May 2008

The Ramey Report Todd & Kristi Ramey, serving in San Marcos, Mexico at Face of My Father Children’s Home

We’ve Arrived!

May 2008

Almost three weeks after leaving Zanesville, we pulled into the little town of San Marcos where we will make our home and minister at the Face of My Father Children’s Home.

It was an EVENTFUL trip and God protected us through all kinds of trials and blessed us with good fellowship as well! In Arkansas about three days into the trip, our trailer, filled with all our earthly goods, broke apart and we spent several days there with a family we had not known before this who helped us build a trailer. Though we lost some time (and considerable money), we gained so much more through the experience...mainly to trust God in every circumstance! It also caused us to miss our connection with the family that was going to help us cross the border. However, we were able to connect with an Alliance couple who gave us guidance. The visa and customs process was a breeze! We even gained a few supporters along way too!

Traveling through the mountains in our Excursion and new trailer After crossing the border there were a few blown tires on our overloaded trailer on the lessthan-smooth Mexican highways. A couple days’ stay with missionaries in Torreon and visits to some children’s homes there were a much-needed break and a good learning opportunity. Another couple of stressful driving days ensued but the last 90 miles from Guadalajara to San Marcos were the worst roads of the whole trip. We averaged a breakneck speed of 25 miles per hour! We were welcomed by the Cookes with balloons and hugs. They had our air mattress bedrooms set up and ready for a much needed rest. We were “home!”

The girls got a little taste of our future ministry as we visited Children’s homes in Torreon on our way to San Marcos

We have been on the ground for a couple weeks now and the emotions range from overwhelming joy to utter despondency. Our living area consists of the two dorm rooms on the lower floor, which are complete except for painting. The dining room is tiled but the front doors are not yet installed so it is open to the outdoors. We are using it as a staging area for unpacking. The kitchen does have a fridge (smaller than we are used to) but no sink or stove. Meals are simple with what we can cook in the microwave and crockpot. This calls for some creativity on Kristi's part. The bathroom has one working sink and two flushing toilets. A difficulty for us is the water rationing. San Marcos is in their dry season, which means that we have water from 4 a.m. to noon. This is not ordinarily a problem but our building does not have storage tanks yet…they are coming in the near future. The girls now have real beds! Kristi and I have a new mattress but no bed frame. For some reason a cheap bed frame is really hard to find. There is a man that sells a cheap bed base but he travels around and has not been in San Marcos since we have arrived. There are several things that stores do not carry because the traveling peddlers take care of that niche.

Our bathroom and dining room are the more complete areas of our home

We are falling into a daily routine now. Tod has jumped right into the construction work on the Children’s Home building. We must get the second story bricked up and under roof before the June rains begin. The girls are finding ways to help in the construction too! Kristi is in the process of trying to organize our living space as much as possible without any cabinets. Katie Cooke is giving the family formal Spanish lessons but each of us is learning from our every day necessity as well. Our two families are working out our schedules and cooperating on various duties during the day and week.

The second story needs to be under roof before the June rains…funds & workers needed Two of our greatest challenges now are dust and dust. Try to imagine living in the middle of a construction zone where it has not rained for two months. We only have doors on the dorm rooms and the bathroom. The dinning area and kitchen are open to the dust. One blessing is that most the insects don't show up until the rainy season. Many of the extras for the first floor will have to wait. All of the money left in the building fund must be used for completing the shell of the second floor. This is a race with the oncoming rainy season. The second floor roof must be complete in 6 to 8 weeks to beat the rain. If it is not done we will have a very leaky first floor. The ability to win this race depends on money and bodies. We have almost enough money left to complete the job but it will be close. The budget only includes enough to pay two workers. We have a youth group from our Zanesville church coming for a week in June and another young man will be here for the whole month of June to help. Please focus your prayers on more funds and more help. Most of the men in our church here do not have the spare time to devote to the project but some have helped out when they can. If any one is interested, one or two more men here could make a big difference. A work team can be one or two people! Let us know if you have a week to spare. All has not been doom and gloom. We feel so blessed to have gotten this far in just one year. When I think that we are living better than 98% of the rest of the world it helps me put every thing into perspective. When I get down, the Holy Spirit reminds me that we are here to serve not to be comfortable. The reward of holding the first child will make me count it as all joy. I think of all the people praying for us to succeed and all of the problems seem so trivial. Thank you for your faithfulness and love.

Please allow us one last hardship to list... Missing all of you! Todd & Kristi

Visas We crossed the border without too many problems with the paper work. We paid the tariff on all of our belongings and obtained permits for our car and trailer. The visa process was very simple and fairly quick. Our visas are the typical tourist version and good for only six months. Obtaining ministry visas (FM 3) is the next step. Most of the paper work will be done with the help of the Mexican C&MA. The cost is the big hurdle in this process. Each visa costs $500 and of course we need five of them! FM 3 visas are good for five years with an update required every year for another $100 fee. With FM 3 visas, we can avoid making a border run (driving to the border, staying 48 hours in the U.S. then reentering Mexico on a new tourist visa) every six months. The first run will be fairly easy, but a year from now we will have children to look after so we need to get the FM 3s as soon as we can. If you would like to give toward the $2500 cost of this, just mark the donation “Visas.”

A Day in the Mind of Jossie Yaawwn…..time to get up. Ugh, it is only 7 AM and it’s not even bright out yet. Where is my closet? Oh that’s right, all my clothes are in a suitcase… There, all dressed for a long, hard workday. Well, not a whole day, just until 1 or 2 PM. Time to get to work…first put on the work gloves and then I go to ask Victor and Jossie in a second story Carlos what work needs to be done. hallway ready for work Carlos is the contractor who is building the Children’s Home and Victor is an elder from our church here who is helping him. Of course I have no idea what they are saying; it is all in Spanish. So I go and ask my Dad what they are saying and he says, “Go stack bricks.” Ay, ay, ay! Stacking bricks is fun until your hands start hurting but it will be great when the house is finished. Now on to the cement… It is my job to shovel the cement into a

bucket and then hook it to rope and pull it up to the second floor. This is some really hard work! Carlos and Victor tell me I am a real worker! Now it time for breakfast…. Ah, finally. Lets see… oatmeal or toast?…hard choice. Well, I will have them both. It’s a long time until lunch and I will be working hard. After breakfast Miss Katie comes over for our daily Spanish lesson. Sometimes it makes my brain hurt but I am catching on really fast and it helps a lot to be working around Spanish-speakers all day. Well, back to work for a few more hours and then the best part of the day: lunch and then…siesta! More next month. Sooo…tired….

Muchas Gracias!!

We want to say thank you to all that helped us get out the door and on our way…by financial gifts, food, household and personal items and especially the time sacrificed to help us sort, clean and pack. What a huge help that was! Lastly we wanted to thank all that helped us along the way… to new friends, and gracious host families. We could not have made it without you. Dios les bendiga!

Children’s home needs Urgent!

Funds to complete second floor before rainy season begins in June.

Urgent!

Work team THIS MONTH to help complete second floor and have it under roof before the rains come.

Kitchen:

Stove, counters, sink, table and cabinets

Bathroom: Cabinets and working shower to complete one Also needed: Water storage tank.

Contact us at:

[email protected]

Spanish with Annie Did you know that many Spanish words are the same as English but with a slightly different pronunciation?? For instance: The doctor becomes el doctor (stress the “or”) The tractor becomes el tractor The elephant becomes el elefante (stress the “fan”) Fantastic becomes fantástico The monkey becomes el mono Isn’t that easy? Now you know some Spanish words. And here are some palabras importantes (important words): God is El Señor or Dios Prayer is la oración ¿Es fantástico el Señor? Sí, el Señor es fantástico!!!! I'm glad you are learning something along with my family and me! Talk to you next month. Love, Annie

Here’s a computer artist’s idea of what the Face of My Father Children’s Home will look like when it’s all built!

Support Form Please check the following that apply: I will join the Rameys in…. ___ prayer & give financially at $_____/month ___ prayer & enclose a one time gift of $____ ___ prayer but I cannot give financially now. Check to receive our family newsletter.

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I would like to support the Children’s Home with building needs, operating expenses, or wherever needed: ____ one time gift of $_______ ____ monthly gift of $_______/month Name_________________________________________ Address________________________________________________________________ City_____________________________________ State______ Zip _______________ Phone________________ E-Mail___________________________________________

Please return form to:

Our Mexico Address:

U.S Contact Information

Good Measure 785 Harrison Ave. Charleston, IL 61920

Face of My Father Children’s Home Tod & Kristi Ramey Quetzal #9 Colonia El Palomar San Marcos, Jalisco 46540 MEXICO

Good Measure International 785 Harrison Avenue Charleston, IL 61920 (217)-348-1587 www.goodmeasure.org

The Ramey Report Todd & Kristi Ramey c/o Good Measure Int’l 785 Harrison Avenue Charleston, IL 61920 www.faceofmyfather.org

Prayer Requests for the Rameys: * Please pray for our quick adjustment to the culture and lifestyle here in San Marcos * Pray for good health for the whole family (Genna’s continued physical therapy and everyone’s asthma) * Pray for our ability to learn Spanish as we study together with Katie and “learn by doing!” * Pray for family unity as we prepare for our ministry together. * Pray for the needed funds and work force to complete the second story of the Children’s Home before the June rains come. * Pray that all the details will be worked out for the Home to open & accept children * Pray that we will be able to secure our ministry visas easily (costs are $500 per person) * Pray for the ministry of William & Katie Cooke at the San Marcos Peniel Church, as they help us assimilate and oversee our ministry here. * Pray that our support money comes in regularly and that we will soon be up to 100%.