A Lesson in Forgiveness

Yesterday, I was at Casa Hogar Douglas, talking to the head caregiver, Javier. He shared with me an event that happened the day before. That morning, in school, one of the older boys from the children's home was bullying one of the younger ones. Javier told me that when they returned home, he talked to the older boy and told him that he now was going to have an opportunity to seek public forgiveness for his actions. That same day, in the dining hall before they ate their meal, this young man got up in front of everyone, and asked the younger boy to forgive him. The younger boy said that he would as the entire dining hall burst into applause. Javier later asked both of these boys how they felt. Both of them said "Good!" A very simple act. 

Independence Day Party in Casa Hogar Douglas

We had a Mexican buffet for dinner

JJ from our staff did the "grito" or "shout" that is customary

The kids formed a color guard for the national anthem

Some of the kids did a traditional dance

Betty & I dressed up in traditional clothing by the Mexican flag

Sept. 16 is the Mexican Independence Day. The tradition here is to have a party on the night of the 15 and at midnight the president leads the whole country in a cheer. The end of the cheer is when the president says "Viva Mexico" and everyone else joins in with "Viva!"

This year, we had a party, organized by the church in Casa Hogar Douglas. The 60 kids that live at this children's home were so proud to open their home up to the public and host this party. They planned and worked to decorate and entertain people for the evening. We had about 100 guests who helped us celebrate Mexico's Independence Day with the children. I am so thankful that the kids had an opportunity to enjoy this evening. This is something that they might be doing if they had an opportunity to live in a home with their parents. Living in a children's home, many times they miss out on events like this that are part of their Mexican heritage. Needless to say, they were all tired at the end of the night but they were very content too. "Viva Mexico!!!"

An Opportunity To Share in Texas

This past week, Betty and I had the opportunity to share with a church in Texas about our work in Monterrey. We traveled to Brownsville, Texas on Saturday and we were able to speak in front of 1,000 people on Sunday morning. It was a great time of fellowship with the people there. We invited them to send a group to Monterrey to serve with us next year. Most of the congregation speak Spanish fluently.

Ten years ago, Betty lived across the border from Brownsville in Matamoros. Her pastor there was Pedro Medina. He is now the pastor of this church in Brownsville. For those of you that know Betty, you know that she is a prayer warrior. She developed this habit from Pedro. He teaches his congregation of the power of prayer. Seven, yes I said 7 DAYS EVERY WEEK, they have prayer in their building at 6AM. It lasts for 1-1/2 hours every day! Their congregation has experienced many great blessings. I believe one reason God has blessed them so much is because they love to pray. There really is nothing more that God wants from us but to have a relationship with Him.