By Ron
Lots of excited kids
The ministry here in Mexico annually hosts a Samaritan’s Purse Christmas event. In case you don’t know… Samaritan’s Purse rallies caring souls to fill shoe boxes with toys and goodies so they can be distributed to needy children around the world. This year the church decided to step it up a notch and we hosted two events, one in the small mountain village of San Marcos and another in a poor subdivision outside the city dump.
A grateful little girl
The entire church was represented at the event. The kids, teenagers and many of the adults wore costumes, performed skits, sang songs and choreographed dances. My three year old Caleb even danced with the crowd. There was a ventriloquist, a puppet show and most importantly a mountain of presents and candy to give away. Many poor children in areas like these never receive Christmas gifts. What a delight it was to see their faces light up as they were handed the tenderly wrapped boxes full of surprises!
The Best Gift
The salvation message was presented to everyone at each event and along with all of the other gifts the children were given a small book called “The Best Gift” which explained God’s love and purpose for them.
Prior to the Samaritan’s Purse events El Faro de Esperanza sponsored a medical outreach in San Marcos. A follow-up medical/dental outreach was held after the Christmas event.
A group of medical professionals volunteered for the San Marcos outreach
Waiting for a check-up
Proof that Ron is taller in Mexico
By Ivonne
Several weeks ago the women at the church had a “pounding for me” so what exactly is a pounding? It’s a Texan tradition of bringing a newcomer a pound (here actually a kilo) of this and that to get them started in their new place. I was amazed at their generosity. They truly believe that it’s better to give than to receive. A sister from the church who was unable to make it called us and asked what we needed. My husband asked me and I without thinking said “maybe a mop”. The sister stated “no, I would like to bless you with a refrigerator or stove”. I laughed at my expectation. Today we went and got my stove. On the way back , I was thinking how often we come to God with a faithless request. We all have needs and most of us know that we can pray to God to meet those needs but where we fail is that we expect a mop when he wants to give us so much more. He my friend is a God that ownes the cattle on a thousand hills. He is a good God who promises to suply all of our needs according to his riches in Glory.
By Josiah1
Thanksgiving day 2008.
Today I started walking!!!
By Ivonne
We found a private preschool with a great teacher student ratio so we decided to enroll Caleb in it. His first day of school was thursday. He had fun but I cried, its the mommy thing to do right? Caleb understands some Spanish but he speaks mostly English. This has caused me some anxiety because the teachers only speak Spanish and I want my child to be understood. The good thing is children adapt easily at this age. In no time, I know he will be speaking Spanish. At times it feels like he is a little monkey at a zoo because everbody wants to see him. They call him
“el guerito” (the little white boy). Caleb of course loves the attention.
By Caleb
My name is Caleb Josuè Mouser. My parents moved to Arriaga, Chiapas Mexico on October 19th of 2008 when I was 2 years old… and this is my blog.
By Josiah1
My name is Josiah Levi Mouser. My parents moved to Arriaga, Chiapas Mexico on October 19th of 2008 when I was 1 year old… and this is my blog.
By Ivonne
The house we moved into was abandoned for several weeks before we moved in. Enough time for critters and dust to live here rent free. The house has a lot of potential but it needs some serious TLC. It is a big house with lots of tile and windows that constantly requires mopping.
The first night that we stayed here, Ron found a scorpion in our kitchen. Then right before we were going to sleep I noticed another weird looking critter by my bed. I screamed and Ron killed it, the usual pattern lol. I cried myself to sleep that night. Every noise scared me. It was a very rough night. I kept thinking about what we left behind to come here. I was so upset that I could not even pray. Oh but the scriptures say that weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning… and it did! A lady from the church came to help me clean. Ron sprayed for bugs and slowly some left. It’s Mexico so they tell me bugs come with the house. We also inherited 2 cats. I’ve never been a cat lover but since I was given the choice of rats or cats, I have decided to keep the cats 
Praise Report: We got a call yesterday that a nicer house is available so it looks like we are going to be moving in 2 weeks.
NOTE from Ron: About 1,000 – 2,000 deaths occur each year in Mexico due to scorpion stings. I have killed five in our house since we arrived.
By Ivonne
The drive to Chiapas was amazing. One part of the trip involved driving in the state of Veracruz along the coast. We decided to stay the night in a hotel right on the beach. It was beautiful! At breakfast, I had to return to the room to get a sippy cup. On my way to the room, I noticed that the walls of the hotel had broken glass all along the top. It is a way to keep people from coming into private property. I thought to myself “that’s so sad that this beautiful hotel has to have that ugly glass” almost simultaneously, I looked down and noticed the most beautiful plants and flowers all along the same walls of the hotel. In that moment, I felt God speak to me about my life here in Mexico. Gently, I felt his spirit asking me what will I focus on? The ugly things or the beautiful things that Mexico has to offer.
By Ron
“A person may plan his own journey, but the LORD directs his steps.”
Pr 16:9 (God’s Word Version)
We sold our house, parted with most of our material possessions and spent the last five weeks traveling the heartland. My original plan had us in Mexico by the first week in October. Instead we are stuck in Houston with our life packed in our truck struggling with the Mexican consulate to allow us permission to take it across the border.
It is easy to get frustrated when things don’t work out the way we planned, but when we step back and remember that God is in control we have peace knowing that He can see the bigger picture and His purposes extend way beyond our own. So instead of being anxious we are enjoying the extra time with Ivonne’s family in Houston and they are loving the time with the grand kids.
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 (KJV)
By Ivonne
From the Therapist’s desk-
Assignment 1 “Give out of your need”
If you were to walk in to my office the first assignment I would give you is to find someone who is going through a similar experience as yourself and help them out. Why would I give this assignment to a person dealing with depression? As humans, we have a condition called “navel gazing” also known as “me, me, me”. Focusing ..ing someone else completely goes against the temptation to place the magnifying glass on our own problems. I can not tell you how many times clients come back after completing this assignment and report feeling happier. It works because when we feel bad we don’t think we have much to offer but we do. Knowing that you took part in someone else’s peace and joy can motivate even a depressed person. It also helps you to see that you are not the only one experiencing these feelings. There will always be someone facing more struggles than ourselves. Give out of your need and you will be amazed how your needs will be minimized.
January 30th, 2009 | Tags: 
