On The Road Again

We are on the road again and have arrived at our first stop ...east Tennessee. The campground is beautifully landscaped and the trees are in glorious color praise to the Lord. We are located right next to a babbling brook with 3 small falls of water with its musical sounds spilling into our 5th wheel door all day long.

We have been visiting our daughter and grand children all this past week and leave for Texas early monday morning for the same TEEN Challenge we worked at last winter.

Valerie & Billy

This is Valerie who will be teaching Kelli at the school when I leave and her husband Billy who is one of the three heros recently posted.

The little girl is their daughter Allison. Recently her grandparents took her to the doctor because she said her arm was hurting. The doctor x-rayed her arm bone and said it is growing bowed. She needed to be taken to a specialist.

Billy worked with Harold and the other MAPS guys so he asked them to pray for her. They formed a circle with Billy and prayed. That was a month ago.

Last night at supper Billy told us the specialist said her arm was straight and strong with nothing wrong. Thank you Jesus !

Valerie

My name is Valerie Figueroa. I have a very loving mom who worked more than one job to support me. My grandparents helped raise me until the age of thirteen when mom married my step-father. My step dad changed things because we were able to live in a nice neighborhood, I went to a good school and life was good. I started getting good grades and was happy. My dad tried to correct me for my own good but I started to rebel. I was fifteen and had found the wrong kind of friends to hang around. My life began to spiral downward as more opportunities came up for me to get drugs. With my allowance I bought drugs right behind my parents back. They tried to straighten me out but I moved out and in with my grandparents. My life remained in rebellion doing my own thing. I couldn’t get money anymore so my new friends said they did prostitution to earn money. I decided I could do that to get my drug money so started my life as a prostitute. My drug habit became so severe that I couldn’t even get up to go outside and stand on the corner. I had lost my parents and I was losing my life. I started praying to God and asked Him to help me and He did. I had contacted something and at the doctors office I saw an article in a magazine about Teen Challenge but knew nothing about it. God was starting to work though. One night a cop asked me if I would like to get some help. I told him yes. That cop literally saved my life. I was taken here at Teen Challenge and within two weeks Jesus was my Savior.
My family and I are restored. Everyday I am drawn closer to Jesus, closer to the life I was meant to live. Its only been five months and I have a long way to go but He reveals something new to me daily. Lately I am convinced that He wants to use me in a street ministry to prostitutes.

Our Heros

This is Dan, Billy and Phil.

We had quite a scary accident happen in front of our establishment a few weeks ago. The day was extremely windy, as it often is here, and a large motorhome was headed north on the divided highway we sit on. A gust of wind caused the motorhome to suddenly leave its side of the highway, drive across the grassy median and into the path of a semi truck. There was a sudden explosion and these three, seeing it, ran as fast as they could to help. They pulling the elderly gentleman and his wife from the motorhome saving their life. The truck driver was killed.

The picture shows the fire extinguised but it not only burned up both vehicles completely but the road as well. They had to repave it before it could be driven on once more.

Heather

Heather is a very nice young mother here at TCCB who helps in the adult school that I have gotten to know.
She was raised in a good Christian home but in junior high school decided to try smoking cigarettes. Her life began a downway spiral that soon found her hooked on cocaine.

She knew life was not suppose to be like that and began trying different recovery centers. Finally thirteen months ago, God intervened and opened the doors at Teen Challenge Costal Bend. At first it was a difficult adjustment but she wanted to change too badly to give up.

Now Jesus is her personal Savior and Lord of her life.

God is a God of restoration and through her obedience to him, he has restored her relationship with her family and she has even regained custody of her daughter.

My life is now changed forever, and I recently graduated here at TCCB as the first Mother/Daughter to complete, says Heather. I give all the glory and honor to Jesus Christ and there is no turning back for me!

Jesse

Jesse Riojas is a very energetic, funny, well behaved, well adjusted, excellent cook in our cafeteria. He has attended culinary school at Treasure Island Culinary School in San Francisco, California.

Last week-end he received a Saturday pass just to be in a 5 K walk for disabled children at the Rise n Shine facility in Corpus Christi, for people with Down Syndrome, where his niece is.

Out of 150 people only 6 finished the walk and Jesse was one of the six earning $15,000. for the facility. You can see him in the center of the picture on the right.

Although Jesse still loves to cook the Lord has new plans for his life. He is part of the choir and the Lord is opening doors for Jesse. He plans to be a youth pastor and work for the Lord Jesus now.

Spud

It seems that Harold has been working along side a real celebrity. Spud and his wife Myrtle are a MAPS couple here from Missouri.

Spud was part of a team from MAPS that traveled to New Guinea to build a new construction bridge over a dangerous ravine with a river at the bottom. Picture on left is Nathan Deck (Spud), Avon & Debra Fowler, Tom Trumbo, and Gerald Jackson standing on the newly built bridge. This was the first time MAPS had been in New Guinea.

After a seven year old boy was killed trying to rebuild the old bridge (see photo on right) and a seventeen year girl drown, the AG missionaries teamed with Wycliff to earn the money for a new bridge.

Spud says "Hi" and to tell you that you're missing all the fun.