Dear Friends:
It is graduation time! We had approximately 120 out of 140 students successfully complete our Alas program this last school year! That means all of these students actively participated in our monthly meetings, sent “pen pal” letters to you, the sponsors, they were actively involved in their churches, and they made a grade-point average of 7.5 or higher through the year! (7.5 is comparable to a C+ average for us old timers!) Of this number, about 40 had a g.p.a of 8.5 or higher, and two of them received a perfect “10” for the school year! A wonderful accomplishment! We had 5 students who are now graduating from high school, and I believe 4 of them are actively pursuing a University or technical education. We will keep you posted as to which ones attend and their plans. Before they enter, we already have 8 students enrolled in the University or Technical schools.
Edith is at UACJ in Casas Grandes, in her 9th semester, studying Administration.
Lizbeth at Instituto Tecnologico Superior Casas Grandes in her 7th semester, studying Accounting
Lupita Erives UACH, Juárez, studying Law
Gonzalo UACJ Casas Grandes, 5th semester, studying Marketing
Andrea Santellanes has just completed her 4th semester in Accounting at UACH in Juárez, but she is changing her major, and wants to open a bakery business, so she will be taking baking classes this fall and try to get into Business School in the Spring
Jessica UACJ Juárez, Automotive system Engineering
Zabdi Hassey UACJ Juárez going into her second semester in Nursing
Jaquelin, UACJ Juárez, 4th semester in System and Industrial Engineering
Arely Villalobos, UACJ Casas Grandes, 1st semester in Nutrition
It is so encouraging to see the success of these “Jovenes”—young people--- and know that their lives will be filled with so many more opportunities than they would otherwise have, and that it will be a blessing to their families as well! Our recent college graduate, Oscar Maldonado, has asked to be a part of our ministry team in this coming year! We are excited to add him to the ministry!
On July 8, we will hold a fun summer recreation day at the swimming pool for the kids in the program. We have volunteers who will help with cooking, worship, devotions, and activities! If you would like to help in any of these things, or if you would just like to come and hang out and get to know some kids, we invite you!
I want to remind all of you sponsors that It is clear to us when you actually write letters to your student(s) and encourage them, it really pays off with greater interest and an expansion of their world as they connect with a person or family that is interested in them, is praying for them, and is supporting them in their academic pursuits. You don’t need to write in Spanish, but if you have google translate available, it is an easy tool to use to put your letter in Spanish, and they will understand. They love it when you send pictures also. Please remember that you can also e-mail your letters to us, jamesvpnoble@gmail.com or Dpatnoble@gmail.com and we will get them translated and delivered to your students.
We still need a lot of new sponsors, so if you are not currently sponsoring a child, or if you would like to sponsor more children, please let us know. You can just reply to this e-mail! We need sponsors for students at all age levels. If Pat has already contacted you, please respond! You can also contact any of our volunteers, including Pat, Marco, Haydee, Ceci, Berenice, Anita, Margie, Eunice, Jim, or whoever you have worked with in the past!
We have heard reports, and perhaps some of us have seen Revival breaking out in some places here in the US. We are all praying that there would be a great stirring of God’s Holy Spirit in the US to bring Revival across our country, and to bring truth and Godly sensibilities back to a country that can no longer even properly define boys and girls. It is so tragic, and we need God’s intervention so desperately! We are also praying that Revival would break out in Mexico! They may not have the same issues there we have going on in the US, but there is still a large part of the population who are very far from God. You may have been praying for Revival for years, as have I.
What is Revival? I know that in the past several hundred years, Revivals that have occurred typically involved a large number of people coming together, feeling the conviction of the Holy Spirit that they were on the wrong path, repenting, and asking God to restore relationship with Him! As a result, typically, signs and wonders occurred, and there was great joy as people bent their lives to God’s authority and teachings in the Bible and sought a personal relationship with Him speaking into their lives and guiding them. Pat and I personally experienced this kind of Revival in 1977, when we (amazingly, miraculously) realized that we were really not able to control our lives and that the attitudes of this world were controlling our lives. At that point, we both asked Jesus to become our personal Lord and Savior and told Him we were sorry for going our own way. Honestly, I’m not ever sure I meant it when I said that, but God took me at my word, and within one month, my life was totally transformed—no more drinking, drugs, tobacco, cussing, lusting after money, no more trying to figure out the world MY way, but instead seeking GOD’S way. Even today, 40+ years later, I am still amazed that God rescued me from a life that I was busy ruining. So, I think that when a large number of people begin to do that under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and they begin telling everyone who will listen about the life transformation available to them, we are in Revival, and we will see many miraculous signs and wonders. It is valuable for each of us to ask, “where am I on the Revival scale?” If we feel we are not there, then we need to enter into serious prayer, serious God-seeking!
I pray that each of us will move in God’s direction and that Revival will break out in our lives and the lives of all those we love!---And Lord, please bring REVIVAL in Palomas!
Jim and Pat