« July 2011 | Main | September 2011 »
August 17, 2011
August 16, 2011
August 15, 2011
August 14, 2011
August 13, 2011
There is going to be a wedding...
This is the part where Denine and I get to be the proud parents. Actually we have been proud parents for a long, long time. Anyway, Bethany, our Baby Girl, has started letting everyone know that she is engaged to Rafael Rivera.They have a great story to tell and I'll let them tell you later. I just wanted to let you know that Rafael asked for his bride's hand last week while he was in South Africa on a short term missions trip.Beth flew down from Kenya to meet him and the rest is history. Great stuff.
August 12, 2011
August 10, 2011
August 09, 2011
Letter from a Missionary
Tod is a college classmate who has quite a story about his journey following Christ. These last number of years he and his family have been in missions in Mexico. I appreciate his honesty about the joy and the pain this has brought. Sometimes we tend to romanticize foreign missions. It is work. Hard work. I though you may appreciate this post. Blessings - Zig
To everyone who has been praying and following us on our adventure in Mexico. Greetings in the name of the Lord! We wanted to thank you for lifting up our needs to our Wonderful Counselor. Throughout these last 5 years, we have coveted your prayers and petitions on our behalf.
We wanted to share our journey with you and let you know where we are now in this.
Face of My Father Children’s Home was thought of many years ago. After a church mission trip, the idea seemed more likely. There was a real need in this area for a home for orphaned and abandoned children. My wife and I felt led to talk to our children while also taking this matter before the Lord in prayer.
The following year, our family saved up the money and came down for 1 month to serve alongside the Cooke family. While we were here, seeing the needs of this area, the tugging from the Lord grew stronger and the direction was clear. We were to move to Mexico. During our stay, we worked on the construction of the church, attended Bible studies and church services and got to know the local church body. Before we left we were able to oversee, with the Cookes, (William and Katie Cooke) the digging out of the foundational walls and scooping the first shovels of dirt.
During the next year our family continued to pray, settled all financial debt, learned how to fundraise and share about this ministry. We sold many items we would not need, collected many items we could use and made decisions on what was really important. Homeschooling continued and so did my job.
As we started packing, it started to become more real. Things were moving and now we were starting to say our goodbyes. Due to the fact we did not have a family place to store up our personal belongings, we packed it all with us. Buying a camper and loading it up cemented the decision; we were going. We drove away after a church service in March and started this big adventure, this new part of our lives. Many days we traveled, problems occurred, but with the Father’s Hand upon us, we eventually made it down to San Marcos.
The first year was spent homeschooling, building this house brick by brick, and preparing to make it a home. We received Spanish lessons on a weekly basis for 1 hour. The heat could get bad, we had no kitchen, no doors, sleeping on the floors at first, the bugs crawled in our home, and mosquitos bit us. Experiencing Dengue Fever, H1N1 Flu, and many other weird illnesses are just par for the course when you go to the mission field. The enemy wants to tear you down and have you fail. Throughout all of this, our family rallied to the occasion, standing as strong as we could and laughing after the trials. (Ok-we did cry a lot during those times too.)
The following year (2009) we started to take in children. To date we have had 14 kids come through this home. TEN of them have stayed with us for a year or more. Many have been with us for over two years. We have loved these kids and taught them to receive love. They are learning forgiveness and the Love of the Creator. As they continue to have visits with family members, we are often trying to take back the groundwork that was lost during those times. The wounds are reopened, the memories are hard and the times past are getting blurred into fantasy and reality. The Lord has been faithful as we continued to serve. We see many improvements in these kids and are grateful.
We have seen great improvements in schooling, homework time and learning how to live with others in a family setting among all of the children. This lays the foundation for living in the community. Teaching them about working hard without giving up, working in groups, taking turns, losing graciously, serving others, and sharing and playing together is played out daily before our eyes. These kids are amazing little people, they have so much potential. We have seen the strengths and weaknesses of them all, we constantly are surprised at what they can do now. Our family has really enjoyed this time and it will forever be a part of their lives. This experience has changed each of us very much, allowing many good things to come into our awareness for which we are truly grateful. Serving in this town and meeting the needs of others has been lived out, and I am proud of how my family has grown from this experience.
There have been negative sides to serving in this ministry. The toll on our family has been hard. The demands have taken a bit too much of our lives, and we have changed how we are as a family. Our faith was tested and withstood, but our whole family has felt it a struggle to maintain our walk in the Lord. We made concessions in order to keep this home up and running that proved harmful to our way of life. Our marriage of 21 years has been pushed to the limit. For these reasons and others not mentioned, we will be wrapping up our term here this October.
Please know this is a very hard decision for all of us. Hearts are breaking, and we are sick over the sadness and loss that we and the kids will be going through. We do know that HE has a plan. Our job was to see this place up and running, and we feel release in our spirits to leave the ministry at this time.
We helped raise the funds, built it, made it a home, and rescued 10 precious kids. Now this place, the building and the ministry, will be here for many years to come. Many lives will be changed by this place and the power of the Holy Spirit. May this home be a safe haven for the lost and the hungry! These and future children can be claimed as HIS, accepting the grace which only HE can give, and the power to go on and love others in a healthy way; therefore, creating future generations of Christians.
The children will be cared for by the Cookes, who have been our Friday workers and fellow missionaries all this time. They have all the love for these kids to continue to serve them as houseparents and administrators. We are praying for the Lord to rise up another couple to take the step of faith and lead these children and future ones into adulthood, or until they leave here to go elsewhere. Some may go back home, some may get adopted, and some will call this place home for their entire childhood.
We continue to pray for these little souls for they are fertile ground for the Lord. They have learned memory verses, the words to hide in their hearts, and seen first-hand the miracles of the Lord. His Love for us, every one of us, is a gift. None of us deserve His grace, and yet He still calls us to Him, and draws us into a life of victory. Our part is to follow His commands, love and be obedient.
Our plans upon return are to file papers for international adoption and wait patiently for “our children” to be available. In particular, we are praying for Cristofer and Victor to join our family.
Immediate plans are to return to Zanesville (Ohio), all of us. We will continue to homeschool Annie, and Tod will be looking for work. We pray our new son-in-law, Carlos will be granted his VISA in time to join us for the move, if not, we will be waiting for him to join us soon after. He and Jossie are expecting their first child (and our first grandson) in November. Genna is still living in Zanesville part of the time, we hope to see her often.
We seek the Lord in this next step, being willing to “go” again if called. We would be happy serving in our hometown or across the country. As Carlos and our grandchild will both be Mexican, and our daughters are also Spanish speaking, we believe there is future ministry potential there. We loved serving as a family, but as the girls settled into new lives of their own, we seem to have become a small family of just 3, myself, Kristi and Annie.
We appreciate your support and prayers during this time. We will be in need of help to return to the states, transporting items, and setting up a new household. Many items are staying here to keep the home running comfortably. Any help or advice would be gladly received these next few months.
We welcome your comments or questions, please feel free to ask. We will continue to serve here until the day we leave, so please join with us in prayer. The date for departure is late October. We truly appreciate all of you, in whatever ways you were a part of this/our ministry. If you are a regular sponsor of the children, we hope you continue this, as the needs do not leave with us.
In all of this, remember to listen for the call of Christ on your life.
In gratitude,
Tod and Kristi Ramey
August 06, 2011
August 05, 2011
Crisis on the Horn of Africa
Two-year-old Aden Salaad peers at his mother as she bathes him in a tub at a Doctors Without Borders clinic, where Aden is receiving treatment for malnutrition, in Dagahaley Camp, outside Dadaab, Kenya, on July 11. (Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press)