Woohoo!!

Legally Done!!!

Tessa and Hanna’s mom signed the papers! They can now stay at Casa Hogar without legal difficulties. Very exciting! Their mother looked very happy. Very peaceful about what she did today. I’m so glad she has realized that what she is doing is going to benefit her girls greatly. Thank you God!!!! His plan always works out well in the end. The paper she signed today gives Casa Hogar Eirene legal permission to take care of her girls and it also says that no one but her can take her girls out of here. Which is a good thing. The papers for the birth certificates are in process. First they have to file a paper that proves that they are not already registered. Once that is done, the mom will go to Cocula and sign the papers and DONE. They do not have one yet because neither of them was born in a hospital and the mom never bothered to register them. Please continue to pray for everyone. Please pray that the mom shows up when it is time to sign for the certificates, please pray for Hanna and her adjustment to our house and life. We also need to get the birth certificates for Luis, Javi, and Pati. We have been waiting for almost a year for their birth certificates. They finally found Laura’s about 2 months ago!
God is so good!

...and then their were 13!

The papers are signed!!! The girls are here and the mother got to see them today. She was very pleased at how well the girls are doing and happy to have them continue to stay somewhere safe. Please keep praying. There is one more step to take this week and all the papers should be set. Please pray that these last details will be tied up with no snags. Also please pray for all of us through this adjustment. The Cummings have had Hannah for almost two years and this is going to be a difficult transition for all involved. It is hard enough to make an adjustment to a new living situation when you come from a bad situation but it is even more difficult when you have to leave a home of love. We could feel your support of prayer today. Thank you so much and please keep going until Friday night.

Tessa and Hanna

We found Tessa and Hanna’s mom. She has to find her i.d. card before Wednesday at 10 a.m. when she is supposed to have a meeting where she will sign some papers so that the girls can legally stay here at the Casa Hogar. She has had to show up for a couple other meetings like this before but hasn’t. Also, if she doesn’t have her i.d. she can’t sign the papers that give Tessa and Hanna legal permission to be at the Casa Hogar. We need everyone’s prayers please!! This lady has to sign the papers before the end of the year or the girls will have to either be taken by the State and never seen again or go back to their grandma’s house where they were severely abused. Please pray that their mother will feel a burden to need to do the best thing for her girls, to protect them. Please pray that the person who has this lady’s papers will actually give them to her because at past times they have been held hostage by the lady’s mom. Please pray that she will feel the obligation she has as a mother to her girls!! Only with God’s help can this be accomplished!!! Thank you so much! We know that when God’s people pray He listens!!! May His will be done!

Acosta Adventures September 2009!

Benefit Concert – If any of you live near or would like to visit New York City, there will be a benefit concert to support our children’s shelter, Casa Hogar. The name of the concert is ‘Songs for Shoes’. We would love for you to be able to attend! It will be on November 8th at St. Mark’s Church in The East Village. Please let us know if you would like to attend or if you have any questions.

Elotizas
In our town there is an elote (grilled corn on the cob) season. It lasts about 3 weeks max before the corn gets too hard to prepare this way. During that time, Chuy likes to invite large groups of people over to enjoy this once a year treat. One of the groups that came was our church from Guadalajara. About 120 people in all attended, not only from church but also some of the youth of our home town of Camichines. We had a volleyball tournament and it was a blast! The next day an orphanage from the city came for the afternoon, ate elotes and played on the trampoline. In total on those two days 700 elotes were eaten or taken home!

Visitors
This month Lacy arrived! She will be here for 10 months! She is a huge help and has adjusted quickly! The Thennes family is also here visiting from McHenry, IL! They can only stay for a little while but we are thrilled to have them here!

Youth Group
Youth Group has been great! Last week, 22 youth (ages 12-18) attended! This was the most yet. This week we had the Ramirez family come from Guadalajara to lead youth group. It was good time!

Kids Club
Kids Club is also doing well. We have some new kids coming since we had Vacation Bible School in August. There are an average of 40 children that come every week. Wow! Those kids are sooo cute!! Right now they are learning about serving others according to Christ’s example and about being salt and light in this world. We always try to give ideas of how to behave like Christ. Please pray for the children as they really undergo much teasing for coming here. Our prayer is that the changes that occur in their lives will be why more children want to come and learn about Jesus and how much He loves them.

Construction
This month we didn’t do very much construction. We did work on the outer fence quite a bit, but that’s about it. We are trying to finish the fence before moving on to other projects because, if we don’t have a fence, Casa Hogar will not pass inspection.

Children
Please pray for the children who are in our care at the moment. Laura, Luis, Javier and Pati (siblings) have now been here over 9 months. They are doing very well and learning to read and do basic math. We saw Luis finally turn a corner this summer and become a bit more confident. He really is terribly nervous and always seemed afraid but we see much change in him, Praise God! We still do not have any birth certificates for them. This means that, according to the government, they do not exist. That means we cannot ever place them in a school (not that we mind home schooling), or find families to adopt them. Their mother disappeared in February but we feel she may show up when the new municipal president gets into office and try to claim the children. Please pray that all the papers will be in order so that she will need to get the help she needs before they even think about letting her see them. The new president of our municipality is one of the people responsible for the slanderous article written about Eirene A.C. (the non-profit organization with which we work) and Chuy. They claimed that DIF only took her children away because they were poor. This is not the truth, as you know. They were very neglected and abused.

Tessa has been here since June and is thriving. We are at a critical point with her situation (and her sister Hannah who is still with the Cummings family). It will not be possible for the Cummings family to adopt the girls due to the girls’ family members causing problems and not allowing the mom to get birth certificates for them nor sign them over for adoption. We now have to press formal charges for the abuse the children endured before they were rescued. Please, please pray the officials will see the truth, do their job, and allow the girls to stay here. The other options are that they will have to go to an orphanage in the city or back with the family that caused them so much pain.

Our Psalm of Encouragement in these matters…
Psalm 37: 3-9 - Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret- it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

Prayer Requests
Please pray regarding all the above mentioned situations and that:
We will be sensitive to following God’s plans and not our own.
We will be continually in His Word.
God will work in the heart of those needed to serve.
God will supply volunteers to teach, care for children, and most urgent, help finish the construction.
All will stay healthy during the present cold season.
God will heal Chuy’s wrist, Amy’s back, and T.J.’s knee.
God will bless the Cummings and their new baby with rest and health.
The new plant of the church in the city will go smoothly. For wisdom for the Robertson family in this process.

Kooky Beliefs of Camichines: If you eat cucumbers and drink milk in the same meal you will surely die.

Construction Pictures July August 2009

WOW! Stairs!!!

Newsletter (Acosta Adventures) July August 2009

Hi All, Arlene wrote the newsletter this month with pics and all! and we could not send it so we sent it as text. We will get new pics on the blog of the construction and children on Thursday and Friday so check it out!
Our other blog address is http://casahogareirene.blogspot.com/

Volunteers!
This summer we were blessed with some great people who came to volunteer. There was Jenny who was not only a great teacher for the kids of the Casa Hogar but also a great help around the house. There was also Katie who was a fabulous help with whatever mom needed done. She also helped out a lot with the kids. Evan also came this summer and he helped with tutoring and such. Liz just left today. She helped out and learned much. Lacy is soon to come. There were also a couple groups that came down. The one from Virginia came down for a week and did construction in the morning and VBS in the afternoon. While they were here they put up the patio roof!!!! Now even when it’s raining we can have Kid’s Club outside. They also did a couple other little projects. The VBS went great! On the first day there were 68 and on the last day there were 90!! That is a lot of kids considering that in the beginning of this year pretty much the whole town was against us due to the children coming to live here. A doctor group from NJ came for one day and saw people for general health checks and dental work. Then, there was a group that came from Guadalajara. They were here for a few hours last Saturday and got a lot accomplished! They helped dig the foundation for an outdoor bathroom. Which will be used for the ministry. They cut and straightened some rebars to be used in construction, moved sand, and painted the garbage cans. Plus a couple other little projects! Some albañiles from Santa Ana came for a few days this past week and also got a lot accomplished. They worked on the foundation for the outdoor bathroom, plastered the stair way, and put up some second story walls!

Construction
Since I already mentioned what was accomplished construction-wise above, here I will just write what is to come. Which is pretty much the same thing in every newsletter… finish the upstairs so that we have more room for kids, then start another building in the yard. We also want to finish the outdoor bathrooms. I said bathrooms because there will be one for girls and one for boys.

Kiddos
The kids are doing great! Learning and speaking a ton of English now. With the whole situation we are still just waiting for the Consejo Familiar to come and inspect everything. In the mean time the kids are just playing, learning and being normal kids. Well, as normal as you can get at our house, which isn’t very normal. : )

Prayer requests·
That we will grow in the Lord and follow His plan for our lives.· For mom because she is in physical pain right now which in turn is stressful for her (and everyone else….when mom is down are we not all down??)· For the kids, the little ones and the big ones, and the little kids’ situation in general.· For health for everyone.· For the youth of Camichines, just that God will soften their hearts and give them a desire for Him.

If you feel God is leading you to partner in this ministry…How can you help?Prayers are first on the list, God is in control and we appreciate all prayers sent His way concerning the ministry here! Please note that there are now 2 different donation options. One is for the basic ministry here and the Acosta family and the other is specifically for building and supporting the orphanage.If you feel that God is leading you to support our family and all the other ministries in Camichines: Checks can be made and mailed to:
New Vision Community Church – Laredo
3119 N. Meadow Ave
Laredo, Texas 78040
Please attach a typed note stating that it is a donation for The Acosta Family in Camichines, Jalisco Mexico and your personal information (Name, address, phone and email address.) Also, if you could email us to let us know that you sent something (unless you would like to be anonymous), that would help.
If you are interested in sending a donation for the construction/support of the orphanage/foster care, you can make a check to and send it to:
Reforma Ministries
10 Gate House Road
Ft Lauderdale, FL 33308
Please put “Eirene – Orphanage” in the memo.

This is a registered 501c3 and can also be a tax deductible donation as is the church.

You are all part of the ministry here. The work could not be done without your prayers and support. Thank you so very much and may God Bless You! The Acosta Family <><

A Roof on the Patio!

This past week we had an amazing team from Virginia come to Camichines. They were a huge blessing. They helped us put a roof on the patio, start another fence, and did V.B.S. for the kids in town. Between 67 and 90 kids came every day to V.B.S..

This is a pic of the beams that hold up the patio roof.

This is a pic of the patio roof all done (well, very, very close to done)

This is a pic of the fence.

This is a pic of V.B.S., this was the first day.

Good news! (I think)

We have all our paperwork in order for now. Now pray that the Consejo Familiar will feel that it is ok for them to stay here with us. They have the final word. They are the office in charge of placing all the children in shelters or for adoption. This is the beginning of what we hope will be a good relationship with them.

Prayers Please!!!

PLEASE PRAY! The gov officials FINALLY came to take some of the report of the children BUT it is now very possible that they will have to go to an institution in the city where they will probably be split up. God is in control! Please pray for what is best for them and that all will be in order with papers, etc. That we pass inspection(s)....This is a step that HAD to happen. We are grateful we had 7 months with them instead of only the one we were expecting and pray for more. It will break our hearts if they have to go but we knew it was a possibility from the start. Please pray for strength and knowledge for us as we go through this process. There is a chance they can stay but as this is all new to everyone in this area, we shall see. Our biggest desire is that they can be adopted by a christian family, all 4 together someday. Not an easy thing here but as I said before God is in control!!!

Thank you,
Amy and Chuy

Tree

Today we cut down the tree next to the patio to make room for the pillars that will support a roof for the patio.

Duckduck's birthday

Pati turned 2 on July 2. Here are some pics.

Stairs are Done!!!

The stairs are now done!!!!! The wall in back is now about 5 feet tall. We also got the material for what we are going to do on the patio!!!! Will upload a picture when they are downloaded from the camara.

Stairs!!!!

One more step and we will have stairs!!!!!!!

Newsletter July 2009

We wanted to send a quick (ha-ha) update of our past two months. It has been very busy with many changes as we try to search for the Lord’s will in what we are doing here in Camichines. The first big change is that for now, we will not be having adult Bible studies. We have plenty of work with the children and did not have enough time with our own children. They are our first ministry and we need to be sure they are growing in the Lord. The Kids Club has also grown since making that decision.

We have 2 blog sites where you can see pictures and updates (we are working on them…) and Amy and Arlene both have facebook accounts with pictures. The blog addresses are:
http://littleranchwithhope.blogspot.com/
http://casahogareirene.blogspot.com/

We have started construction on the second floor of our home, which is the ‘Casa Hogar’ (children’s shelter). We need some more bedrooms and bathrooms, including a private room with a sitting area and bathroom for the person/people that come to help. When that is done, we will be able to take in more children. This is phase one of a three phase project for the orphanage.

The second phase will be another building on our property which will have classrooms on the bottom for teaching the older children and children from town skills like construction, plumbing, baking, jewelry making, etc., so that they will be able to earn a living when they are older. The classrooms will also be used for Kids Club, Youth Group and tutoring. The second floor will be a kitchen and dining room/common area. The third floor will have a small apartment for whoever comes to help and dormitories for children.

The third phase will be on a different property. We hope to build townhouses for the orphanage. That way there will be 15-20 children per house with ‘parents’. The big plan is to have a school, sports area, green houses, crops, animals, and much more. We hope the farming will help sustain the orphanage.

God will need to move many people to help with these projects so, please pray that people will be sensitive to His call for volunteering or donating funds for the projects.

Our first work team this year was such a huge blessing and a great treat for us. It was a team from McHenry/Johnsburg and was made up of many close friends and Amy’s sister, Sue! They worked SO hard that week to help get the downstairs and outside of the house painted, the land outside leveled before the rainy season so the water would not soak into the foundation again this year, tiling on the roof and raising a wall for a bedroom. They also helped organize some areas of the house and moved thousands of bricks from the ground to the second floor of the house. All this in 100+ degree humid temps per day as it was the week before the rainy season began. They were and are INCREDIBLE and kept us all laughing the whole week. Thank you! We love you very much!!

The interns have arrived! We have two ladies that arrived the beginning of June. Katie, who helps immensely with the foster children (and ours, too) and cooking/cleaning/whatever we need. We have found the bottom of the laundry bucket for the first time since January! Jenny also helps with the kiddos/house and is a teacher, so she has taken on their education while she is here. We have also started summer tutoring and she has many students from town. Evan came July 1st and is a great help with tutoring and construction. He is teaching the English class as well as others in Spanish. The ladies also love to help with whatever construction they can. You have no idea what a great blessing it is to have them here. Amy will admit that before they got here she and our four children were feeling a bit (LOT) overwhelmed. Chuy and Amy could not go out and comfortably leave all the kids here. We completely trust Arlene and TJ as sitters but they are not old enough to be the ‘responsible adult in charge’ of the Shelter. Chuy and Amy have gotten some much needed time out. The interns leave the end of July and we will miss them dearly.


We have an extra child visitor this month too. It has been so good to have her here and we are happy to have her as long as is needed.

Jenny, Arlene and TJ will be going to the city this week to work with a team that comes from a Christian school in Indiana. They will be helping with construction at the school run by Eirene, A.C. (the non-profit organization we work with). Arlene and TJ are working hard on their high school curriculum now as we start thinking about college (YIKES). Rebeca and Grace are so big now we cannot believe it. They are in 6th and 7th grade and a great help with the kiddos. Laura (8) and Luis (6) are learning to read and do addition. Javier (3) is a cutie pie but definitely 3 if you know what I mean : ). He is talking now and we see some great changes. Pati (2) is very smart and speaking much Spanglish. She will parrot anything you say so Becky has taught her to say “I love Becky the very most” (brainwashing…no?). Chuy is working hard on the construction here and has taken a break from school during this, our busiest season of the year. Amy is using the time with extra help to get caught up on paperwork, school and correspondence. Now would be a great time to write as she has time to respond!!!

Prayer requests

For us to be able to seek and follow God’s will for the ministry here, not our own.

That we as a family will be growing in the Lord and as a family, amidst the chaos.

That people would be sensitive to God’s call for them to work with children here in Camichines. We really need a teacher here to work with the children from the shelter and children from town.

For Lacy as she finalizes her plans for her trip here. She will be living with us this next year.

For the team that comes in August from Virginia. That the plans will go smoothly and that God will use their time here for His Glory.

For our friends in New York City that are planning a benefit concert for the orphanage. The concert will be in November and is called ‘Songs for Shoes’. May God bless them and their work. If anyone lives close and would like to be involved in/attend this event please let us know.

For Laura, Luis, Javier and Pati as they change and grow here. May they believe that God is real and that there is such a thing as unconditional love.

For the Cummings family as they work with Tessa and that they may get papers for the girls.

For all the teams that will work in the city this summer. That they may be safe, accomplish much and grow.

For the Rosales family as their son Johnny recovers from being attacked by a dog. Please also pray that God will comfort them still after the loss of their baby daughter Calita earlier this year.

If you feel God is leading you to help/partner in this ministry…
How can you help?
We have had many people ask how they can help. Prayers are first on the list, God is in control and we appreciate all prayers sent His way concerning the ministry here! Our costs have gone up some recently due to 5 extra children in the house to feed, cloth and educate!! Plus we want to keep expanding the programs offered in ministry. Below is our information. Please note that there are now 2 different donation options. One is for the basic ministry here and the Acosta family and the other is specifically for building and supporting the orphanage.

If you feel that God is leading you to support His work here in Camichines we can receive tax deductible donations. Checks can be made and mailed to:
New Vision Community Church – Laredo
3119 N. Meadow
Laredo, Texas 78040
Please attach a typed note stating that it is a donation for The Acosta Family in Camichines, Jalisco Mexico and your personal information (Name, address, phone and email address.) Thank you! Without you, this work would be impossible! Also, if you could email us to let us know that you sent something (unless you would like to be anonymous), that would help.
If you are interested in sending a donation for the construction/support of the orphanage/foster care, you can make a check to and send it to:
Reforma Ministries
10 Gate House Road
Ft Lauderdale, FL 33308
Please put “Eirene – Orphanage” in the memo.
This is a registered 501c3 and can also be a tax deductible donation as is the church.


You are all part of the ministry here. The work could not be done without your prayers and support. Thank you so very much and may God Bless You!

The Acosta Family <><

Sorry

Hi everyone! Sorry we haven't posted anything in a long while. Lots has been going on. We now have 6 steps on the stairway! Very exciting, since we will have more bedrooms upstairs! There are now 14 people in the Acosta family. 3 interns and a visitor and us original 10. There is now a wall around the house that is about 3 feet high all the way around. Roxie has 5 puppies. We had an awesome team come down in June from McHenry/Johnsburg. They worked SO hard and were tons of fun!!!! They helped us accomplish lots of projects on the house. I think that is about it right now. I will try to write a little something on here every day. This picture was taken at the zoo.

Acosta News March 2009

Mom has given me (Arlene) the task of writing the newsletter this month as she is broken. Her back is out. She would like me to tell everyone that she is sorry she has not been very good at responding to emails. By the time we get on at night her brain is normally fried. So please do not think that she is ignoring everyone. She says she would really love to hear from you and she promises that either one of us will respond. Please don’t stop writing because we love to hear from you.

We want to say THANK YOU to all of you who made the purchase of the new van possible. We all fit without being squished with extra room. The other day we fit 20 people in it to go somewhere. Even in the midst of economical difficulties for all of you we were overwhelmed by your generosity.

The Kiddos
The kids are doing very well. They are growing so quickly and also healing. The two older ones are doing school, too. The mom left town and we haven’t seen her in a while. Last month was a bit rough. The kids were being used in a political battle. The politicians tried to destroy the non-profit A.C. that the casa hogar (foster house) is under. It is pretty calm now though. Well, as calm as it can get here with 8 kids running around.

The Ministry
Kid’s Club has been going very well. We have around 40 kids come every week.
We have an awesome Bible study! They have proven it various times these past months. Sticking with us even when the going gets rough. When the whole mess with the political battle with the kids was going on they went to be witnesses for us. Even though the rest of the town was against us. Rosa came back to Bible study, but her husband did not. Please keep praying for him.
Youth Group has been better. There are few teens but they are very excited.

Us
Chuy – Dad has been very busy. Going to more meetings than he has ever gone to before, but all is well.
Amy – Well, as I mentioned above, mom’s back is out. She is super busy now trying to home school 6 kids and keep the other ones out of the way during school.
Arlene – Had to get a throat culture because I keep getting strep. Yuck. I’m also learning how to drive!
T.J. – Continues his devotion to guitar and the Lord. He has been growing taller every day. Literally, every day. He loves driving, school and guitar.
Rebeca – Becky is getting taller by the week. She likes reading and helping in the kitchen. She is also a great help teaching the little kids.
Grace – Is almost caught up in school amidst the chaos. She likes to play with her friend.

Projects to Come
We are in the process of building a couple more rooms on the second story so that we can take in more kids or spread out a little more. The other project is a multipurpose room. This week with the youth we are planning a clean up project for an area that used to be used for walking but it is difficult because people throw their dead animals there.

Prayer Requests

We are thankful that things are much calmer, that all the kids are getting much healthier, and that we are getting caught up in school. We are thankful for our huge family in Christ who have supported us through these times. We are thankful for Eirene. Please pray for that organization as they continue to grow and serve more and more people. We are thankful for much more but if we wrote everything you’d fall asleep before you finished reading it. Please pray that we will be able to always find time to read His word and grow spiritually. Please pray for mom (even though she says she’s fine). Please pray for all the papers to be finished and that the people who are supposed to be investigating the case of the kids would do their job. Instead of trying to please politicians. We are still waiting for the doctors appointments. Please pray for time and resources to be able to add more rooms upstairs and start the multipurpose room. Please pray for the Rosales family that God will bring peace and healing to them as 2 week old Calita went to be with Jesus. Please pray that we may have strength, knowledge, discernment and order. That God may use the difficulties that we go through for His glory. Please pray for all our missionary friends here that God may use them to share His word.

You all are part of this ministry; we thank you and pray that God will bless you greatly.

THEY CAN STAY!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for all your prayers!!!!! The meeting with the Ministerio Publico went very well. Dad did not go to jail!! The MP is all for what we are doing so they assured us that there won’t be any more people that will press charges against us. At least not in this case. The lawyers were all appalled by the pictures that both dad and DIF had brought. Those were the pics of where they used to live and the condition the kids were in when they first came. We now get to keep the kids!!!! Hopefully for a long time! It all depends on DIF. They still need prayer though. Especially Luis, the 5 year old. He is the one who is taking all of this very hard. He was finally almost adjusted, then his mom showed up and he is very confused right now. He says he does not want to go back though. The other kids are o.k. though. The baby saw her mom and didn’t react at all. The 2 year old was first excited, and then he was scared. The older 2 were just very scared. Thanks again for all your prayers!! This was again obviously all God because we were pretty sure that the chances of them having to go to an orphanage were like 9 out of 10.

Important Prayer Request

Today the Ministerio Publico (the people that people go to to take other people to court.) showed up at our house with the mom of the children. The mom is not allowed in our house or even near it by the order of DIF. And today she showed up with these people… all the way to the front door. They came because she had put a demanda (pressed charges) against Chuy. She did it with the help of Chuy’s own brother. His blood related brother. Chuy is in much need of prayer right now because this has been very difficult having his own family turn their backs on him in this already difficult situation. Please pray that the mom can calm down because at this point she is just preparing her way right into jail. This means that all her kids will be put into state orphanages and probably be separated for the rest of their lives. The lawyer for DIF (our side) says we have nothing to worry about but PLEASE pray.

Birthdays

Today we got all the kids birthdays! Next week is Javiers birthday. He is turning 3. He is also talking a lot lately, well trying to talk, but he is definetly not shy around us anymore. So cute!

We all fit!!!!!

God has sent us a 15 passenger van!!! Now we can go everywhere altogether, without being crammed like sardines. This whole thing was all God. As some of you know we were looking for a 15 passenger van in the summer. We looked and looked and the only thing we found was a remodeled cargo van that looked like a submarine. We gave up searching for a while. Then a couple weeks ago we started looking for one again and found one. The description of the van was exactly what we were looking for. We prayed about it. God sent all the money needed to buy the van all within a week. It is perfect because we all fit. There is also extra space for more children.

Quick Update

We appreciate all your prayers! God has and is definitely doing a huge work in these kids! They are so different. It is so amazing to see these kids changing both physically, spiritually and mentally. They have all changed colors because of bathing. We have discovered an unknown birthmark on the baby’s face. When they came they didn’t want to pray before eating now they won’t eat without praying. All the baby (Pati) used to do was cry. Now she barely cries at all, most of the time she is laughing. She has the cutest laugh. Javier (the 2 year old) used to be so scared of sleeping, now he skips off to bed. The only thing he said when he got here was no. Now he says many words in English and Spanish. He has definitely warmed up very well. Luis (the 5 year old) walked around very angry. He would bite people and said he was going to eat whatever animals were in sight. He would also say he would eat you, too. (Right Elizabeth?) He was very angry and tried to get attention in bad ways. He doesn’t have that angry look in his eyes anymore. He doesn’t pretend to eat things anymore. He is a very sweet child. Laura has learned to read!!!! What a great achievement! She is very excited and so are we. After months of trying and teaching she has finally learned.

We need lots of prayers. The children are so afraid of seeing their mom. They have nightmares that she is coming to beat them. She still lives nearby. Also, the town has gone a bit crazy. We are not disclosing the details about the children as it is our job to protect them. So, the people are saying ‘poor mom’. They are angry with us and it is a bit tense. Please, please pray for the ministry. We have lost one family but gained another in adult study and we shall see Wednesday if we have any Youth left and Friday how Kids Club goes.

The children have to undergo some VERY invasive testing this next week. Please pray that they are not even more traumatized by the process. It is necessary.

Thank you for all your prayers!

Happy New Year,

We really need your prayers. Laura's 3 siblings have come to live at the Acosta house. This is a huge change for us as now we have eight childdren, Arlene, 14, TJ 13, Rebeca,11, Grace 10, Laura, 7, Luis 5, Javier 2, and Pati 1. The children came on December 31. Seems our hand-me-downs do not fit the new ones :). One of the biggest needs right now is lots of prayer. (We are also going to need basic items like diapers and formula, food, water....)

The children are here through DIF (child and family services on Mexico) and we do not know how long they will stay. The mom was given the choice of leaving them here or going to jail and having them put into a formal state orphanage. After much stress, they ended up here. Please pray for their health and safety and please pray for my children as this is a huge change for them and it came very suddenly. Please pray for strength and wisdom for Chuy and I. The kids were very dirty when they got here but are now clean and sleeping. It will be a tough change for them. The baby was still breast feeding at 1 and 1/2.

Thank you for your prayers.

Love in Christ, Chuy, Amy, and all