What or who controls us?

Fear is a curious thing. This one thing can can hold us back, freeze us, manipulate our choices, and ultimately control us.
This is the case for Isabella, the mother of Esthela. She has lived all of her life in fear allowing, it to control her and her decisions. Not until her daughter´s life was at stake she started over coming her fear. She came to the city to seek medical care. She overcame the fear of surgery to donate her own kidney to help her daughter get better.
Another fear that has been controlling her is the fear of teachers. This fear has kept her from getting the education she needs to raise out of the poverty level she has found herself in all of her life. This fear was rooted into her life when she was just a young girl and went to school for the first time. The teacher was easily angered and scared young Isabella into never wanting to go to school again.
But fear wasn´t the only thing controlling Isabella´s life. Insecurity also has taken a hold her. She believes that she cannot do things. She believes that she is inferior to her daughter because her daughter learns faster then shes does. She honestly thinks she is stupid and dumb and that she will never amount to anything.
This was all reflexed when the opportunity came for her to go to an adult school to learn how to read and write. We could see a small spark of interest but then the fear started taking over. She told us she didn´t want to go, that she couldn´t do it and that teachers scared her. This battle lasted about a week with us trying to convince Isabella that she can and that it would be better for her daughter, and for her, if she does thisand learns how to read and write. Finally we convinced her to go and see the school. Once she walked into the classroom and met the teachers her attitude changed. ¨You can do it, and you should. For your daughter¨said the director of the school. We signed her up that day. The next day I dropped her off at her new school. As she walked out of the classroom when I picked her up, I looked at her and asked her how it was. Her face beamed with joy as she told me that it was good. She continued to explain how she liked the teacher and how it was different this school to the one that she went to for a week when she was little.

Fear has been conquered. Insecurity is broken. For the first time, 47 year-old Isabella is attending school and believes that she can learn how to read and write.

God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me

Esthela goes to school

Last Monday Esthela started school for the very first time in her life. As they saluted the flag she stumbled over the words she still did not know. Nervously she said goodbye to her mother and I as she followed her teacher to her classroom. Hours later when we picked her up we could hardly get a word in as she explained her new friends and her teacher.
This is such a huge step for Esthela and her mother. She is the first one in her family to attend school in a long time, if she keeps at it she will be able to excel out of the poverty level that her family has been stuck in for several generation.
This is just the beginning. Please continue to pray for Esthela.

Discipling Esthela and Isabella

Taking care of their physical and mental are so importnat but above all else we’d like to take care of their spiritual needs. We wanted our lives to show God’s love and not force anything on them. When Esthela asked us if we could take her to church with us, our spirits rejoiced. She is really enjoying Sunday school. Victory happened on Tuesday night. Eddie and I took her to the base and we watched the passion play during Mission Adventures. Afterwards we spoke about it and explained the gift that God wants to freely give us all. They talked about how often at night they have fear and we told them that God wanted to take that away from them. We prayed and they accepted Christ. The next day they told me that they slept without any fear that night. Praise God.
Please continue praying for them as we try to disciple them and allow them to heal and grow not only physically and mentally but spiritually as well. Pray that we can find someone willing to help us disciple Isabela in her mother language. It's hard for us to really connect with her in a way that she really understands.

Living Our Calling - Education and Healthcare

Esthela and Isabel are in so much more need then the obvious healthcare. Our hope is to help Esthela and her mother raise out of the poverty that they have been in for such a long time. There is the old saying "give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat forever." That is our heart, to lead them to a higher standard of life. This takes some time though and isn't an over-night process. Neither Esthela nor her mother read or write Spanish. Although I have experience in teaching, I have never taught someone to read and write in Spanish. It is one thing to teach it as a second language, to someone who already knows how to read and write English, but completely another thing to teach a grown woman and a 10 yr. old girl how to read and write their own language (when it is my second language). In God's faithfulness He has brought along an elementary school teacher here in Ensenada that is willing to come and help us educate them! She will direct us in where to start and we will work with them throughout the week. Esthela already knows her vowels and is starting on the consonants. Her mother however is harder. She loves and cares for Esthela a great deal, but her entire life has, in one way or another, been secluded from the world. She never attended school, but isn't only uneducated academically. We had to teach her how to put a seat belt on in the car, show her how to use the electric stove, how to wash clothes in a washing machine and explain to them the concept of what a country is and that they are indeed Mexicans. For us as Americans sometimes it is hard for us to really believe that there are people so secluded from basic education. It's mind boggling to me, but that is because of our culture and where we grow up. Another challenge that we have is helping her mother gain confidence in this city, which is much larger then the small village she grew up in. The best thing for Esthela would be if they both moved to Ensenada permanently. If they moved back to the little town they currently live in Esthela won't have easy access to the doctors that she will need to visit all her life. Little by little we are educating her. Little by little we are taking small steps to improve their lifestyle. It takes patience and much repeating of things that I consider "basic knowledge".

Our "Adopted Daughter" - Esthela Sanchez

We arrived back from Michigan with the news that Esthela, the girl who had the kidney transplant, was ready to come with us! What a surprise! We thought that she would be in the hospital for another week after we got back - if everything went well. The doctors said that she was recovering so fast that she was ready to come with us, much sooner then expected. Praise God. This also meant that we had a bit of work cut out for us. Esthela has a special diet plus many medications she has to take throughout the day. The first couple months we had to arrange people to give her medicine at the correct time. But now that she is in a routine she is able to take the medicine on her own. Her mother, who is living with her here at YWAM, is still healing from the surgery of donating her kidney but is also recovering quickly. This precious 10 year old looks like a different girl then when we met her in the hospital only a few months back. Along with the chubby cheeks that came along with the couple pounds she's gained, her face also has the new look of a smile. She is full of energy and excited that the doctor has given her permission to go out more. We’ve been able to take her to new places and see her experience things that are “normal” for a child in the states. We’ve been able to take her to the park for the first time, to the movie theater, and now her favorite activity, going to the beach.