SIX NEW CHILDREN ARRIVE
God is so faithful to hear our prayers and has begun to add children to our Sonshine family. We are so thankful that we now have 16 precious children at Sonshine Hacienda. We added 3 girls and three boys to our family. One thing that might surprise many of you is that one of our new children is a 14 month old baby girl. Yes, we said that we would not be accepting babies...but never say never!! When we were asked to take her and her older sister, we understood the need to keep the two sisters together and could not say no. Needless to say, Angela is the center of our lives here at Sonshine. She is adorable and is getting spoiled...but the important thing is that she is happy with her sister and 15 other new brothers and sisters.
Another "first" occured this month when we accepted our first children through a private contractual agreement between Sonshine Hacienda and the custodial parent of two young boys (the mother abandoned the family 4 years ago). This is something that we have legally been able to do all this time, but no one had ever approached us before. We have much respect for the parent who made this decision. It was the greatest expression of love I have ever seen...knowing that he was not capable at this time to care for his sons and asking us to help him. We will meet with him in one year and see if he is able to care for the boys once again.
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EVERY FRIDAY????
Yes, every Friday five of us have a special day set aside for us. Diana, our Administrator, Karen (me, the driver) and three of our children drive to Mexicali for appointments with Therapists. One Friday each month we add a fourth child and go to two different locations to see both Therapists and Doctors. We leave early in the morning and return home late in the day. This is a long drive of approximately 250 miles round trip.That is a lot of wear and tear on our vehicles, not to mention the kids and adults. BUT we know that these appointments are giving these children the help that they have needed for years. We never the leave Sonshine without praying...asking the Lord to watch over us as we make that journey up and back. We pray for the tires, the engine, the air conditioning. You name it, we pray over it!! AMEN.
"DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING,BUT IN EVERYTHING, BY PRAYER AND PETITION,
WITH THANKSGIVING , PRESENT YOUR REQUESTS TO GOD." PHIL.4:6
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END OF SCHOOL YEAR CELEBRATION
On July 2nd we surprised the children with a special event to celebrate the end of school. We loaded all the children and staff in the Sonshine Bus and headed for the " China Inn" for a yummy lunch of Chinese food. As you can see in the photo, we were an impressive looking group....at least there were a lot of us!! The children had all worked so hard during the school year and we felt that they all deserved this special reward. So many of our children come to us so far behind in their studies. It is a real challenge for us to help them "catch up" in their studies and hopefully be at their appropriate grade level as soon as possible. At the lunch, all the adults were so impressed with the kids excellent behavior and table manners. I was so proud of them. They ate until I thought they would pop...I guess they must have liked it!! It was just a sweet moment for me to sit back and take a moment to observe these children & adults having sweet conversation and laughing together. Joy, sweet Joy.
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THE GIFT OF A FUTURE
This month, Maria Gisela Valenzuela Espinoza will be stepping out into a new adventure. She will begin studying at Cobash High School in San Felipe. This is a very important step for her because it is the college prep high school that you need to attend in order to eventually attend the University of Mexicali. You have to apply and be accepted to attend Cobash...Maria accomplished this. She will be the first person in her family to attend the university...hopefully this will happen in four years. Since Marketplace Missions came into existence in 1995, we have been involved in helping students obtain their dreams of achieving an education. We began this in El Salvador and have continued to give scholarships to students here in Mexico. This scholarship is a bit of a shared project. A special couple from Arizona recently donated some money to Marketplace missions and asked for suggestions as to how we could use this money. One of the suggestions was that they could help Maria with her education costs. They readily agreed...Praise the Lord. In the near future you will hear how we used the rest of the other funds that were donated. Anyway, Maria is beginning her journey. We have known her for ten years... since she was four years old. Her mother cleans homes for a living and is a wonderful Christian woman. Maria is one of our dedicated volunteers at Sonshine...she loves the kids. We thank the Lord for the blessings that he is sharing with the people of San Felipe through all of you.
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PLEASE MAIL YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO:
MARKETPLACE MISSIONS
PMB 41
P.O. BOX 9011
CALEXICO, CA. 92232-9011
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