Monday, August 24, 2009

Elsa

(Elsa at center in pink)
Although I know that the language barrier is coming down slowly each day that we are here, it remains my biggest struggle. I keep praying and studying, praying and studying! But the longer I'm here and the more I pray about it God reveals to me all that I am learning through what I view as a deficit. Pride has always been a big stumbling block for me. But when you're in a foreign country and you don't know the language you can kiss your pride goodbye! If I had a peso for every time I had to say "no comprendo" or "no hablo espanol" !! And even when I do understand and I respond I ALWAYS get that look. You know the one someone would give an alien or a two headed person.
Patience obviously is another lesson I'm gleaning from my struggle. I have so many hopes and aspirations for our time here and many of them simply cannot happen without some Spanish fluency. But, fortunately, I'm also learning to just jump in and trust God to do the talking.
Being the Mom of three boys, I've come to appreciate silence over the years. But awkward silence is different! When you're having a conversation with someone who speaks a different language there are MANY awkward pauses! But I've learned that if I'll stop trying to fill the silence God does a fine job of it. He's so cool that way!!
Elsa is one of the house mothers or "Tias" at the home. She and her husband Teo have two sons of their own Felix 15 and Tomas 12. They are in charge of a house FULL of boys. I think they have about 8 or 9 at this time. Elsa is one of those women who just emits the Holy Spirit in everything she does. I knew right away that I wanted to get to know her better. Thanks to our beloved intern Eliza, we found something we have in common. We both love to sew! We also both have a passionate desire to learn the other's language. We decided we would get together and do some crafting "one day". Well, "one day" arrived last week . Our family was all at the home doing some work and Elsa came and asked me what time I would like to come over to her house. I assumed we would visit and try to teach eachother some language skills. I was quite excited for the opportunity to do some bonding! Elsa, however, took me to one of the storage bodegas on the campus where she does sewing. She asked, "What do you need?". She was standing in a closet where fabric and other crafting supplies are kept. Long story short she did a little sewing, I did a little sewing, and we did a little bonding. There were MANY silent pauses and I was just fine with them! I learned that she grew up in Reynosa and has four sisters. Her Mother still lives in town and her Father has passed on. She went to seminary school in Monterrey and before she became a "Tia" she was a stay-at-home mom just like me! We sewed and talked for about 2 and 1/2 hours. But the sweetest part was when she asked if she could take my measurements because her husband wanted her to make me a dress. "ME?" "Si!" Apparently there is some big celebration that goes on in Mexico in September and Teo did not want me to be without the proper dress for the occasion. It will be the traditional white flowing skirt and puffy blouse with red and green ribbon trim. How great is that!! I definitely went home feeling that God had blessed my "deficit" that afternoon. I can't wait to spend more time with Elsa and her family.

P.S. Just wanted to let everyone know that the Boyles Brothers now have their own blog! Just go to www.3sonsofthunder.blogspot.com


Monday, August 17, 2009

Las Senoritas Sleep Over!




"Pizza, peliculas, and popcorn". That's what the senoritas from the home said when I asked them what they wanted to do for our first PJ party at Casa de Boyles. ( Peliculas are movies, by the way! ) So I stocked up on the three P's and we had a blast!!


Getting to know the teen girls here has been something I've looked forward to since we knew that God was calling us to CHI. I've had dreams of PJ parties and trips to the mall and girl talk and bible studies. But, to be honest, I'm more than a little insecure about my Spanish skills. How could I have the girls over or do anything with them if I can't communicate with them? Then God gave me Silivia! No, Silivia is not new, but our relationship is. I've known Silvia since my first visit here last June. She is almost 16 and she speaks very good English! Over the last 3-4 weeks God opened the door for me to begin to forge a relationship with her. Before really thinking it through I asked Silvia and some other girls one night if they knew what a pajama party was. She said "Yes, when can we have one? Tomorrow?" That very night we started making plans and as we neared the date I still felt very apprehensive. Would the girls enjoy themselves here? Would we be able to have girl talk with a language barrier? Would it be them laughing and having fun while I stood back not understanding anything? Then one morning I read my devotional and it said we can't wait until we think we are fully prepared to do everything God wants us to do. If we felt fully prepared for everything when would God get to show up and save the day? I realized that I had been thinking in the flesh and had not acknowledged God as the author of this whole thing. After all He is the one who placed the burden on my heart for these girls. He is the one who opened their hearts to me. I gave it over to Him that morning and on Friday night He was right there in the midst of it all.

He showed me that I have learned more Spanish than I realized . He showed me that it wasn't just about me pouring into these girls lives but about them opening the eyes of my heart and blessing me more than I can say.


We ate pizza (6 larges!!), drank "Coca", watched movies(4), talked, laughed and talked some more until 4am! That's not as easy at 39 as it was at 16! The irony of it all is that in all my apprehension I never anticipated what it would be like for them to leave on Saturday. When everyone was aroused around 9am one of the girls asked me, "Can we stay until the afternoon?". I didn't take them back until 4pm and it was very hard. A couple of them joked that they would like to live with us. What they don't realize is that we wish we could keep them all. Satan tried to use that moment to make me feel that we can't really make a difference in these kids lives as long as they still go home to an orphanage at the end of the day. But the Holy Spirit of God reminds me that these are His children and he has plans for them. Anything that we do for them in His name will not be in vain. We may not be the ones to see the harvest but we will have plenty of opportunities to plant seeds.


I have a new outlook and a renewed sense of purpose now. My God has changed me in miraculous ways and blessed me beyond measure. If I can be a witness of this to even one child while I am here then I will have brought glory to my Savior.


Please pray for "Las Senoritas" of the home: Angela, Silvia, Selene, Jacqlin, Maritza, Isabel, and Lola. And pray for me that I would continually point them to the Cross.


P.S. I just want to say "Thanks" to my Mom for always having the PJ parties and doing all the girly stuff with me....and for pointing me to the Cross!!
Silvia Rivera

Pray For Nelson



I have been wanting to post some pictures of the boys that are here at the home. Above on the left is Nelson(17 years old), Brandon(13 years old-my son) and me on the right. As you can see in the picture, Nelson is a joker! His tooth is colored in with a black marker because he knew alot of pictures were going to made on this day.

Please pray for Nelson daily. He has a good heart and reads the bible verses every Sunday night in devotions at the home. He has a younger brother and sister who live with his mom. He also has an older brother. Nelson is a hard worker and has become good friends with Brandon since we arrived. Pray that Brandon and I will be able to help Nelson grow in the Lord on a daily basis.

Nelson will graduate from high school this coming year and wants to go into the Mexican Army after graduation. Pray that the Lord will guide him and give him direction in his life. The next 12-24 months will be an important time of decisions for him.

There are many more boys whose pictures I will post in the future. Here is a small list of boys that you can pray for: Uriel, Daniel, Josue, Salvador, Oscar, Ivan, Jorge, Juan, Dan, Miguel, Franscisco, Jorge, Felix, Pablo, Brandon, Thomas, Johan, and Johnny. These are not all the boys but a good list to pray for. God Bless You and remember to put God first in all you do! Brad Boyles

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Manana is finally here!

A very popular word in Mexico is Manana. Everything will happen "manana". This one word sums up the basic mindset of a country. There is no hurry. We found that out when we waited 10 weeks to get our belongings, when we waited 2 weeks to get our gas turned on, when we waited three weeks to get our cable tv. So when we signed up for internet and were told one month we were not surprised. However, when we returned to check on things 6 weeks later we were told it would be two more months! Okay, if you know me, you know I'm a slow poke all the way so I like the pace down here. But even I like things to move a little faster than that!
Well, I'm thrilled to report that manana is finally here! We finally broke down and went for what we thought would be the most expensive route, a wireless card from the cell phone company. Turns out it is no more expensive than going through the cable company. Praise God!
We all feel so much more connected now. The first thing I did was download SKYPE and call my mom! The boys were salivating over my shoulder waiting for their turns to surf. You can expect a lot more posts now and lots of pictures so check back often. ;)
Since our last post we have said goodbye to our last TEAM, hello and goodbye to Brad's mom, Donata, and goodbye to our beloved interns BJ and Eliza. We are still very excited about being here but also a little sad about all the goodbyes. We will be changing gears now that the summer is over and we have no TEAMS again until November. The boys will begin homeschooling the first of September so that will take up a good portion of our time. We also have plans to work as a family at the home making some much needed improvements to the "casas" and just help out wherever needed. But what we look forward to the most is spending time with the children. This summer has enabled us to get to know them so much better. We are forging relationships and finding so many opportunites for encouragement and godly influence. We are planning several "extracurricular" activities with them. Next week I'm having all the girls 12 and up over for a PJ party at our house. There are about 6 girls in this age group and I can't wait to get some real "girl time" with them. Brad is also planning to take the boys 13 and up on a camping/fishing trip to the beach in the next few weeks. All the kids, ours included, are very excited.
The language barrier is slowly coming down! Brandon seems to just soak it up. He hangs out with the teenage boys alot and they have been like his own private tutors. He is definitely the most advanced in the language with me right behind him. The sad thing is I have to study daily and he has never picked up a book. I guess that is the difference between 39 and 13! Miller and Jackson are learning alot as well, they're just not as eager as Brandon and I. Brad has started using my books lately. He says he is better at listening and understanding than at speaking. I must say, though, it is pretty cute to hear him speak in his NC drawl!
We continue to covet your prayers. I really need your prayers concerning homeschooling. I know that it is the Lord's will, but I know how hard it can be and I have to lean completely on the Lord. Please pray that I will not be overwhelmed and God will strengthen me daily. Please also pray for our boys that they will walk in the Spirit and not the flesh. Pray that God would give them diligence and perserverance in their work.
Please pray for Brad as he leads our family and seeks to do God's will. Pray that God would give him wisdom and discernment. And please pray for all of us to be protected from the onslaughts of Satan. We feel him battering us constantly and we need strength.
Last, but not least, please lift up the children, house parents,and staff of the home. School will be starting in 2 weeks and lots of the children will be going off to new schools. Pray for their safety and for strength to be godly examples in their schools. Pray for the house parents to be the examples they should be for the children and to walk closely with Jesus.
Thanks to all of you who have sent emails, cards, and facebooks comments to encourage us. We are very grateful for all of you. God bless you!
P.S. The count is now up to three for number of times we've been pulled over by Mexican Policia!! 1 for me, 2 for Brad but all in my car. Our new tactic is to witness to every policeman who pulls us over!! We'll let you know how things go...
Eliza Johnson our sweet intern from Minnesota on her departing day!
Brandon and our other intern BJ on a trip to the beach
Donata, Jackson, Elsa (house mother), Eliza, Isabel, Brandon,and Miller
Brad and the very lovable Dan!
All the "Muchachos" hanging out! Some of the CHI children performing for BJ and Eliza on their last day in Mexico.
We will miss them both so much!!