We made a visit to the home of Angie & her family, to give the children coloring books, crayons, a football to their son, and little toys for the girls. They were so thrilled to have something so simple. The picture of the little shelter at the back of the house is their outside kitchen. Inside, is this precious family who need to know that Jesus loves them, and is the only way to Heaven. Please pray for them!

On Thursday evening, Peter was asked to speak to the congregation at Pastor Marco's Church in a neighboring town named: Petacalco. We were very happy to go and share God's Word with these precious people. Since Pastor Marciano's english was better, he did the interpreting. (It became very clear that Peter was the TEACHER, & Marciano was definitely the PREACHER)! He "expounded" on all that Peter taught, with great enthusiasm and power! It was a wonderful experience, and we had several opportunities to speak to and pray with the people in english, because they had returned to Mexico from the USA, or had relatives in the USA . It was the birthday of Marco & his son, so the people threw a birthday for them after the message, with a full meal & cake & pudding! They asked us if we would come back next year & go with them to two little villages to ask people to come to the Church for shoes and a copy of the Word of God. We only have about 10 pairs left, so we told them to pray that God would send us back next year.

Thursday morning one of the workers from the hotel came to tell us we had visitors standing at the entrance of the hotel. We went out to see Angie & her friend, Georgette. They invited us to breakfast where Angie has a new job. We hurried over there, and once again were "treated" to a wonderful breakfast! We always try to pay them, because we believe a worker is worthy of their pay, but they wouldn't hear of it. There were a few more friends with them, and I asked Peter to drive the truck over to this corner, and we would give out a few shoes (about 8 pair). Well, I opened up a stampede of people who came out of the cracks!! They arrived in scooters, trucks, & even taxi's!! We were there for over 3 hours in the hot sun, working like crazy! Angie & Georgette helped the whole time as well, & Peter took pictures, & handed out Christian tracts! One lady put her husbands shirt on me, because I was getting "burnt".

On Wed., Peter found a friend of mine who has 3 little children & a husband who doesn't always treat her nicely, as he was riding around town on his scooter. I hopped on the scooter with him & had a nice greeting with Angie. I invited her & the three children, and her friend & daughter over to the camper to find a pair of shoes for them. It was a great reunion, and I was happy to meet another family to witness to.

We were invited to have breakfast at Pastor Marco's VIP restaurant upstairs from his Alaska fruit drinks & kitchen. Peter thought you might like to see how they sell their chickens & meat here in the market place in Mexico, while we were waiting. The four of us "guests" had a nice time receiving Marco's wonderful and generous hospitality!

I just have to tell you about this young girl! She came into the church very quickly, glanced over the shoes, grabbed a pair of fur lined boots & went outside to proudly show them to her mother. About 40seconds later, she returned with a sad face & put them back! I could tell her mother didn't approve, & probably told her to get a pair of SHOES! So, she spotted this PINK pair of shoes/boot, & tried them on. Her mother was still reluctant, but the girl held on to her choice! I was chuckling inside. That little girl LOVED her pink shoes! Thanks to each of you who gave to this ministry. We reached between 80-100 people that evening, not only with much needed shoes, but the seed of the Word of God!

Norma had organized this well, because she gave numbers out as the people arrived, and only about 8 people at a time tried on the shoes & were given a Christian tract, and kind words of welcome from Harvey, who loves Jesus & wants to serve the Lord.

On Monday, we teamed up with Pastor Marciano & his Church to distribute the shoes to whoever came to his church that afternoon, and he would preach the good news of Jesus outside under the "porch". Several boys & girls raised their hand to receive Jesus. Many new people came that had never before attended, but there is great fear of them leaving the church of their ancesters and following God's way, instead of the bonds of church tradition. There is a strong group of Mormons in this little village, and other "religions" who are deceiving the people. Please pray for Playa Azul, and these precious people, that they will read the N.T.'s we have given out, and that God's Word will pierce through the lies, and that the Holy Spirit would guide them to the TRUTH!

People began to come one hour early, and as they started to crowd in, we decided to begin!

On our way home from our very busy day, the Pastor wanted to sing some of the songs he learned in Ca. when he was studying for his ministry. We were having so much fun harmonizing, that he asked us to sing in his church on Sunday. I said yes, but Peter wasn't so sure. During the service on Sunday, the Praise Team got off the platform, & Pastor asked us in english if we would sing "There Is Power In The Blood". I stood up, & Peter was shaking his head NO! The congregation started clapping, so, guess who were the special music for the morning! It turned out just fine, and the people were just happy to have us be a part of their service.

That afternoon, we connected with our family of five whose brother lives in Charlotte. They made the most delicious "cerviche", and fruit salad for us, and they brought a family member & more friends to enjoy the pool and water slide at the hotel. It was a great day of sharing!

After our time at the orphanage, the four of us went to drop off three more pairs of shoes at Jose & Adelaida's home in the opposite direction. This was the first time Norma came with us, and she was such a blessing to them. I learned more about this elderly couple in this short time with an interpreter! God is so good! They wouldn't let us leave until they fed us, so we all enjoyed another one of Adelaida's feasts. We are praying that Pastor Marciano & his wife will be able to visit them after we leave, and share more of Jesus with them.

There is one young boy, named "Chacho" we'd like you to pray for. I think he is almost 18 years old, but has a very severely deformed face, has been having alot of seisures, and one of the workers told the Pastor that he is very ill, and could die at any time. The Doctors don't expect him to live past 20 years old at the most. I believe he has been at the orphanage for most of his life. He is so sweet, and always shakes our hand & has a smile for everyone.

We want to thank the two churches who gave us an abundance of shoes, and many individuals, who joined together in the name of Jesus to share in this ministry. We also want to thank our dentist, Dr. Faucette, for his generous contribution of toothbrushes, toothpaste, and dental floss for each of the children. Others gave medicines, a few toys, and support in so many ways. We, and the people we reach give you a big thank you!

This boy was proud to show off his shirt, and new shoes. They are all so precious! The ones that remembered us from last year came up & gave us hugs. It really tears at your heart when you find out that Mexico doesn't let too many of their children in the orphanages to be adopted outside of their country. They love their director, though, and give her hugs and call her "Mama". Sophia is always happy to see us, and she lets the kids know that people in the USA care about them, and send their love.

One boy latched onto a very small pair of sneakers, and wouldn't let them go! The psychologist tried to show him, but he kept trying to shove his big foot in them & wouldn't give them back. So, they gave him a pair that actually fit, and another worker finally convinced him to let go of the small pair.

On Saturday, Pastor Marciano & his wife, Norma, went with us to the orphanage in Guacamayas, and were such a big help! There are 63 boys there, ranging from 5 to 18 yrs. old. Pastor was the only bi-lingual one, but everyone at the orphanage saw what we do, & were helping.

Friday morning started out with a "visitor" who wanted to have breakfast with us. We had been trying to catch up with Javier, and he had lots of questions for us about what his Church & family believe as opposed to what God's Word says. We gave him a bi-lingual N.T., and he underlined several verses. This is a hard place for people who receive Christ, when others he is close to oppose his decision. So many are seeking the truth, and we just keep turning them to God's Word.
Later, when we spent a couple of hours on the beach, a young man came up to us & asked us for a Bible! (Word gets around in this little village!) I was glad I had one more Bible tucked away in my beach bag! We were happy to show him to the back of the Gideon N.T., & asked him to read the verses that show what God's plan is for us to have a relationship with Jesus.
Deut. 4:29b says: "...if you search for God with all your heart and soul, you will find Him".

On Thursday, Peter was asked to speak to a mens Bible Study. It was the biggest group the Pastor has ever had, and a few men were new. They asked lots of questions, and Peter loved giving verses to them from God's Word! At the end of the study, they had a barbeque, and the Pastor's wife sent Peter back to the trailer to invite me to join them. It was a great evening, and we talked for a long time with one of the men whose young wife had just died 8 months ago. He knows she is in Heaven, but God's Word gave him encouragement, and our prayers for him and his two young children lifted his spirits. Please pray with us for Harvey, that he would have the peace that can only come from God, and he would be strong during this difficult time.

It was finally time to go to the soup kitchen, where ANOTHER Christian Pastor uses his facility for the homeless & needy 6 days a week. Peter spoke to the men, Pastor Marciano interpreted, and 5 men came forward to put their trust in Jesus! Praise God!! We gave each one a tract on how to receive Jesus, and those who didn't have a Bible, were given one of our N.T.'s. A couple of the men knew English & told their stories of living in the USA. Our hearts went out to them, and we were so touched with their situations.

Please pray for all who have made decisions to receive Christ in their lives, & for all who have received a copy of God's Word. It was an amazing day, & more to come, as Pastor Marciano asked Pastor Marco to visit his Church in Playa Azul that night & speak to his people. They were all so thankful that Peter & I came to their country to tell the truth of God's Word, and he preached on Habakkuk 1:5, and more. We also sense the moving of the Holy Spirit among those God has put in our path. We "feel" the prayers of all of you who are praying for us, and want you to know what a blessing each of you are to us. Thank you for your faithfulness.

Tuesday was a fun & exciting day! We took the Pastor to the next big town to have Peter speak to 25 poor men at the "soup kitchen". BUT FIRST, Pastor wanted us to help him do a couple of errands! On the way to Lazaro Cardenas, we had to sidestep the cows in the road (notice the farmer on his bike with a switch in hand)! Then he had to get his broken glasses fixed. After that, he & Peter said they each needed a haircut, so I told them I needed one also. The 1st beauty shop had the door open & no customers, but she told us it wasn't open yet (11:00am). So we walked down further, & I pointed to another one across the street. Pastor explained that I only needed a "trim" & the guys left me to get their own hair done elsewhere. I used as much Spanish as possible to have a conversation with my hairdresser, & her brother helped with some English. When finished, I gave both of them a Gideon N.T., & they were so surprised & told me they were Christians, and her other brother is a Pastor in that town! She introduced me to all the workers, who were family, and they were all rejoicing & welcomed me warmly - & wouldn't let me pay a penny, no matter how I protested. Then Pastor Marciano took us to another Pastor, (Marco),who has a business making fruit & vegetable drinks at the market place. He knows English, & treated us to one of his fabulous drinks! His parents came by, and they were very interested in our work, and once again, welcomed us & want to see us again before we leave this area.

On Monday, I went for an early walk, & ran into the mother of a young man who asked Jesus into his life last year. When I asked her about Javier, she motioned for me to walk with her to find him. Plan "B" coming up! She has bad feet, so we walked VERY slowly - first to find some fresh fish to buy. (she knows not ONE word of English). After finding a place that had the fish she wanted, I told her I had shoes"zapatos" for her at my trailer. She followed me, and we found her a pair she liked, she threw her ripped & worn ones in the trash, and we proceeded to a little store that had groceries. Then she took me down little paths, and places I had never been before. Finally, we got to the tiny casa where Javier lived. While she started to prepare breakfast for her son, a neighbor who knew English told me he wasn't coming back for an hour! By this time, I had already been gone for 1& 1/2 hours, & was so lost, I called Peter to come "find" me on his scooter! We eventually found Javier the next day, but it's always a process!

We decided to go to the beach for a rest, but a line of workers & neighbors from the hotel & surrounding area, started to come in streams to get shoes. Four hours later, we just collapsed in the shade & rested! That evening, the Pastor & his wife came for a visit, & invited us to their home for supper & we had a refreshing time with them! God always knows best!

We had approximately 50 people who received shoes, and Bibles. Pastor Marciano was a big help in talking to all our guests, and we had lots of happy people. Please pray for all who received God's Word, that they would seek out the TRUTH.

Adelaida had invited whole families this year, and gave each family a number, and she organized how the families must wait in line until their turn! This really made it less hectic for us workers.

On Sunday afternoon, Pastor Marciano went with us to Jose & Adelaida's home to give out shoes & Bibles. It always helps alot to have an interpreter with us! It took us an hour to line up all the shoes according to boys or girls, & sizes. But we had good helpers!

We got to Church alittle late, because we ran into a family we had met last year, and we gave them N.T.'s. The husband reached in his wife's purse & pulled out her Gideon N.T. & told us that she takes it everywhere she goes, and reads it every day! What a JOY to know people are reading God's Word, and lives are being changed - in spite of our lack of Spanish!

When we got to Church, the walls were vibrating with music from their Praise Team! We could hear them a block away! (Wish they could visit Relevant)! We were very pleased how God was "growing" this little Church. A "LIGHT" for Jesus! Praise His name!

Tomorrow, Jan. 15, we will attend a Spanish speaking Church in the morning, and Pastor Marciano will go with us in the afternoon as we bring lots of our shoes & Bibles to an older couples home, where they invite the whole village they live in to come to their house to receive their gifts. Pray that this special couple will be open to what the Pastor will share with them about their need for a Savior.

On Friday, we left Patzcuaro to take a long ride south to our present destination for two weeks in Playa Azul. As we were driving, Peter realized that we were too short on "Pesos" to have enough to buy fuel and pay for the very expensive tolls. We just prayed that somehow God would help us in our situation. When we got to the 4th & 5th toll booths on this long stretch of road, there were over 30 University students who had overtaken the toll booths! The regular toll collectors had taken off, and the one lone policeman waved us on! We were laughing at how God had answered our prayers & saw us through a "touchy" situation!

As we were about to leave our camping spot, one of the workers hurried over with a gift of some kind of fruit he had just picked, and we gave him a pair of shoes, and a Bible. He was literally "dancing" with joy! What fun!