English Class

English Students Fall 2013
Left to Right: Anita, Patricio, Holgar, David, Angelica, Pablo, Diana, Karina, Deanna,
Nathly, Maria Jose, Mariana, Aurelio, Howie and Jhonny.

For the final class each student had to give a three minute presentation on their
"Family Tree".  Patricio giving his presentation.
At the end, they had me (Mariana) give my presentation in Spanish :) 

We had a class party with lots of great food!

On the way to taking our class photo, we had a bit of a mishap getting into place with the camera timers.

The women of the class...

...and the men!

The Garden ~ El Jardín

Aerial View of the Garden before the summer work teams.
As you can see the Cypress trees on either side of the Grace Center.

Aerial View taken at the end of the summer.
Thanks to our various work teams the Cypress trees were cut down, taken out and all the wood moved to dry.

East Gate of the Garden Before.
This view shows the Cypress trees from the inside of the garden.

East Gate of the Garden After.
Once the Cypress trees were removed, construction was then started on a retaining wall.

West side of the Garden Before.
Another view of the Cypress trees from inside of the Garden.
Also, a view of the upper pond.

West side of the Garden After.
A view of the completed retaining wall on the opposite side of the Grace Center.

Lower Pond at the beginning of the summer.

Lower pond with the water flowing freely from the upper pond.
Another project was to construct a stream, or "a creek" as they say in the South,
to allow the water to flow freely through the Garden.

Howie saw a bridge like this when we were in Guadalajara.
 With Holgar's help they figured out a way to make this one for the garden.

Psalm 129 ~ Paraphrased by Mary Scholl

As the loud speaker from

the Barrio blasts messages,

so the enemy has done since

my youth, messages of

worthlessness, insecurity and fear.

Now the grooves are

long and deep,

in my soul.

Over time, as a healer,

God fills in the grooves,

making them smooth.

Please God hold at bay the enemy, 

as he attempts to re-open wounds.

Make my ears deaf,

to the loudspeaker.

Father tune your ear,

to the frequency of my heart.

Savior tune my heart, 

the the frequency of your spirit.

Bridge in the Quebrada ~ Summer 2013

One of the summer work projects was to have teams construct a bridge across the ravine (quebrada) below the zip line.
Design by Howie and Holger.

The biggest challenge for the project was getting the well casings up the hill and into place.

Finished product by summer's end.

The bridge now provides access for people across the ravine. 

To illustrate,  below our good friend Pat Tanner on the zip line, is the ravine where people used to cross.

With every project, there always seems to be the required days of pouring cement.
To give you an idea, on this particular day, they poured 18 mixers full,
which they then had to carry, by relay up to the bridge.

Lest you doubt the scope of my husband's abilities, the next morning he and Robin McCart (left) cooked a pancake breakfast for the team.  Pictured here with our fabulous cooks.

Psalm 123 - Paraphrased by Mary Scholl

Our oldest daughter Nicole with her oldest daughter Addison Mae

As you take my face

into your hands,

You turn me to look full

into your wonderful glory.

I look away, you draw me back.

I am distracted, you focus me.

So I learn to gaze,

on my Savior and Lord,

as a continual action.

Lord.  Mercy and Grace.

When I feel devalued and

minimized by others.

Lord.  Mercy and Grace.

Year in Review "Ally the Intern"

Ally, Howie and Mary

Ally's Birthday.
Personally, I loved how she thought I was so funny.  Good for my soul :)

Ally spent many a work day with Howie

Mary, Katy, Ally and Katelynn at Katy's Birthday.
Good, good times!

As 2013 winds down, I thought this would be a good time to go back through the year and review some of the highlights I missed along the way.  

Let's start with "Ally the Intern".  There have been several people I have come into contact with where, for some reason their name is always attached with a descriptor.  For example, Sarah with an "H" or "Jenny Luth" not just Jenny.  Every time I talked to my kids I would say, "Ally the Intern" and she was that indeed.  

Ally was with us for six months.  During that time I was assigned to be her mentor and I loved every minute of our time together.  For me it was very fun to journey with her as she explored exactly what God would have for her in life.  She was a great example of the purpose of our intern program.  Because she didn't have a clear idea of what she wanted to be when she grew up (who does at 19 years old?), she spent the time here seeking God for His direction and purpose for her life.  

While here, she helped in every area of ministry, some she liked others not so much.  However her infectious laugh and amiable personality made her a person people quick gravitated too.  For Howie and I she was such a blessing.  Both of our love languages are "words of affirmation" and she was quick to tell us "how cute we were" or "when she got married she wanted to be like us".  Who doesn't want to hear that?  Let's face it, we all have people in our lives who are critics.  From Ally I learned how important it is to love on people and to be quick with compliments and words of encouragement.  

Would you add Ally to your prayer list as she continues to seek God for direction in her life?

Happy Thanksgiving

Sunset at Isla del Sol, Ecuador

Psalm 126 

(Paraphrased by Mary Scholl)

As if in a dream, I experienced

a fresh work of the Lord.

such joy and awe filled me as I

felt His presence over my shoulder.

Would those around me testify

to the Lord's work in my life.

The Lord's work and presence

are evident in my joy.

Restore those who are lost to me.

Like rain after a drought.

The tears I shed during prayer,

will become seeds,

prepared for a harvest,

producing reconciliation,

through repentance.

Salvation.

Joy.

English Camp

Most of our work teams host a VBS during their stay at El Refugio.   Faith Church from Pennsylvania requested to host an "English Camp".  For me, this was the highlight of my summer.  We averaged 30-35 kids a day.  This is the sign we  posted  outside the gate of El Refugio the month prior.

Although the camp was suppose to start at 2:00pm, the kids tended not to arrive until 2:30 or 3:00 :)  Patiently waiting for everyone to arrive.

Each Group learned a Bible verse in English

Teaching the younger children about animals.

This group learned about "the family"

Middle schoolers learning about sports with some cool dance moves.

In Spanish there is a term called "a yappa" which is something extra.  For me, my something extra, was  a new friendship with Leslie, who organized all the lessons for her group.

At the end of the day Lola was just plain tuckered out :)

Perspective

Hacienda El Refugio 2001

Hacienda El Refugio 2011

La Cocina 1999

La Cocina 2013

The Entrance Gate 1999

The Entrance Gate 2011

The Scholl Family 2001
(photo by Jackie Woods)

The Scholl Family Christmas 2012

While cleaning out my office recently, I found a bunch of pictures in my files that I wanted to share with you.  Isn't it fun to see the change ten years has brought both in our ministry and in our personal lives.  But really, as you look at the photos what do you see?  For every person, it is going to be something different.  One person will focus on what was, while another will choose to focus on the present or even into the future.  

When I asked Howie, what his perspective was when he quickly scanned the photos, he said, "Look at all the change, doesn't that just testify to the faithfulness of God." Then he quickly shifts to talking about the future and what those photos will look like ten years from now.  He is a big picture thinking type of man.  For me, (Mary)  I look at the photos and I think about all the stories that happened in between.  For example, the shot of the kitchen, I think of our grandson Anchor.  You may think that is crazy, but hold on and let me explain.  When it came time to put the roof on the patio, we had a group scheduled to arrive and complete the project.  When they arrived we were surprised to find out they were a group of senior citizens who travelled all over the world to help ministries.  Quickly, it became apparent it would be a little dangerous to have those people go up on a ladder and work on a roof.  Howie had to shift the project for their safety.  He also learned how important it was to ask good questions about each group before they arrive.  OK, more to the point, one of the gentleman on the team had the name Anchor.  Bridget was pregnant at the time and I was talking to her on the phone and told her I had heard the most unusual name, and there as Paul Harvey would say is "The rest of the story".  

Each of you has your perspective and a story to tell.  I know many have gotten frustrated because you can not leave "comments" here on the blog (glitch I think)  If you would like, email me your thoughts at schollseven@gmail.com    I would love to hear your thoughts.

"The Last Group of the Summer" / "El último grupo del verano"

     August 8th was our last work day of the summer with work teams from the States.  Much like the last day of school, there was a celebratory atmosphere in the air.  When we found out it was Aurelio's and Pedro's Birthday's we decided to have us an impromptu Birthday party at our break.  The work team was from Westover, a church in North Carolina.  They had planned to spend the afternoon on the zip line and climbing the wall, they graciously invited the workers to join them and that they did.  Pedro who is 63 years old told Howie he was very scared but very excited at the same time to climb the wall and make it to the top.  He also said he was "very sore the next day."

We are so thankful for all our work teams who came and served so selflessly.

The church from Westover had the distinction of being our last group of the summer, small but mighty!
Pictured above:  Westover church, Howie and his staff, Mary and her staff, and summer interns.  

Erica and Ryan Coryell, helping to lift the sand and rocks to be poured into the cement mixer.
In their free time, Erica handles all of El Refugio's finances and Ryan does a great job of leading our interns.

On the final day of groups, we also celebrated Aurelio and Pedro's Birthdays.
Angelica made them each a cake, which we enjoyed for our "snack"

Howie, Pedrito, Mary and Aurelio

Wouldn't be a birthday without some cake smashing in the face would it?

Finished our final day of "work" with some wall climbing.
Aurelio

Enrique

And yes, dare you believe it, Don Pedro!

Birthday tradition to throw the person celebrating the Birthday into the pond.
Don Pedro was loooooooong gone........