Fishers of Men Blog

God is Faithful - by Diana Zaragoza

2012-01-27T18:29:00.001-06:00

Our second eldest daughter, Diana, has her own blog: what-faithcando.blogspot.com. For the last month or so I have wanted to republish her most recent post. When I went to copy it here today I had to laugh because my most recent post was about God's faithfulness and this blog post from Diana has the same theme! It is so neat when God weaves things together! He certainly is faithful! Enjoy Diana's blog post and I encourage you to follow her blog yourself! (At the end enjoy a few pictures of Diana throughout the eight years she has been our daughter!)

Hello brothers and sisters,
I ask an apology for not writing sooner. What happens is that it takes me a long time to write because I have to think in English.
I want to tell you that many things have happened. As you know, December 10th was my birthday, and like every year, many thoughts come to mind. I remember my past and everything that happened to me. I know that my birthday should be something to rejoice, but there is so much I have to heal. For example, I do not like the idea of having to spend a weekend with my birth mother, I hate having to look into her eyes and see the pain she has in her heart. I hate having to remember everything I saw, heard and lived with her. My mom (Julie) told me I have to allow God to restore my life and heal the wounds in my heart. But guess what? I did not listen to her and I thought she was crazy. But, she is right! Time is passing, and I am realizing that while I'm stupid and I keep resisting for God to heal my heart, Satan is having a party.He is making fun of me, of my pain and I'm sure he is saying, ¨ If I could not see her prostituting on the streets, taking drugs, drinking beer and dead, I´ll see her suffering every time she remembers her past. Where she came from and what her God allowed to happen¨ I can hardly recognize that God allowed everything that happens, because He is faithful and I know He has something wonderful for my life. Satan can no longer harm me because I am a child of God. He is my Savior, my Refuge, my Strength, my Life, my Lord, my all. The Bible says ¨I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, And that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me. Psalm 119:75¨
Don't you think it is wonderful that God loves us so much that in His loyalty He afflicted us so that we can grow? I think so. God is so great that he knows what is best for us. He loved me first, so I must love my mom. He forgave me first, so I must do the same thing to her. God died for all people, He loved the whole world.He makes the sun rise for fair and bad people. He sent his Son Jesus to pay for the sins of all people. So why not love those who hurt me? It is very difficult to accept that I have to love and forgive my mom, but I know is the right thing to do. I do not promise that I will not think about my past. But I do promise that I will not let Satan use my past to hurt me. No, not anymore. I ask you guys to pray for me and my family. God is good with us, we are great here at the Refuge, but we (all of us) need God to heal our hearts, so that we can be and do what He wants us to be and do.
Love you guys lots, God bless you and your families.
Diana♥

Diana age 9 - the day she joined our family in March 2004

Diana is very creative! This is one of my favorite pictures from several years ago when Diana rigged up a metal washtub hanging from a tree to read a book to Josiah!

Love her kisses!

God's princess Diana...and ours too!

God's Faithfulness

2012-01-25T09:55:00.002-06:00

This past weekend, Victor and I had the opportunity to attend a retreat sponsored by the association to which our church here in Mexico belongs. I thank the Lord for the beautiful, encouraging and refreshing fellowship we experienced with believers from Canada, the United States, all over Mexico and even Bolivia!

One of the moments that most stands out in my mind occurred during the opening worship service. The worship team began singing a Spanish worship song, "Tu Fidelidad" ("Your Faithfulness"), and my mind was flooded with memories!

(This is a portion of that song during the retreat this past weekend. I didn't upload the video because we sound wonderful, but because it is heartfelt worship to the Lord with my siblings in Christ!)

That song was the very first Spanish worship song I ever heard! I was 17 years old and spending one month serving at Mission Mazahua here in Central Mexico with Norberto and Lisa Cortes. I was sitting in the dining room of their home, a converted mill at an old ex-hacienda, diligently transferring addresses and contact information of donors from 3X5 cards into Lisa's computer. One of their children came along and put in a worship tape (no Cd's then!) of Marcos Witt, a pioneer in Latin American worship. The sounds of "Tu Fidelidad" floated through the air, and I was hooked....on Jesus, on Mexico, on worshipping Him in Spanish, on serving Him...on life!

Over the years I have sung this song numerous times, but it seemed to "hit" me once again during this retreat. Here I was, singing "Tu Fidelidad" once again in Mexico, 18 years after hearing it for the first time, but now smack dab in the middle of all the Lord had only planted in my mind so many years ago! During those 18 years I graduated from high school, graduated from college, made numerous short term mission trips to Mexico that confirmed the lifelong call God had placed upon my life, went through thousands of flashcards to memorize Spanish vocabulary (knowing that my future life and ministry would come to depend on my ability to communicate in Spanish), met my husband, got married, started a Spanish-speaking church in Indiana, foster parented six children in two years, had Josiah, left all that behind to follow God's call to Mexico, began Fishers of Men and can now look back on the last 8, nearly 9, years of ministry here in Mexico and see His faithfulness in transforming an overgrown hillside into Refuge Ranch, growing the crusade schedule from 1 to 11 or so each year, raising up staff to support the ministry, providing for each and every one of our needs, loving, forgiving and teaching us in, and despite of, our humanness!

Singing "Tu Fidelidad" this past weekend seemed almost like a bookend experience enclosing my life from the first time I heard that worship song to now, actively living out day by day what used to be only a dream! God is truly faithful!

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,

according to his power that is at work within us,

to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus

throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

Ephesians 3:20-21

Below you can listen to the original version of the song sung by Marcos Witt. Here is the English translation of the words:

"Tu fidelidad es grande - your faithfulness is great

Tu fidelidad incomparable es - your faithfulness is uncomparable

Nadie como Tu - Nobody like you

Bendito Dios- Blessed God

Grande es tu fidelidad - Great is your faithfulness"

2012 Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusade Calendar

2012-01-17T07:13:00.000-06:00

New beginnings! What a gift from God! January always feels so fresh, hopeful, forward-looking! I am even more grateful for the new beginning of each day! There are days that, as they draw to a close, my thoughts become: "Tomorrow is a new day!" Thank Jesus for his mercies and compassion that are new each day! ("Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23)

We also praise the Lord for all that He has done in the past! Having watched Him work, move and save gives us hope that He will continue to do so, and even in greater ways, for we know that He is capable to do "more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" (Ephesians 3:20).

In 2011 the Lord allowed us to visit 24 different communities throughout the country of Mexico, bringing physical hope and healing through the loving touch of the volunteer doctors, dentists, nurses and others, while giving spiritual hope and healing through the loving touch of Jesus Christ. In these 24 communities, Fishers of Men volunteers, by the grace of God, ministered to a total of 8,235 individuals! One of the identifying factors of the Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusades (EMMC's) through Fishers of Men is that we share the gospel individually with each crusade attendee as they wait for their prescription to be filled. In this way, we assure that every single person who attends a crusade hears the Gospel message, while also attending personally to their spiritual and emotional needs. We do not attend to them in group medical appointments, (Can you imagine that? Ten people seeing the doctor at once when each of their situations is unique and needs a unique approach and treatment plan?) and we have felt called to not attend to them in group spiritual appointments either. Of those 8,235 individuals attended to, 2,456 prayed to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

If you want to "see" more about the Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusades just click HERE for a short description of the EMMC's and some accompanying pictures. I would also encourage you to visit our website: fishersofmenmexico.org to watch either of the two videos along the lower right hand margin of the home page: "Introduction to Fishers of Men", which lasts less than 3 minutes, and/or "Music Video of the Ministry" which features the original Fishers of Men theme song with accompanying ministry pictures.

We know that the Lord has great things in store for this year as well, and we want to invite YOU to be a part of that! Following is the 2012 Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusade calendar.

1) First, please keep each of these crusades in prayer as we prepare for them, travel to the crusade location and minister to the local people. Please pray that the Lord would touch hearts for salvation and transform lives both for the here and now and for eternity!

2) Secondly, please prayerfully consider the possibility of financially supporting Fishers of Men in order to help us effectively carry out each of these crusades. Crusade costs range from $1800.00 to $2800.00 per crusade, depending on the crusade location and length of the crusade. You can give right now by going to the Fishers of Men website and clicking on the PayPal Donate button.

3) Thirdly, we would love to have you along on a crusade! If you are a doctor, dentist, nurse, pharmacist, therapist, or work in any other medically related profession, we would love to have you along! If you are a mother, student, teacher, pastor or any other non-medically related profession, we would love to have you along! In other words, if the Lord lays the burden on your heart to come to Mexico, love its people, and share His grace with them....we would love to have you! Please contact us at: fishersofmenmexico@gmail.com to let us know so that we can help you plan an incredible experience witnessing God work firsthand!

Thank you for partnering with us in filling up Heaven just a little bit more!

2012 EMMC CALENDAR

Acapulco, Guerrero	January 23-26
Acatlan, Puebla	February 21-25
Puerto Vallarta and Colotlan, Jalisco	March 12-20
Janitzio, Michoacan	April 23-28
El Chilar, Oaxaca	June 18-23
Tijuana, Baja California	July 23-28
Zapotitlan Tablas and Olinala, Guerrero	August 20-25
Guanimoro, Michoacan and San Felipe, Estado de México	September 3-8
Cancun, Quintana Roo	October 15-20
Loma Bonita, Oaxaca and Covarrubias, Veracruz	November 26-December 2

Christmas with 18

2012-01-10T06:58:00.001-06:00

I have aproposition for a new reality show….”Christmas with 18!” I praise the Lord for the Christmas seasonthat He gave us this year! It certainlybeat last year when I was in bed for an entire month over Christmas and NewYear’s with Hepatitis A!

This year Ihad a special desire for the kids to be able to purchase Christmas gifts forone another, but that desire required money! God was so faithful in providing a special Christmas offering from asupporting church that allowed us to carry out this small adventure! (Thank you McCord Rd. Christian Church family!)

So, oneevening we had a name draw where each child drew two names of their siblingsfor whom they were to buy a gift. Thenext day, while Victor was on crusade, I set out to the dollar store about 30minutes from Refuge Ranch with all 18 kids. We divided up into teams and the kids set out to find the perfect giftfor their siblings. I could not haveasked for a more wonderful day with them! They took care of each other, hid from each other in the aisles so thatthe other person wouldn’t see the gifts that had been purchased for him or herand had great fun! I gave them each a$100 peso bill ($10 U.S. dollars) to spend on gifts for their two chosensiblings and it was so rewarding to watch them use their math skills to makesure they didn’t spend more than their allotted amount. They each went through the checkout line ontheir own! By the time I got to thecashier she said: “They left the momuntil last!” I think we gave thoseemployees something to talk about over dinner that night! We had a great lunch at KFC (the cheapestfast food for so manyJ)and headed home to wrap, wrap and wrap! The kids wrapped their own gifts for one another and put them under thetree. The excitement level was at a max! It was breathtaking!

Angie and David wrapping their sibling gift exchange gifts!

Four year old Daniel with the gift for Lolis that he picked out and wrapped all by himself!

Lolis working diligently on wrapping a gift for one of her siblings! Wow!

Eight year old Miguel on the way to the Christmas tree with the gifts he purchased for two of his siblings! This was the first Christmas that he has truly celebrated!

In ourfamily, due to each of our child’s unique circumstances, days that are normally“happy” present a unique challenge: Christmas, birthdays, Mother’s Day (grateful to having me as their mom,yet secretly wishing that it wouldn’t have been necessary for me to be theirmom), etc. So, to watch the kids allowthemselves to laugh, give and receive was truly indescribable! Praise the Lord!

I spent theentire week before Christmas wrapping gifts with each of the children. They were thrilled to get a sneak peak attheir siblings gifts! On Christmas Eveday we had a great family dinner (the day for the traditional Christmas mealhere in Mexico...and I didn’t even burn the ham!), then had some fun devotionswith the Legend of the Candy Cane story and ended with our own fireworks!

Sparkler designs by the kids on Christmas eve! Great fun! (Our dog, Alpha, who normally is not allowed in the house, found his way in during the fireworks! He hated them:-)

The Christmas tree and stockings ready to go on Christmas Eve! (Oops, it was actually Christmas morning, I guess, because it was after midnight before everything was ready!)

Christmasmorning came with a gorgeous sunrise, clear blue skies and….warmth! For my first 7 years in Mexico I missed snow,but I have truly come to enjoy 75 degree Christmas days! It only took us a little over 2 hours to openthe Christmas presents….taking turns of course! What a huge blessing! Thank youGrandpa and Grandma Claassen, Great-Grandpa and Grandma Blom, Great-GrandmaClaassen and Upper Deer Creek Church! You gave our kids a blessed Christmas! For six of our children this was their first Christmas! It was not only their first Christmas withus, but literally the first Christmas they had ever celebrated, despite severalof them being 11 years old! Thank you,thank you and thank you!

Our Christmas present from the Lord, a gorgeous sunrise! Thank you, Jesus, from whom all blessings do flow!

After eight years of living in Mexico, I am finally starting to get used to the thermometer looking like this on Christmas morning!

Martita opening her new guitar! Now how are you supposed to disguise this gift! It was incredible to watch Martita enjoy Christmas! Praise God!

Two year old David got a new guitar too! He LOVES to worship! Watch out Michael W. Smith, David Zaragoza is on his way!

The beautiful simplicity of Caleb, his favorite present were the plastic model animals!

Our Christmas afternoon pinatas! Great fun!

And now, a special Christmas gift for you! A video of Joce playing the piano on Christmas morning before we opened presents! She had asked for weeks if she could serenade us before our present opening ritual/adventure/tradition/chaos :-) What a joy to be her mother!

I encourage you to continue to scroll down the page and read Ashleigh Weis' blog from last week. Although Ashleigh is no longer on staff, she visited our family near Christmastime in order to attend Adrian and Vero's wedding. As a friend and fellow missionary with whom I shared life for two years, I so appreciate her perspective. What I find so ironic, and encouraging, is that when she posted her blog I already had this blog written and waiting in the wings to post. You will discover that we both share about our family's unique emotional situation during traditional celebrations - something that we both desire to see restored in these precious children's lives. Well, each year, each celebration we get to see a little bit more of that restoration that has taken place. God is soooo good and what a huge privilege, honor and joy to be a part of that restoration process day in and day out, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year as my precious children's mommy! Thank you, Jesus!

"Christmas Time at the Zaragoza House" by Ashleigh

2012-01-04T18:56:00.000-06:00

Hello it’s me again! :) I asked Julie if I could blog again and share some of the things that I noticed about the Zaragoza family while I was in Mexico for Adrian and Vero’s wedding. She was very obliging and now here I sit typing.

Most of you know that I lived at Refuge Ranch for a little over two years. Most of you have also probably read in past blogs and emails that Christmas time in the Zaragoza house are often not quite as merry as you might find them in your home. Christmas time is family time. For children who have to face the fact that they don’t have biological family who want them this unearths feelings and hurts that get buried during the everyday monotony. They have to face the fact that they didn’t have Christmas before living as a Zaragoza. They missed out on years of “normal family things” and Christmas is one of them.

My first year in Mexico I got the whole family a gift thinking that it would be easier and less expensive since I really had no idea what to get each person. But as we lived day in and day out during the month of December and I watch many of the children not be able to embrace the festivities my heart began to pray for a way to help the kids engage in the joy of Christmas. I didn’t want them to miss more years before they embrace the joy and lived fully in what God was giving them now. A perfect example of this was while we decorated the Christmas tree that first year I was in Mexico there was one who adamantly refused to put a single decoration on the tree. There was no way they were going to participate in decorating the tree at all. My heart hurt for the pain that I know was causing this even if they didn’t understand the connection.

The following year I knew something had to change. I wanted my gift to be filled with meaning. I realized that it would probably not be received well but I had to start somewhere. God gave me the idea of giving each of the children a Christmas ornament of their own to put on the tree. Something to help them “own” a piece of Christmas. I didn’t want to just go out and buy some snowman ornament. That would be to easy and cheap on a significance level. I wanted this gift to be heavy with significance and love. While out shopping I found this little stand that was selling clay Christmas ornaments that were simple and really pretty. I bought enough for all of the kids and hand painted each one with their favorite colors giving them unique patterns. I also applied glitter for the younger kids to make them sparkle. I did some research and purchased a CD online with the families favorite Spanish christian artists singing Christmas songs. I was really excited! This was turning out good!

One of the Sundays before Christmas I put the music in after we got home from church as we were preparing/eating dinner. By the end of dinner all of the older kids disbanded to their rooms making comments about how the music was depressing and they didn’t want to hear it. Now, I will admit, for someone who usually listens to Christmas music in July while I am canning that was hard to take! Christmas music is exhilarating to me!

When I gave them their gifts there were several disappointed faces in the group. That was the last things they really wanted to get. Many of those ornaments never actually made it to the tree. They were taken to their rooms and eventually lost, hidden in the back of some nook or cranny or broken. Some of the younger kids played with theirs until they fell and broke as well. To tell you the absolute truth that doesn’t bother me one bit. I had made a little dent in something and I wasn’t giving up!

Last year I was living back here in the states. I went shopping and found ornaments for each of the children. I wrapped them all and wrote out a note for each of them. I boxed them up and sent them praying that the box would make it all the way to the Zaragoza family. God answered that prayer and I was very thankful.

This year I got to take the ornaments down! I picked them out, I wrapped them up and I had the kids open them one by one so that I could get pictures of them (which you will get to see in a minute). There wasn’t one face that didn’t smile. Not one! That surprised me! What a journey these young hearts have been on and what changes God has worked. It may seem like a small thing but when it is a natural response you know it is where their hearts truly are right now. They are learning to smile more, embrace family things, enjoy Christmas and in the process are being transformed into the likeness of our Savior. On top of all of that I heard several of the older girls humming Christmas songs as they were on the computer or working around the house. The very same one who thought it was depressing three years ago was humming “Silent Night”. It was springing up from within because they were choosing to allow God to replace pain with His joy.

Now for the promised pictures.

David

Ana

Ruth

Carolina

Caleb

Migel

Jocelin

Leo

Josiah

Fidel

Fatima

Alejandro

Martha

Lolis

Martita

Diana

Angie (not wanting me to take her picture)

Daniel

"Adrian and Vero's Wedding" by Ashleigh and Julie

2011-12-19T21:54:00.000-06:00

Well, I (Ashleigh) figured that there were so many of you who follow this blog that know Adrian and Vero that it would be a crime not to post about their wedding! :) Aren't you glad I thought so?

It took me almost an hour to upload the pictures but I think it will be worth the effort to take you on a little photo journey of the day. I will admit to you that I was skeptical as to how fancy a Mexican wedding would be because weddings don't seem to be that important within the culture. The 15th birthday is usually a much bigger occasion than a wedding (if a couple even gets around to having a wedding at all). I was greatly surprised and overjoyed when I walked into the wedding location. It was so beautiful and fairytaleish which, in my humble estimation, the bride and groom totally deserved. I was giddy with excitement for Adrian and Vero. I have watched their journey from almost the beginning and hoped for nothing but joy for them on this day. I wasn't the only one excited for them...all of the kids were amazingly obedient and helpful all morning as we prepared. The air was electric with excitement. Little ones were dressed in beautiful gowns and three piece suits for hours but played quietly and stayed in the house where they couldn't get dirty. All of this was accomplished with great attitudes. An answer to many of your prayers and a great gift for Julie! We even got through family photos without any bumps right before the wedding! (Which is actually another post with pictures that I will let Julie share later.)

The wedding site amid a canopy of avacado trees (The reception was in a tent directly behind this picture)

The aisle down the center. If you look close it is very mossy which added to the enchanted feel.

Inside the tent before the wedding. The really cool thing about the tent is that the lights were under a layer of sheer white fabric providing a lovely atmosphere.

I have rarely seen a bride smile as much as Vero. She was absolutely glowing.

All of the younger kids were the flower bearers. They had baskets of petals and distributed them down the aisle. It was the most adorable thing EVER!!!!!

This is approximately half of the "bridesmaids" with Julie playing the piano for the processional.

Vero walking down the aisle on her father's arm.

I love this photo. If any of you have met Adrian and Vero you will know that this picture shows their personalities so well. Adrian with a mischievious smirk and Vero with a winning smile.

This is most of the rest of the bridesmaids for the wedding. As you can see, all of the older girls were in the wedding. Angie, Diana, Martita, Lolis, Martha, and Fatima.

John and Dani giving them a Bible. (Dani is Adrian's sister) In Mexico they have a tradition of giving gifts to the bride and groom during the ceremony. All the gifts represent something about them and the hope for them as they head into the future. The bride and groom ask specific people in their lives to give certain gifts so that all of them are covered for the ceremony.

This is the giving of the unity candle.

Vero and Adrian blowing out their own individual candles to symbolize their unity as one before God.

This is another gift. We are told in scriptures that we are the salt of the earth. So, in keeping with that someone gives them two bowls of salt of two different colors (their's was pink and blue). They then pour them into a third bowl combining them together so that they cannot be separated and cannot be distinguished from each other. Again symbolizing their unity.

Vero's father praying over them as they begin their new lives together.

Adrian's father praying over him.

Rosa had the honor of giving the gift of the rings to Adrian and Vero. I love this picture because they are all three smiling. This was probably my favorite part of the entire wedding ceremony because Rosa is also so dear and close to my heart.

Rosa's daughter Marisol and her husband gave the gift of the "laso" to tie them together. It is two circles that are attached and they are ceremoniously placed over each of them.

The first kiss as husband and wife.

Walking back down the aisle through a cloud of bubbles!

Victor, Adrian, Vero and Julie

James provided the music for the reception with the help of his sister Elizabeth and Diana.

The bridal party helped serve the food so I got Angie to pose for a photo for me.

The first dance

Feeding each other cake

Their wedding was marvelous. There are hardly adjectives enough to describe the day. What is even more amazing is their testimony of allowing God to lead their relationship directly in front of all of the Zaragoza children at Refuge Ranch. Thier light shines so incredibly bright. Two amazing people united before God to serve Him more powerfully together as husband a wife. *great sigh of contentment with the day*

Julie's reflections on the day:]

It was so wonderful to have Ashleigh back at the ranch, even if it was only for a few days! For those who don't know, Ashleigh spent two years living at Refuge Ranch on staff and is a dear friend of our entire family, and now even of those children whom she had never met! It was also great to have her help on this blog...just like old times! But now, for a few of my reflections on this special day!

The anticipation building up to Adrian and Vero's wedding in our household rivaled the anticipation that the children feel for Christmas! We had been waiting for a loooong time (over a year?) for Adrian to actually ask Very to marry him and were all overjoyed when that finally happened! That event then initiated the race to plan the wedding!

Victor has known Adrian since he was an elementary school boy when they both attended the same church (the church where Victor accepted Christ and left the gang lifestyle behind). Then, upon moving to Mexico eight years ago, Adrian started attending the church we now attend because he had recently moved into that area of the city. We met Vero, who also attended our church, at about the same time.

They have both served on the Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusades (EMMC) for years now as volunteers. Their commitment to God, to each other and to Fishers of Men has gradually grown over that time to bring them to this moment where they are leaders of the young adult group at church, now are husband and wife, and serve full-time on staff at Refuge Ranch and with the Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusades with the desire to raise their family here at Refuge Ranch.

So, we love Adrian and Vero VERY much! Adrian spends a lot of time listening to the kids, playing with the kids and trying to help their creative ideas come to life (Karaoke parties, building swords and shields, etc.), besides serving as Victor's right hand man for anything and coordinating all of the local EMMC's. Vero serves on staff as a teacher in our homeschool, as the Spanish secretary for all of Victor's communications, and keeps track of expenses, as well as being one of my best friends. Whenever Victor and I need to be away, Adrian and Vero serve as substitute parents for the day (or overnight) and do a great job of maintaining our love and discipline towards the kids.

I hope that that background will help you realize how intimately involved our lives are with each other and, therefore, how special this wedding was for our family! As Ashleigh mentioned, I cannot stop thanking the Lord for the testimony that Adrian and Vero have been for our kids! All of our children (other than biological) come from broken homes. They have a very negative view of marriage, which is reinforced by television and other mass media sources, as well as, sadly, many of the people around them, even members of our own church. One of our passions is to teach our children purity and the importance of waiting for their future husband or wife. Nothing has supported this passion of ours in a more concrete way than watching Adrian and Vero's relationship grow and develop. Our children were able to see two young people love each other, care deeply for each other and grow in their relationship while they continued to seek the Lord above all else, serve Him faithfully as individuals and together and then commit to a lifelong relationship through marriage, all while remaining openly sexually pure.

The kids witnessed firsthand the freedom, joy and blessing that comes from doing things God's way as they saw all of the blessings He provided for such a beautiful wedding ceremony, fun reception, great honeymoon (we assume:-) and even an incredible apartment upon returning the the ranch (the Marshall's former apartment will now be the Tovar apartment). God's was is truly the best way!

So, this all resulted in a lot of primping, pampering and preparation! All of our boys wore suits, while I was worried about keeping any prospective ladies far away! All of our girls looked gorgeous in their wedding attire, high heels and their best hair days ever, while Victor was worried about keeping any prospective young men far away! David and Daniel, our two youngest at ages 2 and 4, could eat, sleep and play in their suits! They LOVE dress clothes and David actually cried the two times we had him try on his suit and made him take it off!

The ceremony was beautiful! Victor officiated the service, while I provided the music, with James' assistance. Angie, Diana, Martita, Lolis, Martha and Fatima were bridesmaids and David, Daniel, Ana, Carolina, Miguel, Jocelin, Leo and Alejandro served as flower girls and boys. Ruth helped carry in Vero's train.

The reception ended quite early as the wedding was held in a garden near the ranch and most people had to travel a decent distance to get there. So, by the end of the reception, the only ones present were our family and the young adults from our church. The music got turned up and we had a great time dancing to Christian remixes of some of our favorite Spanish worship music! The kids had a blast (OK, so the adults did too!)! It was great to watch Vero in her wedding gown dancing with our kids and knowing how much she and Adrian love the kids and how important that is for our kids to have positive relationship experiences, learn how to receive love and give it back. We were home around 9 p.m., but the kids felt like they had been at some wild party until late at night! It was just great!

Later today we will welcome Adrian and Vero back from their honeymoon and into their new life at Refuge Ranch as husband and wife! Praise the Lord!

The "NEW" and the "same old, same old"

2011-12-13T00:26:00.001-06:00

This week I am surrounded by NEW! This past Sunday morning our congregation bid farewell to our senior pastor, Ruben Mercado, and his family (including his 19 yr. old daughter, Abi, who has been our eldest daughter Angie's best friend for eight years!). They are heading back to their native Bolivia to continue pastoring there.

Then, Sunday night, our family and Refuge Ranch staff bid farewell to the Marshall family who are returning to Indiana to serve the Lord there after sharing their lives and love with us for the past two years. (This includes their daughter, Joanna, Angie's second best friend...so, you can pray for Angie this week as her two best friends have left Mexico to move back to their home countries!)

This coming Saturday our family and staff will be participating in a very important event: Adrian and Vero's wedding! Adrian and Vero have been on staff at Refuge Ranch and served as Victor's right hand team on the Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusades for several years now. They are dearly loved by all of us and serve as "surrogate" parents whenever Victor and I have to be away from home for a date, meetings, shopping etc. They will be married this Saturday, by Victor, and most of our family is participating in some way in their wedding. It is hard to tell if the kids are more excited about the wedding or Christmas!

Suffice to say, these three families are all heading into new experiences, new adventures, new callings. As I woke up on Monday morning, the only adult in the house with our 18 children (Victor is accompanying the Marshall's to the Mexico/U.S. border) I had this strangest sense of being "the only one". (Isn't that crazy how you know you aren't the only one experiencing a specific feeling or circumstance, but you certainly feel like the only one?) It was a sense of being "the only one" that wasn't facing something new. In fact, I was facing simply just trying to make the old better! Take the old, abused lives of our children and make them new; try to clean and repair the same old house that is getting too small for us in order to make it the best possible in which to raise our children; continue to work on a 13 year old marriage to make it better everyday, etc. I almost wanted to stay in bed:-)

Enter: the wonderful mercy, compassion and love of God! I marvel at the way He speaks to each of us in the midst of our own unique situations, circumstances and feelings. He immediately brought to mind Bible verses such as:

"It is through the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

(I had forgotten that this verse came from the book of Lamentations! Neat! When I was reminded of its book of origin I was even more encouraged because I had gone through my own list of lamentations that morning, just like this author, and had come to the same conclusion....keep reading!)

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." 2 Corinthians 4:16

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2

Through those verses the Lord assured me that I truly was not living the "same old, same old" thing day in and day out. Since His compassions and mercies are new everyday, life is new everyday! In Christ, there is no such thing as "the same old thing"! Praise Jesus!

He also reminded me, oh so lovingly, that He is making me new each day in my spiritual being and through the renewing of my mind, which then gives me the opportunity and power to make those things around me new. (Hence, James and Elizabeth get to repaint the first story of the outside of our "old" house! I mean, if we are going to take seriously this thing about making all things new then let's take it seriously!)

Now, the most wonderful thing about our Lord is that somebody could write a parallel blog about all the new experiences they are going through and the surrounding feelings of doubt, fear, having to depend on God in the unknown, leaving behind what is safe, uncertainty, etc., while I share about having to depend on Him to make the old new, to give the strength to be faithful day in and day out, etc. and He would bring to their mind and life verses to strengthen them and lift them up! The common thread through the seemingly opposite experiences, facing the new or having to renew the old, is that God speaks to us and walks with us through both the new and the old.

So, today I am excited about having to live the "same old" life because, in Christ, there is no such thing as "the same old thing". In Christ, there is only "the same old thing" being made NEW!

(Note: Some of you may be wondering how having 18 children could ever lend itself to the feeling of "the same old thing"? To a certain extent, you are right! There is never a dull moment! But even "never having a dull moment" can become "same old" without Christ! Here is a video I took Monday evening after supper to share with you a "typical" evening at the Zaragoza household! The two individuals on guitar are James, a short-term missionary from Oklahoma who joined the staff at Refuge Ranch in October and will be here until April 2012, and his sister, Elizabeth, who is here visiting James until Christmas. Maybe we need to move up on the priority list repairing Josiah's drumset?! Clarification: the kids are wrestling, not fighting! It is the almost nightly "after supper burst of energy". Enjoy! Suggestion: you may need earplugs!)

2011-12-06T06:44:00.001-06:00

The day after Thanksgiving, our family participated in another Zaragoza Family Tradition...the cutting of the Christmas tree! Traditions in our family are quite interesting because each year we have added new children to the family that are clueless about our family tradition! Besides that, the concept of a repetitive family tradition is quite the foreign concept for many of our children when they first join our family. For some of them, the only family tradition they have ever experienced has been regularly changing families!

We now go to the same tree farm every year on the skirts of "our" volcano, Popocatepetl. This time around, I think I will let that day's pictures guide us through the story.

The tree farm our family visits each year the day after Thanksgiving.

One of the attractions at the tree farm are bushes pruned into shapes of animals. The younger kids like to have their pictures taken with an "animal". This is Jocelin next to a deer.

Our middle boys, and Fatima, went prepared this year with their heavy artillery - Nerf guns! The tree farm provided the perfect place for an all out war and plenty of trees to hide behind and dodge between.

Ruth decided that this "bush animal" was sturdy enough to mount!

Alejandro's first Christmas with us and, actually, his first Christmas ever!

David is nearly almost always ready to strike a pose!

Carrying the tree from its place of origin to the van! Diana, Fatima, Angie, Jocelin and Miguel did the heavy work! David is literally sitting on the tree trunk along for the ride! Dad (Victor) doing his job best - supervising!

Time for a picnic! One of the reasons we like this tree farm is that it has a picnic area, a playground consisting of a series of swinging bridges that the kids love and a pine labyrinth that we love to get lost in!

Caleb on one of the swinging bridges.

Here they all are! Years ago, on a camping trip, we took a picture of the kids lined up sitting in a water trough coming out of a natural spring. Seeing this block wall reminded me of that...so we tried to repeat the adventure! Here goes! From left to right: David (2), Daniel (4), Ana (5), Ruth (6), Carolina (6), Caleb (7), Miguel (8), Jocelin (9), Leo (9), Josiah (10), Fidel (11), Fatima (11), Alejandro (11), Martha (13), Lolis (14), Martita (16), Diana (16), Angie (18)

So how did Victor take this picture?

HERE'S HOW!

Fidel and Victor attempting to make the tree stand up! This method didn't work. The tree is now in a paint bucket filled with rocks...and tied to the curtain rod!

Angie is our tree lighting expert!

Here Diana decorates with glitter a new tree skirt that Rosa made for the family.

Carolina decorating her first Christmas tree.

Leo decorating his first Christmas tree.

Martita blessed the family with cinnamon rolls! Do you see her "rolling pin"? When you have a big family you do things in a BIG way! Actually, we couldn't find our rolling pin and the Marshalls were visiting the pyramids that day so we couldn't ask for theirs, so Victor found a long wooden rod (curtain rod?) to use! Rule number one (and two!) in both missions work and large families - be flexible and be creative!

No big spiritual lessons came out of cutting and decorating a Christmas tree! Just the reality of the transformational power found in daily family living, loving...and the safety, security and predictability found in tradition!

One thing I did particularly enjoy that day were our "older" children (those that have been with the family longer), informing and giving a running commentary on this tradition to the "new" children. It warmed my heart that they truly do know what we do and why we do this every year and it really does make them feel special, safe and loved (even though some of them complain every year...that's part of the tradition too!)

Hey, just for fun...here is a bonus video! Last week Victor was on crusade and I was in charge of cooking! (Yes, the Lord does do miracles..the rice turned out great this time!) The kids always pitch in a ton! Well, one day, Ruth helped shred fresh cheese for tacos and broke into a nursery song that Rosa has taught her! Thought you would enjoy!

Thank You

2011-11-25T06:19:00.001-06:00

Riddle: What do purple sweet potato casserole and chest x-rays have in common? How about dental appointments and perfectly baked rolls?

Answer: THANKSGIVING AT REFUGE RANCH!

You may never have considered this before, but Thanksgiving is a strictly American (as in U.S.A., Mexico is in America too! :-) holiday! Thanksgiving takes us back to the very roots, the actual reason for the creation of the United States of America - the religious freedom to publicly worship and serve the One and Only Almighty God. Now, I like turkeys and all, but does it occur to the majority of the public that, despite being a delicious animal, having a very unique sound and a somewhat interesting appearance, they really do not deserve an entire holiday dedicated to them? That maybe there is another reason for Thanksgiving...aka giving thanks?

Thanksgiving was always been one of my favorite celebrations growing up so, despite the fact that it is not a Mexican holiday, I'm the Mom...so we celebrate Thanksgiving in the Zaragoza household and at Refuge Ranch!

Thanksgiving at Refuge Ranch

I remember one particular tradition growing up at my home church in Toledo, OH, where my father continues to pastor today. Near Thanksgiving the church would make available simple thank you cards to the congregation and encourage us to take several, write thank you notes to other church members and then give them to that individual at the Thanksgiving service on Thanksgiving morning. Remembering how meaningful that was to me, I took that idea and adapted it to our family. I printed up thank you cards the size of a business card (to save paper:-). On one side the card read: "Gracias a Dios y gracias a....", "Thanks to God and thanks to....here went a different name covering our entire family and staff" and the other side was blank in order for the giver to write his or her own message. So, since last week, at every meal, our entire family would write on several of those cards in order to have them ready by yesterday! (Do the math...there are 20 of us in the Zaragoza family and currently 12 individuals between the staff and their families!)

Carolina "writing" some of her thank you notes!

Dividing up the cards according to recipient!

Yesterday, after our Thanksgiving meal, we handed out the packets of thank you cards to each recipient. Wow! The power of a "thank you"! The dining room/warehouse became pretty quiet (hard to do with over 30 people present) as each individual read their notes, complete with beautiful personal notes for each of us from Lucy and even Joanna! Seven year old Caleb came up to me, wrapped his arms around my neck and mumbled through his tears into my neck: "The card that most impacted me was Diana's." Very little can touch a mother's heart more than watching one child positively impact one of their siblings! Victor, tough, in-control, former-gang-member turned Dad-in-bulk-quantities, even had to do his best to fight back the tears reading all the ways in which his children are thankful for him. Five-year-old Ana literally closed her little fist around her envelope and Lucy's note and did not let go of them for hours! I do believe we have just started another Zaragoza Family Tradition!

We decided to rival the attendance of the first Thanksgiving feast:

Attendance list:

The Zaragoza Family: Victor * Julie* Angie * Diana * Martita * Lolis * Martha * Alejandro * Fatima * Fidel * Josiah * Leo * Jocelin * Miguel * Caleb * Carolina * Ruth * Ana * Daniel * David (Those are all 18 Zaragoza kids in age order from oldest to youngest, in case you were wondering. That's how I make sure everybody is present at every meal and every time we go anyplace in a vehicle. I can rattle that list of pretty quick!) The Marshall family: Mark * Lucy * Aaron * Joanna * Refuge Ranch Staff Members: Rosa * Adrian * Vero * James Visitors: Mireya (a volunteer teacher at the Ranch three days a week) * Mireya's son Jorge * Mireya's son Joel * Mireya's father * Mireya's mother * Dr. Ariel (a volunteer dentist for the Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusades) - hence the dental appointments on Thanksgiving

Total attendance:33

This called for two 14 pound turkeys, 48 perfectly baked homemade rolls, 8 pounds of green beans, sweet potato casserole (It was purple! Did you know there are purple sweet potatoes? Well, there are! And they were the only ones available at market this week!), 2 gallons of Great Grandma Blom's Cherry Applesauce jello, corn casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, an international bean and rice dish made my James (our new 6 month staff member from Oklahoma - you'll meet him later!),deviled eggs (here they are "heavenly" eggs!) and eight pecan pies with freshly beaten whipping cream.

The Feast

Proof of the Purple Sweet Potato Casserole (Barney would have loved it!)

The Crushing Crew for the Pecan Pie

Victor - our official Pie Crust Pincher

Jocelin making Great Grandma Blom's Famous Jello

Great Grandma Blom - your jello was a hit, as always, especially with Ana who took the initiative to literally clean out the bowl with her fingers and tongue!

Fatima and David making up their own pie crust treats with the leftover dough.

Lucy did an incredible job making over half of these delicacies! Thank you, Lucy!

So, you may be asking, where do the chest x-rays and dental appointments enter the picture? Well, these are both related to our four year old son Daniel who has several major congenital heart defects. (Check out the blog previous to this one if you missed it!) We received a phone call this past week from an organization in central Ohio that has begun exploring the possibility of finding a doctor to perform a heart cath on Danny in the U.S. and see if he is a candidate for any type of surgery or to confirm our suspicions that Danny's case is truly beyond human medical capabilities. The leaders of this organization will be meeting this coming Tuesday to discuss Danny's case. (see note at end of blog) However, as part of the application process we need to prove that Danny does not have HIV, Hepatitis B or tuberculosis. The only way that our local laboratory has to check for tuberculosis is a chest x-ray! Hence the trip to the radiologist on Thanksgiving!

Danny also needs to be free of tooth decay if he is to be seen for his heart/lung conditions. Hence, the visit from the dentist to clean his teeth and do several fillings!

So, yesterday, while we were picking up the house, finishing up the corn casserole, and organizing literally hundreds of thank you notes, we were also sending Adrian with Danny to the radiologist. Before we could set the table for our Thanksgiving feast, Dr. Ariel had to take down his dentist chair from having attended to Danny in the dining room/warehouse/and now dental suite. In the midst of great joy, commotion, and thanksgiving we were attending to our son's fatal condition...and it all seemed normal! Now that is the power of God!

David beat everybody to a nap by falling asleep during the Thanksgiving meal!

Fatima, James and an after meal game of Guess Who?

Jorge and Diana playing around at the piano.

A star dish crew!

Martha, "the UNO queen", challenges her opponents...and wins!

Last night, as I put the kids to bed, Angie, our eldest said: "I love Thanksgiving!" My heart swelled within me! They're infected with the Thanksgiving bug! Yeah! Success! Angie was present at our first Thanksgiving eight years ago or so where my mother and I mounted a herculean effort to start the Zaragoza family Thanksgiving tradition and introduce Thanksgiving to our adopted children who were clueless about the point of eating turkey and wearing bonnets and feather headdresses while doing so!

Memories of our first family Thanksgiving six years ago - Angie, Ruth and Josiah!

A big bonnet with a little bit of Martha beneath and Diana!

Maybe she loves Thanksgiving now because we have dropped the bonnet and headdress tradition!

Extra note: Please be praying for the right decision to be made about Daniel's medical treatment (again!). I spoke with the director of the organization on Wednesday. She told me, once again, what we have heard time after time: that Danny's defects are extremely complicated and serious, that only a handful of surgeons in the entire country have the expertise and experience to operate on him, and that surgery would cost over $1 million (which our prayer is that the hospital and physician would donate). I was encouraged that she shared that the focus right now is on presenting Danny's case and simply praying, fervently, that God's will for Daniel would be revealed. My heart literally rested at hearing her emphasis on prayer, God's will and putting Danny in the Lord's hands. We had pretty much decided that surgery was out of the question for Daniel and had resigned ourselves to enjoy each day, each miracle day with him, until Jesus takes him home. Now, the door towards surgery has opened a very slight crack again. So, please join us in prayer that God would move in accordance with His perfect will as Danny's case is reviewed this week. If God wants Danny to be operated on, no matter the outcome, because that would bring Him the greatest glory: then may He open the doors and show us clearly to walk through them. If surgery is not His will, may these doors be clearly shut, again. Makes me wonder: "Then, Lord, why even open up this crack of an opportunity, only to shut it again?" When I ask that, the only answer is, and has been, and always will be: "Trust me, precious daughter, just trust me."

TO GOD BE THE GLORY AND ALL THANKSGIVING!

A Letter to Daniel

2011-11-22T05:15:00.002-06:00

These thoughts originated on October 20th, Daniel's fourth birthday,

but just now have found their way to cyberspace and your hearts! Enjoy!

The first picture we ever saw of you: "our Daniel"

My dearest Daniel,

Today is your fourth birthday! Wow! Four years ago today, what was I doing? I don’t know. I certainly know that I had no idea that my son was being born, but Jesus sure did! Thank the Lord! Oh dear Daniel, what was that day like? Where were you born? I don't even know that! I can nearly guarantee that your birth didn’t take place in a government clinic, much less a private clinic and forget the possibility of a hospital! Most likely your birth took place in the home where your mother was living, hostage to her own mother and her step-father, your own father, who is also your grandfather! This world is nuts, but I am so glad that Jesus makes some sense out of our nonsense! And I sure am glad that you being part of our family was one way of God making sense out of a senseless world!

Was your mother alone? Did your grandmother attend to her? Did your father/grandfather smile?

Daniel, did your mom have any idea that her precious little boy had only half a heart? Were you precious to her or a cruel reminder of the incest she had suffered time and time again? Were your fingernails and lips blue when you were born like they are now? How did you even manage to catch your first breath? How? You may not have been attended to by any doctor and probably not even by a nurse, but you sure were attended to by the angels themselves! Your life is proof of that!

Oh, Daniel, I have read blog entry after blog entry of babies born with your same principal heart defect, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. Words cannot describe the difference between their births and yours! Teams of doctors, surgeons, specialists, neonatal nurses, IV towers, medications, breathing machines and every tube, wire and connection imaginable were at hand for that crucial moment of passage from womb to world. Their parents had read about the defect and prayed for months. As their babies were born, they were whisked away from their mother’s arms into the expert’s hands and knowledge. You were delivered into the hands of God himself who has kept you breathing and your enlarged, half-heart beating until today…four years later.

You were not whisked away from your mother’s arms, those hands willingly handed you over! Within two weeks of birth those babies underwent their first surgeries to create new connections in their chests in order to bypass their defects. When you were two weeks old, what was your life like? I don’t know much, but I do know what I saw when I met you. At nearly two years old you were deathly afraid of chickens and dogs, the result of sitting on dirt floors and being repeatedly threatened and accosted by those animals. The first night I put on your pajamas and rubbed lotion into your little feet, I was shocked by the thick, elephant-like skin covering your ankles and the sides of your feet as a result of pulling yourself along the ground to get where you wanted to go, since you didn’t walk until you were nearly two!

How you love hearing “your story” about Hermana (Sister) Maria! The phone call: “I have a little boy who needs a family, would you be willing to be his family?” “Of course!” was our response without any need for deliberation or "weighing the costs".

Missionaries Maria and John and their baby Hannah with Daniel. Daniel lived with them for two or so months.

The first meeting: seeing you in the same infamous white crib that had stared at us from those first pictures we had ever seen of you, wanting to run and hold you, but not wanting to scare you out of your wits at this big white lady barreling towards you!

The white crib picture

The next morning, after having spent the night in a hotel away from you, we walked into the living room and I gathered you up in my arms. I quickly pulled out a change of clothing and a clean diaper to get you cleaned up and ready for the first day of the rest of our lives together. As my hand rested on your chest, panic consumed me and shouted at me to leave that house running with you in my arms to the nearest cardiologist as your heart felt like it was going to pop right out of your chest it was beating so hard! But, sanity came over me and I simply changed your diaper and hugged you.

Then, a moment that is forever engraved on my heart and in my mind: Maria had already told me that for the month that you lived with them, she would ask you, “Where is mommy?” You would look around absently and point into the empty space around you, directionless. Well, Daniel, that morning, you were sitting on my lap, after having spent no more than a total of an hour together, when Maria walked into the living room and asked the usual question: “Where’s mommy?” You promptly turned out and pointed your precious little finger right at my chest! She and I were speechless and my heart lept for joy! You were mine, truly mine! You knew it and I knew it! We both had caught on to what Jesus knew all along – Danny was just for us!

The "Mommy Moment"

Just a few hours later, we both stood outside a wooden shack and I met your birth mother for the first time. She reached her arms out to carry you and you turned towards me, grabbed my neck and hung on for dear life! I don’t know what was going through your little mind, but it took you less than half a day to figure out who mommy was!

Daniel and birth mother

Daniel, I don’t know how many more birthdays we will have together. I know that getting to this one was a miracle and that every single day we witness more miracles as you continue here with us. Every night, the last thing I do before going to bed is go into your room, reach down and rest my hand on your chest. I have to hunt for David’s heart, but not yours! One night, in the dark, I reached down and thought: “Wow! Daniel’s heart beat is a lot less strong than normal, maybe Jesus has fully healed him!” Then I realized that in the dark I had laid my hand on your back instead of on your chest and I was feeling your heart beat through your back! So, I now make sure I find your chest first, feel your heart beat and always pray: “Lord keep his heart beating until morning. (As if I keep your heart beating during the day:-) OK, Lord, so keep it beating until it is your will that it beat no more.”

He’s getting an incredible place ready for you and as soon as that last coat of paint is on your mansion, you will be going home! Only Jesus knows when that will be. For now, we loved watching you blow out that number 4 birthday candle and, Lord willing, will watch you blow out many more birthday candles, oh precious one!

Love,

Mama