Neighborhood Bible and Elevation

The last two weeks have been filled with teams visiting from bay area churches. Neighborhood Bible Church of San Jose and Elevation Church of Santa Cruz returned each for a week of ministry and work on the Baby Home. The crew from NBC was focused on the upstairs apartment and worked hard to get the baseboards finished and the blinds hung in the two bedrooms. The Elevation work crew took on the task of assembling and installing cabinets in the bathing room and the laundry room. It was truly a blessing to reconnect with and work along side these faithful friends.

CALL TO ACTION

PRAY - Please pray for our dear friend, neighbor and resident GCH mechanic Lamberto and his family. His daughter has a heart condition and is in need of an operation. They have been in the hospital waiting for 10 days and now the hospital has postponed it for the third time.

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GIVE - We cannot take babies without the funds to provide for their care. Would you consider joining us in this effort by sponsoring a baby? Click here to begin you sponsorship.

Oh Canada!

This week we saw the return of a group from Heritage Alliance Church in Abbotsford, BC. They came to continue working on the Baby Home as well as spend some time with the kids at GCH. They worked hard getting drywall ready for texturing and continued painting in the upstairs apartment. On Wednesday, fellow YUGO missionary Ron Struska helped get the walls textured while the team spent the day at the beach with the GCH kids. The rest of the week was dedicated to painting the laundry room, kitchen, and front play area, finishing up all the electrical, and beginning the assembly of some of our cribs. Thanks to a dear friend, we were able to get 12 cribs donated to us from a San Diego baby store. This was a very special time as it makes the completion of the building seem so much closer. The team also delivered two boxes of hand made quilts that now have a home in our four nursery rooms.

CALL TO ACTION

PRAY - Pray for the remaining teams scheduled to come and serve at GBH. That God would protect and equip them for the work that needs to be accomplished.

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GIVE - Become a committed monthly supporter of God’s work here at GBH by sponsoring a baby. Click here to begin your sponsorship.

A Few Good Men

It never gets old watching the Lord miraculously coordinate blessings for Grace Babies' Home. I have seen it so many times that if I blogged every one of them, I wouldn't have time for anything else. However, I feel led to share a little of what the Lord has been up to this weekend with a few good men and some of the resources that are ultimately at His disposal.

About once every other month for the last year we have had a group of faithful men come to work on the Baby Home from Grace Chapel of Indio. Rody Johnson has been on every one of these trips and has come down a few times on his own to keep things moving here at GBH. Rody is a retired police officer who now works part-time for the police department. Several weeks ago Rody was told that due to a clerical error he had worked too many hours for a retiree and had to take two weeks off. At the same time his son-in-law who is a contractor just happened to be starting a large remodel project needed some help demolishing a kitchen. He asked Rody to come and help. When Rody saw the beautiful kitchen cabinets and granite counter tops, he thought they would be useful for the downstairs kitchen in the Baby Home. For 6 hours, he carefully removed the cabinets and counter tops and loaded them into a trailer.

I received an email with pictures of the cabinets and countertops and immediately made plans to drive out to Indio and collect them. Two men from Grace Chapel of Indio were there to help me and a fellow missionary friend load the cabinets: Rody and Anthony Dean, another faithful member of the GCI teams that have come to GBH. Anthony is a contractor who just happens to specialize in tile and granite. We loaded the cabinets into the trailer and made plans for Anthony to bring the granite down a week later.

This weekend, three faithful servants from Grace Chapel Indio came down to install the countertops: Rody, Anthony, and my father-in-law, Lonnie, through whom we were first introduced to GCI.  The most amazing part of this story is the fact that the cabinets fit perfectly into the GBH kitchen. We didn't have to modify them in any way. When it was all installed Anthony remarked, "It is like someone designed these cabinets for this kitchen." "Someone did," I replied.

This story of God providing above and beyond what we had imagined, and then bringing His servants with the exact skill-set to accomplish the work can be told over and over again in regards to this project.  It is truly a work in which the glory belongs to God.

CALL TO ACTION

PRAY - Pray for the workers who will serve at GBH. God has selected them and is preparing them for service. As we begin to work with the Mexican Social Services (DIF) it is becoming more clear how important it is to have staff with medical training.

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GIVE - Sponsor a baby here.

Grace Community Bible Church Team

This week we hosted a team of 30 youth and 10 adults from Sandy, Utah. They kept busy all week on various work projects at the children’s home as well as the baby home. Concrete footings for our front wall/gate were formed and poured, as well as a sidewalk down the side of the building. All four nurseries and the two back bedrooms downstairs were primed and painted. Doorjambs and baseboards were installed as well as lights, fans, and electric fixtures. Yes, it was a productive week! It was fun to see color go on the walls and things start to really take shape.

With all that was accomplished this week, the greatest pleasure was not in the work that was done, but in watching and observing the workers. Every year this group leaves us with tremendous hope for the next generation. Their foundation in Jesus and His Word is so solid that it permeates everything they say and do. Their strong work ethic and their respect for one another and for their leadership is something that is not readily seen in most kids their age. Paint is nice but hope is much better.

CALL TO ACTION

PRAY - Please pray for the Lord to raise up His army of faithful, committed supporters to partner with us in funding the monthly operational costs of Grace Babies' Home. 

SHARE - You can get real-time prayer requests via our Twitter Feed at twitter.com/GBHPrayer. Follow us and pray!

GIVE - Celebrate Father's Day by providing for the fatherless. Sponsor a baby here.

GCI/HCF

This weekend a lot of progress was made as we hosted a couple guys from Grace Chapel Indio for a few days and a group from Horizon Christian Fellowship on Saturday. Cabinets were installed in the downstairs kitchen. Walls were primed in the upstairs apartment and almost all the walls downstairs were textured. Baseboards and doors were painted and two bathrooms were tiled. We have a team of youth from Utah here all this week and they will pick up where these two groups left off.

CALL TO ACTION

PRAY – Pray for the group of youth working this week. That they would be kept safe and that God would bless them richly as they serve Him here in Mexico.

VOTE - At the end of April we submitted a short video highlighting the Lord's work at GBH to the Do Something World ministry. A $1,000 People's Choice Award will go to the video that garners the highest rating on their website. There are only 2 days left to vote! Help GBH win $1,000 by going to the Do Something World site and voting for our video. Follow these steps to vote:
     1. View the video here.
     2. Rate the video.
     3. Like the video.
     4. Comment on the video. 

SPONSOR A BABY - If you feel called to support this ministry with your finances, your $40 monthly sponsorship will help care for the needs of an orphaned baby while contributing to the operations of the home. Click here to begin your sponsorship. 

Santa Cruz Bible Church

This weekend we were visited by a team from Santa Cruz Bible Church. They served in various ways at GCH and part of the team kept busy working on the drywall downstairs at the Baby Home. Mudding and sanding drywall is a labor of love and this crew truly showed their love for the the Lord and His ministry here at GBH.

Westgate and Trinity

This weekend we were blessed to host Westgate Church and Trinity Church from San Jose, California. They worked diligently putting on the finishing touches of the upstairs residence, building a wall around the water heater, and continuing drywall work downstairs.

This faithful team was largely instrumental in the construction of the Education Center at GCH. As they continue to sacrifice of their time, treasure and talents, making several trips a year to México, the Lord continues to use them greatly to see Grace Babies’ Home become a reality.

CALL TO ACTION

PRAY - Please pray for physical and spiritual protection around the property at GBH.

SHARE - We would love to visit your home fellowship and share the vision for Grace Babies’ Home. To schedule a visit, contact us.

GIVE - In honor of your mom on this Mother's Day, would you sponsor a baby who doesn't have a mom?