A few years ago, a family full of red-heads visited our church. As it turned out, there were 8 of them and they were a homeschooling missionary family from Mexico, the Coults. The story could be long, but the short version is that we brought them home with us from church that day and since then, our lives have been a whole lot richer.
This is they. They let me take their photo every so often and this is one of those in my yard.
Beautiful Hermana Rebecca has become one of my closest friends. She's my soul sister really. I think we may have been separated at birth. (but she got the great hair instead of me!)
So, in the last 4 years since we all met, we've spent a fair bit of time living with one another and really getting to know each other....and we love each other more than ever.
As I mentioned, they are missionaries in the state of Sinaloa, Mexico. They live in a small village called Las Gloria and minister in the surrounding communities. They are a wonderful, caring and dynamic group of people. Every member of that family considers himself or herself a missionary. The children all minister just as well as their parents do.
You'd love them if you met them, they are a fun loving, hard working and hard praying God loving group. We sure love them a ton.
This Christmas, our family, my husbands parents, and 3 other members of our church are heading down into Mexico to help them put the roof on a Youth Center they are building behind their home. They intend to use the building to draw local youth in for all sorts of ministry as well as other larger groups that can't be accommodated in their home.
We also plan to put on a couples dinner for the community there. We'll visit the migrant camp and put on a Christmas party for the people there including gifts, shoes and a pinata for the children. We'll sing some music in Spanish and fellowship there. Also, during the week, we intend to visit the prison and share with the prisoners some music and hopefully, words of hope and encouragement.
In the past they've put on parenting classes, worship conferences and whatever else seems fitting to meet the needs of the people.
In December 2009 we took our family down there for the first time at Christmastime and shared in fellowship with them. We didn't feel especially useful, but they said we were. While there, we participated in putting on a couples dinner for the community (a special even to be sure since poor fishing villages rarely get to eat a yummy meal including beef). We also got to share Christmas gifts with a camp of migrant workers.
This is the home of a migrant camp worker and her family of 6.
It's pretty much a shed, nothing is sealed from the elements.
Migrant camp workers are so generous that they want to share their food with us (we are terribly embarrassed at this, not wanting to take what little they have, but they won't take no for an answer)
While there we had good times, including arm wrestling contests, making friends with the locals
Cleaning local shrimp for a shrimp fry
Building building building
We visited the local markets which are a feast of colors, textures and......smells.
Meat is just sort of out in the open which is rather unsanitary to the American sensibility.
This is the condition of a great many vehicles down there. This is a 'good' one.
It is a beautiful place with a great deal of need.
I can't tell you how much we enjoyed it and how much it broke our hearts at the same time. At any rate, we'd love it if you'd pray for us while we are away. It'll be an adventure.
I'll be showing up again on December 28th with some fun projects I created for American Crafts so make sure and check that out.
I want to wish each of you the Merriest of Christmases. I am so thankful that we celebrate each year and remember God's tremendous gift, the baby Jesus who came to die so that we could live. Such a gift is too awesome to describe and surely deserves a regular celebration.
May God bless each of you this Christmas. Thank you for being a part of my life!
