20 Feb February trip. . transitions galore!
As I sit here this Tuesday morning all packed up. . ready to go yo the airport in 2 hours… . in the beauty salon watching Keice do her first haircut (in this salon) on my sweet friend Crystal. . I see they are both a little nervous. . I reflect back on what a sweet trip this has been. . very appropriate for a February trip. . it is a sweet month for me. . my oldest daughter’s birthday and my granddaughter’s birthday is this month. . along with mine and Johnny’s anniversary and Valentine’s day!
Lots of firsts and transitions have occurred this trip and I feel excited about the “steps in a forward and positive progression” that have occurred. . If you read my other blogs the details of the following were revealed. . so I won’t go deep into those again. .
1) Tino’s first sermon at Olivos church
2) Copprome and Olivos children doing church together
3) Keice began an internship. . .and . . update. . I just spoke with the salon owner after she finished Crystal’s hair. . she said she is good! I will train her for a month and then hire her. . put her in salary!
4) Gaby enrolled in the university night classes (UTH. . University of Ty Hasty. . we call it!) and will be teaching English to the younger kids at Copprome 6 hours per week so she can have a small source of income. .she will also be interpreting for our groups during the day when we are in town. .
5) Copprome has agreed to give custodial rights of Gabriel to us. . Shelton will be his guardian and he is permanently living in the mission house. .
Gabriel is 16 and has no living relatives that we know of. . he was abandoned at 7 months old and found barely alive. . he has lived at Copprome until a year and a half ago when he moved in with a foster family in Progreso. . they did a great job caring for him. . they had 3 other kids so he still felt a little outcast and different. . but they loved him very much. . when we started the process of trying to adopt he and Gaby. . things changed in the hearts of the foster family and Gabriel. . Gabriel wanted to be with Shelton and Gaby as much as possible. . he said for the first time in his life he feels like he has a real family. . Though Shelton is 24, he has stepped up to help raise Gabriel and teach him responsibility and the importance of good grades. . lots of dejavu times have occured this past week as I watch Shelton tell Gabriel things he needs to do and why. .
I am sure there will be bumps along the way as we try to transition these kids. . but our hearts are pure and we know that God is the one who has the ultimate design. . Shelton’s age continues to be questioned. . but he is a determined young man and is tryng to not take it personal. . just to persevere and do what he was created to do. .
The Olivos church is just beginning. . Tino is committed to studying the word with help from Pastor Jay and Shelton. . . they will be communicating weekly by email and Shelton will meet with Tino during the week to help him prepare his message. . . to help mentor him. . . Gaby has committed to do children’s church every Sunday. . and Gabriel has commited to help lead worship. . Shelton would like to start a youth group which will meet at the same time as church and children’s church on Sunday morning. . everyone will start out together for praise and worship and then break out into their groups. . please pray for this church plant as they try to design a Sunday morning for all ages to dig a little deeper. . to get to know their creator and His plan for their lives. . We have invited Copprome to come every Sunday and be a part of this too. .
We leave here today with lots of seeds planted. . praying for them to continued to be nurtured and grow. .
Our first large group comes March 22nd. . a group of 28. . all families with mixed ages of kids. . we will be working at Olivos building house #17 and maybe #18. . and doing VBS and church with both communities. .
Have I mentioned lately how much I love my life and where God has me at age 52? BLESSED. .
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