Father of the Bride . . .

A couple months back I got an email from my daughter Allison mentioning some guy wanted to 'talk' to me . . . ha! ha! Jim finally had the guts to ask for my daughter's hand in marriage just this last month -- to which I replied yes!
I am so excited to take a trip back to Okinawa, Japan, for the wedding ceremony. The island is absolutely beautiful, and the weather is warm during November. Please pray for a safe trip, that all goes well there, and that the Lord's hand be upon this wedding, my daughter, Jim, and all that the Lord has planned for them. Praise Him.
C.L.

Up In The Club . . .

The after school homework 'Club', hosted by Lantern on the Hill ministries, has been a big hit with our kids. Led by Claire, Kelly, & Abby, along with other volunteers, they have taken the time and energy to minister to our kids in terms of getting their homework done, and instilling in them good study skills. I can't say enough about the tremendous blessing they have been to Casa Esperanza, and we are deeply indebted to them for all their hard work, and the amazing blessing for just taking the time out to be with our kids and to show them love in action.
I praise God every day for these gals.
C.L.
P.S. Did I mention the club is located on the beach!? Praise Him!!!

My kid 'La Nora'

Nora came to us about three months ago, and on occasion I would ask her if she knew the Lord, and she would always reply yes. So on the way to middle school today (I drive 6 to school) we played this stupid game, guess what time we get outta school - the prize, 5 pesos (37 cents to you), enough to buy a coke or some cheeps. Nora chose 11:15, so when I arrived back at school, she immediately ran out laughing and said "I won! I won!", to which I replied, "What did you win?"
I told her it was 11:15am, but they weren't outta school yet. The Lord truly works in mysterious ways -- I already had horrible flu symptoms, but somehow we got to talking about heaven, the Lord's coming for His church, the rapture, and pretty soon heaven and hell. I shared with her my cousin's passing, and how he didn't know the Lord.
I explained to her when the Lord calls us up, I wanted her to go with me and not get left behind -- she listened intently to everything I said, but then the most beautiful thing happened - I know the Lord touched her, and she told me she wanted to go to heaven too --- so as I continued to share the gospel, with tears in her eyes, we prayed, and she received the Lord right there on that little hill next to the middle school this morning at about 11:30.
That's my kid Nora. She then asked me if she could get married in heaven! Lol! I explained to her when we get to heaven, we're gonna want to spend all of our time with the Lord - He will complete us.
Today Nora won the greatest prize of all, salvation, and it was free!
All glory and honor and praise to our Lord and Saviour, the King, Jesus!
C.L.

My Quinceanera Girls!

August 15th was a very long day for me - I left at 5am to take two missionaries back to San Diego airport, then headed up to Carlsbad for the funeral of my homie, Rory Graham - the funeral was not yet over, and so I had to leave early to try to make it back for my girl's (4 of them) quinceanera near my home south of Ensenada. By the grace of God I arrived only two hours late, but still managed to watch and photo the ceremony for (l-r) Berenice, Vanessa, Nora, and Edith. They all pledged to remain pure before the Lord, each receiving a bible and a ring to commemorate this occasion. Please pray for them.
As I sat there with friends and 'family' from the Casa, I couldn't help but think that I didn't even get to go to the burial of my kid, Rory, who use to call me 'dad'.
I'm gonna miss my homie, but I know that I know he's in heaven, and that's where I wanna be.
C.L.

Twins At The Casa

The first week of July brought the joy of twins being born and brought home to the Casa Esperanza! Because of circumstances to personal to share here, as the Lord would have it, our newest editions were 'adopted' almost immediately by some good friends and missionaries living here in Ensenada. Long story short, they are in amazingly 'good hands', and I truly believe that the Lord has 'placed' them there for such a time as this.
Please pray for the twins, Abigail and Isaac, for their health, for their mom and siblings who are still with us at the Casa, and as this transition unfolds, that only God's perfect will be done in this situation.
I had the blessed opportunity of visiting the twins with their new parents today - I continue to pray for everyone involved.
Shalom

My sweet heart Anadeli

Along with the amazing birth of our twins and quick adoption, came the overwhelming emotion of one my girls, Anadeli (blue shirt), who didn't quite understand what had just happened. I arrived at the Casa hours after the twins went to their brand new home, and there was Anadeli sobbing. I asked her what was wrong (I already knew), and she told me she didn't understand how she only had just one day with her new brother and sister, and then they were gone.
All I could do was hug my kid as she continued to cry. Then the Lord touched me and I started crying. I promised my kid that the Lord knew what He was doing, and that her twin siblings are in very good hands. I also promised her that if she ever wanted to see her brother and sister, I would have no problem trying to arrange that for her.
Again, please pray for Anadeli, her siblings, and her mom.
Much love.
C.L.

My Homie Josue (aka Joshua)

I first met Josue (9year-old) back in summer of 07', when he was at an orphanage (Casa de Paz) where my missionary homie Hapa worked. The longer I'm here at Casa Esperanza, the more information I find out about all my 'kids'. Josue has never met his dad, and the only thing I know (maybe) is that he's in the U.S. somewhere. That being said, when I tried to leave Sunday from the Casa, he became adamant about going to my house to chill. I was dog tired and just wanted to go home and rest, so I left - but then I saw Josue in my rearview mirror, so I backed up and there was Josue crying. I've never seen Josue cry like that before, and just about then the Lord 'smacked me' and just said, "take him". So I got permission from our director, his surrogate mom, and took Josue to watch a flick, eat dinner, pray, and sleep over. Needless to say, I felt pretty blessed too. It's amazing the little things the Lord will have us do to bless those around us - that truly is the heart of our heavenly Father - after dropping off Josue for school this morning, the Lord reminded me - that same way you blessed Josue like a father, is the same way I want to bless YOU!
Truly we have an amazingly loving Heavenly Father.
C.L.

The Breakfast Club

True testimony - About 3 weeks ago when shooting video at 5am during devotions, the Lord impressed on my heart to serve breakfast to my 'kids' - so I immediately left after shooting, looking for bacon and eggs, and like Carpinteria, ain't nuttin' open till 8am! The Lord reminded me again last Wednesday afternoon, so I purchased (courtesy of my Reality family) a ton of bacon, eggs, & flour tortillas, eager to cook the next morning for 50 people! However, when I woke up at 5am the next day, I didn't want to get out of bed, I didn't want to cook, and I wanted to call in 'sick'. I laid there for 15 minutes trying to convince myself why I should just sleep in and let 'them' do the cooking. Then I asked the Lord, "why do I have to get up Lord?", hoping He would tell me to sleep in too! This is all I heard from the Lord, "As Christ demonstrated His love for us," alluding to Romans 5:8. By a simple "act" of just making breakfast, the Lord was gonna use that to demonstrate His love for the kids and the moms here. I began cooking, just bacon, at 5:45 am and finished cooking at 7:30 am, and here's what I 'heard' when the kids and moms started coming in to eat - "Oh my gosh! It smells so good in here!" Others said, "When was the last time we had bacon and eggs for breakfast? (reply) We've NEVER had bacon and eggs for breakfast here!" Almost every kid came up to me and said, "Walt, that is the BEST breakfast I've ever had!" Some of the moms were saying the same thing - but the best response I got all morning was, "Walt - thank you so much for making us breakfast," to which I replied, "Don't thank me - thank God - it was His idea!"
That is the heart of our Father in Heaven - He wants to demonstrate His love to His people, thru His people. All glory to the Most Loving God.
C.L.

All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Tires!

After much prayer, we were blessed by our Reality family, which resulted in the long awaited purchase of not two! - but four brand new B.F. Goodrich All-Terrain tires for our weary and overused van, "Tuh-Mater", cousin of "Mater" of Cars fame.
I've driven T.M. for over 17 months, and I can't even begin to tell you what a blessing it is to be riding on tires that feel safe. Prior to these we had been given, or purchased used tires cuz' we couldn't afford new ones. I also spent a lot of time fixing flats. Not any more.
Thanks again Reality family!
Much love.
C.L.

A Little Story About Legacy the Subaru

I first met Legacy the Subaru back in 2003, when she was driving around Carpinteria with some guy named Detmer - not sure if he was related to those Detmer quarterbacks that came out of B.Y.U., but I know he now lives in Utah. She was passed on to Jesse 'the Body' Wilhite, and has been driven from coast-to-coast twice. She now resides peacefully (above photos) in retirement at Casa Esperanza and has become part of the family here. Although she no longer goes in reverse, we love her, because she takes us to and from school, the doctor's office, and any other errands needed. She loves it here in Mexico, and is good friends with 'Betsy' (silver Honda in background). Truth be told, she is an answer to prayers, and we praise God for her! Her Legacy lives on!