Break my Heart Lord!

Greetings to all of you back home in sunny Manitoba. We think of you guys all the time, especially after we hear the weather updates. I'm actually starting to feel sorry for you guys!

I have been spending allot of my time lately working for a Christian Ministry in Guaymas called Agua-y-Mas. It is an organization that is registered with social services that takes in battered women and children. I have found myself spending quite a bit of time there helping out.

I want to take the  opportunity to talk to you about my experience last week. It was a direct answer to my prayers. Last Tuesday I decided to go for a walk and just spend some time with the Lord. I have had allot of things going on lately and have allot of decisions to make. One thing that has really been on my heart is orphans. While walking the beach I asked the Lord to break my heart for the orphans. I'm surrounded by so many little children that are living in less than ideal circumstances. I think I'm almost becoming desensitized. It's horrible. Well this day turned out to be very interesting.

I would like to introduce you to my little friend Yoli. I met her the afternoon of my walk on the beach. After walking I got cleaned up and spent the afternoon over at Aguy-y-Mas. Little did I know there was a special little girl there waiting for me. 

I walked in the door and all the other little children came running over for their hug and kiss and right behind them was this new little face that I had never seen before. I picked her up and she gave me the biggest hug. I asked her name, found out that she was 2 years old and that DIF (Social Services) had dropped her off the afternoon before. Little Joli was happy to be in my arms so I carried  her around as we waited for children's club to begin. 

 During kids club DIF arrived to do a presentation for the children. I had Yoli on my lap. We were busy chatting and playing. I found it interesting that she became very defensive over me. As other children would come sit beside me or reach out for a hug Yoli would slap their hands away or even haul out and kick them. After awhile she was starting to get impatient so one of the ladies came and took her and brought her outside. Well, it was very clear that is not what she wanted. She started to cry and fight as she was brought out. I sat there a few minutes remembering what I had prayed that morning. "Break my heart Lord!" I decided to go outside to see how Loli was doing to hear that she was very upset. A different lady ran over to me and pulled me by the hand telling me I had to come to where Loli was. As I got near  I could hear her crying our for Papa. Surly it wasn't me that she wanted? Was it? Well to my surprise, when I came into view her Papa screams turned into snickers of Papi, Papi. I took her into my arms and she whimpered in my ear crying Papi as I comforted her.

 Obviously the time  came that I had to go home. It wasn't easy saying good bye but it was just one of things. I had to give her over and walk away, Yoli was okay but tears started to fill her eyes when she realized I wasnt going to be staying there with her. I had to just turn my back and walk away.
I visit Agua-Y-Mas almost daily. Each day the same, little Yoli would come running around the corner calling out for Papi. She got her hug and kiss and than ran off to go play. She would come over every now and then and I would hold her for awhile and then she would run off.

Well this morning was different. As I pulled up to the yard I saw Fabiola and Yoli (photo Above) standing outside. Both in tears. I found out that Yoli's Grandma had been found and that social services were on the way over to pick her up. It was a sad morning over at Agua-y-Mas but we all knew that this was the best thing for her. Poor Fabiola had become quite attached to Yoli and found it most difficult. DIF arrived with the release document, picked her up and off they went. All we can do now for her is pray and trust the Lord for her safety and protection.

Today I found out little Yoli's story. Today I found out that her name is not actually Yoli, her name was Daniela. She was brought to the DIF office by a stranger that had found her alone. DIF had no idea of who she was or even if she was from Guaymas? Today we learned that Yoli has two siblings, both older than her living with her Grandma. Her mom lives with Grandma off and on and is a drug addict. Well last week her mom took Loli up town to pick up some groceries at a near store. She never returned home. We found out that the mom had left Yoli on the street, hopped on a bus and disappeared. The Grandparents are sad because they had no idea what happened. All they knew is they did know where they went. By the grace of God Yoli was reunited with Grandma and Grandpa. I'm so glad that Agua-y-Mas was there to love her for the time she was separated from her family. I am also glad that God answered my prayer on the beach. Who would have thought that very afternoon I had an appointment to meet sweat little Loli! 

Buenos Noches

Buenos  Noches!

Greeting from Mexico. It has been a long time since I have posted on here. We are involved in so many things and find it so hard to take the time to actually sit down and type out letters. The last few weeks have be crazy busy! It is a difficult balance for me to be in all the places I need to be. I love the work I am involved in here and God has blessed me with great people to work with. On the other hand God has blessed me with a great family that also requires my time and energy. Often I find myself giving the best of me to my work and my family gets the left overs. Its a tough thing for me to balance.

This week has been really great. We have visitors here from Children's Camps. Our Church back home has decided to launch Camps here in our area and as a rep for WMBC I have the privilege to be part of that vision. This week we have seen God begin to form an amazing unity amongst the Pastors in our area. People here are starving for the word, all we have to do is put it in there hands. As in all of our other Evangelical outreaches, it always blows my mind how hungry the people are for Christ. Here, as some of you can attest to, if we give out a tract or a bible people will stop in their tracks and read it right there in front of you. The other day we did a sidewalk outreach and handed out 500+ tracts and do you think that we could find 1 of them laying on the street or in the garbage can at the corner? No not one! At home we could probably go pick up 499 of the 500 afterwards and use them again next time. This week was no different. God is working in Mexico and I believe big things are about to take place.

It has been a privilege for me to get to know and work with my brothers from CCI. Wilf, Henry, John, and Alejandro have been an absolute blessing to me and our area. We have toured them through many different communities and have listened to countless testimonies of people sharing about what Christ has done for them. We have laughed and cried together. The bondage and hopeless situations that God continues to deliver people from blows my mind.

I ask that you please keep our family in your prayers this week. I will be traveling to Cuautamoc with the guys from CCI tomorrow. There we will be meeting with farmers that have the vision of running a harvest for kids fund raiser. Please pray that God's will be done there and that this trip would further His kingdom and that Christ would be honored and Glorified. This trip will expose us to numerous things. First off, a train ride through the Copper Canyon which is apparently the 8th wonder of the world according to Ted Dyck, but is will also expose me to a new culture in Mexico outside of my bubble. This is also the area that my Dad is from. He was born in Cuautamoc and we will actually be passing through the community that he was Born in. I have some family contacts, who knows maybe we will cross paths. It amazes me how small the world is sometimes. While I'm away Clarissa will hold up the fort and take care of the children at home. I know that's not an easy task and so I ask that you especially lift her up in your prayers. I am so thankful for her and the support that she gives me. She is an amazing women, not sure I know too many that would support me the way she does.

I wish you all the best over the next week. Trust you are all keeping well and look forward to updating you on our trip to Cuautamoc.

God Blessings

Brian



 

Kids, kids everywhere!

The last week has been so good, but also challenging. We all are super excited to have our family/friends along side us for these 10 days. For the mission center this is a new leaf we have turned over. We haven't had such a large group of children, and we are enjoying it. :). My boys fall asleep the minute their head hits the pillow. Lol. But just like everywhere else, there are staff members battling with the flu that seems to be everywhere. Alongside that, tragedy hit Art and Brenda's family which brought them back home to mourn the sudden death of Arts brother-in-law. We are doing well considering that we are under staffed. But then we had another water leak today that seems to suck all the hot water out of the hot water tank! Cold showers are NOT pleasant! So as I am writing this entry, Brian is busy hammering through the boys dorm shower wall and floor trying to find the problem spot. I should maybe include everything else that seemed to go wrong today as well. The new hot water tank that was purchased, turns out to have this huge dent in it, so Brian went up town to purchase another one. And the burgers took forever to cook through! As we are busy trying to fix and fill in where needed, it is such a blessing to hear how God has been touching the heart of the group here. Yesterday night after the American church service, a little girl named Hannah asked Christ to be her Savior. :). Listening to the older children talk about what they have seen at the different out reaches is so worth the stress and craziness lol! Pray for Brian, he has sure filled the leadership role, and even more with our directors going home. The rest that he gets is sufficient, and that he doesn't get sick.

God bless you all!
Clarissa
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Jesus, Christmas and Coca-Cola

It all started a week ago with Brian and Rob Kehler at a stop in Guaymas. There were squeegie boys doing what they do, and Brian and Rob were brain-storming on what we could do as an outreach on Christmas Day. The thought came " if the squeegie boys can do this, why can't we spread the gospel the same way?" At first the thought was to squeegie. Nope, too much work and there were going to be kids around. How about Coca-Cola? Give a gift (the Coca-cola) and a tract explain the way to salvation. It is the reason for the season. :) This was the agreed upon plan for the Wiebe and Enns family for Christmas Day.

With 500 mini Coca-Cola bottles chilling in a huge cooler and barrel, the gospel was shared. The reactions were really neat. Some were asking how much it was going to cost. Then they found out it was free, and that Jesus also was free. When a man realized why we were there, he asked for prayer. (Prayer also is free!!) Than I was told that my son Cole had prayed over this man. (I am one proud mama!!) For me to see Mason excited about what we were doing, and watching Brian and him working as a team. I am reminded of the opportunities we are given and that we need to make the most of them with our children watching. Making sure that we include them.

We were at a corner where there was a beer store just across the street with two young men. At the end we had 2 cokes left and Juan and Chris walked over and shared the gospel and why we were doing what we were doing. I'm standing on the sidewalk watching this all unfold, praying that their hearts may hear. You can imagine my happiness when I saw them taking off their hats and bowing their heads in prayer!!!

We ended our outreach with prayer over all the people we had encountered and the 5 people who received Christ, with the reminder that everything we do we do for eternity.

A devine Appointment

Today was one day I will never forget. Today was the day that God had huge plans for a man named Manuel, a man who was a total stranger to me but through a series of events would become my Hermano en Cristo. (Brother in Christ)

Today started off as a normal day. My plan was to go with Juan Carlos to visit the community of Potom, which is a tribal village about an hour from San Carlos. Our intentions were to scout out the community and try to make connections with any Christian Pastors that are there. God has placed it on Juans heart to connect with the surrounding tribal pastors to find out how they are doing and offer them love and encouragement. Our plan was to leave San Carlos at 10 am but little did we realize, God had an agenda of His own for us today.

Juan and I decided that it would be best to drive dirt bikes down to Potom. I do not own a dirt bike so a friend of mine was willing to let me use his. I arrived at my friends place this morning to find that the bike's rear tire had gone flat. I knew that this was going to hold us up a bit but the guys got on it right away and before long the tire was fixed and back on the bike. Shortly there after Juan arrived and we were ready to go. I hopped on my bike to find out that the rear tire went flat again. Although this caused a bit of frustration, it also gave us a sense of opposition. We started to feel that "someone was trying to stop us from going." The guys got right at it again and half an hour later the tire was fixed and the bike ready to go. We suited up once again, Juan fired up his bike and I hopped on mine, and that's when I heard one of the boys exclaim to Juan, "your front tire is flat." Seriously??? How bizarre! Yes flats do happen here in Mexico but this was to bizarre. The guys, once again, quickly took off Juans front tire and a few minutes later found 2 holes in the tube. Ironically, we had two patches left and before we knew it the tire was patched and the bike ready to go. Listo! Ready! Finally we were all fixed up and ready to go, or are we? Once again, I hopped on my bike to find that, you guessed it, the rear tire was flat. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING! What is going on? At the end of our wits and patience we clearly realized taking the bikes was not going to happen. This is just too bizzar! (fyi, the tires on both bikes were checked first thing in the morning and were full) We disappointingly resigned to the idea of riding down and decided to take my truck. The time was now after noon and if we wanted to make it home for supper we really needed to get going. Juan needed to drop off his bike in Guaymas (the neighboring city) so i told him I would pick him up there after I picked up a few things from home. Off he went. A few moments later Cole and I left in the pick up on route for Guaymas. As we merged onto HWY 15 we see Juan on the side of the road waving at us. We pulled over and guess what we found out. Now his rear tire was flat too! Ok, that is 5 tires. What is going on and what are we going to experience in Pottom? We loaded up the bike inside my truck box (had to lay it on its side because of the topper) and off we were to find a place to get it fixed. We quickly stopped for a bite to eat and then after stopping at several shops we found a place that could fix the tire. Long story short, we were all fixed and ready to go at 4:45 in the afternoon.The idea of just staying home crossed our mind but Juan and I quickly realized that God had a plan. Neither of us had peace with giving up on the journey.
We had a great evening in Pottom. We were there the entire evening, connected with several Pastors and were even invited for a true Yaqui tomale supper. Lets just say it was a good experience. Although there was allot to share about our time in Potom, like testimonies of how the radio program has impacted them, I wont take the time to share them in this story. The whole purpose of this story is to share about what happened on the way home. The events of this evening have left me heartbroken, reminded of Gods goodness, and reminded of His timing. He reminded us that He is in total control and that He will use those that are willing to pay attention to His promptings.

On our way home Juan and I were talking about the bizzar series of events of the day and wondering what the purpose was. Why had Delayed us for so long. Was it dangerous for us to be hear earlier in the day? Was it Satan trying to stop the meetings from taking place? What was it all about? We experienced great connections with new Pastors but we still didn't feel like that was the purpose for everything that happened. Juan simply stated, "maybe we wont know before heaven." I thought about it a few minutes, looked at Juan and found him fast asleep. Cole also sleeping in the back seat.
Ready to get home I stepped on it, my hwy speed down here is rarely under 130 kms per hour so I set my cruise and got comfortable. Maybe 15 minutes down the road the strangest thing happened. I cant put it into words. I saw a man, sitting in the ditch. He was surrounded by long grass but he was in a clearing. He came so clearly into view. It was like he was a beacon or like a spot light was on him. He was way down in the ditch. To this moment I can clearly see his face as he sat there. Clearly in distress, waving on of his arms in the air. (Remember, it is pitch black outside, and I'm going 130, I only saw him for a second yet it felt like 10) I started slowing down and woke Juan up immediately and told him what I saw. We pulled into the ditch and started to make our way back to him. We were shocked as to what we found. This man was in agonizing pain. His leg and arm very clearly broken. I was trying to make sense of the scene. How did he get her. I assumed there must be a motorcycle here somewhere, he must have slipped of the shoulder and rolled it? As I looked for the bike Juan looked at me and said, "Brian, he was hit by a semi trailer!" I looked at the man in shock thinking that he should be dead. We tried and tried to call an ambulance but we had no cell reception. Car after car drove by, no one stopping to help. We soon decided we had to get him to a hospital. Knowing the danger of moving a person in that state we reluctantly lifted his broken body into the back of my pick up and slid him in. Juan sat with him in the box and i closed up the topper and sped off to Empalme. In Empalme I found a Police cruiser on the side of the road, pulled over and told them what happened. They escorted us the the Hospital. From there he was in their care. We did everything that we could and now it was time for someone else to take over.

I took a few moments outside the Hospital to recap everything. Clearly this was the reason for the delays. God knew this man would need Juan and I specifically to pick him up. No one else would do, He wanted us there. Wouldn't you know that as I was rushing this mane to the Hospital, Juan was in the back of the box with Him sharing the message of salvation and forgiveness. There in the midst of his agonizing Pain, in the back of my truck that man accepted Christ as his personal saviour! I believe with all my heart that each driver that passed him never saw him there, God opened my eyes to see him so that Juan could share Christ. Wow! After all the delays, the frustration, and the confusion, God revealed why he needed to slow us down. He wanted to open the door for Manuel to receive Christ as his savour and ask forgiveness for his sins. As I stood outside the truck with Juan and we went over all the details tears rolled down our faces. God had a Divine appointment for us today. An appointment that required us to leave home at 4:30 not 10am. Required a truck and not motorcycles. One that required a Christian, not an ambulance attendant. God needed someone to meet the spiritual need of Manuel as well as his physical need, and he chose Juan and I to meet it. What an Awesome God we serve!

It was decided that Manuel would be transferred to Hermosillo. After he was prepped and loaded into the ambulance Juan had the opportunity to say good by. When he saw Juan he recognized him and said look, "here is the man that saved my life." Juan smiled and said, no, "God saved your life."

What a day. Juan and I are both exhausted. I'm so glad that we were persistent and went even though we felt like staying home. I feel horrible for the frustration I felt during the day when things were not going the way i would have liked. But tonight, I'm so full of joy knowing that Heaven has a new resident to prepare for. Angels are rejoicing, Gods will was done.

All Praise and Honor to Him!

ps, sorry, i quickly wrote this out and didnt bother with much of an edit. please forgive my writing, it is a weakness of mine but I really felt i deeded to share what heppened today.

Brian

The start of the season...

It has been lovely to enter the cooler season.  The days are warm, and the evenings are cool.  After months of not wearing pants, I do start to long for them.  Today is the first day that I actually am able to comfortably wear them through the whole day.  (It's because it's cloudy.)  Also with the cooler season brings teams of people. :)  We have just sent off our first team of the season this morning.  Now the challenge will be to figure out a new schedule for our family life that will keep us healthy as a family and couple.  I am looking forward to our future move into a home December 1st.  It will make the scheduling much easier to stick to.  I really think I have to literally draw up a week poster of who is doing what. lol  

   Brian has been super busy with his Spanish classes.  5 days of the week he spends 1 1/2 hours with Maestra Dolores.  Cole also has a class with her, and we are looking at adding another one for him.  I just love that Dolores is both a English and Spanish teacher.  She has become more than a teacher.  She truly cares for both Brian and Cole.  This last week has been a busy one involving Cole's school and our concerns with it.  We have found that his teacher didn't know what to do with Cole and what she did with him was give him 5 Spanish words a day.  (I honestly don't know if this is true, as I didn't see or hear of this until she told us.) So we had come to the conclusion that Cole was wasting 4 hours a day with her and that he would learn more being at home than continuing with her.  Also we had brought up a concern we had with how another student was being treated.  We had asked if she knew that this boy was being beat on daily.  Her response "he is a bad boy, deserves everything he gets".  Our hearts broke.  Cole had been standing up for his boy, defending him.  Even when he would get in trouble with his teacher for doing this.  There is more to the story, but so hard to get into words. None the less, she was good, and everyone else had something wrong with them.  Not the learning environment Cole needs to be in.  Our end result has been to take Cole out of his class and focus more on his homeschooling.  I am excited to take this on.  I love that I have a great teacher to help with both his English and Spanish.  Mason will be staying in his class, for his school is on a different location and his teacher is wonderful.  Oh I want to share what Cole had been telling me.  This boy that has been having trouble, is a friend of Cole's and happens to be our neighbor.  He was telling me how he had been sharing with Louis the love of Christ and had been asking Louis if he has Jesus in his heart.  He is our little missionary. 

   The Fatima food program has been doing well.  We have faithful volunteers and a regular crowd of 100 kids.  Donna (American volunteer) and I had been talking the other day about how crazy 75 kids was at first, and now when the numbers are that low it is so quiet.  We have found that 100-125 is the number that works well for Fatima, and that we are able to do the program well.  I have to admit that we really have worked our selves out of a job.  We fill in when there are extra hands needed in the youngest class or organizing the kids.  But because the teachers are committed and the kitchen ladies are aplenty, it is functioning well.  Maricela organizes the lessons, and gets the supplies together for the crafts for the classes.  It makes it super easy for the teachers and the kids are memorizing scripture well!  We had a gathering time for an open mike for the kids to recite their verses.  (proudly!!)  We all cheered them on. :)  Brian and I have been looking at Fatima and asking ourselves as well as God "what next?"  Brian has vision for the area, and as time goes by and people come into his life.  The pieces have been coming together.  It is always a process, but one thing we know is that our God isn't a rushed God.  But when it's the time to do something, than we need to do it now!!  Prayer for Brian and where God is leading him.  

  We said good-bye to our friends, Randy, Donna and Annie this last Sunday.  They unexpectedly left 2 weeks early than we were expecting.  It is hard to so say good-bye to friends, but I am so glad for heaven.  What an awesome God!!  Which god would put together a place that we would be able to reunite with our fellow brothers and sisters?  My God does!  It makes me excited for heaven.  

   

May God Bless you!  May everything you do, do it with purpose.  

Clarissa

A few pictures.....