Little Miracles

We are in the middle of summer craziness, 8 weeks of nonstop ministry with visiting American groups.  In the midst of all of it, a friend recently encouraged me to take a step back and take time to notice even the little things that God is doing in our lives.  I've been trying to keep that in mind each day and here is a list of some little miracles (and some big ones!) that we've seen God do in our lives this month.

We're Keeping Our Boys!
All within the same week, three of our six boys were in real danger of having to leave the Hope Program, two because of grades and one because of failing to pay a debt on time.  We were faced with the real possibility of losing half of the people in our house, and the boys would have to go back to broken family situations, poverty, and uncertain futures.  After a week of prayer and meetings with the director of the Hope Programs, and long talks with the boys, within the course of a couple days, all three of them were able to accomplish what needed to be done to stay in the program, passing tests, finding jobs, and deciding to stick with their studies rather than drop out.  This by no means means that they are out of the woods yet.  They each have a long hard road ahead of them if they want to stay in the program for the long haul, and it will mean changes in attitude, study habits and goals for them.  But for now, our house has stayed complete, and we have three extremely grateful boys.

Testimonies
Two weeks ago, Adan and Leo both shared their testimonies in front of a large group of Americans here on the property.  It was Adan's first time speaking in front of a group, and both he and Leo did a great job, sharing some difficult moments of their lives with grace and clarity!  We are very proud of them!  Leo has also been playing the drums for group worship time here on the property, and several people have commented on his talent and obvious joy when he plays.

Leo playing with the praise band

Happy Birthday!
Eduardo, Ellen, Leo and Ruben all celebrated birthdays in the same week!  It was fun to celebrate together with them!

Happy Birthday!  Leo, Ellen and Eduardo - just missing Ruben

Tent Party
Last Sunday we had a tent party at the property and invited all of the children's homes that Back2Back supports here in Monterrey.  There were about 400 people on campus that day, eating tacos, worshiping and sharing, and playing soccer.  It was cool to be able to see all the people that Back2Back impacts in this city all together in one spot.

The sea of orange shirts

Growing, Growing
Our baby boy keeps growing more and more, and everything looks good!  We went in for a 4D ultrasound this week and were able to see clear pictures of his face - we think he looks like Ana!

Baby Hernandez - 6 months