blanca's 15th birthday

here it's called a quinceanera. its the HUGE celebration when a girl turns 15. in latin cultures, its kind of like welcoming the girl into womanhood.

if you're unfamiliar with blanca suzanna, please give a few minutes to watch this video about her life and how we met her before reading on...

about 2 weeks before her 15th birthday, blanca asked me if we could all come to her party ("all the gringos", she said). of course we said yes, and began asking her more about it. there really wasn't anything planned, as normally a quinceanera resembles an all-out wedding bash... and this family has zero resources to throw a party. nonetheless, blanca was determined to have a quinceanera.

we decided to try to make it a little bit more special for her. kerrie and gina spent a day with her shopping for a dress, shoes, etc. they also took blanca out to lunch, which i'm sure was a first time experience for her.

blanca's blue dress was exactly what she wanted, and it fit her perfectly without needing anything done. they also picked up a new dress for blanca's mom.

the morning of the party, kerrie and gina took blanca and her mom to get their hair done. probably another first...

it was a sweet day. blanca cried as people hugged her and told her how beautiful she looked. her mom and family members made chicken, and others chipped in to bring salad, tortillas, and drinks.

considering her life story, blanca sadly gave up a normal childhood long ago. but i hope she always remembers her 15th birthday party.

see all the pics from the event HERE

"why do they do it?"

a while back some friends (who wished to stay anonymous) donated the funds to build a home for a local family named the Marroquin's. at that time, the Marroquin's lived in a mud and cornstalk home. click here to watch a short 2 min video about them...

ever since then, a friendship has been developing. we love to visit the Marroquin's, hang out with them and their kids, and just sit and visit.

another friend, who had connected with the Marroquin's while he was here visiting, sent money for Christmas gifts for the kids. you can watch that little video here...

not long after that, the same family that donated their home sent birthday gifts to the family. we brought the gifts...color books, toys, etc. there was also a spanish bible included.

recently, the anonymous family also donated bunk-beds and linens to the family, so that the 5 of them no longer had to share the same twin-size bed.

as we were installing the beds, Maria (the mom) told me she had to tell me something. beaming with excitement, she began explaining that on the evening the birthday presents were delivered, her husband Eulalio asked her out of the blue: "why do they do it?".

when she asked what he was talking about, he went on to explain that he didn't understand why the gringos keep blessing them. it did not make sense to him, and he was convinced that there must be some reason. something selfish or self gratifying, he thought.

Maria explained to her husband that she thought it was because "they just love God and they want to help people."

Maria went on to tell me that after a few days had passed, Eulalio said to her, "if that's the only reason they are doing it, than i want to know more about their God."

so she recommended he start reading the bible that was given to them...

he read the bible each night for several weeks (praise God he can read, as most in the village cannot). one evening, to Maria's amazement, he told her while laying in bed, "I think want to follow Jesus." she said they talked all night... and he went on to commit his life to Jesus and was baptized in his local church the following week.

in tears, Maria said their family life has been completely different ever since - "full of joy and peace." still poor... still struggling to get by... but full of joy and peace. she told me that Eulalio is a different person, husband, and father.

she said to me as she wiped her eyes: "i want you to know that it's all because of you guys. you have shown us God's love and you have shown us Jesus. we learned about His love by the way you love us."

for me there is nothing more encouraging than seeing people come to Jesus through seeing Him, feeling Him, and being touched by Him.

i'm sure Eulalio has "heard" about Jesus his entire life. but until recently, he had never been radically loved on in Jesus' name. that's our job as the church.

when asked what is the greatest commandment of all, Jesus said: "love your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength... and love your neighbor as yourself."

thank you to everyone who has loved the Marroquin's as themselves. one has been added to God's kingdom as a result.

lunch at lazaro's

if you are unfamiliar with lazaro, you can watch a short video about him and his family here.

we have had some great times hanging out with lazaro's family recently. kerrie and the kids have really been connecting with their girls and helping with reading and writing the last few times we've stopped by. last week we were able to deliver them 2 sets of bunkbeds that a friend donated (they have 9 kids). the kids were giddy and carmen commented "i don't understand all of this blessing."

last week they invited us to come to their house for lunch today. they were so happy to host all 11 of us (our family and the schmidts). they were literally chuckling with joy as they served the food.

when it was time to leave, lazaro said something that i'll never forget. "we're sad that you have to leave. our house lights up with happiness when you're here." kerrie and i fought back tears...

lazaro doesn't claim to be christian or catholic (basically everyone here is one or the other), which probably means he has in some way been burned by both.

as we continue to build this friendship, my prayer is that he and his family will come to know that - while He may be using many of us - it is Jesus who is blessing them, and lighting up their home when we come.

lazaro

today we celebrated the key ceremony for lazaro's family. it was a great day, but extra special when you know a little bit more about lazaro. check this out...

lazaro was born into a very poor family in the town of buena vista. his father died when he was just a baby. at only the age of 3, his mom died. he was left with his grandma, who was his last living relative. three years later, his grandma died.

at 6 years old he had no one left. living in a place so poor that everyone is struggling for food, lazaro was left alone to fend for himself. from age 6 to 14, he lived on the street, bouncing around finding enough food to stay alive.

at age 15 he married a local girl named Carmen.

today, along with Carmen and 5 of his 9 children, we welcomed him into his "dream home".

the hope that i shared with Lazaro today is that this gift of a new home represents God's love for him.

a love that carried him through a difficult life. a love that never forgot about him and never let him go. and a love that still has a great purpose for his life.

i look forward to a much deeper friendship with Lazaro. but i pray that, for now, he understands that while the home he was given today is only temporary, it represents something wonderfully eternal - the relentless love of Jesus.

click here for a short video of lazaro's story

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison..." 2 cor 4:16-17

proverbs 21:13

"If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered."

before/after - marroquin family home

just celebrated the completion of 2 more 12x12 love project homes!

i'm going to try to make short, easy to watch 2 minute videos of the before/after stories with these homes.

each story and transformation is SO AMAZING. please take the 2 minutes to check it out.

CLICK HERE for the marroquin family video.

Maivelyn and Joselyn

a sweet friendship is developing between these girls and my girls. we stopped by today to give them and their brothers backpacks and school supplies, and were welcomed with such excitement. they ran out to hug madi and brooke, and spent the next hour or so playing games, jumping rope, and goofing off.

these are the girls who recently lost their mom in an unexpected death. they now live with their aunt and uncle. i believe our paths have crossed with purpose... we'll see...