Our sweet, little god-daughter, Valeria, 2, (formerly known as Enkerlin) has finally got her Mexican birth certificate after many months of bureaucratic red tape. She is now a legal person and can finally be adopted!  NACL agent, Nancy Ramos is planning her wedding with her fiancé, Enrique and they plan to apply for custody of Valeria as soon as they tie the knot next year.  In the mean time, Valeria is safe and sound at La Ola orphanage where she is growing and learning new things every day. (Please pray for director, Bob P. who recently had a massive heart attack and bypass surgery)  Valeria's mother, Mary, is still on the streets, smoking crack and hustling to survive, essentially forfeiting any chance of getting her daughter back. It breaks my heart to see how drugs destroy so many lives and families. Please pray. 

The boarding house (crack house) where Mary some-times lives,  is also home to several other friends, many of whom are also addicts and hustlers. The owners of the somewhat seedy establishment are agreeable to letting us come in and have times of worship, prayer and Bible study in the common area. This is especially welcome during the rainy season, when we can't meet out on the street. Pray that this potential mission will prosper and grow as people are exposed to the Gospel of grace.  

Perla and Alejandra are two girls from the inner city who we took to rehab a few months ago at "El Mercadito"  (the little market) an old abandoned market, literally in ruins, that was given to a local church as a rehab center.  

They were doing so well there, cleaned up and studying God's Word, until one of their street "friends" went looking for them and lured them back to the inner city. I have seen this happen so many times, but I am grateful for every day a friend of ours can be off the street and in Christian rehab.  Please pray for Alejandra and Perla.    Alejandra told me at our last soup kitchen that she is almost ready to go back to rehab again. Perla has disappeared, but God knows where she is.  Little by little, I know He is working in their lives, and for this reason, we never give up on them.  Pray also for the Mercadito rehab community, that God would continue to use it in the lives of many other recovering addicts. 

I got a call from my friend Oscar the other day and he asked for my prayers and help.  He is a recovering drug addict who has been in rehab for almost 2 years now and has been doing very well. But, as is often the case, he is going through some trials at the rehab center where he is and wants to move on, but doesn't know where to go.  God is working powerfully in his life but he needs wisdom and strength to follow as the Lord leads him.  Pray that we can walk with him in this next phase of his recovery and spiritual journey.  

You may recall us periodically asking for prayer for our friend Rosita over past few years as she wrestled with various stages of addiction and disease as well as her faith in God.   She passed away a few weeks ago from respiratory failure and other complications. God used our mutual friend, Oscar, himself a recovering addict, to rescue her from the streets and get her into a safe place where God worked in her body and her heart.

 The last few months of Rosita's life were spent in relative comfort, free from drugs, healed of the open sores all over her body, surrounded by loving Christians whocared for her and ministered to her in every way.  She finally relented to God's tender mercies and professed faith in Christ before the Lord called her home. Please pray for the many others like Rosita who still need the Lord.  

Last month marked the 5th anniversary of our inner city soup kitchen ministry, representing thousands of hot, nutritious meals that have been served with love to the homeless, down-and-out hungry souls who line up each month for something to eat.  It's not much, but it is a small reminder of God's love and His grace which is free to all.  I am so thankful for the volunteers who help out with this ministry and for their selfless service. While technically a "mercy ministry", the conversations and relationships that it generates are wonderful opportunities to share the Gospel on a very personal level.Thanks for your prayers.

I was hoping to be able to take a little more time off this summer to catch up on some reading and writing and other projects, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.  Too many opportunities, I just can't let go by.  I would be grateful for your prayers for grace to be able to do what I can for God's glory.  

I had surgery on my Achilles tendon in May and felt immediate relief from the pain I've had for years now.  Unfortunately, within a couple weeks, a very painful cyst formed under the incision requiring a second surgery in July to remove all the inflamed tissue. It is finally healing very slowly and I am limping around, about the same as before the first surgery.  Please pray that when it finally heals completely, I will able to walk, and even run again, without pain. My ministry downtown involves lots of walking, so I thank you for your prayers for a full recovery, in God's time. 

Please pray for my daughter, Penny, who, for over a year now, has had a creepy stalker who shows up randomly and unexpected at her work, when she is out with friends, at the gym and other places. She has asked him to leave her alone, but he persists and makes her very uncomfortable.  I have yet to meet this young man, but when I do, pray that God will give me the grace to treat him appropriately so that he will stay away from my daughter, and be drawn rather to the Savior. I appreciate your prayers for Penny.

Please pray also for my daughter, Natasha, as she is overseas, working in Spain for the rest of the summer, after which she plans to travel around Europe for a few more weeks in the Fall. Pray that God would use her for His glory as she makes new friends and that He would keep her safe. Thanks!