The work has begun! Ephesians 2:10

This picture was taken on the way to a city an hour north of us called Poza Rica. (We shop there sometimes!)


Well, this is late! I know! and I'm sorry! It has been a long week. Good, but long. Where shall we begin?
God is good! thats a great start! He has been faithful at His word that says.......

Because you have made the LORD, [who is] my refuge, [Even] the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. In [their] hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. Psalm 91:9-12

You will understand why i put this verse later on in the blog!

This week we have not wasted much time! The children, who (I must say!) are wonderful, are also thrilled that we are teaching them more English. We have an English class once a day during the week and today they took their first test. It was rather easy and fun but they are learning already! Things like "where is the restroom?" "Hello, my name is ____." and some Bible verses in English too.
and talk about learning!! HAH! I am learning so much Spanish, in addition to the poquito i already knew, It blows my mind! Really! it does! Its given me a headache already! Haha, just have to learn to pace myself! Cant take in the whole enchilada in one week!

Here are some of our kids!



(Left to right)
Charlie, Chuy, Zuriel (middle) and Miguel











Our classroom!

(this is like our own fairy tale! someone pinch me, is this a dream?)












This is the dwelling place of the kiddos.

Did I mention we're helping out a children's home? Well, I know you knew that but the next guy might not have known, sorry!









Israel went fishing with a huge cast net and we played...







and Israel caught a fish, a Pompano! and it made a fantastic dinner! He fried it up and cooked it, it was so good! tasted like chicken!



Up there is an awesome view that overlooks the beach.



Well now, back to the ministry part! Israel built the puppet stage! Thats really exciting to me but the weather is pretty crumby to do puppet ministry yet. Although, I do hope to start working with the kids with some puppetry skills pretty soon! Yey!

Israel also had the opportunity to preach last week and he does again this week at the same church. One of the couples who live and work here are pastors of this little church.
This building has no roof, windows or doors. but it works!


This has been a great experience so far and for the first week of getting settled in and all that jazz it was pretty low key...until this morning.
Moriah became sick very quickly after breakfast... she had diarrhea on and off all week but something wasnt right with her today! After her yucky diaper, she started to poo some more...i know this is gross but bear with me! - but it wasnt poo anymore! it was bright red blood and mucus! Yikes and scary! She then became pretty lethargic and threw up her breakfast. Immediately we start to speak the Word over her and pray. She continued with the bloody diaper for about 30 minutes on and off every 2-8 minutes....and we prayed. and it all stopped and she became her normal self within an hour! Thank you Jesus! Within that hour, we went to the children's directors/caretakers and they took us to the kids' doctor down the road a few miles. He is a Christian and available to us 24/7 it sounds like! What a huge blessing!
And so he knew exactly what it was! Moriah has had an attack from an ugly amoeba, which is a parasite. Not good! but shes fine! He gave her some meds and all but we really believe that God has healed her of this!
Reality Check -
Yeah, this is a beautiful place but its still a third world country and we must wake up every day willing to lay down our lives for the work God has called us to do. Its a scary thing when all of sudden your normal baby flipflops from smiles to suffering. But its not the first time! When Evey was 18 months old we were back in an indian village in the state of Hidalgo, Mx. She over night, became very ill with a rash all over her and it grew worse with swelling. She was fine of course after getting her to a nearby doctor and God providing the very thing she needed. Zytec drops for babies. She had an allergic reaction to an antibiotic.

Life is so NOT in our control. Today we felt so helpless but knew that our God was with us. After the trip to the Doctor and everything...we were sitting in the car and Jason Upton was singing in the CD player. His songs Not Alone and In Your Presence ministered greatly to me....In your presence all fear is gone, in Your presence is where I belong, it says. I sat and cried as we drove, only to know we were not alone... Although, it can easily feel that way sometimes.

We are so very grateful for His work in us and through us down here. We are honored to be used by Him and for Him. To God be the glory!

Thank you guys for all your prayers and please continue to pray for Moriah's complete healing.

More pics to come!


much love, peace and grace, The Bailey 4

Write the vision, make it plain...Habakkuk 2:2

Hey everyone! We're back in Lubbock!!! I hope everyone is staying warm this cold winter season! Actually, I was surprised it wasn't that cold up here. Although, tonight its supposed to be back in the 20s. :( Oh well, I'm grateful for the week of nice weather we've had! ;)

We have two weeks left to be here and....
I feel compelled to let you know of some things we desire to take to Mexico and why.
Since we will have a portion of the spiritual oversight of the children we really would like to take some materials that will help us in the greatest way!
We plan to build our puppet stage down at the home and will need some kids music in Spanish and some bible lessons on CD in Spanish to help us teach the children bible verses and bible songs.
Here is s a list of things we have in mind:

• Spanish children's movies (NOT English movies with Spanish sub-titles) on DVD preferably
  
• Spanish children's music and puppet skits on CDs
• Small to medium size hand puppets
• The funds for the puppet stage
• A mid-size CD player
• Crafting items like yarn, craft sticks, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, construction paper, crayons, markers, kid scissors and washable paint.
  

After getting down to the children's home we will a better idea of what we will do on a daily basis and therefore, what we will need.
In May we will come back up here and get refreshed and send out another newsletter, only to return to the children's home thereafter.

If you desire to help with these things listed or with our finances in general please email me.
thebaileys4@gmail.com



Thanks for your help! If you cant help out in a financial way please pray for us! We covet your prayers!

May His grace go with you today!

Step by Step

Well, God has been good to us in this season! We came down here to south Texas for the holiday and my brother's wedding! His new wife, Jessie, is a real blessing to our family! This is an engagement picture of them...We've hardly had time to stop since I was the wedding planner! and of course Christmas was before that and aside of it being a wonderful time with the family, it was crazy as well! In the midst of it all, we've been blessed and encouraged to catch up with our friends here and see God moving in their lives.

-NEXT! - Getting ready for Veracruz, Mexico AND Meeting the Boren family! Billy and his wife, the owners of the children's home, live north of Houston. We'll be meeting them tomorrow night and hope for a great time getting to know them.

Next week sometime we'll head back to Lubbock and prepare for the BIG trip! It will take two full days to get to Veracruz, and of course one day is taken just to get out of Texas!

While in Lubbock we hope to see as many friends and family as we can! Drop us a note and let us know if you'd like to get together!

Prayer Requests:

1. Protection while traveling

2. Financial provision for the trip to Veracruz and ministry needs

3. Continued good health for us

4. God's favor in unexpected situations at the border and throughout Mexico

Thank you so much, dear friend, for your prayers, love and support! May God bless you beyond your expectation and in everything give Him thanks for He alone is worthy of our praise!

We'll keep this blogspot updated as much as possible, until we are able to send out another paper newsletter. Please drop a comment below to let us know this blogger is working out for you to read easily. We appreciate any encouragement along the way as well!

Change is on the horizon....

Well the news is out and on its way to your mail box! :D YEY! It feels like a HUGE accomplishment!

and speaking of those...if you havent heard...Israel passed ALL of his EMT finals! praise Jesus! that phase of life is over!

The next season, however, we feel has not yet begun but in many ways, it has! Change is definitely on the horizon!

For Christmas and New Years we will be in Bay City with my family and we will meet the newest family members~!! My brother is getting married!!!!!! We are sooo totally excited about this occasion! God is so good and faithful to have brought into Gary's life, Jessie and her son Caleb, who is 4yrs old. Yes, Evey and Moriah have a new cousin! The wedding is in 2 weeks!!!! Jan. 2nd! Not much time to plan but things are already coming together nicely! The best part, i have to say, is how happy Jessie is to be apart of our family and how much she does love my brother. Us girls are going dress shopping ASAP~ when i get there~! what SISTERLY FUN!

Back to Lubbock we'll head.. sometime mid-January to prepare for Veracruz, Mexico!!!!!!!! We'll be leaving around February 1st.

If you did get a newsletter, here are some ideas I came up with that you could do with it...

1. Cut out the pics and put them in your wallet, on your fridge, etc. (then its easier to be reminded to pray for us as you see our picture!)

2. um...throw it away? NO please, dont do it! it was a lot of work!~

3. Save our address and contact info...and the blogspot address for future reference!

4. Share the news with a friend or relative that may know us and be interested in what we're doing!

5. Respond to it! Let us know you are praying for us! What a great big blessing that would be, to get some personal messages from our family. Send messages by email thebaileys4@gmail.com or through our blog (you can comment on my post at the bottom)

I must add - Israel's parents have been a big part of our lives while we've been here in Lubbock. They have been in Africa though, for the past month and are returning tomorrow. God was faithful and good as always..and well i really dont have many details about their trip yet but I know that many came to Jesus while they ministered the gospel!

God is our source and provides in all sorts of ways..in saying that - Pete and Val (my in-laws) have been so generous to swap autos with us! Our old Ford F-150 for their Suburban!~ God laid this on their hearts as they new we were in need of a more suitable vehicle for traveling. May God richly bless them in everything~!

As far as details about the children's home in Veracruz and our participation there...i really dont have many answers for questions you probably have! I have many questions too! We will be teaching the children about Jesus and the Bible and English! We really wont know much more until we arrive there! We are trusting that God has a plan and we just arent able to see the entire view yet. However, we will do our very best to keep you informed as much as possible. We dont know the full situation yet and how often we'll have access to the web and email.

If you are new to blogging, make sure to look for the word "subscribe" (to the right) and you will be taken through to Google or Yahoo and it should customize your homepage with our blogspot on it. It should then update you when I post another update! If this doesnt work or you have trouble please let us know! (I'm rather new to this as well and it took me a bit to figure it out! So dont feel dumb!)

Well i guess that is it for now... I hope you all have a wonderful holiday with family and friends and food and gifts and most importantly make Christmas most about Jesus!

faith, hope and love...and the greatest of these is...LOVE

-the Bailey 4

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Sweet girls...

More prep...

Getting ready to send off a newsletter...

taking pics this weekend? hopefully!!!

collecting addresses... just about done!

getting things sorted in my mind.

Shopping for Christmas? ...not yet, really.

ready for Christmas!? YES! ready for family times and unforgettable moments to share...yes.