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The Italian Gringo

Greetings, Gringos! It's awfully hot walking dogs when the temperatures are in the upper seventies, but that's part of the pain of living in Mexico.

Chance, my favorite dog, is the one who recovered from mange, sores, and dog bites. Today he managed to wolf down a square foot of heavy-duty plastic wrap before I could stop him. The vet gave him something, and hopefully he'll be all right.

Hyper Piper is a large, friendly dog who got adopted this week, and was returned two hours later. When they got her home, she killed and ate one of their chickens.

We had 102 different people in our three church services last Sunday, and since it wasn't a big day, I'm pretty happy. We had 21 kids on the van, which is especially good since our best family was away on a trip.

Some squatters had moved in on a nearby mountain, and we were finally able to get them to come to our food kitchen for a meal. Hopefully, we can get them to come to church this Sunday.

Would you be willing to die for Harry Potter? The Bible tells us that some would be willing to die for a good man, but Christ showed his love for us in that while we were still sinners, He died for us.

I'm still running a series on How to Know God's Will For Your Life RIGHT NOW at The Italian Gringo and I hope you'll all drop by for a visit.
 
Greetings Gringos, from sunny Mexico, where it's 73 degrees right now. We hope that you're all doing fine, and that you had a nice Thanksgiving.

Along with a Canadian neighbor, we took two poor Mexican kids to Subway for Thanksgiving. They were more fun than the food. Now they want us to take them to Subway on Saturday instead of to the feeding kitchen.

My wife Nancy will be playing a solo at the Christmas special at the Baptist church on December 10. She was upset because some members of the Pulpit Committee, who had wrecked up the church a few years ago, wouldn't speak to her. Nancy is being blessed and used by God at the Assemblies of God church, and persecution, according to the Bible, is a necessary part of a successful Christian life.

Speaking of persecution I (used to) write on a Gunsmoke forum. I enjoy watching the old shows on Youtube, and I enjoy the friendships on the forum. An occasional hater will show up, start trouble, and then leave. This week, a couple of haters showed up and started ripping into me for posts about Gunsmoke. Do these people have anything better to do with their lives than fight about an old TV show? Gunsmoke! Of all the stupid things to get into a fight over.

We had twenty kids on the church van, and we have a problem. Our best family has seven kids, but they haven't come in three weeks because they're with their father in another city. When they start coming back, I won't have room for them on the van. Your prayers for another driver to volunteer a vehicle would be appreciated.

What do you do when you get a demotion? King Saul demoted David from commanding the entire army to commanding 1,000 men. So David responded by behaving more wisely than any of the other leaders. When a children's church teacher at our church got demoted from being in charge to only teaching every third week, she responded by riding the van with us on the way home, which keeps good order and has helped our attendance.

Chance, the dog who swallowed a large piece of plastic last week, managed to wolf down another piece when someone else was walking him. But he's still healthy and happy, so we guess he's okay.

And I'm still writing articles on how to know God's will for your life RIGHT NOW at The Italian Gringo

Adios, Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! With night time temperatures normally in the thirties, our Mexican friends are having a rough time, as the houses here don't have heat. We have a space heater that keeps us comfortable at night. Yet, the air is so thing here that it normally reaches the seventies during the day.

Our big news is the reaction to Nancy playing the flute at the Baptist Church this Friday at 6 PM. The bitterness and jealousy are limited to a small number of people, but it's there. Nancy runs the sound system for the Gringo and Mexican services at the Assemblies of God church that we attend, plays the flute in three churches for various music programs, and she puts up with me. If that doesn't prove that she's Godly, I don't know what does.

Our church van is running in the twenties now, and our church is almost running 100. Things are going well for us.

After suffering a heart attack, a friend of ours was in a clinic when his pastor came in and laid hands on him. He recovered from that attack, and I saw him yesterday. He looks great.

Last by not least, Calvinism teaches us that Jesus only died for some people, and that God only wants some people to be saved. What does God say about this?

John 17:21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

1 Timothy 2:4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

1 John 4:14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.

John 12:47 And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.

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

Nancy and I will be going to our third Christmas party this year on Friday, and the friendships we have developed here in the Gringo Zone have been a real blessing.

If I used labels, I would call 2010 the Year of Envy. Getting run out of the orphanage because I received a promotion, the bitterness that was unleashed on Nancy for her success as a musician, and even getting run off a Gunsmoke forum have made this the most jealous year I have ever had. But God has blessed me with a good outreach, Nancy plays the flute regularly in Christian services, and I still enjoy watching Gunsmoke. The orphanage director who ran me off has been heavily demoted, the people jealous of Nancy are as unsuccessful as they ever were, and the Gunsmoke forum is just about dead.

Last Sunday, we had 32 kids on our 18-passenger church van, and our church gave away 26 pairs of high-quality shoes. There was no fighting, and we had excellent behavior both to and from church.

Last week I won the Gringo Nice Guy Award, when a very dirty Mexican girl wearing ragged clothes showed up crying at my door. Her mother had given her two pesos and she had lost one. I gave her five pesos and haven't seen her since.

I won a prize for the second year in a row at a Christmas party for getting the highest score on a Christmas trivia test. (Who first sang "Frosty the Snowman?" and other major questions.)

Have a Merry Christmas, and I'll see you next week.

Adios, Vicente

PS. It was Gene Autrey
 
Greetings, Gringos! We hope that you had a very Merry Christmas! Everybody is talking about the terrible snowstorm that is moving across the US, and we hope that all of you are all right.

La Ola is an orphanage started down here in March. An emergency room doctor and his wife (an emergency room nurse) are doing a great job. They have a spotlessly clean apartment building on top of a hill with 23 kids. Today, Harry (who owns a four-wheel drive vehicle) drove me up a mile-long gravel road that is impassable to regular vehicles, and we showed Bible cartoons. It went great, and we're going back in two days.

But Bob, the doctor who founded it, was punched by a local rancher today, leaving Bob with a large welt on his face. This is the second time it happened, and the police will not do anything. Harry and I wound up staying with the frightened children and Bob's upset wife, and we left after everybody felt better. We're returning on Friday, so your prayers are appreciated.

The La Ola orphans attend Little Chapel, and the church has been revitalized by the presence of children and teen-agers. Meanwhile, we had 24 kids on the van last Sunday, so we're pretty happy.

We had a Christmas party at the feeding kitchen, with a pinata that must have been made out of concrete. It took the kids a long time to break it open, and we all had a good time.

Nancy and I have enjoyed your friendship during the past year, and we look forward to another year of God's blessings for all of us.

Happy New Year,
Vicente
 
Greetings Gringos! Nancy and I hope that all of you are doing well. I just got back from a great day at the La Ola orphanage, where fifteen kids bellowed along with a Christian music DVD I showed. Their favorite is "John the Little Duck," a tragic story about a duckling who thinks his parents don't love him because they make him behave.

The kids are happy and safe. One ten-year-old was being sold by her parents as a prostitute, and one teenager had run away after being sold to an older man. One eight-year-old has been abandoned and is having emotional problems, but she and I get along great.

They served us a meal that looked like recycled vomit and I ate the whole thing, so I guess that after six years I'm getting used to the cuisine.

We had some unpleasant excitement in Chapala this week. As the Mexican government wages war on the drug cartels, they have to re-locate their labs to keep their American customers supplied. Two hand grenades were thrown at our police chief this week, with no injuries, and we hope that you'll be praying for God's protection.

The "Imprecatory Psalms" are chapters in the Book of Psalms in which the author prays for God's wrath to fall on his enemies. How do you reconcile this with the many Biblical commands to love our enemies? The author frequently explains WHY they are his enemies: he tells people about God and he lives for God. And he also explains that when people see his enemies defeated, that helps him spread God's Word and tells people that they should also live for God.

I've made two powerful enemies in Mexico: one has returned to the US in bad health, and one had been removed from all authority at the orphanage that she founded. I didn't do anything to either one of them; God did it. I had already known this, but when I was teaching Christian school I saw it: Never, ever, attack a servant of God. Leave if you have to, but don't ever attack someone whom God is using.

And last and probably least: my Christmas trees are always dead by January 1. This year's tree is still thriving.

Adios, Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! We miss you all and wish you were here.

Last Saturday evening, the kids at the La Ola orphanage, who are mostly teen-age girls, were left in the care of "George," a Mexican in his twenties who is employed by a church in Tennessee to work at the orphanage. The next day, at church, several of the girls came to the directors and told them that George had provided alcohol, and they had held a drinking party. They also told that when several of the teen-age girls had spent the week-end at an older man's house, George had shown up at night and several girls had sneaked out to drink with him. Leaving the girls at church, the directors drove back to the orphanage and fired George, who promptly called everyone he could to bad-mouth the orphanage. The church in Tennessee, which had supplied about 1/3 of their support, has dropped them. One girl, who was two days short of her eighteenth birthday, left with George.

The state government of Jalisco informed them that the state was beginning the process of shutting them down and deporting the Americans who are employed there. (I'm a volunteer, and I am not in any trouble).

So, once again, I found myself encouraging everyone. The Bible cartoons went well. I found out that Nayella is actually Nayelli, and she and another girl got into a few fistfights over who would get to sit in my lap while we watched the cartoons. I was able to recognize lunch today, and we spent some time tutoring the kids and keeping them occupied. While we were there, the government called, and they want to place two more children there. Some government officials are intervening, and hopefully, the government will make them take corrective actions rather than shut them down.

In my opinion, La Ola's leadership suffers from inexperience. The place is spotless, the food is excellent, the kids are happy, and the education is going well. But the directors failed to grasp that when you have a pile of children, especially teen-aged girls, you have to supervise the supervisors. After a sympathetic judge explained that they need more workers, La Ola has begun aggressively recruiting volunteers, and there have already been several new sign-ups.

We're going back next Wednesday (we hope), and your prayers are appreciated.

Adios, Vicente
 
Greetings Gringos! You're the subject of much interest, as we follow the tale of the massive US blizzard on the internet. We hope that all of you are all right and can hold on until spring.

One of our shelter dogs has started attacking men, but she still behaves for me. I'm afraid that she is going stir-crazy and is headed for the great dog house in the sky.

Last week, I had told about the disaster at the orphanage, when a worker ran off with one of the girls after they found out that he had held a drinking party for the girls. He called in and wanted to return, and of course the answer is "No." He has a degree in education, and I doubt that any school will ever hire him. Folks, there is an ugly Biblical truth here: when a born-again Christian goes into grievous sin, he can repent, be forgiven, and even be restored, but there are going to be consequences.

When David sinned with Bathsheba, God restored him, but added "From henceforth you will have wars." Reading through the Psalms, you find great blessings on people who have faithfully lived for God over long periods of time.

A church that had been providing 1/3 of the orphanage's support has resumed support, and it looks like the government will not shut them down. They have hired new staff and recruited more volunteers. However, I'm concerned about some of the people they're bringing in, and I foresee future problems.

I just paid my electric bill for two months: $4.80. That includes heat, by the way.

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

I have a tomato plant coming up, and my Christmas tree is still alive in a pot outside. Every year, my Christmas tree has died by January 1, but this one is growing slowly.

I have talked about Chance, the animal shelter dog who is our greatest triumph. A large dog who was filthy with mange, sores, and dog bites, Chance was tied up outside the animal shelter a few months ago. Because I am one of the few people who can walk him, I take him for long walks, and the two of us are buddies. Last week, after I had left, he attacked a worker, biting her several times, and he had to be put to sleep. I had walked him a few hours earlier and seen no problems, and neither did anyone else. I can only guess that he went stir crazy.

La Ola Orphanage is doing well, and we had 14 kids at one point watching Christian cartoons with us. And, once again, they served us a lunch that I could recognize. La Ola has also made a smart decision: they won't accept any more kids. When an orphanage accepts too many children, they have to go to the public for support. Then, homosexual groups demand that the orphanage teach a pro-homosexual agenda to the children, or they organize boycotts against financial supporters.

Two years ago, Mexico's new President declared an all-out war on drugs, and Mexico is winning. The dwindling power of the gangs is still a threat, but several of their leaders have been killed, and many of their drug labs have been destroyed. However, Mexico does not have much of a drug problem; these drugs are usually sold in the U.S. Dozens of Mexican police officers have died in this war, and their sacrifice has helped keep us safe.

See you next week,
Vicente
 
sniff , i know you miss that dog.

i had something similiar with my german shephard. the loyalty of her to me alone is something i wont forget
 
sniff Thank you, Jasoncran.

Greetings, Gringos! I'm struggling to stay awake in our 82 degree weather after a big lunch.

I was surprised at how many of you wrote in to sympathize over the death of Chance, the animal shelter dog who had to be put to sleep. Yesterday, one of the woman almost started crying while complaining that no one would adopt him even though he was a good dog.

I am relieved to say that the employee at the La Ola orphanage that I was worried about has quit. He had replaced the one fellow who had been messing with the girls, even though he had been arrested a few months ago in the US. Hopefully, they will start doing background checks before hiring new people. While showing Christian cartoons, I saw them blending vomit in the kitchen for our lunch, and it was actually pretty good. You can see that I am getting used to Mexico.

We were able to take two orphans to the animal shelter, and it is the first time I have seen children who are afraid of cats.The two girls clung to us while in the bird zoo (you walk through it) where four peacocks, two flamingos, eight ducks, and four chickens walk free. Among our caged birds, we have three baby quail. About five minutes after I bought them candy bars they were giggling hysterically, which shows what happens when you ruin a healthy diet.

I took Nancy out for pizza on Valentine's Day, and we came home stuffed for $18.

The Apostles Barnabas and Paul had to deal with an ugly problem. John Mark (who later wrote the Gospel of Mark) had deserted them on a missionary trip. Should they trust him again for another trip? Can you ever trust a Christian who goes into major sin and repents? I'll be dealing with this difficult problem at The Italian Gringo beginning with "Barnabas was Right--or was he?"

See you next week,
Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! We have seven new readers this week, and I hope that you'll feel welcome here.

It's been a rough week. My mother died on Saturday, at the age of 81. She was surrounded by loved ones when she passed away. Decades ago, I had led her to Christ, and I had talked to her almost every week on the phone. My wife is worried about me, but I'm getting over the shock.

One of the greatest tragedies that I see in God's people is Christians who stay in the wrong church. Right or wrong, they are determined to go in one direction, while the leadership is determined to go in a different direction. Instead of quietly going to another church, they stay behind and fight, because they are afraid to leave their own group. In doing so, they destroy their own testimony and make future churches afraid of them.

I was surprised enough in South Carolina when we left a problem-plagued independent Baptist church and joined a Southern Baptist church that believed the same things, because things worked out so well. But I am still amazed at the spiritual growth and opportunities for service that my wife and I found after we began attending a fundamentalist, soul-winning Assemblies of God church here in Mexico. We've been blessed with more success than most missionaries who come down here, and going to a different group didn't ruin me, as I had been warned it would.

If things aren't working out at your church, don't fight, don't set up a church split, don't organize rebellion, and don't destroy your testimony. Quietly attend a church somewhere else. Believe it or not, God is allowed to bless Christians who are outside your group.

An ugly, starving, vicious-looking dog named "Wolf" showed up at the animal shelter this week. He has scars and bite marks all over him, but it is obvious that he was raised in a loving home before being abandoned or lost. He's my favorite dog and I'm his favorite human, which is good because I'm the only one strong enough to walk him.

We had another good day at the La Ola Orphanage, and they now have their website up. If you go to laolacasahogar.com you can see some of our kids. We showed a Christian cartoon, colored pictures, and then played with the kids. The hard-working staff gratefully acknowledged our help, and it's a great place to be able to serve the Lord.

Adios, Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! We hope that all of you are recovering from last winter's weather.

I just got back from the La Ola Orphanage. They have had problems with vehicles getting torn up traveling up the mountain on a very rough road, but they're functioning well. The people there are doing a great job, and the kids continue to be happy, well-cared for, and well-loved. Because a doctor let them bring a crowd of kids in today, we only had seven for Christian cartoons, but it still went well.

For the next three weeks, the fellow I go there with will be in the US. After being assured that the cows will not kill me, I promised to return next week, walking about a mile up a road that has cows all over the place. Your prayers are appreciated.

For the next five weeks, we are baby-sitting Murphy, an overweight dog whose owner takes him to restaurants and orders him food. Murphy is miserably refusing to eat dog food, but he likes us and I'm sure he'll recover. And at the animal shelter, Wolf, the starving, dangerous-looking loverboy we got last week, is doing well.

We're still discussing the problem of dealing with a Christian who goes into major sin and then wants to return. Of course, we forgive him, but can we trust him? Drop in at The Italian Gringo and see what you think.

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

I had to park my car and walk about half a mile through a herd of cattle to reach La Ola Orphanage today, but the cows all ran away from me, so I'm safe. I had planned to show a Christian cartoon and had brought "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" as a back-up, but the kids saw the picture of Aslan (The Great Golden Lion), and to my surprise, fourteen kids sat quietly for almost two hours watching the film. I'll show the last part next week.

God gives a promise in Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths." This is not the first time that I had a well-planned activity go better than expected because God changed things.

The kids at La Ola continue to be clean and safe, are getting educated, and are learning about God and His Word. Drop in for a visit any time at http://laolacasahogar.com/

Wolf, the vicious-looking loverboy at the dog shelter is doing well, and everybody loves him. I took him over to be neutered yesterday, and he is back in his pen today, none the wiser.

We're baby-sitting Murphy, a grossly overweight dog who went four days without eating because he is not used to dog food. He is alert, active, and loves to go for walks, and he has been eating healthy dog food for five days now. He also scares the daylights out of Mexican kids because he's so big.

Despite opposition, we had 26 kids on the church van last Sunday. It's a sharp reversal in the way things were going, but persecution is a normal part of successful Christian service.

And we're still discussing how to deal with a Christian who goes into major sin at The Italian Gringo

See you next week,
Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! Spring has sprung, and it's 86 degrees right now. I have tomatoes appearing on one of my plants, and we're enjoying the hot weather that should end when the rainy season begins next month.

It had to happen. After five years of walking dogs, I was attacked by a pit bull. Some Mexican construction workers had one loose, and he came charging up towards Wolf and me. The pit bull was thickly-muscled, and as I tried to pull away, Wolf strained at his leash to meet the charge. The pit bull got Wolf by the throat, and Wolf had him by his lower jaw. A Mexican used a wedge-shaped stone to pry the pit bull's jaws apart. It looked like he had only gotten Wolf's fir and loose skin, while Wolf had a good, bloody grip on the pit bull. After praising the Lord for His protection, I bought Wolf a large rawhide bone to celebrate.

I just got back from another successful trip to La Ola orphanage. For the second time, I walked through a cattle area without getting hurt--actually, I didn't see any cattle this time. They asked me to stay over because they were short-handed, so I got to show Christian cartoons to a second group that is in school when I am usually there. A few government bureaucrats have made half-hearted attempts to take over, but La Ola still doing well. They had to turn down some kids because they were full, because people are bringing them kids without going through the government.

It is normal for people who want to be leaders to try to seize control of successful operations that they cannot build themselves. When an orphanage gets too many children, they have to turn to the secular world for money. Then special interest groups organize boycotts of their supporters unless the orphanage agrees to teach their agenda. We have lad a lot of problems with homosexuals fighting contributors to orphanages that will not teach a pro-homosexual agenda to the kids.

The Sunday van route took a big drop, as the Catholic Church is aggressively going after our kids (most of whom weren't going to church anywhere, but they're supposed to be Catholic). Problems are the normal result of success, and it's something that we learned to accept long ago.

Jesus said that if we do not deny ourselves, we CANNOT be His disciples. Getting results calls for sacrifices, and I'll be teaching that at the adult Bible study at Abundant Life church this Friday at 3 PM, if any of you who live in this area would like to attend.

See you all next week,
Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! We are astounded to sit here in our 80 degree sunshine and learn that many of you are still having winter weather.

I appreciate all the concern that people had about my being attacked by a pit bull. There have been no farther problems. Wolf, the heroic dog who fought the pit bull to protect me, is also doing well.

Wal-Mart had some frozen stews for $8.50 apiece that they reduced to $1, and we bought about twenty of them. Some of them appear to be a mixture of codfish and seaweed, while others are fish lasagna. Poured over rice or blended into soup, I've been eating a lot of codfish and seaweed this week.

I was able to teach the Bible study at church, and I taught on Luke 14:27. "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." Folks, when a person is doing NOTHING to serve God, you can't hire that person into a position of Christian leadership and have it work. Likewise, you cannot successfully serve God in your spare time. The people here in Mexico who are being used by God to accomplish things have to deny themselves and make sacrifices in order to receive good results.

The Lord had been convicting me about how lazy I was in studying Spanish, and He has been helping me learn and remember. I have a long way to go, but I'm on my way.

A group of teen-agers from Youth With a Mission came to the La Ola orphanage today and did yard work. The place is always clean, but they got into some difficult areas and found a few scorpions that they killed. A psychiatrist was working with the children while I was there, but we still had good attendance and behavior for the Christian films I showed. Starting next week, I will be there twice a week, and your prayers are appreciated.

The leaders at La Ola were back-stabbed by a worker they had to fire, and it harmed their ministry, but they are still being blessed. Persecutions, problems, defections, and failures are all normal parts of Christian service. We have to keep looking to Jesus while we continue to run the race He has set before us.

If you'd like to go with me to La Ola next week, let me know and I'll take you there.

Adios, Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! It's still hot and dry, but the Lord is still blessing.

I was kissing my wife good-bye in a parking lot when we heard a bunch of cheers and whistles. A vanload of orphans were laughing their heads off, explaing to me that that is how I should kiss my girlfriend, not my wife. You can see that they have a lot to learn.

With school out for two weeks, we have taken three groups to the animal shelter, and they love it. Being an orphan has its problems, but these kids are going on trips, getting an education, being loved, and doing well most of the time. At my house, two girls insisted on eating healthy, choosing juice over soda and oranges over candy. And then my wife and I brought out the ice cream...

And today we dyed Easter eggs! A generous friend in the US has sent me Easter egg dye for the last few years, and these girls had never dyed eggs before. What's more, they had never seen a hard-boiled egg, much less eaten one. But they had a wonderful time, and after dousing the eggs with chili powder, they ate all of them.

After the eggs, the girls joined the hundreds of millions of other children who have stared at the screen in fascination for Walt Disney's "Snow White" (in Spanish). It's way better than the garbage they usually watch. It also kept them occupied for a while, giving the poor staff a break.

There's also bad news. We had been taking our church kids to our feeding kitchen every Saturday. The kids enjoy the fellowship and the Bible lesson, and it is the only Christian youth activity being held in the Gringo Zone. But the operator clamped down because the kids won't eat the food he serves. It is usually macaroni soup, and the kids don't like it. They'll eat the cookies, hot dogs, and popsicles, but not the soup. So that successful ministry has come to an end.

My buddy "Wolf" is doing well at the animal shelter, and "Chuckleface," everybody's favorite parrot, still draws spectators with his friendliness. I used to take a bunch of kids tot the shelter, but the owner clamp;ed down on me, so it's hard to have youth activities these days.

Adios, Vicente
 
Greetings, Gringos! High winds knocked out our electricity of about eight hours, and I apologize for the delay. At least the weather is cooler now.

We have a bizarre problem that often happens to Christians: a God-blessed ministry ended because of a personality conflict. A Godly man in our church started a feeding kitchen, and several Christian volunteers helped make it a success. But the fellow was adamant on the menu: he would serve low-cost foods like macaroni soup, even though the Mexicans don't like it. I carefully avoided the arguments, accusations, and hard feelings over an issue that is basically stupid.

Meanwhile, we were bringing about ten kids every Saturday to the kitchen where they had a Bible lesson and good fellowship, but most of them refused to eat the food. So last week he told me that they can't come anymore. That's it. And this week, I'm getting the blame.

On the other hand, we had 25 kids on the van last Sunday, and I have painfully accepted that I have to expel a small number of trouble-makers in order to have a good time on the van and for the teachers to have a successful Sunday School lesson. It hurts to do this, but it is necessary.

La Ola orphanage continues to do well and have problems. They had an outbreak of head lice, and today they had to get vaccinations. But the kids continue to be well cared for. Today there was a problem with the electricity and the water supply, and I helped the driver of the water truck so I could learn the system. I'll be going back tomorrow to drive kids to school.

Last Sunday, 43,000 fans were watching a baseball game when the news flashed out that Osama bin Laden had been killed. Within minutes, the jubilant fans were on their feet shouting "USA! USA!" Proverbs 11:10 tells us "when the wicked perish, there is jubilation." How should a Christian react to this? Psalm 52:6-7 tells us "The righteous also shall see and fear, And shall laugh at him, saying, 'Here is the man who did not make God his strength, But trusted in the abundance of his riches, And strengthened himself in his wickedness.'"

One of the strongest teachings of the wicked is that God does not punish sin, and the wicked are offended when He does. God demands perfect holiness, and the only way to attain that perfect righteousness is through faith in Jesus Christ. Your own good works aren't good enough to please God, but the good works of Jesus are.

Adios, Vicente
 
Greetings Gringos! I'm sorry I'm late, but I've had an accident.

They were giving the orphans at La Ola vaccination shots and I was helping to calm the kids. Being a hero, I volunteered for a diphtheria and tetanus shot to show the kids that it was okay.

Four-year-old Chuy (Chewey) needed four shots and was crying away. I was carrying Chuy, calming other kids, looking for someone to take Chuy away, and not watching where I was going.

I walked to the edge of a three foot drop and then stepped into the Mexican hospital system.

To be continued tomorrow...
 
Trying to comfort Chuy, calm the other children, trying to find someone to get Chuy away from there, I didn't watch where I was going, and I stepped off a meter high ledge, landing on the concrete below.



Chuy was okay, but I couldn't get up. There were two doctors and a nurse, plus a pile of frightened children, all around me. When they helped me up, the kids told me that I was all white. I told them that was because I am an American, and only Mexicans are all brown. When no one laughed, I figured I was in trouble. The nurse told me I was ghastly white, and the doctor told me my arm was broken.



They improvised a sling from cloth and cardboard, while I calmly assured the kids, some of whom were crying, that I was okay.



And so...
 
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