MORE NEWS:)...I just realized I forgot to post on here that we bought a cow!!! She has a calf so we are giving them some time to adjust before we wean the calf and get the milk ourselves:) We will probably wait till after the trip to the border. The calf is a bull so we will sell it at some point. The cow is also pregnant so for our $800 we feel like we got a pretty good deal!! She is used to only pasture, no grain so that is a plus as well. Time will tell but she does seem to fit with our situation. At this point we do not have a pasture worked out so Asher takes her on a walk up the road and she eats off the road side, which is decent eating at this point because things are fairly green. But it is time consuming. So thank you again to all the friends who shared money so we could buy this cow, continue to pray with us as we work out the details:)

NEWS...we just found out that the paper work we were doing is not the right thing so we are going to need to make a trip to the border to renew our visas! We are beginning the paper work to get clearance to go in February...we want to leave the 5th and be in US by the evening of the 6th...Eliana is so excited she will be in US for her birthday on the 7th..and we'll see if just maybe God will allow some friends or family to come and see us:) Of course money is needed for this trip..so we are trusting God to provide. And if He lays it on your heart to share there is always paypal but we also found another way that works good too..and that is to send a moneygram from Walmart to our Walmart in Huauchinango, Puebla to our legal names Ronald Horst or Wanda Horst.

2012 is here....our last day of the year was the big campaign where people from all the churches come together to eat and have a worship service....there were around 300 people there.It was a good day. There's some work involved in preparing for such an event so that last week there was a buzz of activity. There was the normal cleaning up of things that needed to happen plus the food. It was all different food than I was used to so I tried to stay out of the way and just be a good helper as possible...the menu was pasoli....corn, meat and chilies soup......On Wednesday they cooked the corn then on Thursday we picked up every peice and pulled off the little peice of shell that did not come off in the cooking(all35# of corn)...definitely not hard work just took some time..about 12 of us were working for several hours. Then Friday was a BIG day...started first thing in the morning.....butchered 15 chickens( I helped with one so I could at least say I did it:) After butchering and cleaning them and cooking them, then we had to pick the chicken off the bones and shred it in very small pieces. We also cooked 15K (about 35#) of pork and shredded it very small. Then we ground all the red chile(not a real hot chile). At the same time some were working at the punch......lots of hands on again...cutting up the apples, persimmons, guavas, tamaranth, prunes, pecans, pineapple, and canes of raw sugarcane....again a very yummy drink but time consuming because of the major amounts we were doing:)....but as we all worked together there was much laughter and fun...cant say it was an easy day for me because I still understand so little in a group setting and it brings back so many fun memories, I get real homesick...but I kept praying that I would see where my love is needed and forget about myself...there was obviously plenty of work to do so we kept busy till things were at a reasonable stopping spot about 9:30 that night. They had celebrated Mari and I's birthday that day so they had a neighbor make gorditas for lunch and bought a milk cake and Evelyn made a big pan of brownies with lots of pecans and chocolate chips so that was fun.....

So Saturday arrives clear and sunny, later in the day it got cloudy but rain did not start till after dark so that was a blessing. There wasn't extreme amounts of work to do that morning since we had done so much prep the day before....so they mixed all the corn, chilies, and meat together and made the pasoli and heated the big pots of punch over a fire..they had 4 fires going:) While some of the Mexicans were doing the food we set tables..each table had to have 2 bowls of lettuce(from the greenhouse), radishes, lemons, salt, tostadas and sour cream. About 10:30 we started to serve .....then till we finished serving about 1-1:30 was pretty much non stop being sure people had food, clearing off dirty plates and giving to the next set...it was very fun!! While we were serving and eating they had the music going..some friends had brought their huge speakers that were blaring so loudly it hurt my ears when I had to walk by:)..at least nobody was having trouble with not hearing. We sang a long time then Bro Jason preached a sermon ...of course I didnt get much but Asher said it was about giving your all to the work of the kingdom. By 3:30 service was over and people were heading to their homes. Then we could begin clean up...which went very quickly with so many people helping. Evening meal was easy since there were so many leftovers:)...and the next day and the next day.. we will actually make something different for supper...its so good that nobody minded eating it again and again:)

Now today Monday, Asher went to Necaxa to see about buying a cow!!!!! Its a rainy all day kind of day and cold and its the last day of break before school starts so Evelyn made cookies and popcorn and we are watching a movie in the afternoon...all cozy in the kitchen ..they reset the benches with cushions and pillows to make it feel like a living room and everybody is eating their yummy snack and drinking hot coffee or tea and for a little while we get to forget how really cold and miserable it really is:)

In the midst of all our busy hustle and bustle Grandma Susan(Jasons mom) and her husband Tom came on Thursday and were here till this morning...Jason and Nicole,Sed, Jasmine and Grandpa and Grandma left here at noon to spend 2 nights in the city and then The grandparents fly out on Wednesday morning real early..I am glad they had this little time to get away and have some moments together before they leave again!! To prepare for their coming the men built a chimney in the stone house and Jasons put a little castiron wood stove in there and the men also got the hot water boiler hooked up so they can take hot showers so that was nice:)....Its fun to have those things done...we look forward to Esther and Stephen coming and we can go there in the evenings and sit around the fire and play games and have some fun family moments, welcoming Stephen to our family!!!...the boys wake up each morning...is it today? How many more days??:)

Sorry this got long...HAPPY NEW YEAR to all our faithful family and friends and thank you again for all the prayers and love and support!! And thanks to all the sweet friends who sent me birthday messages or letters or packages or phone calls or skyping with my girls:)..THANK YOU!!