Change...a constant here at CVE.
However, I think right now we are going through more change at one time than ever before.
What are some of those changes you might ask?
Well, to go back to June...on the 21st we rejoiced with Limón and Kristi as they welcomed little Soraya Grace into their family. Soraya arrived healthy and weighing in at 7lbs 7 oz, measuring 19 1/2". Praise God for her safe arrival! I realized that I don't have a single picture of her, but you can check out the Leman's blog HERE to see how sweet she is!
Please keep Limón and Kristi and their boys in your prayers as they adjust to this new, precious addition to their family!
Not two weeks later, we said goodbye to one of our houseparent couples and their children.
Keith and Emily, Kaleigh, and Brielle have been part of our CVE for nearly 3 years (most recently) and actually, Keith and Emily both worked here back in 2006 when they were single. They spent the last three years as houseparents for our older girls and now have transferred to the Leo area.
Keith and Emily and family, we miss you and are so thankful for the time you spent here, the love and time you invested in the girls you cared for, and for joining us in the battles that we have faced. I know that you will continue to support us in prayer with an understanding of what we are going through that goes beyond most. We look forward to seeing how God uses you in IN and also to the future when you are able to come back to visit!
Please pray for Keith and Emily and family as they transition back to life in the States. Despite what you might think, transition returning from the mission field can be much harder than the initial transition to the mission field. Pray that they will feel the prayers and support of family and friends, find their niche in Leo, and have opportunities to share all the God has taught them in their years of service here in Mexico. You can also pray for Kali (previously their assistant) and Pau (previously our Spanish teacher and a mentor for one of our oldest girls) who are taking over Keith and Emily's position.
Another change: the addition of 3 new faces for the summer!
In June and the beginning of July, we welcomed Heidi, Alyssa, and Lisa to our CVE staff. These ladies have been great taking on summer school, helping with the reading program, driving kids to and from swimming lessons, caring for kids, ...you name it!
Alyssa, Lisa, and Heidi
Please pray for these ladies as they balance all their responsibilities away from home, in a different culture, surrounded by Spanish, within a new church family, etc. Pray that God gives them grace and strength for each day and draws them closer to Himself through the time they spend here.
Another change we are experiencing is the arrival of a lot of new kids! In the past few weeks we have had eight different children arrive including:
Mariela (8)
Belém (11)
Belinda (9)
Belém and Belinda are sisters and actually half-sisters to Fede and Jaqueline.We have known these girls for about 5 years which makes for a slightly easier transition as they join us on campus. Their older half-sister Daniela is a teacher her. Her daughter, Darilis (1.5), is also staying on campus (with Jodi) while Daniela is at training this summer in Hermosillo.
The next five kids are siblings and children we have known for more than a year. The situation they were living in was horrible and we are so thankful that God has pulled them out of it! Their ages are estimates because I don't think any of them have birth certificates. The youngest of this sibling group, a 10 month old little girl, is currently in a hospital in the capital because she was in level 3 of starvation.We are hopeful that she come back to join her siblings soon!
Fernanda (7)
Tadeo (6)
Tadeo is handicapped and also is suffering from severe malnutrition.
Perla (4)
Leobardo (3)
Milagros (Miracles) 10 mos.
...in a lot of ways it is a miracle that she has made it this far in life!
All of the five children before Milagros (the baby girl) was taken to Hermosillo.
All of these new children are living with Jenna, at least for the present. Here is a current picture of her expanded family: (that I am stealing from her blog...thanks, Jenna and for the last two pictures as well! :) )
Please pray for Jenna as she adjusts to caring for these precious souls. Please pray for her kids as they transition to a new home and our CVE family. Praise God that their physical needs are being met; please pray that God will help us meet their emotional and spiritual needs as well. We of ourselves have nothing or little to offer, but we know WHO does. May they each be pointed to Him!
So, with all the above changes (and I am sure that there are more that I am forgetting) there have been lots of role/job switches and/or shuffling of living arrangements, etc, There really isn't a "household" that has not be touched in one or many more ways by it all. Through it all we are reminded that God has a plan...for CVE, for each of our kids, for each staff member and family. He knows what is best for us and will accomplish that in the way and time that He sees fit. It is a growing a stretching time for all of us, but not without purpose.
Please join us in praying that God's purposes for all these changes are accomplished to His glory!
Lest our changes end there...I will add that right now and through the next few weeks, we have a lot of staff on vacation or traveling. This brings more shuffling, additional responsibilities, and particularly a lot of kids without their usual caretakers.
Please pray for God's hand over it all, that He would go before us and prepare the path that we are to take. Please pray that our kids would feel God's peace and security amidst so many changes and things out of routine. Please pray for wisdom, discernment, and God's direction in our daily decisions and discipline of the kids. Pray that we would not forget, even as crazy as things can get, to stop and spend time in His presence, that we would rely on His strength and guidance and not our own.
On another note (a just because this post isn't quite long enough ;) ), please keep our Board of Directors in your prayers as they plan to meet here in Magdalena a week from today.
THANK YOU for praying!!!
Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: Jeremiah 32:17
