Will you….

Support Us?

So many of you do already.  You support us by reading this blog, by praying for us, and offering us encouragement when we really need it.  Some of you even offered to support us financially this year, which blew us away… since we have never really come out and asked.

3 years ago we moved back to Mexico.  We came excited, expectant and with some savings to carry us through the first year in ministry.  I served at an orphanage, running a daycare program for kids in the community and Saul was working in our local church.  We spent half of the second  year in Canada when Brielle was born.  Saul went back and forth a few times to finish a couple of jobs he had in Canada, and we had enough money to live off for the rest of the year while Saul built the house for Altagracia.

This last year has been really hard.  We joined a new ministry, and we are very grateful for the support they have given us but it’s not enough to make ends meet.  We lived off that, plus the support that started coming in (from new and old friends from our home church and others we have met here) and the rest by faith.  We have seen God provide for us in miraculous ways.  He has never let us down.   We have always had what we needed but it has not been easy.  Looking back I wonder how we made ends meet.  Well I KNOW how, there is no other explanation but that God made it happen.  Now with 4 kids under our roof, we realize we need to ask for help.  We know we are called to be here.  At this point Saul can not balance both an outside job and ministry.  We are asking if you would consider supporting us in our ministry here.  We would love for you to be more involved with what we do, by supporting us financially.  We just can’t do it alone.  We are so thankful we know so many others who are passionate about serving Jesus, and loving people like we are.

Maybe you know us from church, and have heard us share our hearts to serve the people here?

Maybe we met you here, this past year, and you got to experience hands on how we serve?

Or maybe you have never met us in person, but have gotten to know us over this blog and would like to be more involved?

One way or another God has placed you in our life, and we are thankful for you.

The cost of living here is very small compared to what it costs to live in Canada or the US.  What we paid for just rent and utilities in Canada, covers all of our monthly expenses here.

Would you support  us monthly?  If this is something you are interested in, our home church, North Edmonton Christian Fellowship (NECF), receives support on our behalf (all donations come with a tax receipt).

If you think God is leading you, your church or your family to support us in this way, it’s really easy.   You can send cheques to our home church at this address.

NECF

9004 153 Av. Edmonton, AB

CANADA

T5Z 3L6

You can write the cheques to the church (NECF) and specify that it gets to us.

Or you can do it online here.  Just click on donate now.  Click on Fund/Designation and choose “Saul and Amber” and enter the required info.

Every month, the church deposits what came in into our account.  So that’s how it works!

Thanks for considering our need.

Love Saul and Amber

Why “love is a lifestyle”?

I am a Christian.  I don’t like to say I’m religious.

To some, both words mean the same thing, but to me they don’t.

I simply believe in Jesus.

I believe He is the son of God.

I believe the Bible was inspired by God, and that everything in it is true.

That said, I believe that when Jesus said that the greatest commandment  (after loving God ) is “Love each other”  (John 13:34, Matthew 22: 38-39) I should do it.

Jesus  said

“So now I am giving you a new commandment:

Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:34 NLT)

my interpretation….

LOVE IS A LIFESTYLE

If I want people to know how much I love Jesus, I shouldn’t have to tell them, they should see it by how I live my life.

How does that look life for me?

It’s keeping my love for Jesus, the center of my life.

Loving my husband and my kids in a way that honors God not myself.

It’s in opening my home and my heart to the people God has placed in my life for as long as He wants them to be.

It’s having open eyes to the reality of this world.  To the parts I would rather not see, especially of those living is severe poverty both spiritually and physically.  But not just seeing… being willing to do something about it.  Even treating them like family, even though we have very little in common.

In giving forgiveness to the people in my life who have hurt me the most and least deserve it.

It’s in admitting I can’t do it on my own. That I am naturally selfish and sometime’s I just don’t want to love.  My own ugly sins gets in the way… especially my pride and desire to control.

Thankfully because of the love Jesus had for me… I can!  I can accept the grace, forgiveness and love!

I keep on receiving.  He keeps on giving.  I can pass it on.

LOVE

That is what I believe in.

That’s what Jesus asked me to do.  That’s how I want and choose to live.

because LOVE is a lifestyle!

Mud

We love mud.  Well, they love mud.   (yes she is trying to taste it)Who can blame them?  Speaking of mud. Sounds like my life right now.

Unclear.

Remember when I said how my life has been turned upside down?  Yep.  I really meant it.

Lots of things going on right now, most I am not ready to talk about yet.  

Nothing horrible, don’t worry.

Just lots of changes and lots of adjusting going on.  Keep us in your prayers.  Check in next week… I have some important things to talk about.  Until then…

Celebrating… La Independencia de México!

So yesterday was Mexican Independence Day.  Big deal around here.  The Mexican equivalent to Canada Day or Independence Day.  I just love how much culture is celebrated on this day.  It is so beautiful.    Basically the holiday is celebrated with many people wearing traditional clothing, authentic mexican food (so so good),  eggs to break, a  parade, and a few different events in the evening that include all the things I just mentioned plus entertainment, music and fire works.  There are a lot of people at these events.

Lots of fun.  We look forward to it every year.  The kids also had an extra day off school. It was a good and busy weekend!

(but I am kind of glad it’s over)Kayden insisted on wearing his pin with his poncho.  Funny!

This week…

I rearranged furniture (this is the before)

It rained. (my front street)

We jumped in.

I ignored house work and looked for new recipes.

Best globos find in a while…

Lots of smoothies!Circus

A little visit.

 

 

Watermelon popsicles.  Yum.

Looking forward to a long weekend celebrating Mexican Independence Day!

DIY: Small Storage Containers

I can not throw away any type of plastic.  I feel too guilty.  It must come from all those years of school learning the 3  very important R’s (reduce, re-use, recycle).  So that said, I have a rather large stack of yogurt and cottage cheese containers under my sink.  I was looking for something to fill these small spaces on my old ikea shelf.  The containers fit perfect.   Next step was making them look cute.  I used some wood patterned foam sheets I found awhile back at a craft store here in town.  I just knew they would come in handy for something.  I cut them to size, then glued them onto the containers.  Did you know that Mexican’s love glue guns?  Yep they do.  They use them for everything…. hemming pants, hanging pictures, you name it.  Glue guns save lives around these parts.  Including mine.  No wonder I fit in here.  Anyways… then I worked on adding a little of life to them.  I played around with some of my favorite scrapbook paper, doilies, and some letters I had printed off.  Last step was to paint the lids with chalkboard paint.  The containers are perfect for storing anything little, that you usually can’t find a spot for. Mine hold marbles, little army men, Nerf bullets, extra game pieces, and I can’t remember what else at this moment.  The labels written with chalk make it easy to remember what’s in each.  Cute small storage containers.  Done.

Love Wins

Recently I’ve seen horrific pictures of children living in orphanages in different parts of the world.  These are horrible places where kids of all ages are confined in beds or cribs for life, fed just enough to survive, and given very little (if any) love and affection.  Thankfully, the orphanage my kids spent so many years in was nothing like that.  The orphanage they lived in was beautiful.  They were always fed more than enough, and were well taken care of and even loved by many people.  I am so thankful for that.

But a Christian orphanage is still an orphanage.

It is not a family and it is not a home.

My 2 kid spent most of their lives with many other children. They were placed in a home setting with “parents” and at least 10 other kids or “siblings”.  Honestly, I think it’s pretty good, considering it’s an orphanage.  The idea of putting kids in a family setting is awesome…. they need it so badly.   The kids are moved within the orphanage a lot.  Kids and staff are constantly changing and consistency is practically impossible.  For Moi, who is only 13, it was no different.  After 2 years in the nursery where he was cared for by many different care givers he changed houses and house parents 8 times.

8 different parents. 8 different home atmospheres.  8 different combinations of siblings. 8 years of struggling to adapt to change.

There has been very little consistency in both my kids life.  Every one who has ever loved them has been there temporarily and for one reason or another has left.  I can not imagine what that must feel like.  How hard it must be to trust and to let themselves be loved.  What would love mean to some one who has never had the same “parent” for more than one or two years., or who’s real Mom only visits once every year or two.  How would that affect there self-worth?

Love would just be a word.

It’s just so wrong and unfair that any kid should grow up so confused and so hurt.

My heart aches just thinking about it.

God is teaching me more about what love really is.

I need  Him…. so that every day, with my words and actions, I can be and live out love, not just say and feel it.

I have so much to learn, and I fail so often, but I know with Him it is possible for broken hearts to be healed and restored.   I know that the kind of love He gives me is pure, strong and without any expectations or limits.  No strings attached.  That’s the kind of loved I am asked to give.  Even when it’s hard.  It is never too late for a child to learn what love really is, and it certainly worth the time and effort to live it out.  The love of my heavenly father has radically changed my life.  How could I not want to pass that on?  Love wins.  

New and Upside Down

My life feels like it has been turned upside down.  I just can’t believe how quickly things have changed in our home.  At this time last year I had 2 kids at home with me.  I spent lots of time in nearby communities, visiting people and helping where I could.  I could go where I wanted, when I wanted, bringing my 2 kids along with me. Now I have double the amount of kids, 3 of them in school.  We can’t even fit all 6 of us in our vehicle.  I am not  complaining about my new life,  I am actually really happy about it.  It’s just different.  New.  There is a whole lot of adjusting going on in my home right now.. for all if us.  New family member, new routines, new family dynamics, but thankfully not a new husband.  Not sure what I would do without Saul.  We are learning to work as a team like never before and are mastering our tag team parenting skills when one of us needs a break.  So glad we are in this together.  He is an amazing husband and father.  Love him so much!

I have been spending most of my time at home, getting used to all this “new”.  Thankfully the new routine has some rest in it, as it’s just me and Bri every morning for 3 hours.  It’s nice having some time just for us, and it recharges me before the chaos of the afternoon.  I am trying my best to get us all into a new routine, and establishing consistency.  I am even doing some reorganizing, getting rid of the “stuff” we just don’t need.  I hate clutter, and I am trying to omit it from our house…  but of course with 6 of us,  it will never happen!  So, for now, I am happy to decrease the amounts of it.  Trying to bring order and simplicity into what I can, since so many other things are out of control right now.  So that’s what’s “new” with us these days.

It’s not easy, but it is good.

Summer Colors

So summer “vacation” may be over, but summer the season is still going on strong around here.  

It’s hot… and I LOVE it!  

We have been spending extra time at the pool, enjoying the warmth while we can.  

Kayden’s best buddy Alex had a birthday pool party last week. Isn’t he cute!

I couldn’t help but capture the simple beauty of the afternoon.  I loved the colors!  I love summer!

First Week of School = Crazy

So this was my first time being a Mom that has kids to send to school in September (well August in our case). Most Moms get to ease their way into it, but not me. 3 kids, 3 different schools, and one slightly overwhelmed Mom.! My week was crazy. On top of what I would assume is the normal “back to school craziness” I had to start getting up again at 5:30, go to “parenting school” every morning this week at the Junior High, and also figure out what school is like in another country. Oh and 4 out of 6 of us has lice. Fun. My kids did great though. Kayden loves kindergarten and pretty much shoved me out the door. He was so excited and I couldn’t help but feel happy for him. He’s going to do great! Moises had a good start to junior high. He is happy to be reunited with lots of his friends from the orphanage who go the same school. Gloria just eased right back into her routine, like nothing. The early mornings are not so fun for any of us, but she never complains! And Miss Bri was a little sad to be left behind. She spent her first morning alone with me saying “Where’s Kayden?” and “I gotta go school too!” She’s adjusting fine though, especially since she gets me all to her self for a few hours.

All my kids did great. I probably had and still have the most adjustments to make.

So many things are different about schools in Mexico.
Did you know that…

• all kids in all schools have to wear uniforms?  It gets expensive!
• I got in trouble for spiking Kayden’t hair, I guess “crazy” spiky hair is not allowed?  Who knew?
• That in the junior high and high school they don’t have toilet paper or soap in the bathrooms.  Kids have to bring their own… so weird and gross! I send paper and antibacterial gel with my kids.
• Most schools have very few “extra” classes or activities so no art, music, band, drama, choir, home ec., gym or any other classes like that.
• most schools start around 7:00am and end at 1:00pm. but kindergarten is from 9am-12pm
• kindergartens are completely separate schools and….
• kids can go to 3 years of it if the parents want to send them, starting at age 3 (Kayden is only doing one, gasp).
• many junior high and high schools have 2 sets of staff and students, one in the morning and one in the evening. Simply because there are not enough school buildings for all the kids.
• when kindergarteners leave their school they are practically attacked by vendors trying to sell treats just outside the door. You can imagine the tantrums going on in that area. Shudder.

I have so much to learn about parenting school age children! I am looking forward to getting into a routine and enjoying every part of it!

I am not sure how I survived the week, but I am sure glad it’s Friday!
Happy Weekend!