Dear friends,

Mariela’s cast was removed November 30, and she is just starting to take some steps. She does not like her nighttime brace at all.  She will get daytime orthopedic shoes today. We will send a walking photo soon!

Victoria Esperanza started walking the first week of December.

Nancy, diagnosed just a few weeks ago with the “woman cancer,” was given a clean bill of health during her second opinion visit in Mexico. Her abdominal swelling has gone down with antibiotics; we will keep in close contact with her over the next few months to monitor her progress.

Victor and Jessica received their new home from Durango team.  Our local secondary school received their new computer lab/classroom, and the Durango team also did a children’s outreach program.

Hector and Maria received their new home with interior paint chosen by them (white). The West Bowles team also had a food outreach featuring chicken fajitas.

Leo’s daughter had her 15th birthday celebration. In the photo, Leo changes her tennis shoes to formal shoes to symbolize her transition from a girl to becoming a woman.

Bill was married in Pastor Jesus’s church in Juarez the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  Most of Bill’s family drove down and stayed in the team center. Pastor Jesus spoke of Adam in Genesis, about man and how he should not be alone, and wondered what Adam might have been thinking when he woke and saw Eve for the first time.

A humanitarian team from Cherry Hills Church brought down 200 “Operation Christmas Child” boxes and 30 backpacks, similarly loaded, plus many donations, and held a pizza outreach at Pastor Miguel’s Kilometer 30 church. The bus was full of new gifts and donations. A friendly federal police officer (is that a blessing or what) opened one of the Christmas boxes and let us pass into Mexico. “Operation Christmas Child” has just turned us down the previous week.

We also just hosted two medical teams last week--our El Paso Doctor and a team with two doctors and two dentists from Foothills Bible Church. There is much suffering since the climate has changed, and this was a very big blessing.  About seven weeks will pass before the next medical team.

A big shipment cancelled the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week, and we found only two seats left on a plane to see Jenny’s aunts and uncle for Thanksgiving at a reasonable price. We are now so Mexican that we just knocked on their door Thanksgiving morning! They were glad to see us. We flew to Denver Friday at noon and left for Juarez about 3:00 p.m. driving in order to make it in time for Bill’s wedding.

Soon all our emails will be sent from Denver, hopefully freeing up some of our time, and insuring all photos make it across the border, so probably just one more email from us at our email address this year. A few technical steps are required prior to the conversion.

Blessings from Juarez at Christmas,

jeff and jenny