Settling In

We have been busy since arriving in S Texas settling in here at Alamo Rec Veh Park. Since we hit the ground running last year upon on our arrival, we decided that this year we would try to get things done in about 2 weeks, then we could concentrate on everything else. We did get all of the cleaning, mopping, washing, dusting, and general deep cleansing done including ironing the valances and re-hanging them. All I have left to do is wash the outside windows. Now as I sit back and enjoy my sparkling clean house I wonder if my heart is as sparkling clean - has it had the general deep-cleansing as my outside appearances seem to have had? I find that I often need to check to see if there are any hidden areas that need cleaning - areas of unforgiveness, envy, gossip - I am human and therefore I sin. So I "clean" my heart daily by prayer and contrition.

We were surprised Thursday evening as we sat in our living room and watched out the patio door as a small rabbit began to make a nest in our flower bed. We had removed the flowers previously as they had died, and have not yet replaced them, and certainly will not now. The tiny mama dug in the soft dirt and started hauling small bits of dried grasses to place in the hole. She also brought mounds of longer dried grasses to cover up her nest. Looking at it a person would never know that a rabbit nest lay hidden under the seemingly overgrown flower bed. Now we hope that this is really her nest, and will continue watching to see if she has her babies there. We even go out the back door as not to disturb her when she is there, although she doesn't seem to mind our presence. Such small things give us pleasure - God knew how to keep us smiling. This morning before church, mama bunny was out, inspecting her nest, checking all areas, sniffing around to see if anything had disturbed it. I don't know much about rabbits, but wonder if she made more than one nest, and is checking each one out to see which one is the safest? We sure hope she chooses ours!!

if you look closely just behind the white post between the flower pots, you will see what looks like a rock - it is mama bunny digging a nest hole

she comes up for air, and then starts digging again

a big mouthfill of nesting material



more nesting material - because of the dryness if the area, there seems to be plenty of it

finished nest in the upper left - she then covered it all up so that it looks just like a mess of dried grass

We stopped in at CHI on Thursday to let them know we were here and ready to resume work - so far we have scheduled two days working at the resale shop in Pharr.  When activities start here at the park, I will only work one day. We also discussed with the volunteers when we would be starting our Bible study classes and what format they would like this year - videos, study books, or straight from the Bible. We want this to be their class - study what they are interested in, and how they want to study.

Another surprise for us was a call from CHI director Betsy who asked if we wanted to go to the refuge in Reynosa on Friday - of course we did!!! There were items that needed transport there, so Jesse, Fred, and I left late morning to be sure that we would be there when the children were released from school for the day. The two girls we sponsor, Paty and Lupe, now go to a junior high in Reynosa, so after being greeted by the elementary kids (one of the new little girls rushed up to us and yelled "Americanos" as she threw herself at us for a hug - she is fascinated by the fact that we Americanos have different colored eyes), we sat down to another wonderful dinner prepared by cook Maria, until the older children arrived - and we were reunited with Lupe and Paty for another season. The girls have grown into beautiful young ladies - poised and ready to conquer the world!

Jesse and the kids preparing the lunch area - Jesse almost looks like he is supervising!

another of Maria's home cooked meals

and it was delicious as always - bistek, rice, and tortilla's

Paty, Fred, and Lupe - the girls are so proud of their junior high uniforms!

During the week we stopped in to visit Becky Rodriguez at Great Oaks Community Church in Mission, Texas to say hello and check on the food and clothing outreach that we were involved in last spring. We were pleasantly surprised to see that it is going strong with many people being served with this wonderful ministry. Keep up the good work, Pastor Israel and Becky  and we will continue to help promote and support this community project. Today, after a study lesson at our park given by Chaplain Dennis on Psalms we drove to Mission to attend church at Great Oaks. Pastor Israel is doing a series on Relationships, which is really going to prove eyeopening. He, too, is inspired by the Holy Spirit and devoted to his flock. We expressed our sympathy as both Becky and Pastor Israel lost their fathers this summer - both within a week of each other. The greatest consolation is that we will all be together again in eternal life according to God's promises.

We will certainly keep everyone informed of the birthing process if it happens outside our door - through blogs and pictures!