The Prices Write – May Update

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

This is one of the Bible verses that our older kids memorized for last week. We have just about finished up our Bible lessons on “Salvation”, and many of the things we have talked about come from the book of John. We were able to discuss “who” the thief is, and the ways that he steals, kills, and destroys. Our children have possibly experienced his work in their lives even more than most. Satan has destroyed their families and stolen their childhood. But the verse goes on to say that Jesus “came that they may have life and have it to the full.” We praise God that He sent Jesus, that we can have His truth, love, light and life. His truth and light drive out the lies in all the dark places. His love heals and restores us, and He gives us life.

We have really been experiencing God’s work in the lives of some of our children. Our daughter, Paige, has begun a “leadership group” with Sydney and 4 of the other teens. She has really challenged them to be in their Bibles, to be memorizing verses, and to share with one another. They are also helping with our two younger Bible Study groups. They’ve been so responsible and receptive; this can only be from the LORD!

As God works in their lives, the enemy is trying hard to undo what God is doing. We ask for your prayers of protection for these children, that Satan will not be allowed to come in and snatch away the truths they are learning. We also need prayer, because oftentimes as God begins to reveal His truth to these kids, Satan stirs up things from their pasts and tries to use these things to stop them from believing truth. But we have hope, because as Jesus tells us in John 8:32 “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” And in John 8:36, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Our children need to experience this freedom that comes only from Christ!

Updates on the children
On May 19th one of the little boys from the Casa left to go back home with his Mom and siblings. This little boy, Brandon, (whom we have often referred to as Barney), has really touched our hearts and been such a part of our lives for the past year. It’s so hard for us to see him go! Sydney is taking it especially hard, as he was her little buddy. Brandon’s been at the Casa for 5 years, since he was 5 years old. Please pray with us for this special little boy. He has told Sydney he understands the Salvation message, but he hasn’t accepted Christ as his Savior. One of our biggest prayers for him is that he will be allowed to continue to come to our Bible studies and that we could continue to pour truths into him, and of course for his salvation.

Thank you to those of you who have been praying for Miguel, Josue, Lupita and Oliver. These siblings came to us so broken and hurt, but we’ve seen them learn to smile, receive love, and begin to trust. Their Mother had hired an attorney and was granted custody of the children. We were very concerned as it seemed unlikely her circumstances have changed. DIF (our child protection agency) challenged this ruling, and the Mom never showed up to the 2nd hearing. We were just informed that she went to DIF and has since told them she realized she can’t take her children back at this time; she is unable to care for them. We thank God for being in control of this situation and ask for prayers for their Mom that God would draw her to Himself and help her. We also ask you to pray with us for another sibling group at the Casa, Alan and Giovanni. They have lived at the Casa for about 7-1/2 years or so – since they were very young. Their Mom is also seeking to regain custody of them, and we’ve been told this would not be a good environment for these children. Once again we pray for God’s guidance and protection for these two boys. They have been pretty upset since hearing this news and so we pray that God would bring them peace and comfort during this time.

It seems as God is beginning to work in the lives of our kids at the Casa, Satan is taking them away! There have been other instances where we have had to fight for these children through prayer. Our weapons are not of this world and neither is our fight.

A little family news:
Our daughter, Alexandra, has been accepted into Moody Bible Institute. However, as the school in Chicago is full at this time, she will be attending their “sister school” in Spokane, Washington. We ask that you would pray for Alex as she prepares to move in August. Also, please pray for her Mom as she shouldn’t be worrying about sending her baby so far away! Please pray for all of the preparations which need to be done in this time of transition. Alexandra has been such a big help to us in our ministry here – we’re really going to miss her!

We also want to ask for continued prayer for safety here in Mexico, as things seem to be stepping up a bit between the drug lords and the federal police in Tepic as well as other parts of Mexico (much of what I’m sure you’ve heard about back home).  We don’t want people to think that we are living in fear, because we are not.  2 Timothy 1:7 “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind.”
 
God has kept us safe, and we believe He will continue to do so.  We thank Him for his safety and provision for our family here.

Thank you for praying with us – your prayers keep us going!

7 Serving Christ, Bill, Joanie, Alexandra, Paige, Sydney, Sophie and Sunny Price