Fathers' Day at Nueva Vida, June 20,2010

We had a terrific Fathers' Day celebration at Nueva Vida. Sis. Susie and Sis. Rosa read scriptures about fathers. After the praise and worship, the children gave their fathers (as well as all the other fathers in the church) gold trophies filled with candy! Then we had a time of sharing about our fathers, a short message, and then prayer for the fathers. Yes, there were also some special gifts as "door prizes". And, then we had a typical Nueva Vida style dinner and lots of fellowship. What a great day!!

A special "thank you" goes to Sis Tammy and Silvia who helped her for working so hard with the children. And to all the cooks: Sis Diana, Sis Delia, Sis Olga, Sis Alma, Sis Norma, Sis Susan--you really outdid yourselves. Thanks to all the others who helped with the meal: Sis Tammy, Sis Susie, Sis Aida, Sis Nicole! We could never do these events without your help. And during the week, the men worked at church too so thanks to Bro Ventura, Bro Balde, Bro Roman for working on the platform, doing painting, having the lawn looking great. You see, we really need all our fathers!!!

Learning New Things

These days my mind and my fingers are being challenged. I have a new laptop. The keyboard is in English, it has Windows 7, and a touch pad instead of a trusty mouse. That is a whole lot of change for my brain to accomodate. My PC has a Spanish keyboard, Windows Vista, and yes, a nice gray mouse! And if that is not enough, my new Edge has the shift on the floor between the driver and the passenger seats.....I have had the shift on the steering wheel for too many years to count. I am always reaching in the wrong place when I want to shift. And then there are the whistles and bells. Actually, the Edge has little beeps when I back it up and get close to something else. It also has little magnifying side mirrors that almost make me dizzy if I pay attention to them! Then I am also trying to perfect my texting skills.....another kind of keyboard and a different way of sending and seeing messages, not to mention some other beeps and rings to tell me what is happening. Please be a little patient with me.......I want to learn to use Skype too!!!!! Well, back to practicing....or am I playing with my new toys?

Happy Fifth Birthday to Opie!!!

Today Opie celebrates his 5th birthday!!! He has ordered CHICKEN and a VANILLA CUPCAKE for his birthday dinner. Opie is a really special friend! I told him that I bought him a new vehicle today.....but he wasn't nearly as impressed as he was when I started fixing his chicken and rice!! I hope Opie has a great year......and many more.

Welcome to my new Edge

Welcome to my 2010 White Ford Edge. I checked out a number of models and decided that this is the one I want to spend the next few years driving! It looks so pretty and smells so new! And, I am still kind of afraid to drive it!! It will take me a little time to get used to my Edge. I am so thankful to Jon and Dad for giving me some good advice and thankful to God for allowing me to make this purchase!! I am praying that God will protect me and use this vehicle in ways that will bless others. I think you will be hearing more about my Edge in the next few years!

Good-bye to my Freestar

Today, I tearfully said "good bye" to a faithful companion! I owned my 2004 Freestar mini-van for 6 years 4 months and 2 days! I drove it 113, 720 miles. We spent hours on the Pharr/Reynosa International bridge! We traveled to Illinois to visit the family. And, it served me so well as I moved all my belongings from Reynosa to Raymondville. Only once did it leave me stranded.....on the highway in Little Rock last fall when the transmission went out. We took people to church and on errands! Opie and Chiquita as well as the cats have traveled to the vet in the Freestar....in fact, Opie thought he was a permanent front-seat passenger. I really liked my Freestar and though I have moved on to a pretty, new vehicle, I will miss my van. Thank you, faithful Freestar for all your great service! Many memories remain with you!

Our Church Graduates

On Sunday, June 6th, we celebrated the graduation of 7 of our Nueva Vida family. Aliyah, Tony, Francisco Daniel, Karissa and Arturo Jr. graduated from kindergarten. And, Kayla and David graduated from 8th grade. We recognized them in our service. Our desire for these young people is that they live close to God, stay away from things that will hurt their lives, and that they may be richly blessed by God. Following church, we enjoyed a reception with cookies and punch! It was a sweet, special time!!