Dear
Friends in Christ, |
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“...And
I will cause showers to come down in their
season; they will be showers of blessing.” Ezekiel
34:26b |
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We
feel this has definitely been a season of
blessing for our family! We ended last month
with a visit from friends of ours from Nava,
Mexico, Noberto, his wife Loly and their
family. |
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Noberto
and his family own and run the “Del
Norte” hardware store in Nava where
our ministry purchases many supplies. Their
family has always been a great help to us
through the store, being we seem to keep
a running tab every time we are there. We
were excited to be able to host them during
their visit here and return some of their
kindness! Noberto and his sons love to fish.
Since the Lord has blessed our family by
allowing us to live on a friend’s beautiful
ranch, this offered the perfect place for
catch and release fishing. |
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Loly
and her daughter-in-law Marcela spent an
afternoon touring the German town of Fredericksburg
with our daughters Shelby, Sara and Gita
Joy. They seemed to really enjoy their time
there. |
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We
were very grateful for the opportunity to
get to know them better and to help provide
a relaxing vacation for their family. We
hope the Lord used this time to draw them
closer to Him. |
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Dana
Sweet has been teaching young men from the
San Antonio/Boerne area plumbing and irrigation.
Our sons, John, Kenny, James and Micah joined
in to help and learn. Dana is a very gifted
teacher and really has a heart for working
with young men. This was a great learning
experience for our sons as well as many other
friends. |
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Dana’s
plan is to eventually begin discipling young
men in Mexico through hands on projects and
teaching practical skills. |
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A
Testimony from Joanna Sweet |
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Revelation
12:11 “And they overcame him by the
blood of the Lamb, and the word of their
testimony;…” |
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This
month I made my public confession of faith
by identifying myself with Jesus Christ through
water baptism by my father. My family, church
body, and friends witnessed this incredible
experience. I want to declare His marvelous
work of grace and forgiveness in my life
because of the work of God through Christ’s
death on the cross for me. My voice echoes
the declaration of Psalm 145:3-4. “Great
is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and
His greatness is unsearchable. One generation
shall praise thy works to another, and shall
declare thy mighty acts.” |
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Daniella
Toll, my cousin from Texas, helped me and
my family during the hectic week of moving
to Nava. WHEW! She is a worker bee and I
hope her work ethic is contagious to me!!
Thank you, dear cousin. And now… Mexico
is my home. |
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Our
family was very involved in helping Dana
and Liz move this month. Dana submitted paperwork
to have all his belongings cleared to go
over the border as one large load. In the
time it took to get the paperwork through
though, we had everything across and in their
home. Our old 15-passenger van proved herself
faithful again in aiding with the move. We
were able to pack lots of boxes and even
furniture to take through the border. Dana
drove his truck with items in the back and
we took several loaded vehicles through at
a time, praying for green lights. |
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One
of the trips across, Dana was stopped in
his truck and told he couldn’t take
a mattress over due to the fact that it was
used. Not easily discouraged, he made a u-turn
coming back into the US, and tried the second
Eagle Pass crossing, where he got a green
light and was on his way. |
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The
move went as smoothly as possible with the
obstacles we had to deal with. Sometimes
the border guards would stop us and wait
to see if we would pay them a bribe. When
we didn’t, they would
let us go. |
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Please keep
Dana and Liz in your prayers as they are still
unpacking boxes and organizing their home.
They plan to start school in August as well
as get accustomed to life in Nava, Mexico.
The Sweets are still praying for $1,000.00
monthly for their support to be complete. |
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Haiti |
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Once again
our plans have changed, and the trip to Haiti
has been bumped up. Kenny and Shelby will be
going down September 1st through 9th. |
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The school
children were let out for their summer break
about two weeks ago. Kenny and Shelby will
be there when they come back on the 6th of
September to help deliver the food and take
pictures. They are both thrilled to be returning,
and looking forward to seeing the children
again. |
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"He
who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will
also cry himself and not be answered." Proverbs
21:13 |
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Former
Mayor, Carlos Osuna, and his wife Sandra
recently opened a nursery. It was a dream
of Sandra’s
for many years. Her heart was to help single
mothers who needed to work and support their
families. They finished the project in January
except for the ceiling. When the Mexico summer
hit though, it was unbearable inside the large
building. One of their nurses fainted because
of the heat. Carlos and Sandra presented the
problem to us, in hopes that we might be able
to help. Carlos and Sandra have been a huge
part in helping our ministry get lumber across
the border, and introducing us to families
in desperate need of homes. We were glad for
the opportunity to help them in return. Through
our supporters we were able to provide over
$3,000 for this project and the task is complete!
This has definitely made it more comfortable
for the nurses and children. |
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We are looking
forward to returning to Mexico the week of
August 9th for our annual Purity Seminar. Each
of the teachers are preparing their notes and
are excited to present what the Lord has laid
on their hearts. Each moment of every day is
scheduled with activities, hands on projects
and teaching. For the staff it is an intense
week, but incredibly rewarding. We believe
the Lord is even now preparing the hearts of
the teachers and students. Please be in prayer
with us that the Lord would provide the financial
needs for this seminar. |
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Thank you
for your prayers and support!! May the Lord
richly bless your month! |
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Because of
Christ, |
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The
Kennedy Family |
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