ROSSY'S STORY

TRANSFORMING LIVES AND CHANGING HEARTS

ROSSY'S STORY:

I know what it is to be alone as a single mother with children to raise and many bills to pay. I know what it is to live with no mother or father and no real friends around. But most of all, I know what it is to live with terrible emptiness and deep wounds in my heart. I struggled with this life until I found Jesus and His love and grace. He was like water in the desert; His word a bright life that gave meaning to the darkness of my life. I have a passion to share His love, teach His word, and show love and compassion to others. As it says in Isaiah 58:10:

"Feed the hungry and help those in trouble.

Then your light will shine out from the darkness,

and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon."

THE STORY OF BONFIL

Thinking of Cancun creates a picture of white sand beaches, luxury resorts, and perfect weather. However, few people are aware of the level of poverty in the neighboring village of Alfredo V. Bonfil. The majority of famillies in Bonfil are led by single mothers living in one room houses. Mothers work full time jobs to support their families, leaving their children alone during the day. Because of their level of poverty, most of these children live in the shadow of drug abuse and alcoholism. What they suffer from most of all, is the lack of God in their lives.

The vision God gave Rossy for this place is to bring the light of His love to the darkness of their lives by teaching about Him and educating these women and children with different skills. Here at the mission, they feel safe, they learn new skills, and they receive some food for theier bodies and their hearts. If you have a passionate heart for the mission, your visit and/or donation is a big blessing and your prayers and support keep us working.

HAPPY NEW YEAR ~ HAPPY JANUARY

HAPPY NEW YEAR! HAPPY JANUARY!

Where did the month of January go! I'm finally getting around to blogging! We had a great start to the New Year with Rossy, our friend from Cancun, coming home from the hospital. Rossy's surgery went well and the doctors, nurses and everyone were such a blessing! We are so thankful for all the prayers and God's grace and goodness for having all of this happen!

I would like to share Rossy's story with all of you, but first I need to explain our story and how we met Rossy and got to this point in time.

Les and I have been going to Cancun since 1992 for the best vacation we could have ever dreamed of. We like it there so much that we always go to the same place and never trade our week in Cancun for any other vacation spot. Over the years we have prayed that God would make our trips to Cancun more than just a vacation.

So over the past several years, since the big Hurricane Wilma in Cancun, God has been opening doors for us. The year before the hurricane, we met Rossy at our resort, The Royal Caribbean, on the hotel zone. Rossy was selling jewelry in a booth set up by the pool at the Royal Caribbean. We had our dear friends, Brian and Marlys Bernhard, with us. We bought some jewelry from Rossy and she had a poster made up with a Christian symbol, so as I inquired, I found Rossy had some property in a nearby town where children would come after school for crafts and Bible teaching and treats.

We started communicating through e-mail and Rossy e-mailed us about how Hurricane Wilma had devastated her property and tore the roof off her school building So on our next trip to Cancun in 2006, Rossy took us to Bonfil to see the devastation from the hurricane. We collected some money for Rossy to make temporary repairs to her property but were praying that somehow we could get a team to go down and help her make permanent repairs to the roof, etc.

I had mentioned something to a friend and missionary, Mark Simpson, that we would like to get a team to go to Cancun. Mark said that's what he does, is take missionary teams out to various countries. I registered that in the back of my mind and prayed for something to happen.

Finally last year when we visited Rossy, she was having medical problems. We were praying for Rossy, and when we got home I e-mailed my retired doctor and asked him for advice on what we could do to help Rossy, since he had come from a missionary family and helped missionary families in the past. God answered our prayers and my doctor e-mailed me and said he knew a Christian doctor who would be willing to do the surgery and a hospital who would be willing to help also. This was beyond my wildest dreams. What an awesome God we serve. Which brings us to this point in time. Rossy was able to get a visa and come to the states in December and the doctor was available to do the surgery right after Christmas. So praise the Lord for his goodness and mercy. We give Him all the praise and glory for what He has done. Rossy has taught us so much about giving and being in tune with what God would have us do ~ being obedient and trusting in Him.

New Year's Eve 2010

We spent New Year's Eve with Bonnie and Harold after a day with Rossy at the hospital. Rossy is planning to come home to our house tomorrow after having surgery on Thursday. Wow, they don't give you much time in the hospital these days. We are thankful all went well with Rossy's surgery and praying that she will have a quick and complete healing. Thanks to all of our family and friends and church family for your prayers. God's grace is exceedingly more abundant than we can imagine. Les and Harold enjoying the evening together, waiting for our delicious dinner.

What a treat to come to Bonnie and Harold's for dinner after spending the day at the hospital with Rossy!

Bonnie prepared a great meal and set a beautiful table for New Year's Eve.

Christmas 2010

Christmas Blessings Mix

Bugles: Bring us the joyful message of the Heavenly Host, announcing peace on earth, good will to men.

Pretzels: Symbol of a mother's loving arms; as Mary wrapped her Son in swaddling clothes and laid him in the manger.

Red Hots: Red berries that decorate the holly plant, a reminder of eternal life and Christ's redemption.

Nuts or Seeds: Promise of a future harvest, one we will wreap only if the seeds are planted and tended with diligence.

Dried Fruits: Remind us of the rich gifts brought by the Wise Men

M & M's: Memories of those who came before us to guide us to a blessed future.

Hershey's Kiss: The love of family and friends that sweetens our lives.

Multiple Christmas Blessings this year!

We are blessed to have our whole family with us for Christmas Day! Plus having our friend, Rossy, here visiting from Cancun Mexico. We are still awaiting the arrival of # 11 grandchild. We are excited that Elise is sharing her first Christmas with us. She looks so cute in her little Santa hat.

Rossy helped each of the grandchildren share a Bible verse from the advent wreath, then receiving a yummy treat. One of our traditions also is to have a birthday cake for Jesus and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. Oh, the faith of a little child. It is such a blessing. We also shared the Christmas Blessing Mix. A friend had given me one so Rossy helped package these to give everyone at our Christmas dinner. Similar to the ones Amy and family made us at Thanksgiving.

One of the things Rossy requested for her children in Cancun was a Bible. Rossy was very excited when Dan and Jenny presented them with 36 Spanish Bibles for the children.

Rossy's First Snowfall!

Rossy's very first snowfall. God really gave us a beautiful snow for Christmas.

Rossy said, "Yes, God did this for me as I have never seen snow before."

Our son, John, even commented that this is one of the most beautiful snows he remembers.

We have had the privilege of having our dear friend Rossy from Cancun Mexico visit us for Christmas. It has been incredible (one of Rossy's favorite words) how God has pathed the way for her to come here. So now that she is here we have been able to introduce Rossy to many of our family and friends. The night before Christmas Eve John and Carrie invited us to their church service as Carrie was singing, so we went and were blessed with a wonderful message. "Christmas: The Untold Story"

Christmas is the story of the very first "God with us" and how that began something entirely new in the history of God's relationship with humanity: God's spirit being born within human beings like never before. And that would never end for all of eternity, and calls us out of ourselves and into God's mission of helping everyone become part of the never-ending story.

The Spirit of Christmas only lasts for a season, but the Spirit of Christ within us lasts through all eternity. Mary's gracious acceptance of God's calling her to be the mother of the Son of God, "As you have said may it be so with me" has really touched my heart and is my heart's desire as well.

Baby Girl Larson Born 12-26-10

Baby Girl Larson was born tonight at 9:00 PM at her home with all family and Grandmas present. What an incredible miracle to see a baby come into the world. All the children were there after the birth to see their precious little sister within minutes of her birth. We don't know her name yet but she weighed 9lb. 1oz. and is 211/2" long. She has lots of dark black hair like her sister Ellie had when she was born. Praise God Mom and baby are doing well! More to come later!

Caleb and Seth's Christmas Recital Sunday, Dec. 11th, 2010

One of the joys of the Christmas season is seeing Christmas through the eyes of our grandchildren. We had the pleasure of attending Caleb and Seth's Christmas piano recitals on Saturday where they did a great job of playing their piano pieces. You can check out the details on Amy's blog.

Becky Kelley - Where's the Line to See Jesus - OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

Happy Birthday to my dear husband, Les!

Thanks for sharing this song with me.

Let's celebrate Jesus!

Caleb,Seth & Noah -Live Nativity!

Caleb, Seth and Noah set up our Nativity set before the big snow fall. They posed for this photo so I told them they would make a great live nativity.

What a fun time decorating for Christmas with all this great help. Caleb was great at putting up the lights. All three boys participated in the nativity set up. We could have our own live nativity. Noah was so cute setting up the nativity inside too. One of the sets didn't have baby Jesus, so Noah said, "This set isn't any good, it doesn't have baby Jesus." That is so true. If it weren't for baby Jesus, we would have no hope, but Praise God, Jesus did come and He will be coming back again someday in all His glory. What a wonderful day that will be.

Caleb and Seth played their piano recital songs. We even called Great Grandma Marian, so she could listen over the phone. She was thrilled to hear them play. The boys are becoming quite talented in their piano and have their piano recital next week.

While Caleb and Seth counted my Creative Memories inventory (what a blessing the boys were), Noah helped me get out some decorations and Christmas dishes, washed them and set the table so we could have our Christmas dinner, candles and all. After dinner I helped Caleb and Seth get started doing inventory and Noah came upstairs; he called me to come up because he thought he heard someone at the back door. I came to check and no one was there, but I did discover the candles were still burning. I told Noah God must have wanted to get our attention to put the candles out before they started a fire. God is so good and teaches us in so many ways through the eyes of a child.

Making Christmas cookies with Ellie and Grace 2010

Grace making her version of sugar cookies!

Ellie decorating her sugar cookies!

It's always fun to have Ellie and Grace come to help me with Christmas baking and a sleepover. Their favorites are the sugar cookie cut outs, so we were challenged right off with finding the cookie cutters. The container holding them was no where to be found, but we did find some extra cutters in the drawer so Ellie enjoyed making Christmas trees, angels and snowmen and stars and even Bob and Larry from Veggie Tales. And of course the sprinkles were the most fun.

It was a little more of a challenge with Gracie, as she can't have any wheat or dairy products as they causes her hearing problems, so we substituted coconut oil for butter, rice milk for milk, rice flour for wheat flower and dark chocolate chips for semi sweet chocolate chips. It's amazing how many things actually have milk and wheat in them. And Grace is real good about knowing what she can and can't eat. It's been quite educational for me too. I asked Amy what I could use in place of coconut oil as I couldn't find it shopping at Jewel. Coconut oil is the oil of choice as it is solid at room temperature as is butter and margarine. The cookies actually turned out good and Grace was happy eating them.

It's interesting the difference in the girls personalities. Ellie is more quiet and laid back while Grace is a talker and has that motherly instinct of wanting to direct Ellie in what and how to do things. Ellie takes it all in stride. It will be fun to see how God uses each of them and their gifts and personalities.

It's fun to see how Grace changes from year to year. What a sweet young lady!

Ellie is becoming a lovely young lady! Changing so much each year.

41st Wedding Anniversary - November 29.2010

Enjoying our beautiful poinsettia plant Les had delivered from Jerbi's Floral Shop in Joliet.

It is beautiful.
We celebrated our 41st Wedding Anniversary tonight with dinner at Kuma's Asian Bistro compliments of our wonderful children and spouses. Thanks so much! It was a great place to eat. We both had a hibachi dinner, mine with shrimp and beef and Les with salmon and beef. Yummy!!!

Thanksgiving 2010

WE THANK THE LORD!

Lord, my prayer is that I would always have an attitude of gratitude

and use what I have for God's glory.

When we consider all God's gifts and all that we possess,

A grumbling mood of discontent gives way to thankfulness. - Sper

Gratitude is a mark of godliness.

Our tradition continues this year with Les and me joining Jenny and Dan and family for dinner on Thanksgiving day. Sandra and her mom Marie, friends of Jenny's from her mom's group, also had dinner with us, so it was fun to meet some of their friends. We all shared something we're thankful for, starting with the first letter of our name. So it was fun to share, as we definitely have much to thank God for.

We were blessed to have all our family together for Thanksgiving on Saturday. And as tradition has it we got our family picture, with everyone smiling at the camera. It's quite a feat to get all eighteen of us looking at the same time. I think the blinking light on the camera timer intriques all the little ones and keeps their attention.

We also have the pleasure of Greg and Andy joining us for the third time for Thanksgiving dinner. Andy loves to look at my photo albums. Our friend, Robin Mende was also able to join us for our Thanksgiving dinner.

Amy and the kids made up some cute Thanksgiving Blessing Mix for the table favors, so everyone enjoyed snacking on them.