"Crusade pics and Thanks" by Ashleigh

I always forget that the pictures load backward from how you enter them. So, these are actually from the end to the beginning but I didn't think you all would mind and since they take a while to load I didn't want to do it again. :)

Last week I had the honor and privilege to be on another crusade to the state of Guerrero (south of us).We actually worked in two different locations and the second one was Fidel's home town. He came with us on this crusade to be able to go back to his old stomping grounds. I don't actually know how it went for him as he is rather quiet and I didn't want to pry. I also figured since he probably would only open up and say anything one time it would be better if that was to his parents.

Also, my friend from Ohio came down and went on the crusade with me. She is a home health aide in the US and loved the opportunity to give shots and flush out ears and things that she would not legally be able to do in the US. :) The needs are great and we will take what we can get!

In all seriousness if you have not been on a crusade before you should seriously pray about coming for one. If you are willing for God to stretch you outside of your box and deepen you understanding of His heart for the nations a crusade is an incredible experience.

There are so many wonderful unique and amazing people that make up the core of our crusade staff. For instance, Becky goes on all of our crusades, is bilingual (Spanish/English), has an amazing passion for evangelism and is gifted in sharing about God's love to people. I watched her run after a lady last week, with great concern, who she thought had not heard the gospel.

Mariela and Martha both left a week early because of the great need for dental cleaning and dental prosthetics that were needed in that area. They sacrificed two weeks of their time to remote missions. Most of these people don't have steady jobs so they are able to consistently do crusades.

Dr. Escamilla is a retired military colonel who firmly believes in the power of God's healing. It is not uncommon to hear him tell someone to take a prescription and "in the name of Jesus" you will feel better. His own wife was healed of cancer. He has seen God's power first hand and is readily willing to share it with others.

Vero and Adrian are a young dating couple in the church who have been involved with the crusades for several years. They prep, pack, set-up, organize, facilitate administration, load and unpack when we get back, as well as a slew of odds and ends. They are both in a local seminary but are on a slower pace so that they can still be committed to the crusades. They both have a unique passion for ministry and evangelism that is almost nonexistent yet within the Mexican youth (as I have seen).

I don't have to mention Rosa as she is amazing here at the Ranch as well as on crusade. For instance, this last crusade we had to cook for aprox. 40 people over a wood fire outside for the week. That was our kitchen. And she doesn't just get by with it, she still is an amazing cook! She is a dear and treasured member of the team and I am confident that anyone would tell you that.

There are many MANY more. I wish I could tell you all about each one of them but that would go on forever and something tells me that might get boring. :) However, there is one more person that I have to tell you about. Her name is Norma. She is the local missionary contact for the location that we went to. She has been working there for 4 years be herself. There are several christian families now but in many ways it is still a discipleship relationship. She sees her family once a year at Christmas when she goes to visit them. They never comes to see her. They live north of Mexico City and it would be a good 12 hours of driving and possibly more. From what I gathered, they are not very supportive of her ministry. And yet, despite the challenges of being alone and having overwhelming needs all around you Norma can make you laugh faster then anyone else. She has a joy that can only come from Christ. If you think of her keep her and her ministry in your prayers. Pray that God will use the crusades to open doors for her and expand her ministry.

Dani, Dr. Escamilla, Ashleigh

Becky sharing the gospel with three ladies

Dr. Escamilla praying with a patient

Vero and Fidel

Dani with a new found friend!

For those of you who are keeping track of time realize that this will be my last post for Fishers of Men for now. I will be flying back to the states tomorrow morning with my friend Dani. However, I wanted to thank each one of you for your prayers, concern, love and blessings over the last two years. I know that I didn't fully understand how important each of those were before I came to Mexico. Know that you greatly impact the ministry and the lives here as you support in prayer, notes, and gifts. May God bless you multiply times over for your love for Fishers of Men!

Mispainted Nails and Excess Lotion

Throughout the week, I (Julie) set aside a half an hour for special one-on-one time with each child.

Mondays: Angie and Ruth
Tuesdays: Caleb and MarthaWednesdays: Diana and Lolis
Thursdays: Martita and JosiahFridays: Jocelin and Fidel
Ana and Daniel don't get specific one-on-one time with me, yet, because they get more time alone with me as I get them ready each morning, do baths and get them ready for bed at night.

During each child's time they choose the activity that we will do together. During a single week activities can range from soccer games to playing with Barbies, from bike riding to laying on the bed and chatting, and from building robots to coloring.

Last Monday, after supper, Angie and I prepared to spend our time together. She asked me if I wanted my hair trimmed. She is a good hairstylist, and I had been meaning to have her trim my hair for some time, so I said: "Sure!" Well, that little trim turned into a full half hour visit at Angie's Spa right in her bedroom! It was great! I got my hair cut and braided, my toenails painted and an incredible face and neck massage! The whole time we chatted, laughed and enjoyed one another's company.


Well, while I was enjoying the pampering, Ruth came into the bedroom, anxious for her time with Mom to start! She observed closely as Angie lathered her hands with lotion and continued my face and neck massage. Ruth noticed my newly painted shiny toenails and asked if she could paint my nails during our time together. So, Angie's time with me drew to a close and Ruth gladly took over! Let's just say that the two spa experiences were slightly unique!


First difference? Ruth decided that the fingernails on one hand should be blue and the nails on the other hand should be a deep purple. "A rainbow!"


Then, Ruth grabbed the lotion, lathered it onto her hands and continued my face and neck massage. She had watched Angie massage around my eyes and decided to do the same. The difference? Ruth asked me to close my eyes, filled her hands with lotion and started massaging my eyes! I gently, yet quickly, asked her to stop, as my eyes were going to start stinging soon if she didn't get the lotion off my eyelids! With my eyes still closed (to prevent the lotion from getting in my eyes), I asked her to please wipe off the lotion from my eyelids. There was a moment of silence and she sheepishly continued: "Mom, I can't! My hands are filled with lotion!" That crisis past, we enjoyed the rest of our time together!

Thinking back on my Monday evening adventures, I was reminded of our relationship with the Lord! Ruth wanted so much to be like Angie, to do the same things as Angie, just like Angie does them! She tried her very best, but while her attempts resembled Angie's efforts, the results were not quite as effective. We are much the same.

We see our Heavenly Father through His Word and want so much to be like Him. We try our best, but our efforts seem so feeble and our results barely reflect the perfection of our Lord! His perfect love vs. our selfish attempts at the same! His holiness vs. our constant struggle with temptation and sin! His wisdom vs. our limited understanding! His strength vs. our weakness!

Yet, despite the fact that Ruth's attempts paled in comparison to Angie's expertise, Ruth will keep trying! She will spend time with Angie: watching her, listening to her, learning from her and, someday, I will be able to visit Ruth's Spa and come out with matching nails and eyes that aren't stinging from excess lotion! Like Paul reminds us in Philippians 3:12-14, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

If I concentrate on all the bad decisions and missteps I have taken in life, much like Ruth's mispainted fingernails, or if I concentrate on all the eyes that I have made sting with an excess of critical words, like the excess of lotion on Ruth's hands, I will become so down and distressed that I will not be able to press forward toward the goal that God has set before me - becoming like Him! "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." (Romans 8:29)

Just as I enjoyed my multi-colored nails and the feeling of Ruth's little hands massaging my neck, so our Heavenly Father rejoices in our daily hunger and desire to be more like Him! As we spend more time with Him in prayer, reading His Word and stepping out in faith to obey Him, we will become more and more like Him and people will no longer say: "Look at Julie!" They will say: "Look at Jesus in Julie!" and, eventually, simply, "Look at Jesus!"

May we step forward in the freedom found in His perfect love! His grace, mercy and forgiveness are big enough to take care of some mispainted nails and excess lotion as we learn to be more like Him and have the privilege of giving this world a makeover!

Sunday...by Lucy

Easter Sunday was a very difficult day for me. I know that it was a couple of weeks ago, but I wanted to write and let you know my thoughts about it. I'm not sure why, but it seemed to be harder for me to be away from home on Easter than on Christmas. I think one reason I struggled was because I felt like we truly celebrated Christmas, while Easter went by without much notice. I missed the music, the sunrise service and breakfast, the fellowship, and the worship. I think mostly I missed the JOY I feel on Easter morning when I am greeted by people saying, "Jesus is risen! He is risen indeed!"

When you don't understand much of the language, going to church can seem overwhelming. It is probably the hardest day of the week for me. Relationships are built on communication, and our communication is still very superficial "table talk." I long to meet with people on Sunday that I have relationship with, that I can communicate with. Instead Sundays often feel empty to me because I feel nothing because I can't understand the message being presented. I long to know why people are going forward for prayer. I find myself going through the motions, but feeling no emotion. I have to force myself to go, to try to break through the language barrier, to build relationships with other believers here.

I have thought often, since moving here, about the different exchange students and people of other nationalities who have attended my home church. I wonder if they struggled to build relationships at Shiloh the way I struggle here because of the language barrier. I wonder if they wanted to give up and not go back because it was so hard. I hope they didn't give up. I hope I didn't discourage anyone from feeling the love of Christ there. Fellowship with other believers is so important. We have a common bond that hopefully pulls us together, despite the language barrier. That bond is stronger than anything that should be able to keep us apart. It is the love of our heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ.

I pray that this experience will make me stronger in my faith. But not only that, I pray that I will be sensitive to new faces at church, and help, rather than hinder, their fellowship with other believers. There are much bigger obstacles than a language barrier that keep people away from church, away from fellowship with other Christians. May we all look for ways to bridge those gaps and cross the boundaries to find fellowship with one another.

"But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His son, purifies us from all sin." 1 John 1:7

Unique

Life lately has seemed to emphasize uniqueness! The uniqueness of each day! The uniqueness of each individual! The uniqueness of each situation! The uniqueness of culture! Thankfully, we have a God who, while He made us each unique, He never changes! He provides a solid rock on which to stand and His unchanging Word with which to guide our lives! Only with that security, that unchanging assuredness, can we effectively face the uniquenesses that life throws our way!

Unique Individuals

Just yesterday I was laughing with my mom, who is here visiting for 10 days, about one of those differences. When Martha joined our family nearly six years ago she spoke no Spanish nor English, only Mazatecan Indian dialect. As she learned to speak Spanish, and then English, she had a real hard time putting the endings on words. We believe this is connected to a learning disability as she seemed to not even hear or distinguish ending sounds. We thank the Lord that this is a much lesser problem now. However, we have the total opposite situation with our two year old, Daniel. Due to the abuse, neglect and health challenges he has faced in his two short years of life, he is somewhat delayed in his speech development. The other day, as I washed his face, I said the word "soap" in English. He repeated it right after me, bathing me with spit in the process as he emphatically pronounced the "p" at the end of the word! When he calls out for Martita, all he says is "Tita", just the ending of the word! So, put Martha and Daniel together and the words will be pronounced correctly!

Josiah and Caleb form the same kind of team when they eat! We tease them that they help us save money because we can buy one sandwich for the two of them. Caleb will eat the meat and vegetables and Josiah will eat the bread and cheese!

Of course, each child has his or her own talents and abilities. Angie is a great organizer, guitar player, hairstylist and the family fashion consultant! Diana does a great job translating, helping to lead the dance team at church and playing piano and violin. Martita is very creative with hands-on projects like sewing, cooking and candle making. She is also a very effective communicator through writing. Josiah has an insatiable mind always wanting to learn more about the world around him and invent things. Fidel would be happy using a soccer ball as a pillow! Ruth tumbles, turns and runs everywhere she goes! Ana delights us with her songs! Some of the kids are still in the discovery process, including Lolis and Jocelin. Up to this point, their life has been concentrating on survival and they have not had the time or emotional energy to discover the person that God has created them to be, so we are helping them through that process as they learn, grow, mature and enjoy living in the safety of God's grace and their family's love.

As a parent, one of our goals is to help each of our children become all that God wants them to be and this includes giving them opportunities to develop their talents and abilities. Hence, Angie teaches the preschool Sunday School class at church; Diana, Martita, Lolis and Jocelin form part of the liturgical dance team at church; nearly all of the kids take piano lessons; Diana takes violin lessons; Angie will be restarting guitar lessons soon.

Our two newest adventures involve Ruth and Fidel. Four year old Ruth began gymnastics classes last week in Cuautla, about a half an hour from Refuge Ranch! We spent the next 36 hours listening to Ruth talk non-stop about her teacher, her classmates, her class, etc. (She isn't at all like her mother now, is she?!)

Ruth on the balance beam

The gym where Ruth began gymnastics last week

Fidel will be joining a soccer team the first week of May. The team forms part of a professional circuit, so Fidel has great aspirations!

Fidel playing soccer here at home

Unique Days

While we strive for a routine here at Refuge Ranch, each day ends up being quite unique! Take today for example! Parts of the day are the same as always - breakfast at 8 a.m., then daily chores and chapel at 9:30, like very Monday. School this morning and swimming lessons with Ashleigh this afternoon, like every Monday. That is about where the routine ends and the uniqueness starts. First of all, Magda is not here today, but we have two visitors - Grandma Claassen and Ashleigh's friend Dani. Victor is off to have a meeting with two other pastors from the church we attend in order to resolve some major moral issues that we are facing with our senior pastor. (Please keep this in prayer -that the situation will be resolved in a way that glorifies the Lord!) Later this afternoon, all 20+ volunteer Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusade members will convene at our house and spend the night here as they prepare to set out on a crusade tomorrow to the state of Guerrero.

Unique Crusade

Victor will not be joining the team on this crusade as he needs to stay back and help resolve the issues happening at church. We thank the Lord for the team that He has brought together for the crusades and the ways in which each of the members has grown and matured, to the point that they can carry out a crusade without Victor, when necessary. Our son, Fidel, along with Ashleigh and her friend Dani, will be forming part of this crusade team. Fidel was especially interested in this crusade as the team will be ministering in his home town. Please join us in prayer that this would be a special time for Fidel to see old friends and have the opportunity to share the Lord with them.

There is always a twinge of concern in my heart when one of the kids heads back to their old stomping grounds. Their perspective of their previous life is not always very accurate. For example, when Fidel came to live with us Victor literally took him out of the local jail cell to bring him home. He was six years old! However, talking about the experience a year or so ago with Fidel, he told us that he had been living at the policemen's house! He was totally convinced that the jail cell where he was being held was actually the guest room at the policemen's house! There are moments in each of our children's lives in which their previous lives seem more attractive to them than the life they are living now. (Like the people of Israel in the Old Testament telling Moses they would have been better off staying in Egypt as slaves!) That thought process may seem difficult to comprehend, considering that the kids have come from situations of abuse and extreme poverty. However, when your parents are making you do chores, study, give your best, respect others, etc., a life of complete freedom on the streets can appear more attractive. (Satan is an expert at disguising, lying and making slavery look like freedom!) So, we pray that this crusade will help Fidel to see the reality of where he came from and all that the Lord has given him and that he will come home even more emotionally bound to our family.

Unique Culture

A little over a week ago, our family participated in a unique cultural activity. The Saturday before Easter, the day before Easter, is called "Sabado de Gloria" (Glory Saturday) here in Mexico. I have absolutely no clue as to why, but the tradition is to get each other wet that day! Our kids look forward to Glory Saturday each year so that they can douse buckets of water on each other! (Not exactly my idea of fun, but live and learn!) Well, Victor and I decided to prepare some water balloons and have a water balloon fight with the kids. As you can see from the pictures, the water balloons quickly digressed into buckets of water!


Unwilling family members were carried outside by their father where their younger siblings greeted them with buckets of water!

Diana - a very wet princess!

Here at Refuge Ranch we try and save the water from the washing machine that is spun out after the wash and rinse cycles. Rather than sending the water down the drain, we store it in several large barrels and use that water to wash off the patio, keep the dust down on the driveway and other uses in order to not waste water, since we pay about $90 a week for water to be delivered to the house. So, we used the recycled water for our Sabado de Gloria waterfight! Needless to say, we all smelled a bit like fabric softener! Since it was Saturday, bath day, we all got a nice hot shower that night. It was like going through the rinse cycle before the wash cycle! This may all sound very weird, but it was great fun, culturally appropriate and a great family bonding time! Watching Victor douse Lolis, and vice versa, was incredible! Lolis has spent the first 12 years of her life running from her own biological father's druken abuses. To watch her run from her adoptive father's playful bucket of water was truly refreshing (in more ways than one!)! A joyfully wet Lolis!

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Hebrews 13:8

In the midst of parenting twelve children from different backgrounds, of different ages and different personalities; in the midst of partnering with staff who speak different languages and come from different cultures; walking through days that present different challenges and surprises, I am oh so very thankful for a God who is the same! He is my rock, my never moving point of reference! May He be the same for you!

In the mist of so many differences and uniquenesses, I am so thankful that the Lord not only provides a solid center, but also serves as the unifying force among so many differences. I am repeatedly amazed that He could make a family out of 14 people that are so different and aren't even related by bloodline! Only God can do something like that and His Word explains it!

"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men." 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

I am so thankful that you have that same Spirit and that even as we serve Him in different countries, in different cultures, in different languages, in different ways, we are truly one in Him!

In Christ,
Julie Zaragoza

Teachers...by Lucy

Aaron and Joanna have taken on some teaching duties since we moved here to Refuge Ranch in Mexico. Joanna is teaching Art, and Aaron is teaching Science.

Joanna has always loved art and being creative. She started out her time teaching by doing some origami projects. Paper is always available and fairly inexpensive, so there was not a lot of preparation involved or expense necessary to begin. She started simple with little boxes and finished with frogs. In fact, on the way to the EMMC we helped with in February, she made 100 frogs to hand out to the kids. They were gone after the first stop. They loved them! She also did a cooking art class where they made rainbow cupcakes, using different colors of batter. They were beautiful, and didn't last long!

Martita mixing the cake batter for rainbow cupcakes.

Josiah mixing colors into the cake batter.

Joanna with the rainbow cupcakes.

Now she has moved on to weaving pillows, something her favorite art teacher at Pioneer Elementary, taught her. She had to save cardboard, find plenty of scissors, and locate some yarn. Thanks to some donations made by teachers at Pioneer Elementary, she was able to start this project last week.

The kids are excited about making pillows. This past week, I have seen them carrying their "works-in-progress" around, waiting for a chance to work on them. Some have had to start over after misunderstandings about the process, but have continued on their way with better instructions from Joanna.

Angie beginning her pillow.

Lolis is halfway through!

Aaron has had different challenges teaching Science. Items needed for science projects that we used to find in the stores in the U.S. are sometimes hard (or impossible) to find here in Mexico. He has had to be a little more creative because of that. Each week, he builds a science project around what he has available. He is even gathering supplies to build a trebuchet (like a catapult) with help from Joe Bean, who built one for a science fair project.

A few weeks ago, he had them all take diapers apart to figure out how they work. He also built boxes for them for an "egg drop" experiment (Some of you may remember that from Pioneer too!). The kids named their eggs, packed them in the boxes, with whatever they could find to soften the blow when they were dropped to the ground, and waited to see what would happen. Only one egg ended up breaking during the experiment, and some of them still have their eggs on their school desks.

Aaron dropping someone's egg from our roof.

Erika and Fidel are happy that their eggs survived!

Aaron showing the kids how to make Alka Seltzer Rockets!

This week, Aaron walked down the hill, picked two lemons, and demonstrated that a lemon, with the peel on, will float, but if you remove the peel, it will sink (The peel acts like a life jacket for the lemon because the peel is full of air pockets.). He shared that Jesus is like our life jacket, and without Him, we are sunk! I thought that was pretty cool!

It will be interesting to see what Aaron and Joanna come up with next. They seem to be enjoying these teaching experiences, and I think they are learning a lot themselves. Sometimes they are probably wondering how their teachers were able to get their point across so clearly (especially with the language barrier here!), or were able to make a project appear so simple to do. They are learning the importance of a teacher's role in the lives of others. They are learning patience and flexibility. They are learning creativity. But most of all, they are learning how to use their God-given abilities to honor God, and seeing the difference that can make in someone else's life.

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 4:10-11

"Books Everywhere!" by Ashleigh

Just so you all know, we did not fall off of the face of the earth! :) The start of the week was rather busy and I think that Julie had a hard time finding time to blog. I had talked to the Marshall's about switching days with them so that I could post on Wednesday since my friend is coming in on Friday and I would have an airport run. I was planning on blogging after dinner as I spent the day wrapped up in a huge project. However, we mysteriously lost electricity sometime before dinner and it didn't com back on until the wee hours of the morning. Hence, no blog yesterday!

My huge project that I am working on is a library system for the Ranch. It has been quite the undertaking and I am finally beginning to see the end of the tunnel. I am cataloging all of the books on property into a home library system on Julie's computer and making sure they all have been stamped as well. It's been a challenge to keep the little ones out of the office while I have been working on this project as they love books! I have enjoyed the time sitting with a view of the volcano while listening to my music as I work.

The down side to sitting in the office all day long and typing numbers and listening to music is that I don't exactly have great blogging material! So, this will have to suffice for a blog post for now. Have a marvelous day praising the Lord!

"Goodbye Gifts have Started" by Ashleigh

For some time now I have wanted to give each of the children something to remind them that I love them. Something little from me. However, when you don't have a lot of money and there are a dozen children you try and be creative. I thought about making something but I didn't want it to just be something that they stick on a shelf somewhere to be forgotten about. So, I continued to think and pray about it and wait for inspiration. That is where the story starts. :)

You see, two years ago for Christmas my grandmother got me an apron with chili peppers on it. This apron is sturdy and durable because it is double sided. I have loved using it every time I am in the kitchen cooking. Several of the girls have gotten in the habit of using it as well while they are helping in the kitchen and also while they are washing the dishes.

Several weeks ago there was a playful argument between several girls about who was going to be bequeathed my apron. They were disappointed to hear that the apron will be going back to the states with me as it was a gift from my grandmother. However, this conversation sparked the inspiration that I needed. Knowing that fabric isn't that expensive in Mexico I decided to make each of the older girls an apron of their own. Not only would it have specific memories to me and my apron but it would hopefully inspire some of them to help out more in the kitchen!

It was an adventure trying to pick out fabric that was all unique to each individual person and yet match the two sides (I made them reversible as well). In all I came out with 9 aprons as I decided to include Rosa and Magda who both spend a lot of time in the kitchen. It turned out to be perfect timing as the neck strap on my apron broke last week while I was making pizzas (a Saturday tradition). But don't worry, it's fixable and that project is on my to do list!

A snapshot of several of the girls as I was passing the aprons out

All of us in our aprons

I have also received several goodbye gifts as well. Joanna wanted to make sure that I had mine before I started to think about packing so that I would know how to pack it. However, there is a story behind that one as well.

I am in the habit of buying myself roses every once in a great while just for the fun of it. Down here you can get a dozen roses for around $3.50 and they are usually really beautiful. Around Christmas time I found the most beautiful rose and just had to buy them. They were white on the outside and a rich red on the inside. I also discovered as they opened up more that each flower was actually a double bud. They were so unique. After searching photo's online Joanna found the name for this particular rose. Ironically it is called "Latin Lady". How appropriate, no?

Anyway, knowing how much I liked these roses and being as incredibly talented and artistic as she is she drew me two picture of these roses and double framed them. They are gorgeous and I can't wait to set them on a dress or desk at home to fill my mind of wonderful memories from Mexico.

This is not the best shot of the pictures Joanna gave me but it was the best on I could get!

Lucy also gave me a goodbye present early to which I really love. She is amazing with photography and really enjoys blessing others with memories in photographic form. So, she spent time making me photo magnets of everyone who lives here at the Ranch! They are AWESOME! I currently have them on the steel forms of my wall as displayed in the picture below. When I get home they will find a wonderful home on a refrigerator or a filing cabinet.

My magnets from Lucy (Notice I have roses again! :)