Mother's Day

We had a great day celebrating Mother's Day at church.  We had a great turn out since several of our church families use the weekend to visit their mother's.  We had a meal catered in and the dads and young people served the moms.  It was a wonderful time to reflect on the mother's in our lives and also to see that God in His perfect plan designed the family.  Aren't you glad we have His Word to guide is in parenting and in life?

                                                              Here we are being silly!

Kid's Day

That's right.  Here in Mexico we celebrate Kid's Day.  It is a national holiday to focus on children.  We used the opportunity to invite folks to church.  We had games, picnic, piñatas, and pool time for the children!  The visitors got to hear a very clear presentation of the gospel.  Mexico has plenty to celelbrate in the month of May!  These are great opportunities to reach out to the community around us.

Passover Meal

This year we did a Passover Meal over Easter Weekend.  It was a great time to focus on all that God has done and is doing.  We had a great turn out.  It was fun to have our former members Ernesto, Estrella and their boys come back from Monterrey and be with us.  They are doing a fantastic job of serving God where He has placed them.  We miss them terribly but we are excited to hear how they are faithful to our Savior.  The Passover Meal is very interesting with all the symbolism involved with each food item.  Some of the flavors aren't my favorite but it is a very good reminder of the Sacrifice that was made on our behalf. (lamb)  The bitter herbs to me are a reminder that God is ultimately in  control of everything, including the difficult times.  Sam played the part of a man that came through a time machine and told us all of the events that lead up to the Last Supper and more.  A few children in the church came up to Sam later and thanked him for the mini-drama. The drama helped tie the whole evening together.

Parent/Baby Dedication

We are having a baby boom at Nueva Vida!  It is truly amazing to see how God works in restoring folks to Himself and to others.  Daniel and Lizbeth were a couple that were ready to end their marriage.  They got invited by one of our church families to come to church.  That was over a year ago.  Now God has brought their family together!  They are excited to be growing and changing in the likeness of Christ!  They use to be a family of three but God in His Wonderful Way has made them a family of four.  Big brother Diego (14 years old) is so happy to have a baby sister.  Daniela is a little cutie.  This is our fourth baby in a year and we have another one on the way for July!  Our nursery is busting at the seams!

Youth Retreat

We had a fantastic time at our Youth Retreat this year.  We had unexpected rains that forced us to be very flexible and creative.  The theme was focusing on Godly Friendships.  We all know the pressures of life as a teenager.  The peer pressure to live without thinking of consequences is great at this age.  It was good to come together and see from God's Word that there is another way to do friendships.

We had a fantastic time playing games like: capture the flag, mafia, volleyball, Stephen ball, four square, mentira (bologna), apples to apples, and much more.  We ended the retreat playing a photo scavenger hunt!

Our time in Indiana

We had a nice time visiting with family and friends while up in Indiana.  Nicole was really hoping to see snow.  We arrived in Lafayette and the temps were in the 70's.  I didn't think it was possible that we would see snow.  Well, that's what I get for assuming.  One morning we woke up to a spritz of snow.

Not much, but at least it was snow!

Nicole gathered all the snow and made a snowball!

Sam Sr. and Sam Jr. got to see a winterland while in southern Indiana!

Nicole was a bit jealous to say the least.  God allowed us to see some big wonderful snow flakes on the way to the airport on our way back to Mexico City.  We stopped the car and let Nicole enjoy the flakes!!

We also enjoyed some time with our son, Nathaniel.  We had an early birthday party for him so that we could celebrate with him.  We are thankful for the 24 years God has given him.  He is enjoying his studies and his ministries at Faith Bible Seminary.

Nathaniel and his roommate Joe, who is also a  Seminary student.

Memorial Service in Lafayette, Indiana

We had a wonderful Memorial Service for Ellen Hornbrook in Lafayette, Indiana.  I personally want to thank our Home Church, Faith Baptist Church, for going above and beyond in demonstrating their love for the Hornbrook family.  I put out a plea for housing for the Memorial Service for family members and friends that would be traveling and I got twice as many homes as we needed.  I also want to thank my parents for hosting several meals in their home for the Hornbrook Clan.  It was a fun time of fellowshipping and of course eating!  The Hornbrook family like many other missionary families, don't have the opportunities to get together very often as several of us live out of the country.  Although the occasion was a sad one, there was way more joy than sorrow.  Thank you to all the extended family that made the journey to Lafayette.  It was so good to see you all.  I think we got a taste of what Heaven will be like.  We all will sit around and rejoice in what God has done in our lives.  We know that this is what Ellen is doing these days.  We are thankful in the comfort that we have knowing where she is and that one day too, those of us that have put our faith in Christ will join her!  What a day that will be!  Below is a link to view a presentation we made of Ellen's Funeral in Poza Rica, Mexico.

http://youtu.be/WaNraTMoAQs

The next clip is about Ellen's life.  Sam and Ellen went to Mexico in 1957.  They were like pioneer missionaries.  They made their own bricks to build their house.  They had a cow for milking purposes.  They were only going to Mexico to serve for one year but God had other plans!  They faithfully served together for more than 53 years.  Sam and Ellen planted or help plant 10 churches during that time.  All their children are faithfully serving the Lord.  Two of their son's serve the Lord full time here in Mexico.  One more, Steve, who also made both of these presentations, is finishing up his Masters in preparation to serve the Lord.  Two Hornbrook grandson's are also serving or are in preparation to serve as missionaries.  David, also served the Lord in Japan for six years as a missionary.  Missions is never far from the hearts of all the Hornbrook children.  What a heritage has been given to the Hornbrook children, grandchildren and great grandchildren!

http://youtu.be/GM4OWx63VEY

Here are a few pictures from our time in the States:

Nathaniel played a special at the Memorial Service.

The Hornbrook Family singing one of their favorite devotion songs:  Therefore the Redeemed