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The Italian Gringo

Hola, Amigos! We hope that none of you had a week as interesting as ours.

The rainy season finally arrived, and our house was flooded. Professional roofers had sealed our roof, and it was the worst flooding we ever had. They came by yesterday, honoring the warranty, and put a heavy coat of sealant over everything, so I hope that it works.

The courts have shut down the dog shelter where I have volunteered for the last five years. Jeff, the owner, had actually been nice to us for the last week, but a neighbor kept giving us trouble. On the other hand, moving the dog shelter right across the street from the guy wasn't too smart. Jeff is used to doing what he wants because he has money, and, knowing that the neighbor had filed many complaints against us, Jeff moved the dog shelter right across the street from the guy. A court ruled that our license was invalid, after another court had ruled in our favor.

We were given 48 hours, and began giving away dogs, complete with leash, collar, and a large bag of dog food. About seven were adopted, and two other shelters were able to take the rest. The cats and the birds are in the original building, so the shelter will stay open but will not provide for dogs.

Sometimes a leader becomes powerful enough that only "yes men" can stay with him. If Jeff had asked advice, many people, including me, would have told him not to move the dog shelter up close to this neighbor. He spent a fortune rebuilding a rented building as a dog shelter, is stuck in a five-year lease, and has an art gallery to take care of. His costs were far higher than expected, and now he has a well-built, poorly-designed empty dog shelter to pay rent on for the next five years.

The Bible tells us "In the multitude of counselors there is safety." Christians need to be in a good church, fellowshipping with God's people, and getting good advice.

My stupid dog Anna had a big adventure recently. She climbed a spiral staircase to follow me up to a neighbor's roof. At the very top, she lost her never, tried to turn around, and fell off. We were relieved to see her running around happily on the lawn, unharmed. It's hard to believe that dog has German Shepherd in her.

I'm continuing my series on "Envy" at http://theitaliangringo.blogspot.com/

Adios, Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! Things have improved since our last meeting.

After being presented with over 1500 signatures, the city council allowed the dog shelter to re-open. Granted, we only have three dogs, but we're back in business. Yesterday I took two of them for very long walks, which they appreciated.

A new orphanage has opened up, but it's far from where I live. They already have sixteen children living in a large house.

And over two months after I quit the Love in Action orphanage, they put out a monthly report with a very nice article about me. The leader still hates me, though.

We had a small youth activity last week, with another one scheduled for this Saturday, so things are looking up.

Several months ago, I started handing out frozen flavored ice to a few kids who came by to visit. Now we have troops of kids whom I don't recognize stopping by for ice. Some of them even come on horseback. Still, it helps get new kids to ride the van on Sunday.

We were in a supermarket when Mexico beat France in the World Cup (soccer). The employees marched round the store blowing horns, and all the customers started cheering. If you remember your history, France conquered Mexico during the American Civil War, but the Mexicans eventually drove them out.

Yesterday, however, Mexico lost, and everyone is in a state of mourning. The US, in case you're interested, has tied twice, and they won today, advancing them to the next round.

That's the news. See you next week.

Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! We hope that all of you are doing well. My wife and I are snacking daily on our tomato plants, and I have the next set started.

I got the pastor to visit with my last week. After he got over his fright, he did pretty well. The van had dropped to ten kids due to the fighting we had a few weeks ago, but he got it back up to 16 last Sunday. He was shaken by how upset the parents were and realized that I was right in banning the boy who did it all. He was also shaken that most of the people who promised to come did not, but that's normal.

Last Sunday, Mexico played Argentina in the World Cup soccer championship. We often hear neighbors, but suddenly the street erupted into a loud roar when Mexico scored. Later, there was dead silence as Mexico lost. The US surprised everybody by reaching the second round (the best 16 soccer teams in the world) before being defeated by Ghana.

My neighbor was upset when he told me that Annabelle, the orphanage director, had been banned from the Hope House orphanage for boys. She had wanted to visit some of her former boys and was refused admittance. Hope House had been attacked by Love in Action for not allowing homosexuals to take boys home with them, and they lost a lot of support, but they have recovered.

When I taught Christian school, we would sometimes have a student do wrong, lie, and get 100% backing from parents who knew the student was lying. A "mediator" would often step in, assign the family's blame to the teacher, and the problem would be "solved." A few weeks later, there would be another problem with the same student, and the cycle would be repeated.

When you get into a situation like that, pretending that the innocent party is guilty is not the Biblical solution. The Biblical solution is repentance by the guilty party. If that doesn't happen, the Biblical solution is separation. It is painful when Christians have to decide to have nothing to do with a person who refuses to repent, yet Jesus taught that if talking to the person doesn't work, we are to treat them like publicans and unbelievers. Why? Because that's how they are acting.

Meanwhile, Hope House has helped start a girls' orphanage. For some reason, they took the girls to Little Chapel, a Gringo church with no Sunday School, and they started a Mexican Sunday School for the girls.

Last week, we had two youth activities for a total of 12 people. We went to the animal shelter, walked through the bird zoo, and drank soda pop. It wasn't a great activity, but we are the only church in the Gringo Zone having youth activities.

I was at the dog shelter yesterday when the court served a summons on us due to the neighbor's complaint (again). Our lawyer will be going to court for us, and your prayers are appreciated.

Adios, Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! I've got so many cherry tomatoes blooming all over my front yard that I've had to let my neighbors pick some.

We caught the edge of a hurricane last week-end, and I ran the church van on Sunday during a downpour. One mountain dirt road was so bad that I parked the van at the bottom and walked up to get the kids. We only had nine, due to the weather, but they had a good time.

Last week, I had talked about conflicts in which one side is blatantly wrong but refuses to repent. If a mediator steps in, he only makes things worse by demanding that the innocent party take part of the blame, rather than insist that the guilty person repent.

Jesus taught that in a situation like this, the church is to talk to the person, and if he still won't repent, to treat him like a heathen and a publican. Elsewhere, the Bible tells us to mark those who cause divisions and offenses and to avoid them."Separation" is a very unpopular Biblical doctrine, but it's better than fighting.

The dog shelter got slapped with another summons this week, as the neighbor across the street continues to go through one court after another, trying to shut us down. We won, and I'm still walking dogs while we wait for the next one.

A taxi driver named Amando is a fervent soul-winner, and he got me to attend his Mexican church last Monday night. The people were very friendly, I now have three more English-speaking Mexican friends, and I even attended a wedding party with them. I'm not switching churches, especially since I cannot understand the sermons, but I do enjoy their friendship.

Adios, Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! We hope that you are all doing well.

Last Sunday, the rain let up enough for me to take the church van up a steep dirt road, where I got stuck in the mud. I prayed, and then got out on the next try. From now on, I'll be walking up that part of the route to collect the kids.

Three months after I quit the orphanage, they ran a very nice article on me in their volunteer newsletter, and a brief article ridiculing Annabell, the director. It got into the Guadalajara Reporter, the largest English-language newspaper in Mexico. But someone caught it, and the article was changed by the time it appeared in "Eye of the Lake" magazine.

There's some kind of power struggle going on, as Annabelle takes one demotion after another. I was questioned yesterday at the dog shelter about some of the events that had taken place, and I avoided most of them, as I don't want to get into a fight. The Bible tells us to stay out of conflicts that don't concern us. I was the last volunteer from another church to leave, and several Christians had felt that I did wrong in staying as long as I did. Currently, they are trying to raise $80,000 to re-open the old orphanage, even though the building is in good condition.

Meanwhile, a Christian feeding ministry run by our church received a pile of donated food that they couldn't give away fast enough, so they drove an SUV load of food up to Hope House, the Christian boys orphanage.

I give away two packages of frozen icicles to neighborhood kids every week, and now I've got some of them who hide in my house. It's nice to be loved. I let a few poor kids pick cherry tomatoes from my yard, which the parents appreciate.

In many countries, the World Cup is like a war. It dominates the news, the conversations, and the thinking of the people. Stores sell patriotic shirts and toys. Most of the stores have a TV set on, so customers can watch their nation's team. The president of France blasted their team for their sorry performance, and the president of Nigeria yanked their team out of international competition for two years as they rebuild. My own city of Chapala postponed their annual parade to the Virgin Mary so they could watch Mexico compete. Spain finally won the championship, making the Mexicans happy, as that is the second-favorite team here.

Adios, Amigos!
 
Greetings, Gringos! Nancy and I hope that all of you are doing well.

With pleasant weather, usually in the seventies, I have three successful tomato plants growing, as well as several smaller ones. I don't plant cherry tomatoes anymore. I find them growing in the street and in various pots around my front yard, as they spread all over the place. I transplant the healthiest ones into pots.

The local Anglican church had another split a few weeks ago. The priest is a vehement opponent of God's Word, and one group had split off to form a good, solid, fundamentalist Presbyterian church. Another group. led by a former priest, broke off because homosexuals control most of the church's leadership spots. Clearly opposed to the Bible, the new group meets in a house where straight people can be leaders in a church that has no Biblical authority to even exist.

The dog shelter has been given permission to hold a few more dogs, as the neighbor keeps trying to shut it down. A beautiful, but badly-starved German Shepherd was tied up outside last week, and she is doing much better now.

I had been friends with a Mexican family on our street whom Annabelle has forbidden to speak to me. Today I took one of their kids and her friend to the animal shelter, and they had a good time. As the board at the orphanage steadily demotes her, and as every church in the area is now opposed to her, I have learned a lesson that I should have learned years ago: avoid fights. I am leaving her to her slanders, not defending myself, and watching in amazement as more and more people turn against her. I have a homosexual friend at the animal shelter who has been digging for dirt on her, as the homosexuals whom she put on the board now want to get rid of her, but I stay out of it.

My Mexican friend Andrew and his wife recently had their first child. A former cook in the US, he had been desperately trying to find a job. We prayed for him at church, and I told him to take the bus to Ajijic and walk to every restaurant in town and ask for a job, and he got hired last week.

See you next week, Amigos. Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! We hope that all of you are doing well.

It's been a good "turn-around week" for a lot of us. For the first time in over two years, we had over thirty people at the hymn sing at Little Chapel. My wife and I watched is disgust as two local pastors went around, aggressively trying to steal people for their own churches, but things went well despite that.

Little Chapel had taken a bad hit when a group of people organized to seize the church. The group did not believe God's Word and they had wanted to build a Protestant church for people who had rejected Christ. They lost, but they devastated the church, dropping attendance from the eighties to the thirties. They are running in the sixties now, have started a Sunday School for Mexican children, and are doing much better.

Sondra, a woman from the American Legion, showed up at La Paz de Cristo in tears. Her doctor had given her one year to live. A bunch of us prayed for her, and she returned for the Monday night service, where I met her. The kindness of the people was a real blessing.

Meanwhile, some folks run a feeding ministry and they have an unusual problem: too much food, but not enough Mexicans to eat it. We have seven kids living in two concrete sheds with their mom and grandmother, and I brought the kids in yesterday. I'll be bringing them in again today.

We had sixteen on the church van last Sunday, the most we have had in months. One boy had punched a bunch of kids and cost us over half our attendance,but God is blessing us with new riders.

Don't get discouraged when things get rough. Four or five months ago, a lot of things were going wrong down here. Those are times for you to get closer to God, to read the Bible more carefully, and to spend more time in prayer.
During rough times, we are often tempted to stop doing things God's way, because God doesn't appear to be blessing. It might be a test, it might be a purging, and it might be an intermission before the next blessing. Stay true to God, and He'll bless you.

Adios, Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! We hope that you're enjoying the weather as much as we are.

Some poor people here really appreciate the food kitchen that our church started. Two men got together, and serve spaghetti, soup. rice, beans, and "soy ground beef" six days a week. They have about 36 people whom they feed regularly, but it's the same ones all the time. They have been able to get visitors to come to church, though.

Meanwhile, we have a family with the mom, grandmom, and seven kids living in a concrete shed and a shelter made from aluminum and sheets. The grandmom really appreciates my loading all of them into my station wagon and driving them to the kitchen. At first, the two fellows were enthusiastic about the improved attendance. But the kids don't like the soy beef, and the two fellows have gotten upset when they want tortillas but won't eat the main course. A tortilla is a round piece of corn meal, which the Mexicans use as bread.

Most church food kitchens don't work out too well. So far, this one is better than most, and they have volunteers from different churches helping.

Meanwhile, I have tomato plants growing out of cracks in the wall, the street, and the sidewalk. I finally figured out that if I would spray diluted iron onto the leaves, I would have a big harvest. But how did tomatoes survive before they had evolved this powerful ability to grow in difficult places? They didn't evolve, that's how. They were created as complete plants.

Time to head off to the animal shelter. Adios, Amigos. Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! After a night of furious thunderstorms, the skies are blue and the sun is shining once again. We hope that all of you are doing well.

The food kitchen is doing well, and I have some families that I drive there on a regular basis. There had been some hard feelings when a few of the kids wouldn't eat everything in their bowls. Other hard feeling arose when the children chowed down on tortillas but wouldn't eat the American-style pasta. Yet another problem occurred when the children plowed into taco soup while rejecting macaroni, and feelings were hurt once again when NO ONE, not even the workers, would eat the egg soup that somebody brought in.

"Ethnocentrism" is the belief that our way is the best, and everyone needs to work their way up to our way. Mexicans eat healthier diets than Americans, and well-meaning Gringos have to learn that. But the kitchen is being blessed and we had about eight new visitors last Sunday as a result of the workers' efforts.

I had mentioned "Sandra," a woman with less than a year to live, and the kindness of our church towards her. Her family has come down from the US and will not permit her to attend anymore.

We have twelve dogs at the shelter now. Yesterday, someone tied up a large Chocolate Labrador outside. The terrified dog barked at all of us, but some of the workers finally got him into a cage. Three cats were adopted on Monday, and a couple of dogs were adopted last week, so we're pretty happy.

While mooching frozen icicles inside my house, some kids found some Bible pictures to color that I had left over from Wednesday night children's church. So now I have kids coming over every day to color pictures. Tomorrow, I'll will be taking a new family to the animal shelter, and hopefully we can get them to come to church.

Adios, Vicente
 
Greetings Gringos! Nancy and I hope that all of you are doing well.

There's been a bunch of adoptions at the dog shelter, and we're actually short of dogs. But with the kids back in school, there are less people available to walk them, so we're okay.

Our Sunday van route isn't doing too well. Many of our kids have moved (dodging landlords) and we are having a hard time getting new riders. We had thirteen this week, and we could use some prayer there.

A Mexican Christian friend, who is a soul-winner, surprised me this week when he insisted that no one is really baptized unless they are baptized "in Jesus' Name." Shortly before ascending into Heaven, Jesus commanded us to baptize people in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, Peter commanded people to repent and be baptized in the Name of Jesus. Is this a contradiction?

The Bible tells us that in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. When you are baptized in Jesus' Name, you ARE baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and vice-versa. The New Testament talks far more about Jesus than it does about the Father and the Holy Spirit combined, because when you pray to Jesus or worship Jesus, you ARE worshiping the Father and the Holy Spirit.

The belief that a person baptized in Jesus' Name has a superior baptism, or the only true baptism, is not correct.

Adios, Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! I hope that your week was as interesting as ours.



I had asked for prayer for our church van route, and last Sunday we had four first-time riders. More prayer is appreciated.



Henri, a very affectionate dog at the shelter, decided to attack a small dog last Friday. A worker reached down to rescue the dog, was bitten, and needed six stitches. Upset because I knew what was going to happen, I put Henri in the biggest, roomiest cage we have, and I was there when the death sentence arrived. State law requires that he be quarantined for seven days, and yesterday I took him for a long walk. He is visibly upset at being isolated, even though they are giving him toys and treats. He’ll be put to sleep on Friday, and all of us are upset about it.



The owner of the animal shelter didn’t help matters any when he yelled at the woman who had been injured and refused to pay her medical bill (He’s a millionaire philanthropist). Two hours of surgery came to $150, and he finally paid it. The woman puts in about thirty hours of unpaid work a week, and that’s not even one week’s salary for the work she does.



And today I walked “Chance” for the first time. A big, friendly dog, he was tied up outside the shelter two weeks ago. Covered with sores, a dog bite, and mange, he is doing much better and should recover in another three weeks.



I was surprised at how many of you wrote in about last week’s discussion of baptism in Jesus’ Name. The phrase “baptized in the Name of Jesus” means that you are baptized by the authority of Jesus, regardless of what words are used. Jesus told us to make disciples of all nations and then to baptize them. Because God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have authorized the baptism of Christians, these converts are baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, regardless of what words are used.



But the baptism of babies is not authorized by God. In the Bible, baptism was only by immersion, and only for people who had accepted Christ. Using the words, “I baptize you in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” when baptizing a baby does not change the fact that neither the Father, the Son, nor the Holy Spirit authorized that baptism.



Last Sunday, mud slides killed about 45 people on the highways leading out of Guadalajara. We had a fifteen minute delay in starting our Sunday School, and it was then that I learned that the Assemblies of God had been sending teachers from Guadalajara (about one hour away) because they want our Sunday School to be a success, but most of our retirees can’t speak Spanish. Our Mexican congregation has a few teachers, but the kids like the ones from Guadalajara better.


And I’m happy to announce that my beloved Philadelphia Phillies are back in first place, where they belong.



Adios, Vicente
 
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Greetings, Gringos! We hope that you are all doing well north of the border.

We start off with some great news: Henri, the dog who got the death sentence, got pardoned. Five days after he bit a worker, giving her six stitches, and two days before his execution, Henri was adopted by a wildlife refuge. He'll be roaming free in a large area, with five other adopted dogs, and hopefully he won't bite anyone.

A megachuch is defined as a church that regularly runs 2,000 in attendance. Megachurches are characterized by interesting services, and last week, we watched a live, three-day internet conference at a Pentecostal megachurch. We held the meetings at our own church.

The meetings started with "Chuck," who claims to be an Apostle. He gave a variety of vague prophecies ("I see roads buckling") and claimed to have predicted various events. An article on the internet about him lists several prophecies he has made that didn't come true.

A band played first-class rock music while well-trained go-go girls boogied to the beat, I mean, uh, Spirit-filled women danced in the Spirit, between speakers. Surprisingly, a guy named Robert did an outstanding job teaching, and I actually learned quite a bit from him.

Meanwhile, at our church, several people quit attending after the first session. Since I wanted to learn, the food being served was pretty good, and I was enjoying the fellowship, I stuck it out, throwing out the emotional antics while learning some good stuff. On Sunday, the pastor explained from the pulpit that Chuck is a wacko, but Robert is pretty good.

"Emotion" can make a church interesting, but it is a sorry substitute for Scripture. There are good, powerful megachurches that help people grow in the Lord without theatrics, but this isn't one of them.

Adios, Vicente
 
Greetings from the land of cockroaches and mud.

During a violent rainstorm, a tornado came down on the lake and threw mud and stones all over the place. Traffic was slowed for a while, but everywhere and everything had mud tracked all over it.

My next-door neighbor had his house sprayed for cockroaches, and he must have needed it. We got swarmed with the survivors. After taking everything out of the cabinets and spraying, we got rid of most of them. But I realized we had a nest somewhere that we couldn't find. Since we hadn't used the stove in the last few months, we lit it up, and that ended the problem.

Last Thursday was Mexico's 200th birthday. I enjoyed the parade and the kids enjoyed the day off from school. When you read Mexico's turbulent history, it is hard to believe that it is one of the most powerful democracies in the world.

Many Christians are frightened by the idea of predestination. The Bible tells us that everyone who accepts Christ as Savior is predestined to be conformed to the image of God's Son. In other words, when you accept Christ, God works in your life to make you like Jesus. And those who accept Jesus are predestined to be adopted as sons. Period. A born-again Christian can't just go on and live an evil life, because God won't let him.

But there are no other predestinations. Period. Nobody is predestined to Hell, or to Heaven. Period. God's offer of salvation is open to everyone.

Chance, the mange-covered dog, was pronounced clean yesterday. His sores and bite marks have all disappeared, and he is one happy dog.

See you next week, Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! I don't know what we'll do if we have another week as good as this one.

On Saturday, 17 kids piled into my station wagon for a trip to our feeding kitchen. Later that day, 10 kids came over to color Bible pictures and watch a Christian cartoon. (Many of them were the same kids).

On Sunday morning, 22 kids piled into the church van for children's church, and we even had good behavior. The teacher is a very Godly teen-age girl from Guadalajara, and she went home with us to meet the parents. She was a little bit shaken when it was time to climb a muddy hill in dress shoes (the van can't make it up the hill), but other than that, she did fine.

On Sunday afternoon, we had 10 kids again show up for coloring and Bible cartoons, and then Nancy and I went to a neighborhood hymn sing. The two men who were supposed to lead singing couldn't make it, so I got drafted, and I didn't do too badly. That's because I didn't use a microphone.

Trying hard to count, I think we had about 30 different kids last week. Your prayers are really appreciated here.

Many Christians are confused by the philosophies of John Calvin, who taught that God predestines innocent people to Hell before they are born, while forcing others to turn to Christ. One of Calvin's doctrines is that God does not reach out to the lost, so they have no hope of salvation.

John 1:9 tells us, however, that Jesus is "...the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world." People can reject that light, but it is still given to them. Calvinists deny, however, that God would ever give light to the wicked.

DOES God give light to the wicked? Proverbs 29:13 tells us: The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: "The LORD gives light to the eyes of both." God calls everyone to salvation, and those who reject that call have only themselves to blame.

Meanwhile, Gremlin, a very good-natured dog with a face like a, a, a gremlin, got adopted this week. And Chance, now completely recovered from mange, sores, and dog bites, is so healthy that I'm one of the few people who can walk him. I'm training him to walk on a leash properly, so that someone will adopt him.

Tomatoes have appeared on our new plants, and we have flowers now on our watermelon plant, as the weather continues to be pleasant.

See you next week,

Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! It's getting cold here with the night time temperature dropping into the fifties, so we hope that you're all doing all right.

I was invited to a meeting of some wealthy church leaders last week, even though I don't attend their church. But I attend their monthly hymn sing, and last month I had led the singing. It turned out to be a conspiracy meeting. While Mexican maids brought us donuts and coffee, they discussed plans to oust the pastor, end their Mexican Sunday School, and put themselves into power. Since I'm a friend of their pastor, they apparently hoped to win me over to their side. While some of them are generous donors, none of them are personally involved in spreading God's Word.

The Bible tells us that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. I got myself into enough trouble working for the rebellious director of an orphanage that is now one of the most powerful homosexual organizations in Mexico. I don't need to get involved with another pack of rebels.

It's a shame, though. The coffee and donuts were pretty good.

Lynn was a missionary here since 1992. She had taught in a local Christian school that folded and then she stayed. She served as a translator, but poor health had limited her activities by the time we arrived five years ago. She had trouble riding the bus and Nancy and I would sometimes drive her places. As her ministry diminished, so did her support, but God always provided for her. We attended her memorial service this week, and I was relieved that a decent-sized crowd showed up.

Two men in our church have started a successful feeding kitchen for the poor. Last Sunday they were invited to speak at the Presbyterian church about their. Rather than fight the work of God, when He uses some other group. Christians do better to support it.

God's Word tells us that God does certain things in certain places at certain times, although He doesn't explain why. Sometimes a Christian winds up in the middle of a work of God, and the Christian thinks that it is his own spirituality that makes him a success. Other Christians are out of sync with God, and they oppose successful Christian work. Right now, the Gringo Zone is having the greatest revival in its history. New churches, both Mexican and Gringo, are starting. More people are being saved here than ever before. Some Christians are actively serving and are being blessed with success. Others are fighting it. And many are watching from the sidelines.

We have one life on earth to live for God. When God does something it's time to get involved.
 
Greetings, Gringos! Nancy and I send you our best wishes.

Some time ago, I had told of how Annabelle, the orphanage director, had been running smear campaigns against various Christians, including me. God had been blessing me at the orphanage before she had run me off. Under her leadership, Love in Action had become one of the most powerful homosexual organizations in Mexico. The majority of the board are Atheists, and Love in Action is a successful model of how to get Christians to pay for an organization that is then taken over by others.

Some time back, Deena had been put in charge of volunteers. Although not a born-again Christian, she had done an excellent job, and I had successfully worked under her leadership before Annabelle ran her off.

Last month, Love in Action fired Annabelle as director and replaced her with Deena. Still serving in a lesser role, Annabelle is under Deena's authority. A "generous donor" is paying Deena's salary, which means that he will be having a lot of control.

My pastor had broken all ties with the orphanage before I did, explaining to me that there was not enough fruit in Annabelle's life to justify her holding a position of spiritual leadership. I had already known that she had hurt attendance badly at her husband's church, and my pastor told me that many of the Mexicans had left because of the orphanage's close friendship with the homosexual community.

Annabelle's frequent use of slander as a part of her ministry is part of the reason that no local church will support her, and her loss of status is a relief to the victims of her lying tongue. She's still fighting and still unrepentant, but her loss of strength is good for the rest of us.

Some of you had e-mailed me support and encouragement when I had to leave the orphanage, and I really had needed the help. I did not fight back, and I did not have a part in her demotion. Actually, she hasn't really been the director for about three years, but the board allowed her to keep the title while they steadily demoted her.

Folks, it doesn't always work this way. When I taught Christian school, we had slanderous parents who went for years without anything happening to them. Jesus asked "If they have called the Master of the House Beelzebub, how much more will they call them of His household? Fear them not, therefor."

Various families that she forbad to have contact with me have been talking with me for some time, as God works to repair the damage she did. I cannot help noting that one of her most hateful allies is openly gloating over this, since his wife seems to have gotten a promotion as a result.

Me? I'm not going back, and I'll have nothing to do, one way or the other, with that organization.

Adios, Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! We hope that all of you are doing well.

Richard Bailey started the feeding kitchen that I have written about. For many Mexicans with no means of adequate support, he was a Godsend. He died at home last Thursday night, and he will be sorely missed. The kitchen plans to stay open, and your prayers are appreciated.

After a shake-up at the orphanage, friends of mine wound up homeless and living in the original Love in Action orphanage up on a nearby mountain. I had started walking up there to get their two boys and to take them to the feeding kitchen. I arrived last Saturday to find a daycare in operation, and when I tried to take the two boys I was surrounded by a bunch of big brown eyes, so I wound up taking about ten kids.

This meant that I was unofficially working for Love in Action again. Romans 1 spends three verses describing homosexuals, and most of the description centers on their hatefulness. While many homosexuals know how to act properly, Love in Action's attacks on another orphanage for not allowing homosexuals to take boys home with them shows them to be as hateful as the Bible says.

God's Word also tells us "...have nothing to do with the unclean thing." The key word here is "nothing." The Old Testament tells how King Saul twice disobeyed God for a "good" reason," and God took the kingship away from him as a result. While my motives were good, it is better to trust God and obey Him. I painfully informed them that I will not be taking the kids anymore, although my friends son are welcome to come to my house and I will take them to the kitchen.

Afterward, I learned that the situation was worse than I had thought. If I had continued, the consequences would have been even worse than I had expected. This decision involved a lot of Scripture and seeking advice form Godly saints, and the painful choice was the right one.

I have started a series at The Italian Gringo on how to know the right thing to do RIGHT NOW, and I hope that you'll drop in and leave some comments.

See you next week,
Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! We're really suffering down here as night time temperatures drop below fifty, but we're hanging on. I'm suffering enough because the Phillies didn't make it to the World Series.

78 people showed up for the memorial service for Richard Bailey, who had started the feeding kitchen down here. I had known that he was a Godly man, but I was surprised to learn of all the other good things he had done. Richard had been divorced twice, which is a common problem with retirees here. But he was able to serve God anyway.

The Baptist church down here is having problems, as a good chunk of their people have left for the new Presbyterian church. Part of their problem is that the pulpit committee, who had nearly wrecked the church a few years ago, is back in power.

Interesting story here: we've got folks who won't attend church anywhere, because they can't be leaders. Whenever a new church opens or a new pastor arrives, they show up. After a while, they are either leaders or they quit attending church again. Meanwhile, all the churches down here have need of servants: people who will actually do work. But these people don't want to do the many low-status jobs that a church needs.

Another odd story: the pastor of our Assemblies of God church is a Baptist who won't admit it. He would have to resign if he did. The pastor of the Baptist church is a Calvinist, and doctrinal error is another reason why that church is having problems.

Once again, I had to lead singing at the community hymn sing last Sunday, as nobody else would do it. My singing is horrible, but a new couple wanted to talk to me about our church, and I hope they'll attend this Sunday.

Meanwhile, our Sunday van had 23, the highest we have had in months. One fellow had told me that he would pray for the van route every day, and he told me that is why it went up. Me? I can't explain it, but I'm not complaining.

And finally, I walked dogs for three hours on Monday, because we have a lot of dogs and few volunteers. Oh well, the exercise did me good.

See you next week,
Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! We hope that your weather is as good as ours, with daytime temperatures in the seventies.

A woman showed up at church last month, quietly attending and keeping to herself, although several of us tried to make friends with her. She made the headlines, though, when it turned out she fled the US to escape a twenty-five year jail sentence. A heavy drinker and party-goer, she had attended another church for over a year before switching to us. No one will say who recognized her picture from the internet, and I don't know if it was someone from our church.

Some things in life are inevitable: for instance, You reap what you sow. The context of that passage shows that when you do wrong you do something to your flesh that will produce corruption. I am watching in astonishment as the director of the Love in Action orphanage is being insulted time and again as the board steadily demotes her. A recent newspaper article described how someone else has re-opened a neighborhood feeding program that the director had started years ago. Nothing critical was said, but the newspaper article praised two different women for the success of the ministry. However, a reprint of the article, issued by the orphanage, spends more space praising the director, who didn't get much credit in the first article.

After years of claiming credit for the efforts of others, and slandering people she has wronged, the former director seems to be having pain watching others get credit instead of her: the same kind of pain she has produced in so many others.

Early in my Christian life, I learned a valuable lesson that many Christian never learn. You cannot please God and man. If you will serve God when you are praised by men, and stop serving God when you are falsely criticized, you will soon stop serving God.

I'm still running a series on how to know God's will RIGHT NOW at The Italian Gringo and I hope you'll stop by for a visit.

Adios, Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! We're basking in a pleasant 76 degree day, and we wish you were all here.

A family who rides the church van had to move out of their home into a concrete shed with no electricity, and I hope that you'll be praying for them. But we had 19 on the van, with fairly good behavior.

The local Baptist church is putting on a large Christmas special, and Nancy will be playing the flute. She is pretty good, and she has played for several church services.

For Nancy's birthday, we went to Domino's Pizza, where for $10 we had a large pizza with two toppings, plus two sodas. Nancy runs the sound and video system at our church, and she is becoming a valuable member of the Christian community. Plus she puts up with me.

I had to break up a dog fight at the animal shelter, and fortunately, no one was hurt. The last time we had a dog fight, one worker needed six stitches. The neighbor who has been giving us trouble heard the noise, so he ran over and started shouting, possibly in order to provoke the dogs into attacking us.

I had led singing at the community hymn sing last month, and now they've canceled it for the next two months. You figure it out.

And I'm continuing my series on How to Know God's Will RIGHT NOW at The Italian Gringo

Adios, Vicente
 
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