Remembering a Dear Friend

I traveled back to my Mexican home the weekend of May 17th to build another cinder block home with a group of college students and several adults from Suncreek United Methodist Church. The family for whom we built the home lost their home in a fire. The father and the children worked beside us moving cinder blocks, mixing mortar, and filling in the cracks in the walls.

In addition to building a house, we we blessed to participate in the dedication ceremony of La Colonia Kathleen Baskin-Ball. This neighborhood is named in memory of our senior pastor and dear friend, Reverend Kathleen Baskin-Ball, who lost her two year battle with cancer in December, 2008. Kathleen is the person who introduced Suncreek (and many other churches and people) to Rev. Jose Luis Portillo and Proyecto Abrigo. I am forever grateful to Kathleen for igniting the flame in my heart for mission work in Juarez. She loved the people of Juarez and they definitely love and respect her. It was an honor for all of us to be there for this ceremony where we read scripture, prayed, and heard several stories about how much Kathleen means to the people of Juarez. What an emotional, but wonderful experience! (the memorial will eventually be finished with stone and ceramic tile - I can't wait to see it!)

My heart is sad because there are no mission teams from the U.S. scheduled to build homes through Proyecto Abrigo all summer long. It's very hard for me not to know when my next trip to Mexico will be, so I am trying to be patient until the time comes when I can spend more time there once again. Please continue to pray for Jose Luis, his family, and all of our friends in Juarez.

Until next time, Dios te bendiga!

A Week in Key Largo

Spending the week of 5/9 - 5/16 in Key Largo with my mom, Peggy, my sisters - Sandy, Lisa, and Lynda, and my nephew, Jack, was such a blessing for all of us. This was the first time in our adult lives that we were all together for Mother's Day too! We also decided to spend the week together as an early celebration of my mom's 70th birthday (September 14th).

This was Jack's 8th trip to Key Largo for dolphin-assisted therapy at Island Dolphin Care. Jack and one of the therapists, Eli, spent twenty minutes each morning in the lagoon with Squirt and her baby, Lotus. The dolphin's trainer, Wendy, would instruct the dolphins to do specific activities such as give Jack a kiss, swim with Jack/Eli holding onto Squirt's dorsal fin, etc. The dolphins love being near Jack because his artificial heart valves make a loud clicking noise, similar to the clicking sounds the dolphins use to communicate. Jack and Squirt have a really special relationship and it's amazing to see how she imediately recognizes and remembers Jack - even though she hasn't seen him in a year! We also had classroom time each day and each of us made art projects (we painted tote bags and some made a potholder too). The staff at Island Dolphin Care have become like family to my sister, Sandy, and Jack. We all very much enjoyed spending time with Deena, Pete, their son, Joe, Eli, Clara, and all of the interns we met.

After leaving Island Dolphin Care each day, we went back to our condo and spent time in the lagoon pool, which was very close to our room. After sunning and swimming, we would go eat fresh seafood - the highlight of my day!!! I had grouper and mahi mahi several times as well as shrimp and scallops. Yummy!!!!! My favorite was coconut encrusted grouper topped with mango chutney with melted swiss cheese on top. Absolutely fantastic!

Although I was sad when our week together ended, I was excited too because I flew directly to El Paso on Saturday evening for another visit to Juarez. My kids, Nick and Kelly, flew from Dallas and met me at the El Paso airport. I will post more about our visit to Mexico soon!

Life is Full of Obstacles!

After several days of non-stop media coverage of the swine flu outbreak and numerous calls and texts from friends and family practically begging me NOT to go to Juarez last weekend, I went with my gut and flew to El Paso on Thursday morning, April 30th.

I worked with a team of 7 from Stonebridge UMC (McKinney) to build a home on Friday and Saturday. The team consisted of 6 adults and one youth, age 10. The weather was hot and sunny with temps in the low 90's. Whew!!! Despite the heat, we worked hard to finish the house early on Saturday afternoon. The family that received the home included Daniel, the pastor of a local church in his neighborhood), his wife, and several of their 8 grandaughters and 2 grandsons. What a beautiful family! When we arrived to dedicate the home late on Saturday afternoon, two of the girls were dressed up in their Sunday best! We were impressed! The family was thrilled to receive a new home and other gifts given to them by the team from Stonebridge (including comforter sets and other items for their home). The neighborhood children were thrilled to receive coloring books, toys, and candy too.

Great progress has been made in the construction of the new church called Sublime Gracia (Amazing Grace) in Loma Blanca. I spent time working with several of the maestros on the floor of this church on my last visit to Juarez in March and I was very excited to see that the windows, roof trusses, and beautiful front door were installed! Jose Luis told us that the plan is to have services in the building the first week of June. In the words of Kathleen Baskin-Ball, "Glory Be!!"

Although it was a quick weekend trip and I was not ready to leave (I never am!), I am happy that I will be returning to Juarez on the weekend of May 17th for Suncreek UMC's college mission trip. I look forward to working again with my kids, Nick and Kelly, and the rest of the awesome college students and adults that will be joining us! In addition to building a home, we plan to help work on a fence around the property near Nuevo Pacto church, where eventually a school will be built.

Please continue praying for everyone involved with the ministry of Proyecto Abrigo. The people of Mexico are dealing with so many obstacles and issues right now - the drug cartel violence, loss of jobs, hunger, extreme poverty, and most recently, the threat of swine flu. It warms my heart to know that although they lead difficult lives, the holy spirit is very much alive in the hearts of the people we meet in Juarez.

Until next time, Dios te bendiga!

Spring Break 2009

I spent Spring Break in Juarez with a team from Suncreek UMC. Our small team of three adults and two youth built a cinder block home for the grandparents of a young man named Cristian that we have known since we first started going to Juarez.

We had beautiful weather with highs in the mid to upper 70's and lows in the upper 30's and low 40's. We visited the market in downtown Juarez for some shopping on Sunday afternoon and stopped for supper at Peter Piper Pizza. We all had a lot of fun playing with the puppies too! Sad news - the runt of the litter, Wally, died last week, but the rest of the pups are strong, healthy, and getting so big!

We had the pleasure of getting to know another team of adults and youth last week. This team was a combination of members from several churches including Bridgeport UMC, Rockbridge UMC, and Commerce UMC. This team built two homes and one team member, 'Dr. Glenn' worked in the medical clinic all week. In addition to building the homes, this team also divided 50 lb. bags of rice and pinto beans into smaller bags to be given to families in need of food.

The other teams scheduled to build homes this month cancelled their trips because of concerns of danger in Juarez. It makes my heart sad not only because many families will not receive new homes, but also because there will be less work for the maestros, cooks, and others that depend on income from working with Proyecto Abrigo. The Mexican government sent an additional 7,000 troops to Juarez earlier this month, bringing the total number of troops to 10,000. Since the additional troops arrived, the violence has decreased signficantly. We feel very safe there and have not had any problems in the areas in which we stay and build homes. We were encouraged to see several other teams of adults and youth from the United States, building homes with Casas por Cristo and Amor Homes while we were there.

I will return to Juarez on April 21st and will travel with a team from Suncreek UMC and members of Nuevo Pacto church to Copper Canyon. In addition to taking food and blankets for the Tarahumara Indians, we plan to build a sidewalk and paint at an orphanage in the area.

We appreciate your continued prayers for this ministry. Until next time, Dios te bendiga.

Week of February 15th - 21st

3/2/09: My apologies...I actually had hoped to have this entry posted last week, but I had some computer problems and things have been a bit hectic...

Please note my new email address: ritakthomas@gmail.com

This was a busy week for me. A team of 21 from Noel UMC (Shreveport, Louisiana) arrived on Sunday afternoon, February 15th and what a delightful group they were! I may have laughed more in the four days that I worked with them than I have in years! We built three cinder block homes (special thanks to St. Johns Episcopal Church in Deer Park, Maryland for supporting Mike Hoffeditz by providing a financial donation toward the building supplies for one of the homes). Several of the men from the Louisiana team held a baseball camp for the local children during the week. They brought baseball gloves, hats, shirts, tees, balls, bats, etc. for the kids too! The kids loved learning about the game of baseball and they all had a blast!




Wed. afternoon, some of the team and I went to downtown Juarez to do a little shopping at the market. Most of the day on Thursday was spent working on the church building in Loma Blanca. We made significant progress! We even had a wonderful musician in our midst (Jonathan Andrews) and we sang lots of Beatles songs at the worksite. I was very sad to see this new group of friends leave on Thursday evening, but I know that I will see them again very soon!





Eva and the puppies are doing great. The pups started eating dry puppy food on Valentine's Day (which I soaked in warm water so it is soft enough for them to eat). Eva decided that she is finished nursing the babies since they have sharp teeth now -bless her heart!!!! It is so cute when I would walk up to feed them, they all ran out of the dog house and start jumping and crying!

One morning before 7:00 a.m., I was awakened by my 'grandpuppies' whining and crying very LOUDLY for their breakfast. They were just the tiniest bit spoiled!! ha ha

On the night before I left to come back to Texas, I went to see a movie with my 'kids away from home' - Jesus, Peluso, Jorge, and Luis Antonio. Lucky me... they wanted to see the movie Inframundo 3 (Underworld 3 - Rise of the Lycans). Most of my friends and family know that I HATE vampire movies, so what do you imagine the movie was about? Yes, vampires! I think the boys just wanted to see if I would actually scream during the movie, but I wasn't really scared much (only a couple times!!). We enjoyed our movie popcorn with plenty of butter and sliced jalapenos!!! Yum!

After a two week visit at home in Allen, I will be headed back to Mexico the second week of March. There are several teams scheduled to build houses over Spring Break, including a team from Suncreek UMC. Then, at the end of March, the 100 men from The Woodlands UMC in Houston are coming to build more homes. We are looking forward to being very busy in the month of March!

Thank you for your continued prayers for this ministry. Until the next time, Dios te bendiga!

What a Birthday Present!

Hola my friends! After spending the past ten weeks at my home in Texas, I was so happy to return to Juarez last Thursday on my birthday (thus the title for this post). I have missed being here so badly and it was truly a joy to see all of my friends and their smiling faces! There are several new additions to my Mexican family - My dear companion, Eva, gave birth to 12 adorable puppies on January 15th. They are all healthy and just last week starting walking around. My daughter, Kelly, wishes she was on a break from college and could be here to play with all of them!

While home for the holidays, I am very grateful to have been able to visit with my senior pastor and friend, Rev. Kathleen Baskin-Ball before she lost her two year battle with cancer (December 2nd). Kathleen was such an inspiration to me. I will forever remember the encouragement she gave to me with regard to my mission work in Juarez. The last thing she said to me was "You are supposed to be there and you have to go back." Then she said, "I'll be watching over you!" and I know in my heart that she is doing just that!

This past weekend I had the privilege of working with a wonderful team from my home church, Suncreek UMC. The weather was absolutely beautiful with highs in the upper 70's and lows in the upper 30's. We were able to finish two cinder block homes in just a day and a half. In addition to building these homes, we visited the market in downtown Juarez for a little shopping and stopped for dinner at Peter Piper Pizza. There were few people shopping at the market, but we felt very safe there. It was no different than other visits we've made to the market over the past six years. On the way to the airport on Monday morning, we stopped at Lydia Patterson Institute (LPI) for a quick tour. Several of the Suncreek team members have sponsored a student from Juarez to attend school at LPI.

There was also a team of men from Foundry UMC in Houston here over the weekend. They built three cinder block homes. We are thankful to have been the first two teams to build homes in 2009!

Yesterday a strong cold front blew through and we experienced wind gusts from 45 to 60 mph and snow! None of the snow stuck to the ground, but it certainly was beautiful to see! After lows in the mid 20's last night, we are happy to have blue skies and warmer temps today (highs in the 50s).

There is a team arriving from Louisiana next Saturday, Feb. 14th. They plan to build three homes and will be here until Feb. 21st. I will fly back to Dallas on the 21st as well. The good news is that I won't have to wait long to return to Juarez. I will be back here in mid-March with another team from Suncreek. Hallelujah!!!

I appreciate the support and prayers from all of my friends and family. I ask that you keep the ministry of Proyecto Abrigo and especially Rev. Jose Luis Portillo and his family in your prayers as they continue to work faithfully to help the less fortunate in this area. We pray that 2009 will be a year where many teams from the U.S. will also take a leap of faith and make a trip to Juarez to help those in need!

I thank God every day for the opportunity to be His hands and feet here in Mexico. Until the next time, Dios te bendiga!

Rita

Giving Thanks - November 18, 2008

It was a very busy, but wonderful weekend! The team of 104 men from The Woodlands United Methodist Church arrived on Thursday evening and left on Sunday afternoon. They built ten cinder block homes in a day and a half. Since my help was not needed with the construction of the homes, I worked in the kitchen cooking and serving meals. We began preparing breakfast at 5:30 a.m. and finished serving dinner and cleaning up at 8:00 or later each evening. I was exhausted, but it was so much fun working with two of Jose Luis's sisters (Julieta and Ana) and another close friend from the church, Maxi!

One of the highlights for me over the weekend was when one of the men came to talk to me, after they had attended the dedication/blessing of the homes. He told me that he wasn't ashamed to say that he had shed some tears. I told him that he wasn't the first man to cry at a dedication and I know he won't be the last! Then he said that he had been watching me for the past two days and couldn't help but notice that I have a smile on my face first thing in the morning and still have a smile on my face at 9 or 10 at night. He said, "You must really love it here!". Tears came to my eyes and I told him that he has no idea - I do truly love it here and the people I work with here are like my second family!

I'm very sad to share some bad news about one of our dogs. Erika (the white dog with the dark spots) died on Sunday afternoon. She seemed to have totally recovered from the bacterial infection she had ten days ago(after we gave her antibiotic injections for six days). She was really playful and energetic again. We aren't sure what happened - she may have been hit by a car or ate something poisonous. It was a very sad ending to a wonderful weekend! It is likely that Eva (the brown dog) is pregnant, so there may be puppies in a couple months and I can fall in love with them too!!!

I fly to Dallas this coming Friday, the 21st and will be home for the the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. There aren't any teams scheduled for the next couple months, so I will be home longer than I originally planned. Although I am very excited about seeing my children and my friends at home - it is bittersweet because I am sad to leave Juarez for that long. I can't explain it and I imagine it's hard for people to understand! I will continue to help with some of the administrative activities from home and look forward to returning to Juarez in the new year.

I thank each of you for your support and prayers over the past two months and look forward to seeing you soon. I also give thanks to God for the opportunity to serve here in Juarez. It has truly been a blessing for me! I ask that you continue to pray for Rev. Jose Luis Portillo, his family, and everyone associated with the ministry of Proyecto Abrigo.

Until the next time, Dios te bendiga!