We are back from two weeks of wonderful family time, amazingly warm and pleasant weather, and some of the most beautiful scenes that God has created. We enjoyed the sand, the sun, and the water and most of all we enjoyed the culture of the people in Mexico. I love how the culture of Mexico embraces children and celebrates them as important. What a far cry from our society of today in America. Everyone we met wanted to spend time with our kids and talk with them. I love the value that they placed on them as people. The highlight of the trip was getting to spend more time with a man named Balentino who my parents and I had met last year. To fill you in on the background of the story....the last night we were in Cancun in 2007, we ate dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Before the meal, we held hands and my dad said the prayer. Our waiter excitedly embraced us and exclaimed in his broken English "You too Christians" He proceeded to share about his life and his struggles and asked my dad to pray for him. It was an amazing conversation. Anyways, we returned their during our first few days and he came running to us and said "You remember me.....you ate here" and pointed to the table where we had eaten a year ago and prayed for him. We were able to tell him how we had continued to pray for him over the past year. My dad had brought him The Purpose Driven Life in Spanish and he was ecstatic to receive it. He invited my parents over to meet his new wife and 8 month old daughter. So my parents ventured to downtown Cancun to visit his home. It was very humbling to see where they lived with so few possessions and no refrigerator! My dad was able to share more and encourage him. My mom had taken a bible and highlighted some verses for him. Balentino was so hungry for the word of God and has such a thirst to grow in his faith. They shared some wonderful conversation and fellowship. Balentino asked for a study bible and wanted help to find some true churches in Cancun. We all were able to meet his wife and his daughter throughout the course of our trip. Balentino's wife was Chelly and the daughter was Maria Jose after Mary and Joseph. This experience has definitely made me desire to learn more Spanish so that I can communicate better the message of the gospel with others. What an amazing experience for my kids as well to see the way God's spirit has moved in the life of someone they met and had been praying for. We definetly look forward to seeing our dear friends again.
