HI EVERYONE ! HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2009

Peter & Carole are preparing for our new journey to Mexico. Even in this difficult economy, God has provided a way for us to return, so we can distribute His Word to those we come in contact with. We hope to be on the road by Jan.2nd, and plan to return to the USA in mid-March. We will do our best to keep in touch, as we find internet access along the way. We give glory to God, who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.(Eph.3:20)

We left Zacatacas this morning, and are now in Saltillo,Mx. This is our last night in Mx., and Lord willing, tomorrow we will cross the border into the USA. Unless something awesome happens on the way, this will be our last posting on our blog for this trip. We thank all of you who have prayed for us, and have been a part of our journey. God's Word is truly alive and powerful, and sharper than any two- edged sword!!

This is Roberto, with Peter, in front of his internet cafe in Villa Corona. We gave him a NT last year, and when we surprised him this year, he was thrilled to see us, and the first thing out of his mouth was that he is reading his Bible every day! He told us what a peace he has in his heart, by putting Christ first in his life! We were very excited for his response, to see how God's Word has changed his life! He has looked up the Jesus film, and checks out alot of Christian literature. Just another confirmation of the power of God's Word!

I saw this girl walking by on the beach a couple of times, so I asked her if she was a cancer survivor, and she told me when her best friend got cancer, she shaved her head, and became a cancer advocate, collecting $ for cancer research, and getting support teams together! She & her husband are police officers in Saschachuan, Canada(where it was 40degrees below freezing). As we talked, Carole found out that she is a new Christian, and will be baptized on Easter Sun. She also plays the fiddle, so she stopped by to play for me. We had a great time discussing God's Word!

Somehow, I goofed with this posting, but the pictures I'm sending is of our friends who live near Puerto Vallarta, who took us up in the Mts. to Agua Jote, and visited us while we moved on to another campground. We all went on this "banana" ride, and then they paid these Mariachi singers to play for us, because it was Peter's birthday! We're thankful for the opportunity to share God's Word with them each time we visit. Before they left, the father asked us to please pray for their marriage and their family.

Peter & I are having a great time here at our last stop on the Pacific. Our friends that we have been counselling with, came up here for one day, and we have had many wonderful opportunities to help them in their marriage, and to teach God's Word! As they left to go home, they asked us to please pray with them, for their marriage and their family. As their whole family gathered together in a circle to pray, we thanked God for His leading, and gave Him the glory! PS: maybe at our next stop, the internet server will allow us to show you a couple of pictures!

We're having trouble with the server for the new area we're in, so we can't publish any pictures. But we left Puerto Vallarta yesterday, and arrived in Rincon Guyabites on the coast. It was nice to be on the ocean again, and we'll be here for a few days. There are many opportunities to give out God's Word. We only have 15 NT's left, so we're praying to give them to those who will READ them.

There were several groups of people gathered in a circle & very intently reading & listening to what we had to say. We told them they could have the Bibles they were reading, and to remember that God's Word is His "love letter" to us, and we need to read it in order to know what He wants for us and all the blessings He has for those who trust in Him! Everyone thanked us, and Charlie told us that an older couple that attended, said this was very helpful to them, and they would read more and learn.

Please pray for these dear people, who may have heard the good news of Jesus for the first time!

On Sunday, after more fish for breakfast, our friend, Charlie, called everyone who was there to gather for a little "Church service". He was the interpreter, as Peter spoke. He told them how he had received salvation through the shed blood of Jesus, and at the end, Carole told of how much God loves us & wants to "commune" with us through His Word. Carole had passed out lots of Bibles & NT'S in Spanish for them to read, while the verses were pointed out.

This is where we cooked all day. The constant running river that's filled with fish & river shrimp is in the background, and our tent is behind me. We cooked the fish in oil, some steak strips on a stick under this pan, corn, and, of course, Carole brought bags of marshmellows for all the kids to roast as well!

This is "Dencia", mother of 10 children, who catches river shrimp for us, & is cleaning about 50 fish in the river that the men caught earlier for those who come to our camping spot for the rest of the day! She is a real "champion" in my eyes, and is so willing to help and make us feel welcome!

This is part of the pile we brought! Thanks to all of you who contributed shoes, clothing and Bibles for this journey! Our friend, Sandra, who is bi-lingual, passed out everything, and kept interpreting! We had so much fun & much laughter! But most of all, they were so very thankful! So, I pass this on to all of you who helped!

After breakfast on Sat. morning, of freshly caught fish and corn from the fields, we took the clothes and some of the shoes that had been donated to the "main house" in the village for distribution. They called (literally - not by phone), to the other three houses to join us and the fun began!

This past Fri., we were packed, and ready to follow our friends from PV to a village 2 hours away from their home. Instead of traveling the mountain road, our friend said to follow him through a "shorter" way (it was getting dark), which meant crossing this river! What he DIDN'T tell us is that we had to cross the riverTHREE TIMES!! As we saw his vehicle sliding around in the rocks and current, our hearts were in our throats! Carole closed her eyes & prayed, while Peter plowed through & dared NOT stop till we were on the other side! Praise God, we made it to Agua Jote before nightfall!

This is "Lorena", the woman in charge of reservations at the campground. Last year Carole gave her a NT, and talked to her a long time about Jesus. This year, she reached in her purse & showed us a little "pouch" that she keeps her Bible in & carries it everywhere she goes, and from the looks of it, it is well used! She is definitely a Christian, and says she prays & reads her Bible through every circumstance. What a lesson these dear people can teach us!

Ahhh! A nice quiet game of Tic Tac Toe! See? I did bring other games for them as well! (But those kids LOVED those flutes)!

This is the day we went to the orphanage in PV. Carole brought 20 flutes to give to the kids. You never heard such a racket in all your life! The kids were so thrilled, but the adults in charge quickly gathered them up, because they couldn't take all the noise. One little girl hid her flute up her pants for almost an hour before it was found. We felt bad, because they encourage bringing toys to them, but I guess this was a little too much!

As we were walking downtown, Alajondro was trying to get Peter to go to a time-share presentation. Somewhere in his conversation, he mentioned "God", and A. immediately asked him if he was a Christian! When he said, yes, the conversation immediately changed to him tellingPeter about how a couple of years ago, some man was getting off a bus they were both traveling on, and handed him a Gideon Bible. He said he never spoke to the man or ever saw him again, but he read God's plan of salvation in the back, and gave his heart to Jesus!! It gave us chills, as we felt God confirming that all the Bibles we are giving out will be used for HIS glory!!

Today we were helping the children learn "Jesus Loves Me" with bells. They are practicing for a performance at church in a couple of weeks! This cure little girl needed some help! What fun we had! On Wed. we hope to go to the orphanage. We'll keep you posted!

We arrived safely, with no problems with our reservations in Puerto Vallarta! Today we went with friends from an english speaking church, to the Salvation Army to help with the children. This is Captn. Mario, who lives above the classrooms, and has a wonderful heart for Jesus, and the children who live around the city dump.They normally help the children with homework, and give them a meal, and other helps.

We stopped to get Peter's favorite "pollo asado", (grilled chicken), which is so delicious! We gave this young man a N.T., and he was happy to have one.

After spending a week in La Placita, we traveled north to Punta Perula. While there, Carole had a chance to give an Indian family some shoes, and they were so thankful. As we were ready to leave this place, I had been very anxious to get going to our next destination. Peter woke up to tell me that the owners truck was in the way, and found out that he had locked his keys in the truck! So, they spent the next hour making a "slim Jim" and working on the lock. God was teaching me a lesson on depending on HIM and RESTING in His guidance - and NOT to "stew" over what was beyond my control!

Here are three of the children with the bags of shoes. We were very impressed with the cleanliness of the place, and the friendly woman who was in charge today. Coca-cola donated this land and the buildings for these poor children. They are mostly Indian Mexicans, and we're sure these accomodations were quite superior than what they have in their villages at home! We told the director that our Christian friends in SC donated these things, and to give God their thanks. She told us to come back again whenever we wanted.

Today we went to two local schools to give out shoes for the children, and found that they were having a holiday. So, the head of the campground took us to a home where the children who live in the far mountain areas stay during the week to attend school, and then go home on the weekends.This lady was in charge of the children, and was so thrilled to have these bags full of shoes! We also gave her a bi-lingual Bible, and she was very grateful to have it.

As we travel on some pretty dangerous roads, we see many accidents. This guy was fortunate he went off the road here, instead of before his mishap, because it was a sheer drop off the mountain!

On another day, a VW bug's engine caught on fire, right ahead of us on the road. Three people jumped out, and flames were shooting out. Peter stopped the truck, opened the camper door, grabbed our fire extinguisher, and put the fire out before the whole car was destroyed. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture! But we did have the opportunity to give each one a NT !

And one more story of our travels: As we were driving on a narrow mountain road, a huge truck passed us, and his mirror scraped the side of our camper, and broke a window! We didn't realize what happened until we stopped for fuel, because the truck made so much noise. We thank God for a Mexican friend who took Peter to a place to have it fixed - for only $12.00!

We enjoyed being "grandparents" while our son & his family stayed at a hotel near our campground. This was a great opportunity for the parents to have some "alone" time, while the children took naps, etc., and we could be with the kids as a special treat. It also provided an opportunity to give the housekeeper a NT, which she clutched to her chest & thanked us so much. Praise God for the wonderful responses to receiving His Word!

This lovely creature is an eel. Two little boys saw it in the water at knee level, and captured it with a towel! I ran for my camera, and decided NOT to swim in the ocean that day! Instead, I talked with some of the vendors on the beach, and gave out some copies of God's Word! (Carole)

Tomorrow we'll make our way further south to Zhuatanejo, find a campground, and then on Sat., pick up our son & his family, who will be staying at a nearby hotel for a week.

As Carole was reading in her Bible today in Rom. 15:21, we felt like this is the situation we are in many times, and God wants us to reach out to: "Those who were not told about Him (Jesus), that they will SEE, and those who have not heard will UNDERSTAND."
This gives us encouragement, as we struggle with the language barrier, that God will use His Word (in Spanish), to reach the hearts of so many people we have given Bibles to. Thank you for your prayers.

Last night we decided to try to find "Israel", who we befriended last year, and gave a NT to. He works at his aunt's cafe, and THERE HE WAS!! We were so excited to see him, and he came out with hugs & kisses for us! (what a great kid). While we were talking to him, he told us this was his last night in Playa Azul, because tomorrow he would go to Mexico City and begin college courses in graphic arts! We just knew God had led him to us, as we gave him a SP/Eng. NT, and told him we'd be praying for him. He is 23 years old, and seems to be serious about reading God's Word. Please pray for him and all the contacts God has led us to.

After saying our "goodbyes" to Jose's family in Playa Bella, we drove to Playa Azul, where we camp behind a hotel that has full hookups for trailers, and two pools for us to use. We met this family at the pool, and Javier knows English, so we had a wonderful time sharing our faith with them, and the miraculous healing of Carole's cancer. We gave them Bibles, and started a friendship that we hope will continue for many years! They were very curious about our trailer, so we had them come over & this gave us even more opportunity to share with them!

When our friends saw the shoes, they invited another family to their house that were also in need. This lady's husband only has one arm, due to an accident, and he struggles to make a living. They also went home with clothing for the boys, shoes, and Bibles.

These are friends of Jose & Adelaide who came for a visit. We opened a couple of bags of shoes that had been donated by our friends from S.C. and fit them to the boys. Between the shoes & Bibles, they went home-a happy family!

This is Adelaide's grandaughter, who is reading a tract Carole gave her. She was very interested in the Bible as well. (our camper is in the background) As you can see, even though they are poor, they are rich in the beauty of God's creation - living behind those palm trees, next to the beach.

This is Adelaida, who we met last year. She needed new glasses, and Carole had a few pair in the camper. She was so excited when one of them was "perfect"! She & her husband are in their 70's, and don't know a word of English, but we seem to communicate enough. They love us, and the feeling is mutual! This is where they have their oven to make the best tortillas you ever tasted!!

On our way to the coast, we passed many interesting sights. This hombre is pedaling his food cart to the next town to sell his wares.

As we were crossing into the state of Michoacan, we were stopped by the border control - semi-automatic guns & all ! They wanted to look in the camper, so Peter got out to open up for the guards, & Carole talked to the one who spoke english. After the inspection, Carole gave the one soldier a New Testament, and about 6 other soldiers huddled around. As she busily handed each one a Bible, Peter explained how to look on the back pages, to find the plan of salvation. They were eager to have one, and all had smiles on their faces when we left. Sorry we don't have a pic. of this, but we didn't want to "push" it!

Tomorrow, we will be heading to the home of a couple we met last year & gave a NT to. We have some clothing and shoes that were donated for our trip to share with them, and plan to give them a Bible in Spanish/English. Pray for us, as the language is a barrier. For the next two days, we won't have internet access.

We came out of our camper one afternoon, and guess who was in our dog cage? Two little boys from a site down from us thought this would be a great place to play!

Today we are in Villa Corona, just south of Guadalajara. Lord willing, tomorrow we will make our way toward the west coast to a little town named La Placita.

As we travel, we meet many animals that have wandered from their pastures, and we must be aware that they have the right of way!

We made contact with "Sandra", who we gave a NT to last year. Her English is superior to our Spanish, so we were able to communicate more. We invited her & her daughter to our campsite, and gave her a Spanish/English Bible that our friends in SC gave us before we left home. She was thrilled to receive it, and we pray it will not only help her with her english, but in learning, will read more of God's Word as her textbook!

Today is Sat., Jan.5th. We left Del Rio later than expected because of the thick fog. We drove to El Paso to cross the border, and 270 miles and 7 hours later, we arrived at our first overnight stop in Saltillo, Mx.The drive was mostly through desert areas and some awesome mountains- as you can see from these pictures!

Thank you for your prayers. We've had several opportunities to give out God's Word, and we know His Word will never return void! It might be a few days in between our postings, because of the areas we're in, not having internet access. God bless you.

Yesterday we went over the border in Mx. to get all our paperwork completed. All went quickly, and we even know the workers now at the Immigration office! We stayed in Del Rio at a camping spot so we can get an early start tomorrow. We traveled 1,469 miles from S.C. to Del Rio, Tx., leaving Jan. 1 & arriving onthe 3rd.