An Update on Daniel

Many of you may be wondering how things are going with our search for medical care for Daniel’s numerous heart and lung defects. Well, I asked the Lord the same question the other day during my devotional time: “So, Lord, how are things going with Daniel’s medical care?”

Daniel and Diana

Actually, my prayer caught me off guard. I have been praying regularly for three other precious children in the U.S. whose blogs I follow. Two of them, infant girls, have never been out of the hospital since they were born, in their 6 and 8 months of life. Their defects are less serious than Daniel’s and they are now awaiting heart transplants. The third child, Riley, is slightly older than Daniel and has almost the same set of defects as Daniel. He has been waiting for a heart/lung transplant for over a year! As I prayed for them, I suddenly realized that Daniel should be in heaven already with Jesus, on those same transplant lists or using a constant flow of oxygen, like Riley, but Daniel is here at home with us running around, starting preschool, talking a mile a minute and constantly wanting to have a book read to him. I can honestly say I just don’t get it…other than that God’s grace and mercy in Daniel’s life is huge! Why in Daniel’s life and not in others? I don’t know, but I just pray we do not take for granted that grace and mercy, but fully use it for God’s honor and glory!

The problem with eating an ice cream cone in Acapulco on a hot day when you are three years old!

So, I asked God if I am supposed to be doing something else than what we are doing in terms of seeking out medical care for Daniel. What are we doing, you might ask? WAITING, WAITING AND MORE WAITING! Recently a pediatric cardiologist in Toledo had offered to perform a heart cath on Daniel. This appears to be the next step in seeking out Daniel’s medical care because the heart cath will give us a more accurate picture of Daniel’s defects and will help determine if the Glenn procedure (a set of three surgeries designed to redirect the blood flow to compensate for the half of the heart that Daniel is missing) is actually an option for Daniel or if his conditions are inoperable. However, the doctor in Toledo then decided that he could not perform the heart cath and offered to do a physical exam of Daniel and non-invasive tests. However, we have had those things done twice here in Mexico and did not feel it was necessary to spend the money to travel to Toledo and have the same testing done there that has been done here in Mexico. (Hospitals we have approached in the U.S., upon seeing Daniel’s non-invasive test results, do not even want to commit to doing a heart cath, because even that procedure is quite risky for him, due to the seriousness of his defects. If something would go wrong during the heart cath, they would have the obligation to try and save Daniel’s life, but, as a charity case, cannot risk committing that amount of funds to Daniel’s situation.)

Victor and I have agreed that if all possible doors for Daniel’s care in the U.S. close, then we will move ahead with getting him care here in Mexico. We would have the heart cath done at the military hospital here in Mexico City and, if surgery is deemed possible, the open heart surgery would also take place at the military hospital. However we are not as comfortable with having such risky medical procedures done in Mexico, so we continue to wait upon the doors that remain ever so slightly open in the U.S. No matter how many doors close in the U.S., there is always one door far enough open that we do not feel peace about moving forward with treatment here in Mexico.

An organization from England contacted us several months ago. They are working on a possible contact at a hospital in Houston, Texas to see if they would be willing to operate on Daniel. We are also in conversations with a hospital in Dallas, which has not yet closed its doors to Daniel.

That morning, just a few days ago, as I prayed once again about this situation, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace to continue waiting. I asked the Lord: “What am I waiting for? Am I waiting for a hospital in the U.S. to offer treatment to Daniel? Am I waiting for us to have the heart cath and open heart surgery in Mexico? Am I waiting for Daniel to go home to be with Jesus? Am I waiting for God to do a miracle and heal him?” There was no clarification from the Lord…just “WAIT.”

David and Daniel, new brothers, sharing a drink on the beach.

So, we are waiting, and, in the meantime, thoroughly enjoying Daniel. He started preschool this week here at our homeschool and loves it! He loves to laugh, to run, to hug, to read books. If his slight blue coloration wouldn’t give him away so easily, you would never know that he has several major heart and lung defects.

As I have followed blogs of other CHD (congenital heart defect) children, I have witnessed the long, tough heartbreaking road that awaits them through surgeries, cardiac arrests, separation from their families, etc. and I ask the Lord if that is the road that He is choosing for us. At this point, Daniel is doing great….miraculously great. As his mother, I cannot imagine choosing to send him into open heart surgery that will mean weeks in intensive care, much pain for him, separation from us, months of recovery, my being divided between him and my other 16 children and husband with no guarantee that he will survive the first surgery, much less the second and third that would await him, nor with any guarantee of how long his life would be prolonged here on earth. Or, the second option is, we can enjoy every moment of life that the Lord is giving us together – with Daniel running, playing, laughing, learning and loving and having that life end in his glorious entrance into the loving arms of His Heavenly Father where he will no longer suffer from shortened breath and blue fingernails.

"This is a good mango!"

So, do we fully live the next few years – full of life, love, unity and hope, until the Lord, in His sovereignty, calls Daniel home? Or do we choose medical intervention and maybe enjoy Daniel until his early adulthood (the surgical procedure that he would undergo is relatively recent and nobody really knows how the patients react later into adulthood)? However, that is assuming that he even survives the surgeries and much of that time would be spent in the hospital, connected to machines and going through painful procedures and recuperation.

At this point, to be honest, I don’t have the answer. Just last week, the parents of the missionary husband from the state of Veracruz that helped rescue Daniel spent a day visiting Refuge Ranch. They asked, “So, has Daniel had his surgery yet?” I explained a bit of the situation, but actually felt guilty that we haven’t operated on Daniel yet because, supposedly, one of the main reasons that we brought Daniel home was to make sure that he got the medical care he needed and to heal him. But, maybe God has called us to be His healing hands in Daniel’s life in other ways…to heal his emotional and spiritual heart, rather than his physical heart. I firmly believe that if Daniel had not come to be our son he would not be alive today due to the physical, emotional and spiritual stress that he would have had to sustain in his birth situation. His little half heart would not have been able to survive such a lack of love. Love truly is the most powerful medicine of all! (Check out the following link for a great story that, just like Daniel’s story, proves this to be fact! http://moms.today.com/_news/2011/03/07/6204973-so-what-if-we-have-7-other-kids-how-one-family-adopted-6-children-from-africa-?GT1=43001 )

Daniel and I on vacation this past February.

(He wasn't too keen about the beach. Can you tell?)

Each night, as I rock Daniel and pray with him before laying him down, I pray that the Lord would heal him in His time and His way. Then, each night, before I go to bed, I go into Daniel’s room, reach my hand down into his crib and lay it on his chest as his heart beats hard and I ask the Lord to keep that little heart beating until the next day. For now, we will continue to wait until the Lord tells us when to move and in what direction! In the meantime, we will live life to the fullest, not only with Daniel, but with each of the precious people the Lord has placed around us!

"As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me.

Night is coming, when no one can work."

John 9:4

A Day on an EMMC, Mark's perspective

It has been a while since I have written here so I thought I would share some pictures and comments about our Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusade last month. We were in the state of Guerrero just north of Acapulco. We worked at two locations. The first was at the host church, providing services for their community. The second was at the edge of Acapulco where we worked from somebody's home. I have a few photos I am going to use to walk you through a day on an EMMC.

The waiting area

When host churches do a really good job of letting the local people know we are going to be there, we always start the day with a large group of people waiting to be seen. Fortunately at this location they were able to be in the shade to wait for check in time. When we are ready to start check in they line up and let Vero know what service they want. In most cases each person is allowed to see one of either the doctor, the dentist, or the eye doctor per day. During the check in time basic information is collected for the doctors and weight and blood pressure is recorded. When space allows, there are separate waiting areas for each service where the people can then go wait for their turn.

Isabel doing an eye exam

Isabel brings glasses and her exam equipment on almost all the EMMCs. She checks eyes and provides glasses that will improve peoples vision. Many of the glasses are reading glasses and more common prescriptions. This way she can improve the most peoples vision. I have also seen some amazing repairs made for people who bring in broken glasses.

Dr. Escamilla praying with one of his patients

The medical doctors do exams and basic medical procedures, including everything from ear washing to minor surgery. We also have a doctor who provides gynecological exams in a private room. Sometimes there is a room available, but sometimes it has to be built with tarps or tents. They begin each day with prayers and continue to pray through the day.

Leslie doing a dental exam

It seems like there are always more dental patients then there is time to see in a day. We had three dentists working in both locations for this EMMC and they were busy they whole time. The dental machines (or robotines as we call them) are a little touchy and seem to require some kind of attention every time they are set up. We had to take one out of service for a whole day on this trip. Fortunately we were in an area where we could get it repaired. It needed a new compressor unit. The dental tools and suction require compressed air to operate. The compressors look like the ones in a refrigerator, but are special for dental tools. (Victor is hoping to have a local technician teach us some basic service techniques so we can minimize the problems and repair them more quickly.)

A young boy playing on the dirt floor while mom sees the dentist

The home we were working from at the second location provided a large space but most of it was outdoors. Gynecology and eye exams were inside as well as the food preparation for the entire team. The doctors and dentists worked outside under the cover of an outer wall with a roof but just a dirt floor. The dirt provided some entertainment for the boy in the picture above while his mom was having her teeth looked at.

Free haircut

Free haircuts are a part of almost every crusade. You might not think of a hair cut as a vital need in a person's life, but being able to look in the mirror and like your own appearance does wonders for self esteem. When people look in the mirror and smile at a new haircut or a repaired tooth, it brings new good feelings about themselves.

Helen working the pharmacy

Medications are provided by donation of some that are past their "sell by" date. The medicine is still effective and is put to good use. People are very understanding and happy to receive the free medicine. Victor sometimes has to make a trip to a local pharmacy to purchase some medicines that we want to be able to provide.

Becky praying with a family

Usually while people are waiting for their prescription, they visit the evangelists. Becky has shared some amazing stories that people have shared with her about their lives. The evangelists are very encouraging to people and help them see the truth of the Gospel and that God is with them. These short counseling sessions are just the beginning of the work the local church must continue. The local pastor or missionary is given the names and addresses of the people who accepted Christ during the week. Then they can follow up with them and disciple them in their spiritual growth.

Clowning with the kids

Clowning is a great way to gather kids and get their interest. They love to play games and sing songs with the clowns. As the clowns play with the kids they introduce the Gospel and give the kids a chance to pray.

Team photo displaying our new orange t-shirts

A day off at the beach

Most EMMCs include a day off for the team to play together. This week we went to the beach at Acapulco and enjoyed the sun and surf. The photo of the seagulls above is one of my favorites from the day.
I hope this entry shows you a little of what we do on an EMMC. Each one is a little different because of the location and the people involved.

"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
Matt 9:36-38

Life

Six fifty a.m., Friday, and enjoying my last few alone moments before the kids start waking up! The Lord and I meet here, in my office, nearly every morning around 5:30 a.m. There are times I would like to put on some worship music, but I rarely ever do so because the silence is just so sweet! Since we haven't changed our clocks to daylight savings time yet, the sun starts rising around 6:00 a.m., so I get some great views of the sky changing a thousand different hues behind Popocatepetl (the volcano we can see from Refuge Ranch). I usually open up my balcony doors to get some great whiffs of fresh morning air (maybe about 55 degrees outside?) and hear the birds singing their morning song.

Victor has been on crusade this past week to a town just north of Acapulco. We have spoken to each other by phone everyday, taking advantage of the fact that he is in an area with cell phone reception, which is not always the case when he is on crusade. Things seem to be going well on the crusade, although he never talks much about the crusades when he is in the middle of them. I usually find out more about all the Lord did a few weeks after the crusade, once Victor gets rested up and rejuvenated.

When Victor goes on crusade a good portion of our staff goes too! Adrian, Vero, Rosa and Mark went along, as well as Liliana, our staff Ana's daughter....

OK, it is now 6:00 a.m. on Saturday! I know the blog was rudely interrupted and I actually have no clue where I was going with that last paragraph! This is actually hilarious. Well, it is frustrating, but I am choosing to laugh because, like many things in my life, if I don't choose to laugh at my circumstances I will go nuts! I orginally started this blog entry on Wednesday with the title "Life". I knew my last blog entry had been a week before that and so I really needed to write, but two things kept delaying me: 1) I didn't know what exactly to write as there was no specific event or topic to communicate, hence the decision to just write about "Life", specifically life on the ranch when Victor and the majority of staff are gone on crusades; 2) Victor and the majority of the staff are gone on crusade....this means that I must be paying attention to the kids 24/7! When Victor is home I can ask him to take over for an hour or so while I blog or, sometimes, I will skip devotions that day and use that early morning time for blogging. Devotions are my lifeline, literally, but even more so when Victor is gone! So, there was no devotion skipping to be done this week! Morning is my favorite and best time of day, hence blogging on a Saturday at 6:00 a.m., and since I usually try to sleep in (until 8:00 a.m.?) on Saturdays and I don't normally do devotions on Saturday I am not having to skip them today to write.

On Wednesday all I got written on the blog was the title: "Life". Besides my first two reasons for the blog getting on delayed, on Wednesday, specifically, I was helping one of my eldest daughters deal with some guy issues which were pretty much consuming us that day, but I couldn't write about that because it's private stuff :-) and my brain couldn't seem to handle much else besides everyday living. I am beginning to find that everyday living with 17 kids is complicated enough, even more so when Victor and part of the staff are on crusade, and my brain, and heart, can only handle one extra issue at a time. So Wednesday's extra issue was "guys", so "blog" issues didn't happen!

On Thursday it is my turn to take care of the five youngest children while the others go to school. (My five eldest girls, Vero and I take turns caring for the five youngest children. I have Thursdays, Vero has Fridays and the older girls rotate through the other three days of the week.) I didn't even try to write the blog on Thursday because....I was taking care of five children ages 5, 5, 4, 3, and 2 years old. Besides that, as the other elementary aged children get out of school, they join our group as it is a great opportunity to be with Mom! I love Thursdays but, without Victor here to pitch backup, there was no hope of writing a blog entry.

That takes us to Friday, when I started the blog again! Since the blog is dated when you create the entry by writing a title, I erased the entry and started it again to take off Wednesday's date and have it dated on Friday. So, I did a shortened version of devotions and started writing the blog....again! As I was writing, I heard Angie's feet running through the house. Now, Angie gets up to go running each morning, but she usually is careful to run outside and not inside the house! She ran to my door, knocked on it and said: "The mare had her calf!" Well, that confirmed that the mare had been pregnant! (We were never totally sure that she was pregnant because she didn't get pregnant at Refuge Ranch...we try to teach purity and this mare isn't married yet:-)....which means she was just pregnant when we bought her last summer and the owner hadn't realized it!

OK, more opportunity to laugh! I just reread my last paragraph to proof it and found a slight error. Since this blog is called "Life" I thought I would keep in my error and see how many of you readers caught it and, if you did, let you have a good laugh at this blondie! (I know, Dad, you have no clue how I got the grades I did in school:) OK, so the mare did not have a calf! That would have been a miracle! She did however have a "potro" (I cannot remember the name for a baby horse in English)! OK, she had a colt! (Had to check the Spanish/English dictionary on that one!)

Back to the blog...so I jumped up from the computer, in my pajamas, put on sandals and went running out of the house to go see the new colt (I am a fast learner...didn't have to look up "colt" that time!). Well, on the way out, Daniel woke up and called from me from his crib, so I took a detour to his room, picked him up and then went running out of the house with both of us in pajamas to go see the colt (I remembered again!).

Soon, we had 15 of our 17 children, in pajamas, standing around Sonya (short for Sonadora which means Dreamer in Spanish) and meeting her new colt. I have never in my life seen such a small horse before! Her little son is her spitting image! OK, so here comes some more life! I would have some great pictures to show you, but....when Angie told me about the colt, I remembered my camera battery had died the day before and I hadn't plugged it in to recharge it. So, before running out the door I plugged in my camera to make sure the battery would be ready the next time I needed it. Angie lent me her camera and I got some great pictures on it, but Angie left last night to stay at the children ministry director's house from our church so that she could attend a 2011 VBS training at the Christian bookstore in Mexico City today and...she took her camera! Lucy has some great pictures on Facebook, but I can't figure out how to copy them off of Facebook! So, I owe you the pictures!

By the time we all spent over a half an hour ooohing and aaahing over the colt, it was time to get everybody dressed and ready for the day. That is where I left the paragraph hanging and have no clue where I was going with it. The rest of the day we spent cleaning and reorganizing the schoolroom as we hope to start with a full school schedule next week (besides bookwork, we add daily reading time, restart piano and violin lessons, as well as extra classes like Mexican history, P.E. and art.) The schoolroom had never been how I had wanted it because the roof leaked during last rainy season and we had to set up the room around the leaks. Since we are in dry season and the roof has been repaired and should be ready for the rain that starts in July, we finally took the time to rearrange the schoolroom.

In the afternoon I had my "one-on-one" time with Fidel. I spend a half an hour alone with each of the kids each week. They each have their assigned day. They pick the activity that we do together. However, Fidel and I, for over a year now, have played soccer during his time on Friday. It isn't exactly one-on-one, but soccer is one of his passions so that is what we do! Here comes the life part...since Victor isn't here to help with backup and Lolis had the little kids yesterday and was pretty tired of them by 5:00 p.m., I decided to take the little kids with us up to the neighbor's flat field where we play soccer. Well, it took us longer to get started playing than the half hour we spent playing! The trouble is the little kids want to be with Mommy and I am supposed to be playing soccer. I can carry two of them at a time, but not while I play soccer! So, I was trying to get them distracted when Ana decided she wanted to go back to the house. I took her back myself because you can't see the house from the field and I feel uncomfortable letting her go back on her own. As soon as I climbed back up to the field, Daniel decided to go back to the house. So, I took him down too! So, we finally got done with our soccer game at 6:30 p.m. (actually got interrupted for the last few minutes by the UPS guys delivering the school books for our newest children). We ate supper (scrambled eggs in green tomato sauce with black beans), picked up the house, got the little ones ready for bed, put all the kids to bed except the 7 oldest girls (minus Angie who is gone this weekend) because it was our traditional move night while Dad is gone with chips and ice cream!

And now it is today..Saturday..now 6:47 a.m. The sun has nearly peeked over the horizon next to Popo, the new colt is drinking her mommy's milk and Ana, who is 4 years old, has woken up and is curled up in my lap as I type.

Oh, and I learned something today! Pretty good for a Saturday morning before 7:00 a.m., I would say! Since Rosa does all of her cooking in the "big kitchen", actually it is the warehouse located in the main house here at Refuge Ranch, many of our staple food items are there. This includes our sugar, which we buy in bulk and keep in a large container in the big kitchen. So, last night after the movie I got my coffee cup out to get it ready for this morning. I put the coffee in the cup (yes, I drink instant coffee) and began to look for some sugar. We usually try to keep a little bit of sugar in a container here in the house for us to use, but that sugar had run out. Well, it was near midnight, so I really didn't want to go outside, by myself, at that hour to get some sugar for my coffee! So, I started looking around for something to sweeten my coffee with!

Lesson learned: powdered sugar does not taste the same as regular sugar in coffee! That's life... and you might as well just laugh or you could go crazy!

Friends of Fishers of Men

Thank you to all who attended, participated in and prayed for the theater production this past Sunday at The Village Players Theater in Toledo, OH. The Village Players is an organization of amateur actors in Toledo, OH who put on local theater productions several times a year. In an effort to continue giving to the community, they allow non-profit organizations to "adopt" a showing in which the non-profit makes a donation to The Village Players. That show then "belongs" to the non-profit who sells the tickets as a fundraiser for their organization. This was Fishers of Men's first time participating in such an event. Thanks to a generous donor who made the donation to The Village Players, 100% of the ticket sales went directly to Fishers of Men. A little less than 100 individuals attended the play on Sunday. Ticket sales, along with funds raised by a raffle held during intermission, resulted in a $1700 donation to Fishers of Men! Praise the Lord and thank you to all of you who worked so hard to make this fundraising event possible!

This event was brainstormed, organized and carried out by a group of individuals passionate about what the Lord is doing through Fishers of Men here in Mexico. This group calls themselves Friends of Fishers of Men. Currently it consists of individuals in the Toledo, OH area who meet on a quarterly basis in order to pray for, receive updates about and brainstorm ways to support the ministry of Fishers of Men stateside, such as promoting the new ministry to potential donors and churches and working on fundraising events for the ministry.

Our vision is for chapters of Friends of Fishers of Men groups to spring up all around the country! For example, there could be Iowa Friends of Fishers of Men, Indiana Friends of Fishers of Men, Florida Friends of Fishers of Men, etc. These groups would meet as often as they determine in order to pray for, learn more about and work together to actively support the mission and ministry of Fishers of Men. Thanks to modern technology, Victor and I can participate "in person" during these meetings through the internet by using video conferencing. This allows us to interact directly with Friends of Fishers of Men and give you up-to-the-minute updates on ministry developments and needs.

Please pray and seek the Lord's will as to whether He wants you to start a Friends of Fishers of Men chapter in your area! If you feel His nudging in that direction, feel free to contact Diann Claassen at (734) 206-2392 for more information and guidance as to how to go about such an endeavor, or email us at fishersofmenmexico@gmail.com.

Friends of Fishers of Men of Toledo continue moving forward in their efforts to support the ministry through a new project. This is a project that you can also participate in as an individual, as a church, as a Vacation Bible School, as a Sunday School class or Bible Study group or as a great first project for your new Friends of Fishers of Men chapter! The project, "Your Change can Change a Life", consists of printing up a predesigned label, attaching it to an empty soup can and then placing the soup can on your dresser or desk and throwing your loose change into the container. When you fill the can, please count the change, turn it into a check and send it to: Fishers of Men, P.O. Box 352016, Toledo, OH 43635.

You can print up your label right now by clicking HERE.

I have said this many times before and I will say it many more times: while the Lord has called some of us to live and serve here in Mexico, He has called others to serve on work teams or as volunteers on the Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusades; He has called others to faithfully pray and has called yet others to generously give the financial resources needed to carry out ministry day to day. Without each one of us, this ministry would not be possible or nearly as effective as the Lord has permitted it to be. We pray that you would continue to be sensitive to the Lord's promptings and voice as He calls you to be an active part of all that He is doing in a through Fishers of Men.

Something Fun to Do while Supporting Fishers of Men

Looking for something fun to do this coming Sunday afternoon? Need something to break up this seemingly endless winter? Want to participate in a creative way to support Fishers of Men?

Then we invite you to attend the theater production, "The Rainmaker", this Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at The Village Players Theater in Toledo, OH. The theater is located at 2740 Upton Avenue in Toledo between Central and Monroe streets.


The play takes place at the time of a paralyzing drought in the West. We discover a girl whose father and two brothers are worried as much about her becoming an old maid as they are about their dying cattle. For the truth is, she is indeed a plain girl. The brothers try every possible scheme to marry her off, but without success. Nor is there any sign of relief from the dry heat. When suddenly, from out of nowhere, appears a picaresque character with a mellifluous tongue and the most grandiose notions a man could imagine. He claims to be a rainmaker. And he promises to bring rain, for $100. It’s a silly idea, but the rainmaker is so refreshing and ingratiating that the family finally consent. Forthwith they begin banging on big brass drums to rattle the sky; while the rainmaker turns his magic on the girl, and persuades her that she has a very real beauty of her own. And she believes it, just as her father believes the fellow can actually bring rain. And rain does come, and so does love.

Tickets for the play cost only $15 and 100% of the proceeds go directly to Fishers of Men! What a great way to have an enjoyable Sunday afternoon and support the ministry of Fishers of Men too!

During intermission, a raffle will be held, also benefiting Fishers of Men. Raffle items include gift cards to La Fiesta Restaurant, Andersons and Krogers, as well as several gift baskets and even some original items from Mexico, including a blanket and traditional Mexican candy.

You may reserve your tickets by calling Diann Claassen at 734-206-2392.

Don't miss this great opportunity to have fun and support Fishers of Men also!

(For those of who you are unable to attend or don't live in the Toledo area, we ask you to pray that this fundraising effort would be a great success!)

Five Tubes of Sunscreen = A Great Vacation

My perspective on this blog is that it is a window into the daily life and ministry of Fishers of Men - the EMMC's and the staff and Zaragoza family here at Refuge Ranch. So, that can mean some rather raw and unpolished writing. Honestly, I am struggling with how to best share about our 10 day family vacation to Acapulco. To keep it short I can just say it was great! Beyond that I am afraid I will get too detailed! Then, I must pick out pictures. I have nearly 1000 pictures to choose from! One of each kid? That's 17! So, here goes my best effort at a short, interesting, blessed blog entry about a 10 day vacation with 17 kids...written in the next 15 minutes before they all start waking up!


First, the 10 day part....the first day we left at 6 a.m. on Wednesday and made the four to five hour drive to Acapulco -all 19 of us in a 15 passenger van with the luggage on top! The kids did great on the trip! Part of this adventure is that we had not been able to find a house to rent, so we basically drove to Acapulco not knowing where we would be staying. Finding houses for 19 people is no small feat, especially when trying to stay within a decent price range and not rent some Hollywood mansion on the beach!



Upon arriving in Acapulco, we went to see one house that a friend had found for us - definitely not! We then drove about 20 minutes north of Acapulco to see a house I had found the day before on the internet owned by a couple from the U.S. We loved the place! It had all we were looking for - on the beach (I love devotions and walks on the beach), a swimming pool with a shallow and deep end (a must when you have kids from age 2 through 17) and it even had a water slide, enough bedrooms to sleep all of us comfortably with most in a bed, a kitchen we could use and minimal staff - just a cleaning lady.




However, since the owners were currently at the house, they needed a day to move out into a hotel. So, after making arrangements with them we headed back into Acapulco to look for a hotel for that night for us. We found a place about a block from the beach and with a swimming pool and rented four rooms in a row! The evening, after unloading all of the luggage, we spent about a half an hour at the beach and another hour in the pool. This was the first time that our five new children had even seen the ocean or been in a swimming pool - so it was a fun, interesting, great first day experience.





So, the next morning Victor walked to the grocery store with "the guys" (Fidel, Josiah, Leo, Miguel and Caleb) and went foraging for breakfast! (The hunter instinct in men!) After cereal and yogurt we packed up again and loaded all of the suitcases on top of the van again. Then, it was time to go grocery shopping for the week since we would be doing most of our own cooking (eating out with 19 is never less than $50)! This required stopping at three different grocery stores in order to get the best prices....with all 17 kids in tow! After about three hours of grocery shopping we were ready to head to the rented house, where we arrived a bit after noon. Then, unload again, divide kids into bedrooms (the "Mom and Dad decide" versus "Let the Kids Decide" debate - either results in somebody not liking the arrangement!), unpack in order to prevent having to live out of suitcases for a week and then make supper.

I made supper the first night! Why do I write this in the blog? Because, if any of you know me well, I don't cook! I cooked for our family until we had 6 children. Then the Lord brought Pati along to do the cooking and now Rosa blesses us with her culinary ability at every meal. I actually enjoyed being in the kitchen again and having the opportunity to provide for and bless my family with a meal...except I didn't make enough! Oops - there's not six kids anymore, huh?! It was chicken salad on tostadas, so Victor came to the rescue and made up tuna salad! At least the incredible ocean view from our dinner table and the kids' anxiousness to get back into the pool distracted them from their mother's food miscalculations!



So, finally, on Friday, it felt like vacation was finally starting after basically two days involved in traveling, shopping and settling in. Friday was spent in the pool and on the beach and counting to 17 constantly to make sure that nobody had drowned! That is a slight exaggeration, but, seriously, many of my moments consist of making sure I know where everybody is, what they are generally doing, seeing if they are OK, need a hug, time alone, attention, a smile, etc. Aaron Marshall laughs here at the Ranch because he can ask me at just about any moment where everybody is and I can tell you! With the added danger of a swimming pool and five new children who had no idea how to swim, knowing where everybody was became even more important!



Here comes the honest part...by Saturday morning I was in a bad mood and totally drained! I remembered family vacations growing up as very relaxing! This had been anything but relaxing! An adventure? Yes! Interesting? Yes! Fun? So far, yes! Tiring? Definitely! You see, our ministry is our family - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! When I was growing up, Dad's ministry was church! Church didn't go on vacation with us! But now, the ministry goes on vacation with us because the ministry is our children! I love that, but it required my redefining vacation! I don't cook here at the Ranch. I don't do laundry at the Ranch. I do some, but not all, of the cleaning here at the Ranch. My "job" is to love the kids - caring for them, watching over them, disciplining them, restoring them. In all of those ways, the only thing that changed on vacation was the location - I still didn't cook, or do laundry, or clean, but I continued to love, care for, watch over, discipline and restore the children's lives and hearts....24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Only, now I was doing it poolside and on the beach, rather than in school and in the living room! Don't get me wrong...the location change was a huge blessing and a breath of fresh air, but the emotional, spiritual and physical energy required was the same as always and it actually took me a bit by surprise! Duh!

So, I got up Saturday morning and headed to the beach for devotions... another, duh! The Lord and I spent some quality time on that beach and I literally felt the heaviness lift off of my shoulders and heart. I can honestly say that is when my vacation began!


From that morning on I didn't miss any of my morning appointments with the Lord! The Lord, the beach and I...a perfect combination (Oh, and don't forget the fresh squeezed orange juice and coffee!) From that point forward, I truly enjoyed each moment. I never even opened the book I had taken along to read, but I fully lived each moment with Victor and each of the kids. This was only possible by the grace of God and His presence in each of those moments!

What makes me laugh about this in hindsight is the following conversation that Martita and I had early on in the vacation. I went to her bedroom to say goodnight and she asked: "Mom, what would happen if I wouldn't read my Bible at all during vacation?" I thought for a minute and responded: "Martita, what would happen if you wouldn't eat during vacation? The vacation is a week long. You really don't have to eat anything and you would survive. But, you would get back home skinny, malnourished, week and feeling miserable. Well, if you don't read your Bible during vacation that is how you will feel spiritually." What did I try and go and do? I didn't spend my time with the Lord for several days and I became spiritually famished, which resulted in emotional barrenness and physical exhaustion. So, this Mom had to pay attention to her own advice and spend some time with the Lord. It made all the difference in the world!

Check out Leviticus 6:12-13. There the Lord commands the priests to keep the fire burning constantly on the altar. In order to do so, the priests had to be diligent about putting new firewood on the fire every morning. I was reminded, once again, that if we want the fire and passion in our lives to continuously burn we must put firewood on the fire every morning. We must spend time speaking to our Lord through prayer and listening to Him through His Word everyday...even on vacation!

"The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it. The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out." Leviticus 6:12-13

Beyond that lesson learned, here are some of my other favorite memories from this vacation:

• seeing two dolphins jump through the air in the ocean as Angie and I were riding the waves
• taking long walks on the beach with my oldest girls
• building sand castles on the beach with several of the younger kids (Ana and I built a princess castle, complete with spiral sand decorations. Miguel and I, on the other hand, built a knight's castle with enough defense towers and fences to keep an army out! Of course, the knight's castle was next to the princess castle because the knight has to protect the princess!)
• horseback riding down the beach at sunset with Victor (Sounds romantic, huh? Well, it started out with nearly all 17 kids walking behind us...until we sent them back to the house with Angie!)
• two bonfires on the beach with the entire family at sunset roasting hot dogs and marshmallows
• eating at Applebees all together (There are only a few in the whole country, so when we are near an Applebees we like to treat ourselves!)
• seeing the kids relax and be very creative with their freetime - swimming, napping, reading, playing board games together, helping with making meals, walking with each other on the beach
  
• swimming after dark in the pool with some of the older girls
• watching Fatima relax and be a normal 10 year old, rather than feeling responsible to be the mother to her siblings
• eating breakfast at the Fatiana Restaurant (several mornings Diana and Fatima got up to make breakfast for everybody..hence the name "Fatiana")
• meeting a new Mexican Christian friend on the beach during devotions
  
• just being together as a family for so much time!

One other thing that really impacted me, and for which I am very grateful, is the way that the kids play with each other. Having five new children I really expected them to create groups and cliques, but they haven't! I never know who I will see playing with whom, which is so refreshing and encouraging.


The last night we held a bonfire on the beach and the kids expressed their gratitude to God and to those who support this ministry and made this vacation possible. Their thanksgiving included gratitude for a great house to stay in, the pool and ocean to swim in, enjoying "our best vacation ever" and having time with their family. This last comment may appear to be rather common. Of course a kid would be glad to have vacation time with his family. However, in our family, this comment is huge proof of the restorative power of Jesus Christ in the fact that the kids consider us their family. Praise the Lord!

I am so grateful to the Lord for this time with my family and with Him! And, yes, we went through five entire tubes of sunscreen. But, thinking about it, that isn't that much sunscreen for 19 people for 10 days...maybe that's why several of us are burnt! We should have used even more tubes of sunscreen!


This was Josiah's effort at keeping Miguel afloat! He put on nearly every floating device we had! Or maybe he is some strange alien from a water-infested planet!

OK, so the blog wasn't short and it took a lot longer than 15 minutes to write, but I pray that this entry was interesting and blessed and encourages you as you witness the transformation of our children's lives...and ours too!

Improvements, Repairs, and Upgrades

Three weeks ago the Zaragoza family gained five new children, David, Carolina, Miguel, Leo, and Fatima. This prompted the addition of another room on the house for three new boys. Fortunately the room was started and enclosed by the Upper-Deer Creek work team who was here at the beginning of the month. The room is constructed of a steel frame with styrofoam insulation made with heavy wire in it for plaster to stick to. When the work team left, the outside was ready for stucco and the inside was ready for wiring and a ceiling. I got the wiring in place and Dave Claassen, who was here for a week helped me put drywall on the ceiling. While I was doing this Cirino and Alejandro were working on the exterior stucco.

Getting wiring in place

Cirino and Alejandro working on the exterior

When the ceiling was taped, I left for nine days on an EMMC to the Puerta Vallarta area and Cirino and Alejandro moved inside to plaster the walls. They first apply a rough coat in strips which creates a uniform depth. Then they fill in the gaps so it is fully covered with the rough coat. The final coat is made with fine sifted sand and smooths and evens the surface.

The first stage of the interior plaster

When I got home from the EMMC, I finished the ceiling, painted the interior of the room, and finished wiring the light and outlets. This was just the first coat of paint on the walls because Victor and the boys are going to pick a color and paint the walls together. The room is almost ready to move into!! Today the family got home from vacation so they will be eager to finish the painting.

Me with my long handle paint roller

The outside of the addition, ready for paint and roof tile.

Some of you loyal blog followers may remember a story about Victor and I coming home with a couple of extra doors to replace the dented ill-fitting ones on the black truck. Wednesday this week brought this project to the top of the priorities. Adrian opened the driver's door into the path of an oncoming vehicle, finishing off the drivers door. Fortunately Adrian was not hurt. Today I swapped the drivers door.

In order for the "new" door to fit, the front fender needed some "adjustments." The old door had made contact with it on more than one occasion.

The old damaged door

The new door in place making adjustments for the best fit

The truck door project is also a work in progress. The "new" doors are from a newer model so there were subtle differences that I am still addressing. They work but every thing in them had to be switched from the old truck and we still need a window to replace the one broken in the accident. I am told this is not a problem, we can get glass directly from the factory in Mexico City.

I mentioned earlier that I had been to Puerta Vallarta on an EMMC. While we were there, Victor saw a truck like what he has been looking for. It was at a shop having the brakes worked on and he stopped and asked about it. It turned out that it was for sale so we went back together to take it for a drive. It is a 1997 Ford F350 Diesel 4 door with dual rear wheels, just what Victor wanted. We were wearing our Fishers of Men vests when we looked at the truck and bargaining for a price. Victor told the man selling the truck what we were doing in the area but we did not agree to buy the truck that day. On one of the following days the man came to the church where we were set up to have the dentist look at his teeth. He and Victor had agreed on a price by this time, but the really good news is that he also spoke with the evangelist and received Jesus Christ as his Savior. Some of the people in the church were amazed because they had talked to this man before but had not had the same result. We truly have to rely on God's timing and remember that it is perfect.