We live a life of blessing and miracles. It took us a long time to get to a place in our lives where we could say, “Have it all Lord, do whatever you need to, whatever you want to with us.” But once we did, we have found more and more that He takes good care of what is His and what belongs to Him.
Sorry we have not been in touch for so long. The “Miracle Mobile” has been out of commission for about a week. When we first got our sweet ride, I heard a slight rattle in the engine. The noise increased and we would hear it off and on throughout our trek down here. The Lord kept assuring me that it would get us to Mexico just fine. And it did!
You should read the post below that I wrote back on the 11th before going any further. I meant to drive into town later that day to post it, but apparently, the AC Compression Unit is quite an important part of the engine.
We couldn’t have landed in a better place in Mexico to start our adventure if we tried. This ranch, Rancho Del Reyo, is truly a magnificent place. When you drive up to the main casa, you are greeted by a giant white cross planted in the ground. They tell me it was the first thing they built when they moved here. Good ol’ Don Smith is something else. He’s in his late 70’s now with white hair and crystal blue eyes, yet someone has not told him he’s supposed to slow down and relax yet. He’s great fun to talk with and has so many wonderful stories to tell. He’s always telling us that this is the Lord’s land and that the Lord just lets him stay here. He also suggested that they may have been down here this whole time simply for us to have a place for us to land when we got here.
All his workers seem to be happy to come to work. There’s a real atmosphere of peace and contentment about the place. None of the workers speak English and they’re all quite patient with us as we learn their language.
We’re not sure how long we’ll be out here at this ranch. Maybe a few more days, maybe a few more weeks, but for now we’re trying to soak it all in. Smith and I are enjoying our times together fishing for catfish down at the pond. We’ve already caught three nice size fish. They sure were good eatin’! And the whole family loves to go down there on hot days and go for a swim. We haven’t convinced Davis to jump out of the boat yet, but we’re working on it.
Ax is eating solid food now and it’s all we can do to keep the bites coming fast enough. He’s also attempting to crawl now and his sweet smile and ever increasing laughter sure lights up our lives. Sometimes, we sit back and think about how much easier this lifestyle would be without all these little ones here, but compared to the amount of joy they bring to us, it’s totally worth it all. Children truly are a blessing from the Lord.
I got to a point where I was frustrated with the Lord for not healing our van. Sometimes, I need a reminder that His ways are not our ways and His mind and His thoughts are far above our own. After we realized the battery was not the main issue, one of the ranch hands, Mario came down to help us out. We both agreed it was too large to tow all the way into town for the needed repairs, so he in his Spanish, and I in my broken English/Spanish language, decided to try doing it ourselves. We had a lot of fun communicating together in Spanglish and the work was done quickly. We took off the compression unit and sent it into town with Senor Rafa. The next day he brought back the rebuilt unit, we installed it and the van now runs better than ever. Toward the end of the repair job I asked Mario if he and his family were Christians. It just so happens, that he is the pastor of two nearby congregations. He has a son named Jonathan that is about Smith’s age and the kids really enjoyed playing with him while we worked. So, it’s at this point that I must step back and say, sure we’ve been without a vehicle for a week. We’ve been unable to communicate with all of our friends and family and that has hurt us badly. But in the end, I made a friend, and each time the van would not start it was parked right outside our casita, and what could have cost a ton of money ended up only being about $400 pesos, which equates to about $40 dollars. Wow!
So, the adventure goes on. It’s exciting to look at pictures of our past and read journal entries and see that everything that we have ever worried about has turned out either fine or better than expected. It’s exciting to know that if we could get in a time machine and travel to the future we could look back over the next several weeks and months ahead and know that all turned out great too! So yes, it doesn’t always feel like it at the moment, but our lives truly are filled with blessing and miracles. God is good!
Sorry we have not been in touch for so long. The “Miracle Mobile” has been out of commission for about a week. When we first got our sweet ride, I heard a slight rattle in the engine. The noise increased and we would hear it off and on throughout our trek down here. The Lord kept assuring me that it would get us to Mexico just fine. And it did!
You should read the post below that I wrote back on the 11th before going any further. I meant to drive into town later that day to post it, but apparently, the AC Compression Unit is quite an important part of the engine.
We couldn’t have landed in a better place in Mexico to start our adventure if we tried. This ranch, Rancho Del Reyo, is truly a magnificent place. When you drive up to the main casa, you are greeted by a giant white cross planted in the ground. They tell me it was the first thing they built when they moved here. Good ol’ Don Smith is something else. He’s in his late 70’s now with white hair and crystal blue eyes, yet someone has not told him he’s supposed to slow down and relax yet. He’s great fun to talk with and has so many wonderful stories to tell. He’s always telling us that this is the Lord’s land and that the Lord just lets him stay here. He also suggested that they may have been down here this whole time simply for us to have a place for us to land when we got here.
All his workers seem to be happy to come to work. There’s a real atmosphere of peace and contentment about the place. None of the workers speak English and they’re all quite patient with us as we learn their language.
We’re not sure how long we’ll be out here at this ranch. Maybe a few more days, maybe a few more weeks, but for now we’re trying to soak it all in. Smith and I are enjoying our times together fishing for catfish down at the pond. We’ve already caught three nice size fish. They sure were good eatin’! And the whole family loves to go down there on hot days and go for a swim. We haven’t convinced Davis to jump out of the boat yet, but we’re working on it.
Ax is eating solid food now and it’s all we can do to keep the bites coming fast enough. He’s also attempting to crawl now and his sweet smile and ever increasing laughter sure lights up our lives. Sometimes, we sit back and think about how much easier this lifestyle would be without all these little ones here, but compared to the amount of joy they bring to us, it’s totally worth it all. Children truly are a blessing from the Lord.
I got to a point where I was frustrated with the Lord for not healing our van. Sometimes, I need a reminder that His ways are not our ways and His mind and His thoughts are far above our own. After we realized the battery was not the main issue, one of the ranch hands, Mario came down to help us out. We both agreed it was too large to tow all the way into town for the needed repairs, so he in his Spanish, and I in my broken English/Spanish language, decided to try doing it ourselves. We had a lot of fun communicating together in Spanglish and the work was done quickly. We took off the compression unit and sent it into town with Senor Rafa. The next day he brought back the rebuilt unit, we installed it and the van now runs better than ever. Toward the end of the repair job I asked Mario if he and his family were Christians. It just so happens, that he is the pastor of two nearby congregations. He has a son named Jonathan that is about Smith’s age and the kids really enjoyed playing with him while we worked. So, it’s at this point that I must step back and say, sure we’ve been without a vehicle for a week. We’ve been unable to communicate with all of our friends and family and that has hurt us badly. But in the end, I made a friend, and each time the van would not start it was parked right outside our casita, and what could have cost a ton of money ended up only being about $400 pesos, which equates to about $40 dollars. Wow!
So, the adventure goes on. It’s exciting to look at pictures of our past and read journal entries and see that everything that we have ever worried about has turned out either fine or better than expected. It’s exciting to know that if we could get in a time machine and travel to the future we could look back over the next several weeks and months ahead and know that all turned out great too! So yes, it doesn’t always feel like it at the moment, but our lives truly are filled with blessing and miracles. God is good!
10 comments:
Dad and I are super glad to see you wearing hats Jonathan. It's good for the Lord to help you learn automobile mechanics and Spanish at the same time! Two birds with one stone--so to speak. Absence truly does make the hearts grow fonder, we've discovered. We love you and are praying you'll have the best Resurrection Sunday ever!
Your Great Grandma Bowman LOVED catfish! (forgot to type that earlier)
This is Hannah!! I hope yall are ahving fun in Mexico, and everybody is good. I lov all of those pictures!! Axey is ADORABLE!!! He's really getting bigger huh? Tell the whole family I say HI and I love them! MUAH
WOW! Nice catfish Smith!
We miss you guys!!! Love seeing all the fun pictures. Looks like your Ark is afloat Jonboy!!!!
Love you all...
The Rogers
It is so good to hear from you guys. I usually check your blog often just so I can see what adventure God has taken you on this time. Thank you so much for sharing your testimonies with us all, they definitely help to build up our faith. You guys are great. Love you guys!!! PS..how easy has it been for the kids to pick up the language?
So glad your van is up and running again. Rachel, hang in there with those spiders, tics etc. Watch our for those wild boars, Jon! What an adventure and something the kids will remember for ever. You are in our prayers.
Jim & Dora
Hi Nagels! Glad to hear from you! It is good to see all is well, we sure miss you all, give the kids love for us! Praying for you! XOXO
I am so glad to see the pictures...I am sure anxious for you to have regular internet connections, so we can keep better tract of eachother! I MISS YOU MORE AND MORE EACH DAY! Take care of those babies! Kiss each one of them for me, and tell them that their Aunt Joi Joi loves them very much and prays for them everyday!
I am proud of you Jon and Rachel!
Can't wait until you come home to visit us!
Joia
Those kids could not be cuter...
Hey guys, we're enjoying your posts a lot. Keep up the updates, and work hard on your Spanish and acculturation--the time you invest now will really pay off once you get down here. Take care!
Chris L
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