Tuesday, May 30, 2023

More Progress

As we approach the year's half-way mark, we also near completion of the construction in Huejotzingo where we plan to have English, Tae kwon do, and ballet classes; school prep; VBS; and the Oikos library. Progress is slow, but the building now has electricity, running water, a rain-proof roof, and tile flooring in the area where classes and the library will be. What still remains to complete is tiling of the bathroom walls and floors to prevent water damage. Hopefully by next week, Valeria, the woman in charge of Oikos libraries, will be able to finish categorizing and stamping the books donated to the Huejotzingo library.
At home in San Mateo, thanks to a financial donation, I have purchased a number of new books. Several of the children who attend Sunday service borrow one book a week from the new collection. 

We would be happy to receive more books in Spanish, preferably for youth or children. Getting the books to us from the States is a slow business, because of luggage restrictions. We have two unofficial couriers - the sons of the man we buy chicken from in the Saturday market. His sons live in Illinois but visit their father fairly frequently. They kindly agreed to carry four or five books for us each time they come. 

Abraham's and my children have progressed through their homeschool year. With the Sonlight curriculum, they only a have a couple more weeks before they finish. They have a few more weeks with their Spanish-language schooling. 

We are gearing up for this year's VBS with the theme of Judges. Our first day will be a discussion of Joshua's charge to the people to remain faithful to God. Day two we will teach about Ehud, followed by Deborah, then Gideon, and finally Samson. Marina, another Teach Us to Pray missionary, normally helps my mother-in-law Six with the oldest group of kids. However, this year Marina works full time and will not be able to join us. Please pray we have enough volunteers for the VBS to run smoothly. 

For my group, which is the youngest bunch, I have requested the assistance of a teen girl who attends Sunday service. Last year another teen volunteer was wonderfully helpful, and hopefully she can join us again this year. The two teens who worked with Abraham in the VBS games are both employed this year, although their schedule varies, so they may be able to be with him again. 

Please pray for the completion of the construction in Huejo and that the activities will glorify God. Pray for someone to live in the upper-story apartment. Pray also for VBS and for the various activities we are involved in.