The month of May was a very busy month. We had many groups come down and help us with the project of the dorms. Heritage Christian School from Bakersfield, CA brought a group of junior highers down to lay the foundation of the second dorm building. Also, Intervarsity, a ministry at UC San Diego brought a work crew down to help pour this slab. We also had the adult Masters Commission from Scottsdale Dream Center in AZ come down for a week to minister to the children and help with the dorm project. They put on a great show for the kids and showed what it really means to serve. Additionally, Corona Del Mar Community Church came down and blessed the children with a VBS on Noah’s Ark and primed the dorm building.New Life Church from Alamo, CA also brought blessings this month. On the weekend after Mother’s Day, a group of women from the church came down, along with a group from El Faro church in Sacramento, CA, and hosted an event for the mothers of the children here at the daycare. Each mom received a bag of gifts that included a Bible, a photo frame, a candle, a journal, and some snacks. A wonderful sermon was also given, along with some great worship music. The mothers were very touched that someone would go out of their way to bless them and we pray many seeds were planted. Please pray that these mothers come to the Lord.Along with that event, a registered nurse from the group also gave a CPR class to the workers from the daycare and from the local orphanage. This class will allow each worker to better handle an emergency situation.Many other blessings have happened this past month. Two brothers, who both had their optical nerve damaged before birth, both needed an updated pair of lenses. Because of the little money that their mother was making, their mother was not in a position to pay for them. But thanks to a friend, Judy Dawson, these boys were able to receive a new pair with a new prescription. The boys are now able to see much clearer.We have another praise report about the side lot. Because of all of your support, all of the money for the lot was raised and we were able to purchase it on May 14. We want to thank all the churches and individuals for their generous hearts in making this purchase possible. May God richly bless all of you.

On April 30th we celebrated what is known down here in Mexico as “Day of the Kid.” This day is to celebrate the children that are so many times forgotten about. We celebrated it here with a big party, cake, and a piñata. All of the kids enjoyed this wonderful event.

Furthermore, we have a praise report. New Life Church in Alamo, CA has decided to give Open Arms a $1 to $1 matching grant to help pay for the side lot. We would like to thank them for their generosity. We would also like to thank those of you who have already given towards this purchase as well. So far we have received $8,000 towards the lot. That with the grant included, we have a total of $16,000 so far. That leaves us with only $9,000 to go. If you have not already, please pray that God will provide the money needed for this lot.

Additionally, this month we accepted two new kids at the daycare, Aaron and Alexis. They are 6 year old twins who just moved up here from San Quintin, which is three hours south of Ensenada. Their mother decided to move up, knowing that there is a safe place to put her kids while she is at work. Please pray for them and their spiritual journey, as they have already decided to accept Christ as their Savior.

Our Easter activities this year were great. All of the kids painted eggs and had a traditional Easter egg hut, which was a new thing for many of them. Additionally, each child received their own basket with candy, eggs, and toys. Most importantly, the kids received a lesson about the Crucifixion and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Furthermore, two more children were also added to the daycare. Favian, 10 and Orlando, 6, have joined the Open Arms family. This family was homeless for a time until someone took them in and allowed them to live with her family. The boys are now attending school and enjoy the daycare’s bible class. Their mom is now working and is now more able to support her kids.

Additionally, another one of our prayers looks like it is close to being answered. Ever since we came down here, we have wanted to purchase the lot right next to the daycare, but because we could never find the owner of the lot, that option was never made available to us. After two and a half years of praying, one day Daniel met the owners by chance in the store next to us. What is more, they are not only willing, but wanting to sell! Even more amazing is that they want to sell it for under market value. Praise God! It is amazing to see how this comes together. The owner is giving us one month to get the money together to hold it for us. The price of the lot is $25,000. Please prayerfully consider being apart of this great investment which can affect many lives, as we plan to expand the daycare.

The month of March was an exciting month for us. On March 5th, Open Arms celebrated its one year anniversary of having our doors open to the community. A year ago we opened our doors to five children, and since then we have grown to 27 kids here at the daycare. One year ago we would not have been able to support 27 kids financially, but thanks to all of our individual and church supporters, we are now able to financially provide for these children. Watching the growth of these kids, seeing how they develop and learn about the Lord is such a wonderful experience. It is amazing to see the change in their lives.

This month Dulce Maria was blessed by a special couple from Corona Del Mar Community Church. Dulce is 10 years old, whose mom works at the daycare. She has used glasses for many years, and the glasses have been worn and broken with time. Because of the family’s economic situation, Dulce did not want to ask her mom for a new pair, so she lived with glasses that were broken and glued back together many times. This couple decided to sponsor Dulce and is buying her a brand new pair. Now, she is able to see better with an updated prescription and clearer lenses.

On February 5, Open Arms purchased the kiddy corner lot. This lot will go to the expansion of the daycare, where a duplex will be built that will eventually be used to house two missionary families and a large playroom will be built for the older children. We would like to send a special thank you to Sandy Souza for donating the money for the property.Additionally, the daycare continues to grow. Harely, Misael, and Nathael Machado have joined their cousins Said, Arturo, and Ivan here at Open Arms. We are proud that we have and will be able to watch this family of cousins grow and watch them develop a relationship with Christ. Please pray that through these children, God will touch their parents and grandparents and change this family completely for the glory of God.Also, five other children were enrolled here at Open Arms in the past month. Please keep them and their families in your prayers, that God will change their lives and will bless them in a great way.

Our first Christmas at the daycare was wonderful. Thank you so much to everyone who helped make it possible in blessing these families like never before. The parents were so touched that some of them could not express what they felt. Others just showed it with their tears of joy. Besides the huge bag of presents that the kids received, they also heard a message about the true meaning of Christmas, ate a traditional Mexican dinner, and the kids put on a performance for their parents. It was great to see these families so touched.Additionally, remember the new bus that we were waiting on? Well after putting some work into it, we finally got it down to Mexico! We got it just in time for the kids to go back to school after their winter break. It is a great blessing and will help us to pick up kids at the four different schools around La Misión. We would like to give a special thank you to Mario and Heather Herroz for donating it to Open Arms.Furthermore, another prayer has been answered. Antonio and Christine Torres have decided to come up for a time from their home in Ciudad Constitucion, Mexico and help us out. Antonio will be helping out Daniel in the continuing construction here at the daycare, and Christine will help out Heidi with taking care of the kids and alleviating some of the office work.Also, we are trying to raise $16,000.00 for a kiddy corner lot next to the daycare. This property will help us expand the ministry to help out more families in need.

Well, back to school was a whirl wind. We accepted six more children the first week school began. So that means we have 18 children who attend Kindergarten or are in Elementary school. We take many trips too and from four different schools in our town. There are two kindergartens, and two elementary schools. We only have an 8 passenger van, so picking up the kids require two vehicles or several trips to and from school.

Thanks to God, we are getting a mini bus donated from a sweet couple in Fresno, CA. They heard about our need and decided to donate a 22 passenger mini bus. Praise God! He always provides for every need that we have. Right now we are in the process of repairing some engine damage, and getting registered and insured to bring it to Mexico. Please pray that this process goes smoothly.

Whew! What a summer! It has been a lot of hard work, but exciting to see all the progress and ministry that happened this last month. July was busy, but so was August. Busy but always full of many blessings.

In August, we continued construction on the community house that burned down. A group from Canyon Hills Assembly of God in Bakersfield brought one of their junior high Bible study groups down to hang plywood on the outside of the house to get it ready to be plastered. They also began to prepare the interior of the house to be ready to hang the drywall. This was a great bunch of kids, willing to serve God with their work! They were a great help! Thanks guys….

Additionally, New Life Church from Alamo flew down for a week full of work, outreaches and blessings! This youth group hung all the drywall, taped it, and primed the inside of the newly built house. They also began on laying the linoleum for the floor. In the afternoons they blanketed the community with flyer’s for their big evangelical event. At these events, the leader of the youth group and three students broke bricks with their heads, hands, forearms, elbows, and arms. Mixed with the brick breaking, the outreach was full of impactful testimonies and dramas from the youth. Many families were saved at these outreaches.

Corona Del Mar Community Church, visited us to finish up the murals they began on the outside wall of the playground at the daycare. Now we have a panel of a desert scene with cacti, a group of children playing soccer, bunch of kids eating lunch at a table, a scene with animals at a pond, a panel with three crosses, a boy with his dog and guitar, Jesus with Peter, and a large mural of Jesus with Brazos Abiertos above. The playground murals are now completed! Yeah!!!

Our friend Eric Brown brought a group of adults from their church in Orange County to help with the construction of the community house. They blessed the family with their toilet and bathroom sink, kitchen cabinets and a kitchen sink, as well as lumber and doors. Furthermore, the Mom’s Club of Long Beach donated lots of children’s clothes for the children of the daycare. Thanks guys for all your hard work!

Now that summer has come to a close….School begins….

We just want to thank each and everyone of you who have lent a helping hand here at Open Arms and in the community. You are God’s Good and Faithful Servants….

As the girls beat out the boy’s time in an obstacle course provided by “The Refuge” from Scottsdale, they jumped for joy as they run to get their prize. The Refuge, brought a group of 30 some high school and junior high students that blew us away with their creativity, maturity, and service. They brought a VBS program for the daycare, which included story time, hilarious dramas, arts and crafts, Bible verse memory, children’s games, testimonies, and time for prayer. Additionally, they held a soccer clinic, youth outreach, and children’s outreach in the community. Furthermore, they helped work on the house we are rebuilding for the family from the daycare who’s house burned down. We were in awe of all they accomplished for the Kingdom of God, and we are grateful for the blessings they brought the community.

July has been full of Mission groups coming down to serve the children at the daycare and the families in the community. We are so grateful for all help these groups have provided Open Arms.

This summer Gateway Church from Colorado Springs joined us to minister to the kids at the daycare and to start the construction of the house that burned down in the community. In addition to slaving in the hot sun they, each person in the group brought around 14o0 lbs of rock and sand up a 60ft hill to poor the foundation of the house. They also held an outreach in the community and held a VBS (Vocational Bible School) for the children at the daycare. They had a puppet ministry and a great prayer ministry as well.  Open Arms was very blessed to have them here at the daycare, and pray they were blessed by the children and community.

Canyon Hills Assembly of God brought two groups down this summer. First “Upper Room” designed a kids program for the daycare kids surrounding the story of Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors. They also provided lunch for the kids by cooking up some hot dogs. Second, some youth and adults from Canyon Hills came a couple weeks later to work on the house that burned down in the community. Thanks guys for all your help!

Hope Chapel also blessed us with a weekend of fun in the sun for the daycare. We took the the kids to play at the beach and soak up some sun. The kids had a blast. The group also projected the movie Narnia on a big screen in the park for the community and gave out free hot dogs for all who attended.