What Happened to Sunday???

It seems that this time of year gets busier every day. I could not believe that Sunday slipped by and no new blog appeared (guess those blog angels overlooked me). As we continue in this glorious Christmas season, let us not let the busyness of the days get in our way of the true reason for the season.

It was a week of parties - one day it was 2 at almost the same time. Children's Haven had the "Welcome Back Volunteer" luncheon at their office in Pharr, Texas.  It was a good time for fellowship and catching up on what everyone was doing throughout the summer. The resale store did very well last year - $37,000 in sales with most of the items selling for $3 or less! What an achievement. Fred and I worked our 1/2 day this afternoon - the store was packed and busy all afternoon - I barely had time to price items and get them on the shelves. Sometimes they were purchased as I was getting ready to mark them. Praise God for His blessings, Pastor Jesse and his wife Belinda came into the store this afternoon to visit, bearing 2 hot wonderful meals that Jesse had cooked for us - what a godsend for sure as I had not yet figured out what we were going to eat for supper!!! Beans, rice, and a delicious goulash (but they call it something different) of hamburger  and vegetables. Thank you Jesse and Belinda for your saving grace - just as God saves us with His grace when we get ourselves in a bind.

the lobby of the CHI office with the pictures of the amazing kids at RIN in Reynosa

some of the volunteers, enjoying the appetizers

don't they look good?

Director Betsy Chicon welcoming us all

dessert

Friday was a gorgeous day as we met for our monthly/Christmas Chaplain meeting at the Echo Hotel. The seafood buffet there is excellent and very reasonable, especially for us seafood lovers! Of course, there was the hamburger bar for those who do not care for seafood. The salad bar is so good, especially since they featured cheveche - the awesome seafood cocktail.

Chaplain Bill addressed Spiritual Warfare as Satan is truly rampart in the world today. We all need to be prepared to meet the enemy -  "Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Ephesians 6:10-17.

Our Helping Hands quilting group donated 20 adult and 25 youth quilts for the food and clothing distribution this coming Sunday. Imagine the joy of a child who gets to pick out his very own quilt - not to be shared with other siblings or relatives. What joy there is in their eyes. Our park has also been donating small canned hams so many can be assured of a ham for Christmas. Most of these people share a grill with neighbors (they probably have no stove, electricity or gas in their homes). These small hams can be put on a grill to heat them or cooked any way they choose.

Judi, Vera, and Rena, avid quilt makers, along with Fred and one of the three bags of donated quilts

the Monday morning quilting is a beehive of activity

men are even involved

tying the quilts

sandwiching the layers

busy at work

another row of sewers

this was actually a tree skirt pattern turned into a cozy child's quilt 

another creative pattern

quilts ready to distribute 

On Saturday we were invited to an 80th birthday party for a park resident, as well as a shower for the niece of the maintenance man,  Pablo. We started out at the birthday party for a time then advanced to the Annex for the shower. There were the now familiar Mexican shower games and wonderful food. This is the first baby for the young couple (a boy ) and you could see the joy on their faces as they talked about their son.

 First the birthday party

 

 80 years old and still loves race cars

 Jim and his wife celebrating Jim's 80th birthday

 lots of help serving

 

 From there we went on to the shower.

 Pablo and his beautiful wife Margarita

 

 the decorations were very elaborate

 cute candy/nut cups made from small Styrofoam cups - adorable

Mama Ashley waiting for Zachery

 

 the proud parents-to-be

 

 cake pops - actually frosting covered cake balls - very tasty

      

the girls had to dress the men as babies, then the men had to drink a baby bottle

 

 

Along with all of our other commitments, you can see it was a pretty busy but fun filled week. We would find time to read Scripture each day to prepare us for the day's ups and downs - it seems that things seem to go much smoother when you start the day with some quiet Bible time.  Try it this week.  



 

 

Late Again

This week has just flown by - cannot believe that it is already Sunday night, and we have not had our Popsicle break yet! There are this amazing, delicious, cherry-mango Popsicles that we can buy here - very cheap and low in calories. Every night around 9 PM we indulge. (Old people and set in our ways, I guess). And so I am late in sending this blog - actually I am late in composing it.

Today I am a year older and was totally awestruck by the people who wished me Happy Birthday on facebook. It is so humbling to think these people took time out of their busy schedules to wish me a great day. It was a good day - Church services, a learning, fun Sunday School, then home to read all my bd greetings, then late lunch with good friends. Afternoon of answering important (or so it seems) e-mails, washing dishes, then company arrived. I have not even time to read the paper today.

Chaplain Bill's sermon this morning revolved around the significance of the Christmas Tree and how much of it can help us remember the true reason for the season. The Old Testament relates the stories of many people who used items to help them remember - Joshua and others even used stones. The shape of the tree seems to point to heaven. The tree topper is often an angel who appears many times in the Bible to "bring you good tidings of great joy". Elizabeth, Mary, and the shepherds, to name a few, all received joyful news from angels. The topper could also be a star - you know the story of the Magi. The tree also contains lights - the brightest light on top of the tree to represent the greatest light of all. "I am the way, the truth, and the light: no man comes to the Father except through me". John 14:6.  The smaller lights represent the church - us as followers of Jesus. To make the tree live and stay green longer, you cut off the bottom and put the tree in water. It must have water to live. Picture cutting off the part of you that keeps you from receiving the true living water and receiving the life giving truth of Jesus Christ. So now when you see the Christmas Tree, you can admire it's beauty, but be reminded of Jesus.

As we got out our Christmas decorations, I realized we were missing something - the tree was gone. Where did it go? No clue - unless we disposed of it for some reason last Christmas. CHI resale store had a lovely small one, just what were  looking for, and a great price. Just needed a bit of readjustment in the stand and we were good to go. Now to decorating it tomorrow and finish putting up the manager scene.

Last month, the church and Chaplains served donuts at the Wednesday morning meetings, where we find out what is happening in the park. It does not take a lot of preparation time and is really fun as we get to greet and speak to many park residents.
We served out our month, now a new group has taken over. Most activities are run by volunteers which are a big part of the park.

the December servers ready to go

too much to choose from

looks like hard decisions, but the donuts are the same every week

serving coffee from the endless coffee pots, always available.

the decorated stage in the hall

The wonderful ladies from Illinois again brought a trunk load of quilt tops, which our Helping Hands group finishes, then distributes to area hospitals, shelters, and even to our food and clothing ministry. They also sent beautiful home crocheted or knit scarves, hats, and afghans. So many little heads and faces will be warm this winter, although it does not get bitter cold here, the cold affects those here in the Valley. Thank you Lord for caring Christian people.

 

homemade hats, scarves, and afghans

 

one of the many scarves - made with love

 

We try to visit park residents often, sometimes because they need prayer and encouragement, but mostly just to visit, welcome them to the Valley as returning snowbirds or new residents. Just listening to others and their personal stories makes it so much easier to communicate with them. At our age, we are a wealth of knowledge, so to visit them increases our awareness of different areas of the country as well showing that we do truly care for them as our Heavenly Father cares for us. God wants us to talk to Him often. It really does not matter when or where or even how - just develop a relationship with Him and you will find yourself talking to Him more often - just like a best friend.  Talk to Jesus this week - thank Him for your blessings, and do not be afraid to ask Him about your own needs and wants. He listens.  



Christian Love

This past week has been very busy, as usual. Last Monday, we received a car full of clothing, as well as a truck full of Keebler crackers for the Food and Clothing Ministry. No sooner has we delivered these when we received a call from a park resident who said they had some clothes to donate - 10 boxes later our Texas room was full - as well as two full boxes of toiletries, including some very expensive small bottles of name brand perfume. Think of how special some ladies are going to feel this Christmas!!! Many folks have donated money for Christmas hams (the small 1# ones). We checked prices and were aghast at the price increase from last year, but this morning's newspaper ads showed a great sale at CVS Pharmacy, so today we scoped out two of them - only a total of 8 hams were to be found, but more to be on the truck Tuesday morning. So far we have enough money for a total of 24 - not counting those caring people who have already donated hams and cans of Spam, tuna, etc. The Spirit of Christmas giving continues on.

a car full of clothes - even the front seat was packed

a trunk full of crackers

and a house full of boxes of clothes and toiletries

The moon was so beautiful this week - jut the small sliver on the bottom - I tried to take some good pictures, but they turned out a bit shaky - you can see the entire outline of the moon though. So many wonderful things to see if we just take the time to look.

 

  almost looks like two moons

 

 

Our park has a "yacht club" for remote control boats A group has built steps down to the lake so all the boating enthusiasts can have races or just spend the afternoon "boating". After our huge Thanksgiving dinner at the hall, people were out walking, riding bikes, touring the park in their golf carts, watching the races, whatever they could to walk off the turkey and trimmings. The day was so beautiful and perfect that it seemed a shame not to be outside.

 some of the residents enjoying the boat races, while loving the great weather

three sailboats on the lake - there was even a speedboat

 

This morning during church services a gentleman became ill and needed immediate attention. Chaplain Bill, a retired MD,  quickly assessed the situation while his wife Ali began to pray from the pulpit. Everyone sprang into action, attending to the man, calling 911, running for a wheelchair, consoling his wife and praying with her while we waited for emergency crew to arrive (which did not take long at all).  Members left phone numbers for the wife, in case she needed to return home (she rode in the ambulance) so that she would need transportation. (I myself was a recipient of this loving kindness a few years ago when Fred had a heart attack - neighbors set up a transportation schedule so I did not have to drive to the hospital.) The area needed  to be mopped, and immediately the congregation grabbed mops, rags, whatever was handy. Everyone acted in the manner that Christ has commanded us to do. It was so amazing as everyone worked together to help another. The gentleman is hospitalized overnight for observation, and could possibly return home tomorrow. We resumed services with only 10 minutes for Chaplain Bill to preach. I think we learned more about ourselves and our obedience as a result of our actions.

 

 We are reading the Essential 100 weekly - a series of Bible Scripture that everyone should read, starting with Genesis. We then discuss the past week's reading in Sunday School. This past week was the story of Joseph - what an amazing story. There were many things that were brought out during discussion - almost like a book club discussion (guess that is really what the Bible is). Even though Joseph was hated by his brothers, and sold as a slave, he himself did bring this about by his attitude and feeling of superiority. I always felt sorry for Joseph, but the discussion shed a new light on his misfortune for me.

 

We were not able to help with the soup kitchen and produce distribution this week as Ali and I hosted a thanksgiving dinner table, but according to those who did so, 480 people were fed a chicken dinner on Thanksgiving Day (sad to say, the chicken ran out and some folks had the usual beans and rice. Produce was distributed to over 400 people also. What a great God we serve that provides for those in need - and what a privilege we have to be part of His provision.

 

As Thanksgiving 2014 becomes just a memory, we look forward to the Christmas season and the beautiful story of the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior. All of the fuss, presents, decorations, and gaity are just the wordly celebration - keep Christ in your hearts this year.  

 

 

Diamonds and Spider Webs

Diamonds and spider webs  really don't seem to fit together. This morning was so terribly foggy that we could not even see the lake which is very close to us. As the fog lifted, the dew and left over moisture from the overnight rain  remained on the yard, making the grass sparkle like diamonds of every color. As we walked to church, there were spider webs everywhere - and I mean many of them. They too were covered with dew, and as the sun would shine on them, they would sparkle like the most expensive diamond ever.  Every intricate part of the web was covered with diamonds, sparkling in the early morning dew. What wonders God creates for us if we would only take the time to stop, look, and put them in our memory bank.

Tonight's blog is later because Great Oaks Community Church had a Harvest Feast - a huge Thanksgiving dinner complete with all the trimmings. I made Southern sweet potato casserole, thinking I would have enough to freeze for later eating - we have only enough to eat at home for a meal and a half. The first sweet potatoes of the season taste so wonderful. All of the food was delicious - including the ever present corn, cheese, mayo, hot sauce the Mexican love to eat (so do I ). It was an amazing evening of food, fellowship as we thanked God for all the many blessings He has bestowed on all of us.

waiting to eat

the dessert table

rolls, eggs, potatoes, sweet potatoes, salads, all of this in addition to the turkey and dressing

one of the many beautiful table decoration

This week we received an answer to prayer - Fred and I have been praying for pinto beans for about 2 years now (yep-pinto beans). We got a call late this week that there were 1000# of pinto beans waiting for us, and we needed to pick them up by Friday!!! I had visions of a truck load of beans that we would have to shovel out of the truck, but they were all in bags. We scrambled around and found someone who had a truck to help us haul them to Great Oaks Food Pantry (Thanks Leonard Fulk!). We actually wound up with 400# of beans and 450# of rice all in large bags. These life saving food items will be packaged in smaller bags and distributed to those in need. God does answer prayers - sometimes it takes awhile.

 

beans and rice - ready to be repackaged

 the food pantry is well stocked and ready to distribute next Sunday

the Lord has blessed the pantry with a lot of items for those who desperately need it

Chaplain Bill had such a great sermon this morning concerning Thanksgiving. Why do we thank someone??? There are lots of reasons. We need to just thank someone for who they are - just because we appreciate them as a person. Bill passed out spots for us (tiny stickum dots) to put on our watch faces, cell phones, the corner of our glasses, even on our fingernails (then cover with clear coat) to remind us every time we see the spot to thank God for just being God, for just being there for us always, for forgiving us for our sins as we are mere humans, and for all the many blessings He has bestowed on us. In time, after the dot has worn off or fallen off we will be in the habit of always thanking God.

 

During this Thanksgiving week, try to thank someone every day for something  (a cashier, a co-worker, your mail person, a neighbor - the possibilities are endless) and do it with sincerity and love. The first Thanksgiving (which lasted 3 days) was indeed a time to thank God for all He had done for the Pilgrims, even though they struggled to stay alive that first year in America . They still were thankful to God despite all the hardships they endured.

 

Give thanks for God is good and His mercy endures forever.

 

Bucket List - Check

Every Sunday as we traveled to Mission to church, we passed the Mission Feed and Hardware Store. It is an unique store, and is always open on Sundays, too. And we always say, "It would be fun to stop there" (an item on my bucket list).  This past week we had the opportunity, along with other friends, to be in the area on a week-day and decided to stop. It was an amazing display of anything and everything - I think if you could not find it in this store, it is not made. I was getting a headache just thinking about doing an inventory!!! Of course, being a feed store, there were also live chicks and other fowl. So amidst the explosion in my brain trying to take in everything, the peeps, squawks, and smells were almost overwhelming. I also got to cross another item off my bucket list (which includes some almost impossible things to do as well as silly and crazy things).

 

need one of these for your front yard?

you have to see this place

a small section of the outside

need any cast iron?

everything a pet could want

alligator head skeletons anyone?

2nd bucket list item checked off - find a Sasquatch. this one seems to love Paula. 

 

 

Fellow Chaplains, Roy and Paula Gee collected  many items for the Great Oaks Food and Clothing Ministry. Some were donated, and some were even bought at yard sales. They, along with their friends Ellis and Fran, picked us up and we drove to Great Oaks where we were met by Pastor Israel and Becky Rodriguez. Most of these items will be used at Christmas time, although many will be distributed to the needy of the area.  We thank God for loving Christians who "Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." Hebrews 13:16

 The Gees, the Preuss', and the Rodriguezs and all the gifts

 sweet baby dolls

 toothbrushes and toothpaste

 lots of toys

 stuffed friends for the kiddos

 

Chaplain Bill lead our worship service here at Alamo RecVeh this morning. We had a great attendance (almost doubled our last week's) as more and more people arrive here at the park. We spend time in the service to welcome everyone back, and especially welcome newcomers to the park. We have a prayer and praise time, reading prayer requests and praises. It is so eye opening to see the prayer requests become praises (but why are we amazed at a God who answers prayers). "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." John 15:7

It has been really cold here this past week. As I walked one morning, I was bundled up with a hood, scarf, and gloves. Needless to say there was no one else out until the sun began to rise. It was a beautiful time of the morning; cold, sort of crisp, and very quiet - even the cats and rabbits were still snuggled in, as I was wondering what in the world was I doing in the cold morning???  It is a perfect time for me to start my day in prayer - being able to concentrate on God's enormous creation just waking up!!!

This week take time to read Genesis - truly read it as if you were reading it for the first time. It is a wonderful Book of the Bible which answers many questions for us. try to find the passage where God gives Noah permission to eat meat! Yep - it is there.

 

 

 

 

 

  

Fears

Because there still are a few issues with starting church here at Alamo Rec Veh, we  attend Sunday morning services at Great Oaks Community Church. Pastor Israel's sermon this morning was pretty thought provoking. He encouraged us to not be afraid. Fear comes in many areas, - physical fears such as being afraid of spiders, the dark, bugs, heights, water, as well as being afraid of happenings that tend to be more imaginary than real.  We all know people who are afraid of getting a terminal illness, or financial ruin, even fear of some criminal offense against them. A lot of these fears are due to things that have happened to us although some fears are just products of our imagination. And then there is spiritual fear - which is hard to overcome and still a puzzle. If we continue  to grow in God's love fear will be cast out. "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love". I John 4:18. Fear is a result of Adam and Eve's sin - they became afraid after they disobeyed God. Remember as children how afraid we became when we disobeyed our parents?? We often can overcome fear by confronting the very thing we fear. My fear of the dark has diminished since I have been walking in the early morning - now if I can just conquer my fear of pipes ( a bazaar fear that one of my daughters and I both have)!!!

I was invited to a very last minute baby shower for one of our CHI Mexican board members (Dulce) whose baby was due at any time. It was fun as there were only 6 of us in attendance and we had plenty of time for visiting. Of course, Betsy had a game prepared, which did not tax our abilities too much - lots of great food and laughter.

a delicious array of food - including Dulce's favorite - chicken wings

she is due any minute

a package of "butt crème" which really confused her

baby girl outfits

 

dessert of strawberry, mango, cream cheese, or tarimasu cakes - very rich but wonderful.

Dulce's baby girl, Ana Sofia Zapata, was born 2 days later!


We also celebrated a Harvest Fest the following evening at Great Oaks Community Church with a fun time for the kids in costume (even a few adults got into the mood), games and prizes for everyone, as well as a hot dog supper. I was in charge of the  duck pond - the kids pulled out a duck with a loving message on it (you are awesome, God loves you, you are wonderful, etc.) and then won a little prize. One little girl was enchanted by the ducks, stomping around the pool and pointing at them all. She had no interest in touching them or the water,  but giggled at them constantly.

 a cute little flower girl

 some of the cake walk prizes



the cake walk - hoping for a cake or pie

 some adults having a great time

 my duck pond - just a few ducks with powerful messages

 Jose Louis - his first try at making cotton candy

this little one had her hands and mouth full of cotton candy

 

 As we enjoy the bounty of the Lord, let us give thanks always for everything He provides for us - for all of the earthly needs, but especially for the spiritual blessing of His overpowering love.