Howard and Beverly Bryant, from our home town of Muskegon, Michigan, had decided after their last visit to buy Christmas gifts for the children in the orphanage in Todos Santos, in lieu of gifts for themselves. When we had to send them the bad news that the Hogar del Ninos orphanage had closed (for those of you who are still praying for the orphanage, we are still hoping for a restructuring and resurrection of the orphanage), Howard and Beverly then decided to bless Pastor Carlos Maciel’s family with the opportunity to buy some Christmas gifts during their visit to Los Cabos in March−and what a day it was!

Before the big “Christmas in March” shopping day, Richard and I had already asked Pastor Carlos and his family to decide what they would like to buy and where they would like to shop.  So, when the anticipated Monday morning arrived, we met Pastor Carlos and the family at their church/home, with the ladies loading into one car and the gentlemen in the other. Carlos wisely thought it would take the girls longer to shop.  Considering “fitting room time,” that was a wise choice. The family members’ eyes were as bright with anticipation as any Christmas morning. Howard and Beverly looked like proud parents and we all had a great time.

After shopping, Howard and Beverly treated all of us to “Christmas dinner” at Pollo de Oro, which is where we usually meet with friends after Sunday morning service for “Sunday dinner.” We had to break up the party just before 3:00 p.m. to whisk Paola off to college (Mexico has morning, as well as afternoon schedules for their schools and colleges). It was a fantastic finale to a great time with our Mexican and American family in the Lord. A huge New Life Outreach thank you to Howard and Beverly Bryant!

Shane and Tracy Crowley blessed the brothers in Los Cabos once again this year while working on three different projects. This is the third year they have come to work on whatever project(s) need their help and expertise!

One of the major projects was a house for Isidoro. Isidoro is a brother who worked tirelessly on repairing homes and churches after the hurricane. Rather than working on his own home, Isidoro has worked for the last year and a half on behalf of others. Isidoro was there to help us after the hurricane, he stayed in our house at the trailer park whenever we were gone and continued to stay there for us after our move to our new location, to protect the property until it was dismantled. A house for Isidoro was on Shane’s heart, as well as ours’ and Pastor Carlos’. This project was a great blessing to him.

Another brother, Johnathon, took his vacation from work last year, as well as this year, to work on projects with Shane and Tracey. Johnathon’s employer had a new, but small house, built for him after the hurricane. He welcomed Shane and Tracey to stay in his new home last year, as well as this year. As a thank-you project, Shane and Tracey put up several shelves, bought a plastic drawer unit and a kitchen garbage can. There’s only so much you can do in a very small place. We send a warm thank-you to Johnathon for moving out of his house for five weeks for Shane and Tracey!

The last project was actually the first scheduled. Pastor Ramon Noriega, who is in the beginning steps of a ministry to house mission teams in the Los Cabos area, asked us if Shane was coming again this year. At that point, Shane was still praying about a trip this year and agreed to come to block up an addition for Pastor Ramon. Pastor Ramon prepared the site, including the foundations, electric chases and under-floor plumbing. So, when Shane started to lay block, he surprised everyone in the neighborhood. In only three days, all the blocks Pastor Ramon had purchased were already laid! Fortunately, Shane could go back to Isidoro’s house for a day so Pastor Ramon could locate more blocks to buy.

The husband and wife team from Shane Crowley Masonry of Fremont, Michigan, was once again a huge blessing for many in Los Cabos!  People and ministries would not be the same without their continued hard work and support!  Thank you Shane & Tracey!