Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year to All!

Just finishing up the final pretzels for the 2014 year!  It has been amazing to see the orders coming in, the checks adding up, the donations from friends near and far!  Thanking God for His mercy toward the poor and needy and how He manages to use a bunch of ragamuffins to make this happen.

As we wrap up the year, we stand in awe at what has been accomplished.  Over 350 meals were provided each week for school aged children in a little colony in Tijuana, Mexico.  Not only were their bellies filled, their souls were pierced with the love of Jesus!  So many of these kids come from families who work hard but can't always find work.  El Shaddai is bridging the gap in between those times of want and plenty.  The parents come and see how the body of Christ works and are touched by His great love for all.

Thank you for being a part of this little ministry.  Along with the feeding program, we began an education program a couple of years ago.  We are currently helping to assist 13 children with education expenses.  One of these young people will be graduating this coming summer.  I can't wait to share this news with you all when he gets his high school diploma!!!  He will be the first in his family to have ever gotten through high school much less junior high!  For a poor Mexican, education is the only way to climb out of the pits of poverty.

On behalf of Pablo's Pantry and all the folks who are behind the scenes, making all of this happen, we thank you for your generosity!  May God continue to bless you as you bless others.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Although I think about blogging, there is little time to do it.  Here it is, the end of 2014 and I haven't posted anything in over a year!  Not being technosavvy, the site was down for a while and unfortunately, I failed to get help in getting it up and running again.  Thank you, Shawn Rames, for being my knight in software armor!!!

My home has been filled with the aroma of melted chocolate over the past eight weeks.  Each year, I am reminded of all the people who have purchased or donated to help the kids down in Mexico.  Each pretzel is wrapped in love, gratefulness and prayers for all of you!  We are just wrapping up the fundraising event of November and my dining room is filled with boxes of goodies that need to be delivered in time for Christmas.  Thank you dear friends for your constant assistance in helping the poor and needy.

As we get ready to celebrate our Savior's birth, please remember how very much He loves us all!  Why would God set aside His deity to become a man, suffer and die for a sinful world?  Because of His great love for you and for me.  As we enjoy family, friends, food and fun, please keep in mind how very blessed we are and take a moment to give thanks.  We are so fortunate in this country with our cupboards full and our trees surrounded with presents.  May God continue to bless you to be a blessing!

 

Thanksgiving

Every year it seems that Thanksgiving gets pushed aside because of the clamor to get more Christmas shopping in.  Most stores now open on Thanksgiving.  How unfortunate that in the United States a day set aside to thank God for His blessings becomes another shopping day to build up more of our stash.

I am grateful for my experience on that first mission trip to Tijuana, Mexico in the spring of 2006.  What an eye opening adventure!  To see the plight of folks 20 minutes south of San Diego still burns in my mind.  Each year when I visit, I get my memory jogged again as to what I have and what most of the world doesn't have.  It makes me grateful and gives me the desire to bless others with some of what God has so graciously granted.

Thank you for joining me in helping my family down in Mexico!  This work in feeding and educating children could not be accomplished without your participation and generosity. 

May God bless you richly this Thanksgiving and Christmas season.

Another trip, more need...

Just got back from my sixth or seventh (I am losing count now!) trip to Tijuana, Mexico.  It is always a bittersweet trip.  So good to see my Mexican family but so heartbreaking to leave when the conditions are so hard.  I come back discouraged, wondering what else can be done. 

 

But praise to my great God, Who sees every hole in the roof, and feels for every hungry belly, and aches for the suffering of His children.  Many would ask, "Well, why doesn't God just alleviate their suffering?"  We, who are so monetarily blessed are blessed in order to bless others.  I'm not sure how it all works but I do know that when I began giving instead of getting and started working on their behalf, the blessings just came in even more than before.  Some say it is the way God's economy works.  His intention is for all of us to be a part of His awesome plan.  It is where true joy and contentment lie.  Seven years ago my world was turned upside down and I don't want to ever go back.  I have experienced so much joy, peace, contentment and faith through this journey than I believe I could have experienced any other way.

 

Won't you join me?  I had six awesome, faith-filled women come on this trip.  I cannot tell you how blessed we all were!  It was so much fun seeing Tijuana with fresh eyes, hearts and that "newbie" perspective that I sometimes forget.  We will be working on another trip next spring so get on your knees and ask if you should go.  I promise you won't regret it!

 

One life at a time,

 

Mary

 

P.S.  We were able to raise over $3000 to feed the children this trip!  Thanks to all of those who gave so generously. 

A Sheep or a Goat?

Matthew 25: 31-46   

 

  ³¹ "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.

   ³⁴ "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

   ³⁷ "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

   ⁴⁰ "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'

   ⁴¹ "Then He will say to those on His left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

   ⁴⁴ "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

   ⁴⁵ "He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

   ⁴⁶ "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

      This is not a fun section of scripture to read.  I have to ask myself, almost daily, do I want to be seen as a sheep or a goat?

 

      These last six months have been an amazing time of study and reflection about what God has for the folks down in Tijuana, Mexico and just what part I am to play in all that.  I was able to travel to Haiti and had a great time, learning from my new friends on the team and taking in all that I could so that I might be better equipped to help the community near El Shaddai.  There have been moments where I would like to quit but then those verses call me on.  You can't see poverty like I have seen on these trips and not want to do something, anything to help.

 

      I recently had some phone calls to come and read the Sadie book and share with young people what it is like to live in an impoverished country.  I take this as God's whisper that I should continue on.  I have reacquainted with my good friend, Bonnie Kovacs Reihing, who has helped us raise over $500 to feed little kids!  Another young lady in our church, Marci Rames, has graciously and generously given me 10% of her earnings from a small business she started in her home making tutus for little girls!  I have seen anonymous donations all year long, and God clearly meeting the $500 goal every month for almost two years now. 

 

      Being a Christian isn't for quitters.  We are called to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned.  We are to be Christ's hands, feet, eyes and ears in this world.  I am privileged and honored to continue this work that He laid on my heart over six years ago.  Please continue to pray for His guidance and providence.  To Him be the glory - great things He has done!

 

      Praying that He sees a sheep when He sees you and me -

Haiti Bound

Isaiah 54:2
"Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.

 

A few months ago a good friend of mine shared this verse with me.  It is a confirmation of what God has put on my heart. 

 

Over the last several months I have have the incredible opportunity to share my little children's story The Secret of Sadie Sequoia with kids all over northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan.  Sharing the story is always fun, but what I want the kids to learn from my visit is that they were created to make a difference in this world.  I get a chance to present an object lesson for them.  We open four different lunches from four different countries.  The children are told to pretend that they come from a poor family.  Zimbabwe, Mexico, Haiti and the United States are represented.  When they pull out the contents of their lunches, their eyes open wide and they begin to understand how very blessed we are here in the United States!  I get the chance to tell them a little bit about different government systems and how our government helps those in need where a lot of countries around the world don't enjoy those blessings.

 

God pricked my heart a couple of weeks ago with the desire to visit Haiti.  I tell the kids in my presentation about Haiti but I have never been there to experience it.  So like the verse above, He is enlarging the place of my tent and my desire is not to hold back.  A few months ago, I felt a strong belief that God wanted me to help more than just Mexico.  I don't know how He will do it but when He leads, I will just trust and follow.

 

So, Haiti, here I come!  I am going to be travelling with Dr. Jay and Jan Nielson, a local doctor and counselor who began this ministry 10 years ago.  They have built and opened a school, worked with Haitians in teaching them agricultural skills to grow food, helped with water needs, run a local clinic for medical needs, and a host of other wonderful tasks to better the lives in the community. 

 

Please pray that God will use me!  I want to be an extension of His hands, His feet and most of all, His heart.  I want my heart to break over the things that break His.  I hope that I will watch, learn and glean all that I can on this visit in order to help my dear friends in Tijuana and wherever else He impresses me to serve.