time visiting family and friends and even speaking at a few churches about missions. We will have the great opportunity to go back to Guatemala in May. So, we look forward to spending a week of renewing old friendships and ministering to some villages around Chimaltenango.

We have been in the process of getting certified to foster a child from the New Orleans area. We had our home study yesterday, and we were approved! Our long term goal is not just to foster, but to adopt the child that we bring into our home. We will be getting a baby no more than 6 months old. The race or gender does not matter to us. We ask that you please pray for the Lord to lead us to the child that we will nurture and care for for the rest of his/her life. Thank you for your prayers. We will give be giving frequent updates during this process, at least when there are some. So, stay tuned!

From One Country to Another

Well, it has been over a month since we have arrived in New Orleans, and we are still not in the swing of things. Two days after we arrived, Jodie was offered a job on campus. This is a blessing b/c it allows us to stay on campus as long as we need to after Derrick graduates. It also kept us from stressing out over not being able to find income. The Lord provides, and we give Him the glory!

Derrick will have an interview at a Sherwin Williams store early next week. Please pray that the interview will go well.

Classes for Derrick have been challenging to say the least. It has been over 2 years since he has been in a classroom setting, muchless in a dogmatic routine. He is doing well in his classes, but struggling to keep up with the pace (along with every other student here).

It has been good to see some familar faces, be able to speak English, and understand everything that people say to us.

One thought: Football is a privledge to have, and Derrick is soaking it up. One grateful friend that we met in Guatemala gave up his precious BAMA vs Georgia tickets this past weekend. It was nice to sit, well stand, and watch that exciting game . . . even if Bama lost.

Speaking of football, the seminary is starting a flag football league, so all the wannabe football super heros will be playing . . . of course that includes Derrick!! It will be fun and entertaining.

Jodie has enjoyed (more than anything) to be able to spend time with her family. We have been back to the Bayou almost every weekend for the sole purpose of spending time with them, and Derrick's family as well.

This blog has been a series of rambled thoughts . . . sorry for that . . . just trying get everything in!

Have a blessed day!

Long Time!

Wow, it has been a really long time since we have last posted. Talk about busy times. While in Guatemala, just during the summer we saw 9 groups come and go. These groups were from all over the US and even Canada. In total, some 125 houses were built. PTL!! During this time, we met many who had already accepted JC, and sadly, many who have not. However, the gospel was shared for each of these families, and, Lord willing, those who do not know JC will eventually come to know Him as their Savior.

On top of the 125 houses, there were about 9 villages that were blessed with the Word and some provisions. In total there were more than 1,000 families that had the opportunity to hear the Gospel this summer. That is somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,000 people!!

We were blessed to be a part of this awesome ministry and we pray that this work will continue and people will come to JC as a result. We ask that you pray for GRACE Ministries as it is in a time of transition. Also pray for those who have and will accept JC. These people need to be discipled! Please continue to lift up the Garcias

and the Tzars.

As well as Casa Aleluya and Amor del Nino as they were a big part of our ministry while we were there.

Thank each of you for all your prayers and support!!

Casa Derrick and Jodie

This weekend saw us host 5 boys from Casa Aleluya. It was a weekend that the parents could come and take their children home, but many did not take the opportunity to do so. So, we dropped by Friday afternoon to see who might be able to come hang out with us for the weekend. So, we got the level 5’s that were left: Geovany 4, Hugo, Nery, Geovani 1, Sebastian (L to R). Yes, Light Bulb, we had you precious Geovani!!

We did have a chance to do everything with these boys that we were able to do with the first few that came over before. This crew was content playing xbox all day. However, they did go to our Saturday Bible study with us, and were able to play some street soccer in Joya Grande. They also we to church with us on Sunday morning.

The damper to the whole weekend was that we received a phone call Sunday afternoon telling us that Geovany 4’s mom was at the door crying b/c her son wasn’t there. We had forgotten that Sunday afternoon was a time for parents to just visit their kids. So, we rushed over to Casa so that Geovany could see his mother. When we arrived, Nery’s dad was there as well, so we were glad that someone took the time to call us. We are thankful for the blessed weekend that we were able to spend with them.
One reality that we have come to grasp while working with and hosting these boys is the fact that we have parents that love and care for us. Parents that still don’t want to let go! We thank the Lord that we are able to get a hug or kiss from our parents as soon as we hit American soil. As you lift us up in prayer, please lift our parents up as well . . . for salvation (Derrick’s) and protection. Also lift these boys up to the Lord; pray that they would know the love of the Lord in their lives.

Rajun Cajuns and Rednecks

Wow! Sounds like the start of a Danny Leblanc joke . . . many of you know what we mean! We had a mixture of people from Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina, & Tennessee this past week, and the Lord used them mightily to witness to the lost and poor of La Primavera and La Pinada. They were able to build 12 houses, give 100 families food and clothes, and fix up house #2 at Love the Child children’s home.

With only 18 people, this group worked really hard to complete the 12 houses, especially considering the fact that the sand did not arrive for most of the homes until day 3. After the first day, Derrick’s nick name was “slave driver.” We are still trying to figure out why working a 10 hr shift for the Lord makes people react that way! But it was all fun, and the group had a blast serving the Lord despite being worn out.

We passed out food and clothes in a village called San Jose Pakul. A church from Santiago, Sacatapecez had a host of events before our arrival. San Jose has no evangelical church, so please pray for those from the church who are sharing the gospel. And pray for open hearts.

Hopefully we will get some pictures to post . . . sorry that there are none at the moment.

A Birthday Dream

Many of the people in the villages that we work in do not celebrate their birthdays with parties and gifts . . . many do not even know their birth date. The fact is that for many it is just another day. For the girls of Latin America, the 15th birthday is a very special day. However, like the other birthdays, it too is not celebrated much in the villages.

For this reason, on May 20th, we decided to give a Quinceanera party for Celestina, a girl in our Sunday night Bible Study. It was a very special time as most of her family came together to eat cake and celebrate her birthday. While some of you have participated in a Quinceanera at the mission house, this was a completely different ball game!

Almost 30 of us were inside one of the houses that one of the teams built. Celestina, wearing her typical clothing and a tiara (courtesy of FBC Lacombe), sat to the side and tried not to be the center of attention. Derrick read from Proverbs 31 and charged Celestina and the rest of the women who were present to live a Godly life. He also explained the Gospel in hopes that one would surrender his or her life to Christ. However, there were no salvations, but there were planted seeds. After the charge, Derrick prayed for Celestina and we all ate cake and drank Pepsi. Celestina can not read very well, but we bought her a Bible to help her to learn more, and in the process, she will be able to read about the Lord! After eating, we took tons of photos of the family and then watched the Jesus film.

Please pray for the Garcia’s. There were three families present that do not know the Lord as their Savior. Please pray that the Lord will use the message and movie to move the hearts of these families. Pray that Celestina will come to know the Lord before we leave Guatemala (Aug.).