Tuesday, March 31, 2009

"Semi" crazy!



Just wanted to post a quick update for everyone. The moving truck arrived yesterday afternoon. By the grace of God and the help of my Mom I was able to get most of the packing finished over the weekend. Brad and a friend from church loaded appliances, couches, and beds. Today we will continue with the rest of the furniture and the many, many boxes. Because we are crossing the border, EVERY box, piece of furniture, item, every last thing that goes into the truck has to be labled in English and Spanish with its contents and a number. Then these numbers go on a master list for the customs agents. Needless to say, we are "semi" crazy! However, the biggest blessing of the day came around lunch time, when a young lady called to ask if she could come see the house. She was interested in renting. Brad told her it was fine but she would have to maneuver through the boxes and the chaos. I believe my exact words were "Just our luck!". Long story short...we have renters!!! And the best part is they don't need to move in for about a week. Phew!! Once again, God shows up and takes care of business. And, yes Brad, I was being a pessimist!

We continue to wait for all the necessary paperwork to come for our visas, but we learned yesterday that they do not have to be in hand for the truck to leave for Texas. That's great news because we really want to get our stuff down there asap.

We are staying at Brad's parents for the next two weeks. Then we will head down to see my parents for a few days after Easter. Then back up here for our final adieu. We still have a lot of work here, but God's grace is sufficient. Thanks so much for your prayers and encouragement. Please continue to lift us up. Pray for us to keep our focus on the Lord and for our family to remain peaceful despite the stressfual circumstances. We praise God that our house rented in His time and we continue to pray for the sale of the Corvette, the Gator, and our cows.

We will try to keep the blog updated over the next few weeks, but it will, undoubtedly be sporadic. God Bless for now...

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

419 Sierra Niltepec


Well, we've been praying for months now that the Lord would lead us to the street and the house that He had prepared for us and, praise be to Him, He has...419 Sierra Niltepec! Aside from a long day of delayed flights on Thursday we made it safely to Reynosa on Friday and by Sunday afternoon we were signing our lease. We could not have done it without our good friends and Children's Home directors Betsy and Randall. Randall had graciously set up appointments all day Friday for us to see houses in a variety of areas, price ranges, and sizes. I'm not exaggerating when I say we probably looked at 10-12 houses in one day!

It had become a bit of a joke between Brad and I that while I was praying for safe, big , and pretty, he was praying CHEAP!! Well God heard us both! We could not ask for a better place for our family to experience Reynosa. The Lord has blessed us with abundantly more than we ever expected. He never ceases to amaze!

Now, the countdown is on. In four weeks, Lord willing, we will be on our way. We've had a few snaffoos with our visas which are a requirement to have our belongings moved. However, we've got the ball rolling again and we know God will get them here in the right time.

The tractor trailer which will carry our belongings is being delivered on March 30th! That means we need to get everything packed to go asap and we will be staying with Brad's parents until we leave on April 20. (Pray for them!!) We still need to rent our primary house and sell the animals and Brad's Corvette, so please pray for us in that regard.

Thanks to everyone who has prayed for us to find our house. Please continue to keep us lifted up as we get closer to d-day. We will need abundant grace to get everything completed. Pray also for our parents and our friends and family here that they will have the peace and comfort that only God can provide in this situation.

I'm attaching a video tour of the house in Reynosa. Please don't judge me too harshly! Brad called me the HGTV girl... :)

(Be sure to pause the Playlist on the right so you can hear the video!)

God bless!


Wednesday, March 11, 2009

"If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land ..."

I think it is safe to assume that most of us know the story of Moses and the Israelites. Many have watched Charlton Heston lead the Hebrew slaves across the Red Sea on dry ground with the Pharoah's chariots closing in from behind. We've seen Moses standing at Mt. Sinai holding the stone tablets etched with God's ten commandments. But there is lot more to the story. Yes, the Lord delivered His people from the bondage of Egypt but they were not yet willing to free their minds from bondage. God promised to make Israel His chosen people and give them a promised land "which flows with milk and honey". He performed miracle after miracle before them and provided their every need from the moment they departed Egypt. All the while they worried and complained and fretted and fussed. But the saddest moment came when they were about to cross over to the Promised Land. The Lord told Moses to "Send men to spy out the land of Canaan...". They were instructed to basically scout the land and bring back a report along with samples of the crops growing there. So for forty days 12 men explored Canaan and when they returned they reported that "It truly flows with milk and honey..." and they brought evidence of the bountiful crops growing there. However, of the 12 scouts, 10 declared "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we." Only Joshua and Caleb reported differently. They "tore their clothes; and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying ' The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey.' " Joshua and Caleb were not super saints. They were ordinary guys just like the other 10. The difference was in their focus. The 10 were, like so many of us, focused on the problem at hand, a land full of giants who looked like they could whip 'em! But Joshua and Caleb looked beyond the problem to the ultimate problem solver...GOD! They were not stupid. They knew that they had no chance against the people of Canaan, but they knew God had their backs! They remembered all the miracles they had seen since they left Egypt. They remembered how God had provided their every need. They knew He would not desert them now. The sad part of the story is that the doubt and unbelief of the Isrealites cost them dearly. God sent them wandering through the desert for another 40 years. God promised them that Joshua and Caleb would be the only ones of their generation to enter the Promised Land.

As most of you know the news is littered with stories of Mexico and border towns and drug cartels. Many of you have voiced your concerns to us and admittedly we have had some moments of fear and doubt. But we are not going to be one of "the 10". We "know whom [we ]have believed and [are] convinced that He is able to guard what [we] have entrusted to Him for that day." Our God is not surprised by recent happenings in Mexico. We can have faith and trust that He who called us to this goes ahead of us and takes care of every detail. We can't choose to trust Him in some areas and not in others. We are not oblivious and we do not have our heads in the sand, we just choose to focus on the Problem Solver and not the problem.

Looking ever to the cross,
The Boyles

Monday, March 2, 2009

Mexico sounds better everyday!!!


Flashbacks of Michigan spring have been haunting me all morning!! I have a March birthday and I remember celebrating many birthdays with an inch or more of snow still covering the ground. But that was Michigan! This is my beloved North Carolina and she is not supposed to do this to me!!! Oh, don't worry I'm only a little serious. What I really wonder is if this isn't God's way of making Mexico sound better everyday.
Since our last post we had the mammoth moving sale and it was quite the success. Aside from people knocking our door down beginning on Friday morning (the sale was Saturday !) and calling to ask if they could come at 5:00am it went very well. We sold a lot, gave away a lot, and most importantly we have nothing big left that we have to haul away. We also had fun telling our story to so many who asked where we are moving. We even got to share with some families who moved here from Mexico!
Our next big event on the calendar is speaking at Hull's Grove North on March 15th. This is the satellite location of our home church. We're looking forward to sharing our story with these Brothers and Sisters and seeking their financial support for our trip. Please be in prayer for us that we would share what God wants us to and He would move in the hearts of His people on our behalf.
March 19th Brad and I will fly to Reynosa for 4 days to find a house to rent. We know that the Lord has a specific house in a specific location for us and we are praying that he will lead us to it. Issues that are important are safety, cost, and size. Betsy and Randall Chacon, the orphanage director and her husband, will be our guides and translators. Please pray that we find just what we need in the time we have.
We have been researching our options for moving our belongings and we think we have found the best choice. Because we have to go through customs it is not an easy task. It looks like we will be sending a tractor trailer down three weeks before we actually move because there is a possibility that it could get held up in customs for that long. This means we have to have everything packed and loaded on the trailer by April 1st!!! This stresses me out because that is three weeks less than I was expecting to have for packing. Please pray that the Lord will pour His grace out on us and we will be able to get it all done. Also, please continue to pray for the rental of our primary house and the sale of our animals and Brad's corvette.
Thanks to everyone who continues to send in financial support. We are very close to reaching our goal. You are such a blessing and we know that the Lord will bless you as well. We will do our best to keep you all updated as the weeks go by and we get closer to d-day!!
God Bless...