This week is been crazy all the kids! They are happy with Makaila being here.  They all want to hold her and it seems that she likes most of them but me.  When I hold her she always cries, poor Juanito. hahaha!

It is almost end of the school year and today is Jenrri’s Graduation.  He is excited and is getting ready for it.

I want to say thank you for all of your support and help because at this moment i feel our farm is growing so much and now we have corn and everything is green.  It looks beautiful!   Look at the pictures below. (Look mi amigo Clint)

We have some cows as well, you know why? Because my mom, Lourdes, loves having them.  Right now we have five of them. (See Below)

This is the sorgo (straw) for feeding cows		We are working the back half of the land so we can plant more corn.
This is Jacob’s corn he actually planted this woo hooo!		Juanito saying, “grow corn grow”
Lourdes’ corral for the cows		One of the baby pecan trees

This last week was difficult time for us,  because it was the one year anniversary of my Dad’s death.  (Juan Manuel see post from June 2009).   It was nice to remember him and look at pictures but really feels good to know that his dream of the farm is succeeding. Thank you for everybody who has had a part in helping us.

Please keep my family, this house, and I in your prayers.  Feel free to comment, I would love to hear from you.  

-Juanito

I hope that you are all doing well.  Things have been crazy for us over the last several months.  I am going to start giving you the update from the Home in Mexico. 

To begin with, the Children’s home is doing very well in our absence.  Karina, Lourdes, Benjamin, Juanito, and Jacob have done a great job running things at the home.  Over the last few months there have been some significant changes in the number of kids.  As you may or may not remember that at the end of every year some of the kids lose their passion for attending school.  Is this familiar in your kids?  The problem that faces Vida Nueva ever Spring is when the kids do not want to keep going to school and they live in our houses voluntarily, they can leave. 

Most often the kid’s parents/family also miss them causing us to lose many kids every year after the January return date.  This is also because all of the school fees are done being paid, and the kids have their school uniform.  So we started last Aug with 26 kids and youth, and right now have 12 living during the week at the home and 2 in college in Saltillo.  This year we have lost some students who have lived in the home for multiple years, and it was very difficult.  I have to remind myself that our ministry is on the belief that our job is to plant the seeds and it is the Holy Spirit’s job to bring fruit. 

Speaking of fruit, there are two events that are super encouraging.  One is two weekends ago the Church that Vida Nueva attends on Sunday Nights in Parras did an outreach to the Ranch San Francisco.  This is the small town where most of our children’s families live.  The church hosted a great time of fun for kids from the whole ranch and our kids did some of the ministry.  Below are some photos of our kids dressed up as clowns.  Pastor Jose said it was a great time and helps them build report in the community where they soon hope to launch a church.  The 2nd great event is coming up.  Jenrri Rios Don Juan, our 17 year old who has lived at Vida Nueva since he was an infant is about to graduate from HS in June.  This is a wonderful event.  Jenrri is one of the children who really does not have any family of his own.  He was abandoned by his mother, has never known his father, and has been raised in the home his whole life.  Alise, Makaila, and I are planning to attend the graduation to support Jenrri in the middle of June.  If anyone would like to plan to join us on a week long trip to Vida Nueva, just email me for the details. 

Betin la vaquero		Vida Nueva girls – Luz, Glenda, Reina, and Mirta in the back.

Jenrri will have one more class to attend this fall to complete his field of study and plans to attend a YWAM DTS in Costa Rica in April of 2011.  Please be praying for him.  What a huge step of faith and heart for him.  Pray that we can come up with all of the funds for his school, his travel, and his preparation needs as this school approaches.  Many of you know Jacob Hathaway.  He is an American that has lived at the home in Parras for most of the last 18 months.  He has been serving by driving, working, helping out with homework, and generally adding a set of eyes on the kids.  He is returning to WA this coming weekend to be with his family while his younger sister, Amanda, undergoes an open heart surgery on May 20th.  Please be in prayer for Amanda, Jacob, and their family as this surgery gets closer. 

Ok now for Alise and I.  In April I was able to make a short trip to Seattle and met with many of you so this will not be news to all of you.  After our trip in March to Mexico with Makaila, we believe that God is calling us to return to the States for a period of time to focus on our family, and be closer to our families.  We really felt a need to have Makaila grow up around our relatives and living in Mexico (and WA for that matter) would make that nearly impossible.  It was a difficult decision for us because we love the kids and ministry of Vida Nueva so very much.  We were able to talk this over with our staff in Mexico when we were there in March and they are completely supportive our of decision.  We will maintain a role and expect to do everything in our power to continue to lead teams, raise fund, and communicate for the Vida Nueva Children’s Home.  As far as all of our plans and initiatives for the 2nd Home and other improvements we have talked about, they are still needs, and therefore still plans.  We hope to continue working towards growing the ministry of Vida Nueva.

So for the last 5-6 weeks I have been looking for Pastor work in the Beaumont/Houston areas.  I have 13+ resumes out and am finding out how hard it is to get a job when no one knows you.  There are some great jobs available, but so far I have not had any call backs or interviews.  Please be praying for me to find a good job that will allow me the ability to maintain a role with Vida Nueva and continue to pursue a life in Ministry.  We have spoken to most of our supporters (we raised funds separate from the Vida Nueva funds) and asked them to consider supporting us through June.  Thankfully most have agreed to do that and possibly longer if needed.  Please keep us in your prayers about our future job. I have posted some recent pictures of the baby below.  Thank you for reading and God Bless! –Chad, Alise, & Makaila

Mommy and Makaila		So stinkin cute
My Birthday – she like daddy playing guitar		seriously cool

I just wanted to wish you a belated Happy Easter!  We had a great weekend here in Texas, yes we have returned now.  In fact we have been back just over a week.  We had a great time with the kids and staff down at Vida Nueva.  I mentioned in our last post about the work team we hosted from Wichita, KS.  That same week we were visited several times by a small team from SouthPoint Church in Lumberton, TX. 

They were great!  Not only did they bring down a huge load of clothes, shoes, and food for Vida Nueva, but they also brought a Christian entertainer name Joe Macdonald (Joe Macdonald Ministry).  Joe is a traveling Christian entertainer who does a hilariously fun magic and comedy show.  He performed several times in Parras and the surrounding communities.  His shows resulted in many people making decisions for Christ.  He also performed for the kids at Vida Nueva one evening, it was a great evening filled with laughter and excitement.  Thank you to the SouthPoint leadership for organizing and participating in this trip.  (below are some photos of Joe doing his show)

Joe getting ready for his whip tricks		Joe having a good time with Jacob

The last week Alise and I were at the home we worked very hard to tear down a second roof, then repair and rebuild the two missing roofs.  Below I have posted a video of the repairs and rebuild being made. 

Finally this coming week I will be flying to Seattle to participate in the Vida Nueva Benefit Concert at Northlake Christian Church.  I will then be driving Alise and I’s belongings across the country to Texas.  I hope to meet with and see many of our friends and supporters while I am in Seattle.  If you would like to get together feel free to email me at chad@vidanuevaparras.org. 

By the way… here are a couple of Easter photos with Makaila. 

God bless!  - Chad, Alise, & Makaila

I hope all is well with you and your families.  Makaila, Alise, and I are currently in Mexico.  We came down last week on Thursday, March 12th.  On Saturday, March 14th, a team from Metropolitan Baptist Church in Wichita, Kansas arrived for a short visit.  Actually they did a great job of wearing me out :).  That team worked very hard. 

There are a couple of great things that happened while they were here.  First of all the kids had a three day weekend, so they did not return on Sunday night, but rather returned on Monday afternoon.  So on Sunday afternoon, Juanito invited us and the team to visit his family at the their home in Rancho San Francisco.  They wanted us to see the first watering of their new Pecan farm.  Since my visit to deliver the generator in January, they have planted 87 Pecan trees.  Last Sunday they pumped water from the well and flooded the tilled ground for planting corn with their monthly 4 hours of water from the city.  Below is a video that I made to show some pictures from that night.  It was a very fun time, the Wichita team jumped in and grabbed shovels and helped us improvise ditch irrigation to get water to all the necessary areas.  This is a great event that makes me remember Juan Manuel who passed away last June.  The pecan farm was his dream for his family’s future. 

After that first day it was full blast until they left on Thursday morning.  We had a great time, and really enjoyed their time here.  We helped to clean out the building that will be used as the Baptist Church plant in Rancho San Francisco.  We removed a roof here at Vida Nueva, and we got to visit the sights around town.  I have posted a video that shows the main events with the team.  Thanks again for the great week Metropolitan Baptist Church of Wichita. 

Finally, I wanted to tell you about Makaila in Mexico.  This is our first time in Parras with her.  We have had a great time, and she is quite the star.  Over the last week the kids have ooed and awwed over here a ton. We let some hold her, and have been very surprised at the young girls comfort with such a small baby.  We forget that most of them have been mothering their younger siblings for several years already.  At the risk of being video happy, I have posted a video I made of Makaila for her 2 month birthday.  It does not have pictures from Mexico yet, but I will make one soon that does.  Keep us in your prayers, we leave sometime this coming week. 

For the many of you that have emailed us about the safety/danger that we are experiencing here, things are pretty calm here in Parras.  We hear lots about what is happening close to the border and in Monterrey, but it is hard to believe in this quite little town.  We feel very safe and secure here.  God Bless!

- Chad, Alise, & Makaila

Well 2010 is well underway.  If you are like me then you have watched far more Winter Olympics than is really healthy, but fun none-the-less.  It is fun cheering on the athletes, occasionally trying to encourage them with my voice despite the 2500 mile separation. 

Life for Alise and I is beginning to become a bit more routine.  Makaila is sleeping a little better through the night.  We are learning that the more consistent that we keep her daily eating schedule, the better she sleeps and the more consistent our days.  We are so blessed by her, and daily noticing her changes.  She is not even two months, but she is maturing daily.  Now she is smiling at our silly faces, following us with her eyes as we move around.  She can stand on her back legs if we support her well, and she is supporting her head almost all of the time now (yeah if you didn’t know me before, you might not realize how new all of these proud moments are to me.  6 Weeks ago I would have never have talked about any of those things, talk about flipping your life upside down). 

In Mexico things are going well.  Alise and I are in regular communication with the Staff at Vida Nueva.  They are continuing to pursue a second location.  We have run into ownership paper problems with the woman who was going to sell us the property that we have talked about to many of you and showed pictures of here on this website.  The last time I talked to the owner she said that she did not have a timeline of when she might be able to sell the property.  All of this after she was willing to accept money, when we requested her ownership papers, she suddenly decided to tell us the truth.  So it was and continues to be quite frustrating.  Praise God that no funds had exchanged hands before we discovered the problem.  Pray that God would resolve the papers issue or lead us to a property that may better meet our needs. 

One huge answer to prayer, was the recent donation of a gas powered generator for Lourdes,  Karina, and Juanito’s family.  If you remember their father Juan passed away this last June.  It was a very difficult thing for them (Juan and Lourdes Family is pictured on the left.  From the left it is Glenda, Jorge, Lourdes, Betin, Karina, and Juanito).  One of the things that Juan worked very hard to do for his family was to work towards developing a piece of property that he had inherited for potential future pecan farm.  Juan applied for and received a government grant that helped to pay for the well drilling that started the development.  Once the well was drilled the next hold up was buying the pump and generator needed to water the future plants.  Two weeks before Juan passed away the well was completed.  Since then we have talked to many folks about helping with the eventual purchase or donation of items that could help make this dream of Juan’s a reality.  At Christmas a man from Texas named Clint came down to help me drive Christmas Presents down.  He heard about their need for a generator and offered to donate his.  Praise God he followed through, I was able to deliver that generator in Jan, and two weeks ago they were able to purchase the pump.  Rejoice with us as God answered our prayers and the needs of Juan Manuel’s family.  This last weekend they pumped water from their new well and at this time have just over 20 pecan trees that they are watering.  They hope to have 50 by the end of March. 

Also in March, Alise, Makaila, and I will be returning to Mexico for about a two weeks stay.  This will be our first time visiting with the baby, and we are very excited to get to introduce her to the staff and children at Vida Nueva.  At this time we are planning to drive down on about March 10 and returning around March 24.  During that time we will be helping to host a small construction team from Wichita, Kansas.  We are going to work with them to replace one of the worst roofs in the house. 

Thank you all for your gracious support and your many gifts and email congratulating us about Makaila.  We are so very proud and constantly thanking God for all that he has given to us.  Please keep us in your prayers as we seek God’s direction for us in the coming months.  At this time we are planning to return to Mexico after the kids Easter break around April 10th. 

We love and miss you all. God bless! Chad, Alise, & Makaila. (This is a video of Makaila playing on the floor here in Texas.  I hope you enjoy.)