Have you ever been the minority?

Ever since I moved to the Rio Grande Valley, I have been a minority. The majority of the population as I am sure you could assume is Hispanic. Being a minority has never been that big of a deal, at least when it comes to race.

Since my last blog, I started going to public school down here where as before I was home-schooled. This in itself was a huge adjustment, but one of the biggest was my school being so culturally diverse and I was still one of the smallest minorities. In my school there are so many different cultures and races, along with that comes a lot of religious diversity. I found out that Christianity was not the majority here either. So, basically I was a minority in all aspects. Strange. In Kentucky, I was the majority in all aspects. This was kind of difficult to take in for a while, but like I said, being the minority because I am white has never really bothered me. Being the minority as a Christian did.

That part still bothers me, but really only because I am heartbroken that so many don't know that God loves them and He wants a personal relationship with them. I don't want Christianity to be the minority there. God has given me this great opportunity to be a light for Him. I am thankful for that.

I would like to point out something very cool real quick about my school being so culturally diverse. It is that although we are so culturally diverse at my school, we all come together and are friends and love each other and it doesn't really matter where anyone is from or what they look like. I don't see this happening very often, but I wish it would. It is a pretty awesome thing!

Please pray that not only I, but all the other Christians in my school can shine for Him and change our school.

God bless you.

-mad*

Si tuvieras fe como un grano de mostaza...

Translation: If you would have faith like a mustard seed.. This is one of the songs that we sung two weeks ago[the week of the 14th] when we had a team from Springfield, MO join us in doing a VBS here in Alamo. It was in some ways a difficult week, but in many ways an awesome week! Many kids came, I think the number grew to about 90 the last night. Though that is not near as important as the fact that I know there were many seeds planted in those kids' lives! Many of these kids came from rough home lives and though at times they were very difficult to work with, we had to remember that what we could best do for them was love on them. I honestly think that that is one of the best ways to plant seeds in someone's life. The bible talks often about how important love is..we always need to remember that.

"Three things will last forever--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love" 1 Corinthians 13:13

This past week we have done several different things including, going to the orphanage to help out, having some great teachings, and having a cook out tonight, which also included Carlos, an intern, being baptized. It was a really good week, and I'm sure this next one will be too. I am especially looking forward to this next weekend. I am looking forward to it because we are having an event call Day Of Hope. We are having this event as encouragement to the body of Christ, and I really think it will go really well. I also have family coming down for it, and I'm super excited about seeing them as well.
Hope you have a wonderful and blessed week.(:
-mad*

Summer has begun!

We had our first team of the summer last week. It was the TN BCM light messengers group. I always enjoy this group! They are hard workers, amazing people and lots of fun.:)
Our interns arrived two weeks ago, and for many it was their first time ever running a team and they did a great job. We have nine interns this summer, four of which are leadership, they are our returning interns. I really enjoy having them around, I see many of them as my big brothers and sisters.:)
The team did some small projects at Jonatan and Carolina's church. It was a big blessing to them and the church as a whole. They were very happy and pleased with all of the work that was done.
We don't have many more teams for this summer, but God is teaching us it is more about quality than quantity. During the weeks we do not have teams, we will still be ministering, whether in MX, the valley or to each other.
I am very happy with how the summer is going so far and with all that God has already done and I know that God has so many more great things in store! Please pray for us as we minister this summer.
God Bless.
-mad*

Pilar de Esperanza.

So, I really just wanted to tell you about this place that has captured my heart..any guesses?? Yep! That's right! Reynosa, Mexico, is the place.(: God has given me such a love for that city and the people in it, of course. I thank God for that love though, because without it I don't think I could be a missionary there. That saying about him not calling the equipped but instead equipping the called is exactly right! I would not have had just some random love for this city and then him send me to be a missionary there. I just don't think God works that way, and really his ways are much better..because if he had to wait on us to love a place or whatever before he called us to do something, nothing would Ever get done!
Ok, back to Reynosa.. We work in several areas over there, and each area I love very much. And one of them is an orphanage and its a place I Love to be at. Its the Pilar de Esperanza orphanage. It is actually more of a children's home though.. because, even though there are kids there without parents, they also take in kids whose parents are not able to care for them, or who don't care for them. There are about 40 kids there. And, let me tell you..the ladies that run this place, Sara and Paulien, are amazing women! They are amazing in the fact that they take care of this many kids, and in they way that they take care of them, by giving each of those kids so much love and hope.
Sara started the orphanage completely on faith, and she continues to run it in the same way. Every place on the property has a story of how God was faithful to provide. It's honestly an amazing place, and I'm so thankful for the time I get to spend there.
Paulien uses a home school curriculum with these kids and she is very dedicated to see them succeed. She does a really good job with all of them.
Helping out there is always fun, and there is always something to do with that many kids living there. I've done everything from sweeping porches, to laundry, to helping kids in the classroom with their work. Its a blessing to me to be there, to see the kids' smiles, and the faith of Sara and Paulien. And I just pray I am even in the least bit a blessing to them.

Thanks for reading.:)
-mad*

Here are some pics of the orphanage and the kids:

Well..

I am new to this whole blogging thing, but I want to be able to share about the missions work me and my organization are doing. So, bare with me as I figure this out. But I hope you can get a peak into my life as a missionary on the border. Even though its hard at times, I know this is where God has called me and my family and I love it.

God Bless.

-mad*