Thomas Family

Seth Thomas and his wife, Dana, have served Niños de Mexico for the last 10 years.  They came to us right out of Ozark Christian College in August 2002.  Since then they have unselfishly served in many capacities.  Their work has ranged from relief house parents and teachers to mentors of our staff and children.  They have served our Short-Term Mission groups and traveled to many churches sharing about the work.  Five years ago, in July 2007, Seth accepted the challenge of serving as our Executive Director.  He has served diligently, always looking for God’s guidance in the challenges being faced.

God is guiding Seth in a new direction, and he has accepted the call to serve as Family Life Minister with Northeast Christian Church in Grand Junction, CO.  Seth, Dana and their three children, Jacob, Emily, and Elizabeth will be moving the first part of June.  We will greatly miss Seth and his leadership.  We are confident that God has prepared Seth for the ministry before him and placed within his heart the passion to serve the Church.

We are excited to announce that Steve Ross has accepted the call by the board of Directors to lead Niños de Mexico as its NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.  He will officially start on June 4, 2012.  Steve and his wife, Janet, served Niños de Mexico on-site for 11 1/2 years.  While in Mexico they worked as both house parents and Field Director.  Since returning to the States in 2002, Steve has served the First Christian Church of Florissant, Missouri as Associate Minister of Administration.  FCCF is a St. Louis area church with average weekly attendance of over 1200.  Through the years, Steve and Janet have remained zealous for the ministry and children of Niños.  They have visited yearly to stay connected with staff, children, and friends.  The Ross’ reputation in the Christian Church circle of influence is highly valued.  In 2011 they spent three months of their summer leading some of our Short-Term Mission trips and mentoring the staff and children.

Please be in prayer for the Thomas family, the Ross family, and the staff & children of Niños de Mexico during this time of transition.  Feel free to contact us with any questions or words of encouragement for the Thomas and/or Ross families.

On February 18, 2012 Jose Maycol Lopez Piña was married to Maria del Rosario. Maycol came with his brother Elvis to Niños. After finishing his training as a mechanic Maycol attended Colegio Biblico in Piedras Negras for 1 ½ years. After returning to San Vicente Maycol and Rosario met and fell in love. He works at Walmart in Texcoco and she is a hair stylist in San Vicente. They are members of the church in San Vicente.

Many people from Niños and the San Vicente church as well as family and friends of Rosario, joined Maycol and Rosario on this special day. Maycol was accompanied by his “brothers” from the Bethel House and Rosario by her friends. She was escorted down the aisle by her dad. Fernando Soriano (former house dad at Agape) presided over the service. There was congregational singing and Steve and Janet Ross sang a special song as part of the ceremony.

The couple was given special gifts by close personal friends: The Bible – a reminder that they must find their direction and guidance in God’s Word, Rings – uniting them and reminding them of their commitment to one another, the Lazo – a physical image of them becoming one flesh – literally tied together Noe & Yolanda Neri (former house parents) and Rosario’s parents laid their hands on them as the Lazo was put on them– and prayed for them, the Pillows – used in the service for kneeling for prayer and the Arras – coins that are given to the bride by the groom to signify his commitment to provide for her and received by her with the commitment to use their resources wisely. These gifts were reminders of the love that people have for them and will be kept by them to remember this special day.

Following the service everyone joined in a great meal of chicken and Mole (chocolate spicy sauce) After eating the main meal they cut the cake. Following all of that there were games and activities that everyone – young and old – participated in to celebrate the coming together of two lives into one.

What a joy it is to see how God has worked in Maycol’s life through the years! Coming as a little boy – growing up – being educated – and now starting his own family! Pray that God will continue to move in his life and use both Maycol and Rosario to bless others and to lead others to Christ!

Here in Mexico we celebrate Valentine’s day a little differently. While it is still a day where people acknowledge romantic love, it is not the only focus. It is also a day to acknowledge all the friendships you have in your life. In our IBAAN school we celebrate this day of Love and Friendship by having fun and enjoying each other’s company. This year our party was facilitated by Megan Kvistad. We had decorations, cards to give to each other, valentine bingo, a drama, and lots of food. The children were able to learn from the drama that even though we mess up and sometimes do things contrary to God He still loves us very much and desires that we give Him all of who we are in order to truly understand love and have a pure heart.