Dear Friends & Family,

Here it is the end of another blessed year in Paradise.  As we wind down this year I marvel at what the Lord accomplishes through such weak creatures as Faye & I. It is only by His strength & purpose that the many tasks are accomplished. Let me move on before I transgress back to the end of the year. First let me start with the beginning of 2008.

November

Thankfully started out very slow but finished with a flourish. As you probably already know, Faye and I are teaching English every day at the Casa Hogar Orphanage with our new dear friend Yael in Puerto Vallarta. We have two classes. Faye teaches the older children and I am teaching the younger children. When we first arrived the children were like little wild animals and couldn’t even sit in a classroom properly. After just a few months that has all changed as the children have learned classroom etiquette and proper behavior in and out of the classroom.  Using the English ESL program we brought down, the older children are now reading English and speaking in sentences as well. We are very excited as the children thou orphaned, abused or just plain neglected are truly blossoming. We provide them with a healthy snack and fruit juice to supplement their normal meals of high starch.  Probably the most important thing we do is know each child by name and hug and love on each one of them as they are very needy for adult attention. Faye & I want to thank the many volunteer teachers and huggers that help us and also all of you in the states & Canada that provide resources either physically giving or donating to His Will, His Way Ministries. Yael Luchtan is originally from Guatemala and helps the children with their public school homework. She has been a great help to Faye & I.

Our pet project for the Casa Hogar Orphanage is to provide a drinking fountain for the children. Right now the children have to beg for a drink of water from the kitchen. The staff is very busy so sometimes the children do without. The children are playing in a very large concrete square which is very warm because everything is painted white and reflects the heat but has some cover. But one can get very thirsty and children need water as they need it. So I asked the orphanage president to provide me with a style of water fountain and system for filtering the water and I would find a way to purchase and install the fountain & water purification system. I will talk more about it later in this newsletter as she obtained the material costs and I obtain the labor costs of installation.

On November 4th we picked up our dear friends Jim & Linda Mather from Southern California at the airport for their 6 month stay. Not only are they wonderful friends but also great teaching assistants throughout the years. They are such Christian soldiers always thinking of others before themselves. We count them as one of the many blessings the Lord has brought into our lives here in Puerto Vallarta.

Then on November 13th, another dear friend and ex-CHP from the Sacramento area of California, John Stephan arrived in Puerto Vallarta.  This time he left his lovely wife minding the home fires in Lake Tahoe, CA. as he resolved some business projects.

Once again David Zude & his wife Luann from Denver, CO. arrived to assist Pastor Ric with some church projects. Their arrival was on Nov. 16th.

Then we picked up John & Linny Schock at the airport as they arrived from Carlsbad, CA. on Nov. 17th. for the start of the Thanksgiving holidays.

Then that evening we gathered Jim & Linda & John & Linny and headed up to the Cuale Paradise Restaurant for dinner.

Then on Nov. 20th we picked up Christmas gifts for the children at the Casa Hogar Orphanage & the dump from Larry & Lynda Humphrey.

We then had to say goodbye on Nov. 22 to Luann Zude who had to return to work in Denver. Well someone has to earn the money in the family. Just kidding, David. Hehe. As you recall David is a Training Captain of the Paramedics in the Denver area and spends all his vacations helping the poor and less fortunate of Puerto Vallarta. He comes down here 3 or 4 times a year to bless others. What an example for us all.

Then another of our adopted daughters arrived on Nov. 23rd. Esther Fluevog has come down the last three years to help Faye and I with the big Thanksgiving dinner feast on our roof. Esther is from Vancouver, B.C. and has blessed us with the running up and down the stairs acting as our dumb waiter. But she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Talk about Thanksgiving, God is so good to provide us with so many dear friends through the years to help us carry His burdens for the poor and less fortunate. But before we start the Thanksgiving dinner our oldest friends from the states who knew meet as we started our fledgling ministry at the School of Champions arrived via taxi from the airport on Nov. 27th. Thanksgiving afternoon. Oh, I better tell you their names. It was Garry & Karen Gregorius from Arlington, WA. They arrived as Greek gods bearing gifts of Starbuck coffees, chicken broth and many gifts of toys and things for the kids. In years past they had helped us teach at School of Champions & the Escuela of Laguna Del Valle. They spent their whole vacation teaching the kids. What dedicated servants the Lord provided through His love of all of us.

Well, if I were now to describe the truly scrumptious Thanksgiving meal we all thoroughly enjoyed you would want to have Thanksgiving all over again. Suffice it to say no one left hungry but did leave a few pounds heavier. Oh, well back on my horse’s diet again as Faye force feeds me oats every morning. I shouldn’t complain as people are starting to notice how guapo (handsome) I am becoming in my old age. Hehe. It sure took long enough to happen. Hehe. That ends the month of November.