Peeps and More Peeps

Yes, it is that time of year when the Peeps appear. Can you believe that some people ( you know who you are)  never had Peeps until they were mature?? Ever since I can remember, my Easter baskets always had Peeps in them. Back then, there were only yellow Peeps - to this day I can only eat yellow Peeps. Forget the chocolate bunnies, the fruit and nut eggs, and those horrible hard candy coated fondant eggs (yuck). The Peeps were the only thing that went first!!! I admit, I already had my first (and only) package of yellow chicken Peeps yesterday. I do like to let them set a day or so after opening them so they get a bit crunchy on the outside. I am writing this as sort of a satire - Easter is soooooooo much more than Peeps and Easter baskets. But I do love Peeps!

This week was even busier than last week, with so many donations of clothing (new and handmade), food, and other clothing. The Lord provides us with with so many donations that we barley have time to finish sorting one donation than 2 or more appear. We are not complaining - although our days are filled and tiring, it is a wonderful type of tiring - sort of a peaceful tiring if there is such a thing. We had a great abundance of produce - nice fresh produce including bunches of cilantro and even mint. The tomatoes were almost overwhelming (which insured that our people received plenty of them) as well as packages of a broccoli/cheesy mix provided by our home church (Prairie Grove Christian Church in Arkansas). Last year they provided us with 33,000 packages of this staple which is so welcome to those in the colonias as one package serves 6-8. From what I have heard, they are packaging another 30,000 for us to bring back with us in the fall again this year. We are so thankful to them for helping to support Caring Hearts Ministry. We also had clothing for the ladies to search through (ropa usada - used clothing) as they love to do, as well as new items for the kids.We also received many pillowcase dresses for the girls, most of them with a matching pair of new panties, provided by amazing, caring folks. Those were to be distributed yesterday, so hopefully I will have pictures next week.

Lots of pictures this week - everything is working well.

squash, lettuce, celery, tomatoes

 more tomatoes, green mangoes (very bitter but good with chili powder and lime juice

lots of donuts, Pepsi,and boxes of canned goods

the ladies hard at work sorting produce and filling boxes

I was part of this - filling bags with mountains of cherry tomatoes

many done and more to go

time of prayer - to thank God for the provisions and to bless all of those who come to receive

a box of great eating - this lady lives in the colonias and works faithfully on Fridays

cilantro, sweet red peppers, mint, bread, and a package of the broccoli/ rice mixture

choosing clothing for the family

happy recipients

we served over 115 families

a new jacket - thanks to wonderful donors

and a onesie to go with it

a new shirt made by one of our chaplains

so happy with a new to shirt

shy

his mother could not believe that we were giving this to her son - why, what for, why us? she asked - because God loves you we answered

a pile of chihuahua puppies - a  lady in the colonias raises them to sell

food we picked up - the Winter Texans return home and drop off their non-perishables

we came home to find this on our patio

bags of clothing to be sorted from Children's Haven

boxes of food, and bags of about 100 lap robes

time for me to relax with a cup of tea - yep - mint tea was delicious

 The picture, titled "Grace" and painted by a gentleman from Minnesota many years ago. How many of you saw this picture in your homes, or the homes of relatives??

The sermon this morning was based on prayer you pray at the dinner table. There are many different mealtime prayers - some repeated at every meal, some spoken out loud and some silently, some prayers related to each day or occurrence, some old prayers, some modern prayers. Joshua thanked God for bringing food - manna - a new diet for his people. When he finally entered the Promised Land (after 40 years of eating manna in the desert) the manna stopped and the Israelites were able to eat from the bounty of the land. Joshua was born in Egypt, although he was a Hebrew slave to the Egyptians , often eating only the leftovers from the rich. When the day came for them to leave Egypt, they ate the Passover Meal the night before they left, their last taste of meat for 40 years. For a whole generation they wandered in the wilderness because they disobeyed God. Only Joshua and Caleb were the only two who originally left Egypt to enter the Promised Land. Our mealtime prayers are our testimony, whether they are prayers we say every day or those we say in thankfulness for God's provision. We always praise and thank God.