We have been having a bottle cap collection (just bottle caps from beverages) and have collected thousands of them! 2500 caps, recycled, equal 1 chemo treatment for a child at St. Judes hospital in Memphis. Everyone has done a fantastic job saving their caps for us. Actually, our Texas room has turned into a storage shed - quilts to be distributed to the colonias (soon, I hope) food and clothing for Great Oaks Ministry, and other sundry items for the resale shop for Children's Haven. It will continue like this for a few weeks as people are leaving and dropping off their extras for use in our ministries. It is truly amazing how the Lord keeps blessing everyone - those who donate, those who purchase at the resale store, especially those who benefit from the gently used items. We are so very privileged to be able to serve the Lord in this manner.
We have had so much rain again this past week - the yards look like overgrown prairies. There are pink wildflowers growing everywhere, the blue bonnets are bursting with their beautiful color, even the pointsetias are blooming and thriving. God has a way of creating beauty after the gloom. It is so perplexing to see ripe grapefruit on the same tree as fragrant blossoms! The smell of the citrus blossoms is almost overwhelming.
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| grapefruit and blossoms on the same tree |
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| these grapefruits were gone the next day, as the residents who live at this place headed home right after they picked this sweet fruit. |
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| a blooming pointsetia
Our next door neighbor, Kay, had a surprise birthday party hosted by another neighbor, Pat. Pat loves to cook and always seems to be expecting an army of people. We laughed as she served spiced small hot dogs, barbecued ribs, hot dogs, pulled park sandwiches, potato salad, deviled eggs, jello, and other items too numerous to mention, complaining that she forgot to make the fish!!!! Dessert was birthday cake, cupcakes, and angel food cake. We had a fun time, as the sun peeked out to make this day one we could all join together in friendship.
        
birthday girl Kay
We had some wonderful ripe mangoes given to us this last week. They were at the peak of perfection and tasted sooooo sweet. It amazes me that someone, someplace, sometime decided which fruits were safe to eat and which were not. Was someone a guinea pig - you know - you eat it first and see if you die???Or is it just through God's direction that we know instinctively what and what not to eat?
 Chaplain Bill and Ali Artherholt treated us to a magnificent meal at the Republic of the Rio Grande - a truly elegant place to dine ( you will notice that I did not say eat - we dined!!). Scrumptious food - I had grilled chicken in an avocado sauce that was out of this world. We all shared in the banana bread pudding (there were numerous other mind boggling desserts - mango cheesecake, nuetrella brownie, sweet cornbread and ice cream, and an almond encrusted taco, filled with a cream filling. I think I will go there every day just for dessert!!!  don't we look pleasingly full? - at the restaurant after indulging 
Sunday will be our last church service here at the park - shortly after which Chaplain Bill will be leaving, headed back to Red Oak, Iowa to answer God's calling. We will truly miss their leadership, but especially their friendship. I believe that God sent Bill to Alamo Rec Veh to help release people from their bondages and help them find freedom in Christ. His work accomplished, God called him to other ministries - but why did He take them away from us! We look forward with great anticipation to receiving our next chaplain - who knows what God has planned for the Church @ Alamo Rec Veh ???
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