Hope. What is hope? Hope gives a person life. Hope is what keeps a person going in the midst of difficulty. Why do we hope? We long for some dream to be fulfilled. We look forward to better things. To have no hope is to give up. But what happens when you hope and then your hopes are crashed? Proverbs gives me the answer, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick." That's what our family has been dealing with this week. We've had such a roller coaster of emotions as Lorne, Regina, & Nevin returned to Indiana and the youngest 3 children and I have stayed behind in MX waiting for Tania's visa. The separation is very difficult for all of us, but we felt like it was the plan that God was showing us that He had for us at this time. Thank God, He gives us a greater hope over and above our circumstances. He gives us the hope that only Jesus gives us and that gives us a reason to go on.  We could dwell on the why's but that gives us nothing. So we choose to look to Him for strength for each minute and continue to pray that He would provide an open door so that our family can together return home to Indiana.

We are waiting right now for the MX passport, which we were scheduled to pick up last Wed. but then, like normal in MX, there were delays and so hopefully in a week or so we will have the passport and then can move ahead with the visa appt. God has been doing amazing things with the green card process and so we continue to place it in His hands and trust that all in His time will be completed.

January was quite full with preparations for the move to Indiana. Dentist, eye dr., & orthodontist final visits and bringing closure to all the things that were our life here for more than three years. The pottery load was completed and shipped. Farewells for our family, but of course only some are going.
So, we continue on... We know not what the future holds, but we trust the God who does and we wait for Him. We thank you for your continued prayers on our behalf!

Waiting on God

God is in time, on time, every time. But we sure don’t always understand His time. Our life in Mexico has changed a lot, but we continue to wait on God to know what His plans are for us. As most of you know, we have not been able to get permission to enter the US with Tania at this time yet. We are applying for a green card which will give her permission to enter but do not know at this time what the time frame will be for that process. It is not a quick process, but we do have the option to appeal for an expedite and we plan to do that. Until then, we carry on and live one day at a time knowing that God will provide and trusting all things to be perfect in His time.

Lorne and the children have started working full time in the pottery business. They have a semi load of pottery that needs to be ready as soon as possible so they are putting in long days of painting, varnishing, & packaging. I’m kept busy keeping up the house, keeping break ready for them and meals ready on time so they can head out again. It’s a wonderful blessing for all of us as busyness helps in so many ways. Makes time pass more rapidly, makes an income, and it’s fun to work together. There’ve been a lot of fun times out there! Here you don’t see a lot of pots because they were packaging about as fast as they were ready, and have 10 pallets loaded off to the side that are finished.

We enjoyed having Lorne’s parents here for a week. It was special to have them here over Christmas. They came with their truck and returned home with it loaded with things of ours that we were ready to send home.

Today was a special day for the church here. We had a baptismal service for 17 yr old Loyda. She was a child of the home a number of years ago, and had returned to live here a number of months ago because of difficulty at home. She has a beautiful testimony and truly is serving the Lord with her whole heart.

Then, there was great rejoicing when we witnessed God working through His Spirit in the lives of a set of parents that have been attending church here for quite some time now and have been hungry to learn about God. They have 3 children here at the home, and are in the process of reintegration but it’s been taking a long time, which appears to be God at work, giving them more opportunity to hear His word. And today when there was an invitation given at the end of the message, they both responded with the desire to experience salvation. They originally had their children removed from them because they were drug users and now God has used that experience to bring them into contact with His word and to be able to be saved. What a difference that will make in their home when the children return to live with them!

We thank all of you very much for your prayers on our behalf! We desire to continue to glorify God in spite of the difficulties we are facing and need your prayers to lift us to the Father on those days when it seems the devil is doing all he can to pull us down. It does make a difference and we also really enjoy hearing from you.

Tania Aracely Hershberger

We had a very exciting day yesterday when we received Tania’s final adoption paper and her name was officially changed to Hershberger! We have worked on this process for 2 1/2 years and it’s finally a reality! We thank God for blessing our family with Tania! Continue to pray for us that all would go well and we could complete the US paperwork in a timely manner.

As I was looking at Tania’s new birth certificate which has our names as her parents, has her full name that we’ve given her, I was very deeply impressed at what it is that God has done for us when He adopted us as His own children! My name is changed, I have a Father who loves me so much that He gave His own biological child so that I could be His child. Romans 8 talks about that adoption and it became so real to me as I saw it in the natural form here. Praise God for His greatness!!

Life goes on… God is good…

Another month has passed and what have we been doing?

  Nov. 1st we were no longer house parents at SLCH. How did that feel, you may wonder? Well, even we didn’t always know what we were feeling. It was definitely a bittersweet change as that’s been our life for 3 years and the staff and children were like family to us. We made the change over a period of time, so we were able to transition out rather than an abrupt change. At the same time, it’s been wonderful to be free of those responsibilities and focus on our own family. We had been behind in our schoolwork because of the extra time involved in the changes at the home so after the changeover we did a months worth of schoolwork in 2 weeks time. That was intense, but a good feeling to catch up the work and be on schedule again. We also went grocery shopping for just our family for the first time in 3 years. It felt very strange to buy only 5 lbs of potatoes instead of 50, and so on for the whole list. But, it felt very good. We now only join the home for a few meals a week, so we are relearning to cook for just 7 people.

We’ve also been busy sorting through closets and drawers so that everything will be in order once we can pack and move. Regina and I did a bunch of sewing as well so that our closets are in better condition for traveling. And we’ve repainted our whole house here, since it had originally been painted with some very poor quality paint and was quite needy.

The first week in Nov. our men were working on digging another well so Kenlin came for a week to help with the project. We sure enjoyed his time here even if he had to work a lot. The same day that Kenlin went home, Lorne also left for IN because his CDL drivers’ license were expiring and it wasn’t an option to let that happen, if at all possible. He was gone for 4 days and did have a successful trip.

The definite highlight of the month was last week when Walt & Virginia and their boys came! We had a wonderful time and made many great memories! On Wed. Regina and I helped Virginia make Pupusas for the whole home. We made around 180 and they were all eaten. We spent Thurs. in Tijuana, shopping and seeing the ocean. Of course, when there are visitors we need to make sure they get enough tacos so we did that several times too through the week. The boys also went mountain climbing on Sat. and border walking here several times. The days we were here the men were busy putting up the frame for our new garage that will house the solar panels that are being installed. The building was ready for rafters on Fri. but then there was too much wind and they had to wait until Mon. to finish. Our evenings were filled with games and lots of laughter. On Monday we went to San Diego for the day with Walt’s. We went to an aircraft carrier museum and then drove around some to see the sights, had a relaxing supper, did just a little shopping, then took them to their hotel as they had an early morning flight to catch.

There are also 2 fellows here now from Ohio helping on the building projects that are being done. Lorne is still very busy with some projects that need finishing before we leave. They are installing a solar electrical system and a wind turbine in hopes of saving quite a lot of diesel costs.

Continue praying on behalf of our adoption papers. We’ve finished everything at the courts, but continue to wait to have the final documents released so we can get Tania’s Mexican birth certificate and get the US papers needed for her to be able to cross the border. They are saying that this week those papers will be released but we continue to wait to see if it actually happens. We had planned to travel to Sinaloa on Wed. for Nelson & Marcela’s wedding but now we’ll have to see what happens with the paperwork, whether or not we’ll be able to go. We’ve all been struggling to understand God’s timetable with our time here and it seems He continues to say, “I’m not done yet.” So we continue to seek His will and to carry on in what He would have us to do until He says it’s time to go.

God bless each of you as you serve Him this week!

Peace in the midst of change…

Several weeks ago I was feeling quite overwhelmed with everything we were dealing with and was talking to the Lord about it as I was working and very clearly He told me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” I have claimed it repeatedly through this time and truly God has been faithful. With so many details to be documented and passed on to Walter’s, visitors to host, adoption details to keep going, the normal work of running the children’s home, plus trying to meet the needs of my own family, there were plenty of times to fall back on that assurance, knowing that where I don’t reach around, God will provide and He does.

 

On Dec. 9 Regina and Nevin left with our car to go to Indiana. As they drove out the lane I wondered for a bit what in the world we were thinking, sending them off alone. But they did quite well and had a great time. They went to attend Gideon’s wedding and to take the car back to Indiana. They then flew back to Mexico on the 18th.

 

We had our main adoption hearing on Oct. 10th and it went very well. Now, this Thurs. we have our final hearing where we have to take some witnesses in to testify for us and then the adoption will be FINAL. We will need to wait a few days for the paperwork to process  from that hearing and get the final birth certificate. It’s so amazing to see how God’s timing is coming together in revealing His plan for our family. We thought the adoption would be finalized last spring and we were waiting for other house parents to come take our place but no one could be found. God in His time brought house parents and the adoption is now finalizing. Isn’t it wonderful to place our plans into His hands and let Him lead us, because His plan is perfect and He organizes things so much better than we ever could!

 

Walter and Sandra have been here for two weeks and have been working with us to learn to know the people and the program here. We are right in the middle of the transition time, as Nov. 1st we will transfer the responsibilities of being house parents to them and we will walk along with them yet for the next several weeks. It’s been a real blessing to work together and share the vision of furthering God’s kingdom through the work here.

 

Last weekend the board was here again, only this time the weekend was a bit different as the focus was more on working on a video presentation that is being made of the work here. Darvin Diller from PA is making the video and has been here since the 18th. So there’ve been lots more pictures being taken, testimonies being recorded and just a lot of history gone over. On Saturday then the board also had a big farewell party for our family. The whole home went to a lake park for a picnic and had an enjoyable day of fellowship.

 

Our SLCH family!

September…

The month of September was busy and flew by, it seemed. Sept. 1st the men were working on the electrical system here and we experienced an unexpected power surge that wreaked havoc on our electronics here. That evening was a sad time as we continued to discover more and more damage. Refrigerators, microwaves, stereos, computers, printers, fans, an oven, washers, and the list grew longer. What a disappointment! A lot of it has been fixed or replaced and we hope to recover it all with time. “In everything give thanks” sure became a challenge!

We enjoyed having Darin here for a weekend too. He didn’t have a lot of time to be here but it was special that he took the time to come anyway. Then on the 12th we had the highlight of the month when Nevin came home! He was gone to Canada for a week over 2 months and it seemed like a long time! We’ve had wonderful times being a whole family again!

The home had quite a bit of change in September as well. Marcela Weibe, from Chihuahua, MX, came as a childcare worker. That brought our staff to full house which is such a blessing! We also received 11 new children this month, bringing our number of children to 41. One of those is a former child that just plans to be here til in Dec. There is a group of 5 siblings, ages 1 – 10. Then there are 2 other sibling groups as well. We again have a full house of children and lots of action but that’s why we’re here! 

On Sunday, the 18th, we had a very special day for the church here! Arturo, our potter, responded to the invitation to accept Christ that was given after the message at church. Then, in the afternoon, his ‘wife’ Rosario said that she also wanted to find the freedom that could only come from Christ and they both became saved! They have 5 children and have lived together for all these years but had never been married. So on Monday they went to Tecate and made appointments necessary for a civil marriage, which took place on Wed., and then the following Sunday we had a wedding here at church and a reception afterwards. Some of both of their families came for the wedding and we had 100 people here for that day. They have been attending church here for several years and learning a lot about Christianity and what a joy it is to see them choose to serve God! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, the 30th, also marked 3 yr.s since we arrived in Mexico. As for every year since we came, we reflect and see how God has been so faithful again this year, and ponder on the future wondering what His plan is for us in the next year. What a blessing to be able to stand on the foundation of God’s ever-present goodness and faithfulness as we look into the uncertainty of our future and know that whatever we face it will be in God’s hands as we go forward. Our replacement house parents plan to arrive next Wed. and so we are looking at spending time with them these next several weeks as they learn to know the people and the program here. Along with that we face the reality of our responsibilities here coming to an end and we face that with bittersweet feelings. These people and this place have become a part of us and we a part of them and so how do we bring closure to our time here and pass the torch to those coming, in a way that will bring honor and glory to God as His work continues here? Again, we look to God to lead us.

A month ago it appeared that Tania’s adoption would possibly be completed in Oct. sometime but once again we are waiting and still do not know when to expect the final papers. Now that Walters are coming and our time here at the home is coming to an end we are really wondering what God has in mind for us these next several months as we wait to be able to return to IN. This family does still need food to eat and clothes to wear but God tells us not to fret about what we will eat or what we will wear so we are together focusing on worshipping Him more and trusting Him to provide for every need we will face.

Last Friday, Regina had 2 wisdom teeth cut out so the next several days were not very pleasant for her. The worst thing is she needs to go back and do the other 2 and now dreads it even more.

Yesterday was Brent’s 14th birthday so we went to Tecate for a taco supper and then home for a rare treat of ice cream with his cake. We took a break from school too as I had some extras to catch up and the boys were quite pleased to spend the day out with Lorne and Nevin.

Please, pray for us these next several weeks that we could keep our focus on God as we face the changes ahead and that the devil would in no way be able to pull us down as he fights the work of the Lord in our lives.

If God sends you on stony paths, He will provide you with strong shoes.
Wow! Am I ever glad He doesn't just send us barefooted down those stony paths He allows us to encounter! He equips us for each specific difficulty we will face. This quote was shared with two of us the same day this week from two completely different sources. God is good like that.
The last ten days have been a valley for my family and our church as Dad was in the hospital, had surgery, and failed to recover as quickly as normally expected but God has been very near and provided for our needs, and then in His time brought healing. I am so thankful that I was able to go to IN to be with them during this time. Dad is still in the hospital but is doing much better and should be able to return home in the next few days and I am on my way back to my dear ones at home!
Nevin is still in Canada helping Galen's with the store remodel project and whatever jobs Galen has for him. He's been gone for almost 2 months now and we've sure missed him but are also glad he can help with the work there.
Our family has had exciting news the last week as well! We are finally moving ahead again with Tania's adoption and are moving towards the final steps in that process. After 2 1/2 years of working on legalities it hardly seems real that we are coming to the end!
Backing up a little in time, the last week of July we had a wonderful time when Sarah came to Mexico for six days! The boys treated her to new experiences, one of which was eating rattlesnake. Great memory making times!
Tony Nisly finished his term of service and left on July 31. Winston Martin took his place doing maintenance. We also welcomed Iginio and Consuelo Perez, Heidi's parents, when they arrived Aug 11. They are the new caregivers for the boys. It's been very positive to have them at the home filling a grandparent role for the children.
Our garden continues to produce far beyond what we ever imagined and we are being blessed bountifully! It serves a number of purposes for the home in that the children learn the art of planting and being involved in all the stages and hard work, up to and including the harvest. Our grocery buying has really decreased which is an other benefit and blessing of the harvest. We had the second large corn day and froze a total of 90 gallons of corn this year. We also used a lot of corn for fresh eating so that gives you a little picture of the amount of harvest we had. Mary Esh has returned and is taking the position of head cook for us.
August 12, Lorne and I celebrated 22 years of marriage! We went to San Diego to do some shopping, tried a new restaurant for supper, and stayed for the night too! Being married to your best friend is awesome!
On Aug 4, we received an 8 yr old girl, Kenia, at the home. Then on the 19th baby Jasmine left to live with her grandma. The children coming is so much easier than the goodbyes!
Myron and Mary were also gone this week for hernia surgery for Myron. They actually came to IN and his surgery was at the same hospital where I was with Dad. It was pretty special to have someone there from home.
Thanks to all of you who prayed for our family these weeks and for all the support you've shown! What a wonderful blessing to be a part of Gods family and have many brothers and sisters to help us when we face hard times!!