Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Construction on new orphan facility #1

Hello my friends,

I wanted to take a minute and update you guys on the progress of the new orphan facility here in Teopisca, Chiapas. As I told you in an earlier email, we broke ground on the facility on Thanksgiving day. We have been steadily working on the first phase over the last 3 weeks and we are making good progress. As you will see from the photos, we have received much help from little hands. I think that it is good that the little ones help out on the project as they will be able to look back and see that they had a part in constructing their new home.

We are further along than what the photos show but I thought that the number of photos was sufficient for this first post about the facility. I will try to update everyone on the progress of this new orphan facility on a more continual basis as this may keep everyone ´involved´ in the project with us.




The first 7 pics show the progress from day to day and week to week. It doesn´t look like much but when you consider the amount of time it takes to dig each hole and get everything marked out...it takes some time to get where we are now.

The pic with 4 of us digging in one spot was the groundbreaking on Thanksgiving Day.

The last pic of the first 4 shows all 17 holes that we dug out!!! I am glad that is over!!















































These 3 photos show us clearing off the land before we started marking the property and digging the holes....with machetes of course!!! No lawn mowers here!

























This pics show Señor Augustine, the main man in charge, getting everything ´surveyed´and ready to go...he has been doing this for 30 years now...since he was 14!












































This was the progress of the first hole I dug...and 4 1/2 hours later I was finished...man, if it had not been for my little helper Maki, I might not have have finished for another few minutes...so after you look at these photos of the progress in just one hole, you can see why it is good progress to dig 17 holes...most of the holes were over 3ft x 3ft x 3ft...
































































Some pics of various workers doin their own thing...









































































My Pastor C who is the man that adopts all this children....and Elias who just sold his business in Tuxtla Gutierrez to come here to Teopisca to work with pastor C and help with other ministries...















Rigoberto...one of the two young men that I disciple every Sunday night













Rigoberto´s younger brother Miguel...and Jerimias who was just saved about a year ago and attens our church...
















Here are some pics of all of the helpers working on the project........HEY who is that white woman in the middle of the photo...oh, that is Sarita´s mom who came to see what was going on in Teopisca...so we put her to work!!! That´s the way we do it down here...if there is an extra shovel, you better be ready to work...




























Kids being kids....
















And big kids being kids....Elias and his wife, pastor C and his wife , and then of course it is yours truly and my bride Sarita...or should I say it is yours truly, Sarita and baby Keeling!!!!























YA....NADA MAS!!!

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Praise God!!! Victor is free

Hello everyone,


I wanted to update you all on a situation that I informed everyone about many months ago. Back in September I sent out an email and asked everyone to pray for a fellow brother in Christ named Victor Hugo Velez Ruisanchez. In all reality he was kidnapped back in September and until last month he was being held in prison (without proof and without any hope...the police and judge had been bought off). When I say without hope I mean without any human hope for as we all know, there is always hope when belong to the Lord God, maker of heaven and earth. After all, the Apostle Paul does tell remind us in Romans chapter 8, ´if God is for us, who can be against us´. Well, Victor has been released and is a free man today. I will not go into any specifics about his release, but I will just say that God was working true miracles in this situation....in the courtroom and in the prison and in the lives of many people...amazing things that had no explanation!



Below, I have included some photos of Victor and his family along with Sarita and me. We visited them a few weeks ago and i was asked to share a word with the family and other friends from their church. The Lord blessed o9ur time greatly and since this time we have been able to visit with Victor and his family 2 more times. The man that bought off the pólice and judicial system has vowed before that if Victor did not remain in prison (he was facing 17 years) then he would go after his family, so in reality, he is not totally ´out of the woods yet´ as we would say. Please continue to pray for this family; specifally that this man and his family will continue to keep their eyes on the Lord Jesus as their only hope of making it through this trial. Also pray that they would have peace each and every day as it must be difficult to not worry about what may lie ahead as it concerns this evil man.




I have included the email that a friend of ours sent out back in September giving a few details about the kidnapping. If you want to know more then please read.







The Vélez family

Victor Hugo Vélez Ruisanchez, is a man, Christian, married with Martha de Vélez, his children are Yasmín 11y Victor 9 and Yaquelín 7, lives and his job dedicated on sale of sausage and ham in the city of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, in the Southern state of Chiapas in Mexico. Last Agust 27,he was captured illegally (without apprehension order) with the purpose of extorting to its family requesting money by his rescue. The plan from the kidnapers was frustrated then they took him to the jail of Torreón in the northern state of Coahuila with an order of apprehension with false accusation. (Chiapas and Coahuila are to 2,000Km. of distance) Accusing him to sexual abuse a woman on day 8 January 2007 and taken in opinion with false tests, where, supposedly it was found guilty. At the moment he is prisoner in the jail of Torreon. Day 11 of September will ask for the intervention of a federal Judge so that it analyzes his case.


Thanks to God he is not more directly into the hands of their detectors. Now he faces false demands and, apparently, the judge is accomplice of all that defamation.
Victor never has been before in the state of Coahuila, place in where is accused, and one of the many tests that it has to demonstrate his innocence is the following one:


Day 5 of January of this year, his wife lost a baby of 3 months of pregnancy, and needed that they did a surgery to her, Victor signed the authorization so that she had a surgery and he himself in the evening signed the discharge of the same surgery day 8 of January. In addition there are witnesses who know that Victor took and gathered (8a.m and 1:30 p.m.) to his children to the educative center of the church where are studying his children.


During this situation, between his detectors, Victor detected an accustomed man to make damage to that considers its enemies. A long time ago he made businesses of transaction with him but they were not well, then when it retired and he did not want to sell plus his nutritional products, the man swore to take revenge itself in the future of Victor. Martha and Victor adjudge all this badness to that man.


It has been difficult to face our friends these difficult moments of uncertainty and pain, but, Thanks to God, Martha and Victor recognizes the sovereignty of God in these circumstances and knows that it is a good time to know God of one more a more real form. Victor every day shares the love of God to his companions in the jail and the other prisoners respect him and request advice counseling every day.


Dear brothers and friends we requested to you in the name of our Lord Jesus who you cry out in pray so that justice in our Mexico is a reality for all the Mexicans.
To federal judge accepts this case and judges with justice.
So that Victor, its family and friends who we surrounded to him we pruned to see and to make the will of our God.


It is very easy to coldly judge from our position outside a jail and often to do judges to us and to say that it is “the consequence of some sin”
Nevertheless we do not have to forget the Jesus words: Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.


We requested to you in the name of Jesus take in pray these requests and you share with other this testimony, which we it Marrero family we have been direct witnesses of the way that God has been the Vélez family.
We thank for so many families who have been united in action and pray to this case, friends inside and abroad.
Thanks because God has heard our requests and has frustrated the plans of the malefactors. Psalm 3



In Jesus


Ramiro y Elisa Marrero











Sarita and I with Victor and his family outside of his home in Tuxtla...












photos of us all gathered together at a little reunion in Victor´s house...










me and my friendly translator José...











nothing more for now...

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Tabasco Flooding

hello everyone,


a few posts ago i showed some photos of the orphans and sarita and i picking up some items for the flood victims in the states of tabasco and chiapas here in mexico...(but i didnt get around to sending out this blog)...there was a big cold front that moved in a few weeks ago and it caused very heavy rains which continued for about 7 days...another factor that caused such flooding was that the damn way up stream of were the heaviest flooding occured had to be opened up and when coupled with the rain, it was way too much water to handle for that area...the water reached 18ft in some places and at one point the water rose 6ft in 30 minutes...dr. ramiro and i drove to villahermosa (a six hour drive from teopisca) about a week after it stopped raining but as you can see from the photos, there was still flooding going on and the cleanup had just started...dr. ramiro just went back to villahermosa this week to continue his efforts...he wanted me to go with him but i could not go due to other commitments...there are still over 1/2 million people affected...please pray that dr. ramiro and others that go to help this area are a great blessing to the people...


this is a link that shows a bunch of the damage that occured....it has way better photos than i took...


http://www.terrelltimes.com/villahermosa.html



the lords blessings on you today and everyday...

lance and sarita




















































we came back the same day and dr. ramiro took me to a restaurant that served this mexican specialty...i think that you can say that i am now a true mexican as i eat about anything down here now...well not everyting...i still dont like mole'...