For two nights in a row, Marco has been called out to the boys’ workshops because of suspicious guys hanging around the shops...  The other night when the door of the storage room had been broken into with a crowbar, nothing had been stolen, nor was anyone found inside when Marco came back with a couple police men...  In the last two weeks, Marco and the foreman have been noticing things going missing inside – a bag of cement, a metal rod here and there...  Things like this are from an inside thief... There are a couple suspects... but no proof...   SO... we’re dealing with “long hands” (thieves...) from within and without... 

One of the suspects is the guy that was filling in as caretaker/night watch when the regular guy went home to the country for the weekend...  (he also offered to paint after hours... hmmm...)  The regular guy had some business to take care of – and won’t be back until this Monday...

Marco’s solution for a fill in “night watch” was someone who I NEVER would have chosen...  Some of you might have met, or remembered me talking about our student - Mariela...  Her two oldest boys – Benjamin and Carlos, have called Marco “uncle” for the last 5 years... Mariela got her life turned around about two years ago – and regained custody of her four kids who were in children’s homes... (She also has a younger daughter Keiden’s age...)  In the last months Benjamin has been bringing grief to everyone around him – he is rebellious, a liar and a thief... and he shows no remorse...  his mom and step dad have reached their wits’ end... and call on Marco to try and talk sense into him...

Well... there was another “crisis” with Benjamin at our Exposition/Open House on Sunday and I think everyone (including me) were to the point of throwing up our hands (I was to this point a while back with him...)... Everyone was ready to give up on him – except Marco...  Maybe it is because he was a “hopeless” case in basically everyone’s eyes – and yet God still was able to rescue him...  Some people looking at Marco now see him as very strict and stern... and yet in cases like this you get a glimpse of the grace that is inside of him...  He reminded me that Benjamin was the type of kid that our shops are being made for... 

I’m not exactly sure what all happened in the family meeting on Sunday night – with Benjamin, Mariela, Elias (the stepdad) and “Tío” Marco... but Benjamin came out of it more subdued and respectful towards Marco...  Since then he has been staying at the workshops... these last couple nights alone... proud of being Marco’s eyes and helper...  What I’m praying is that these scares might show Benjamin what it feels like to be on the other side of a robbery... and that this might be a turning point in his life...  Please pray with me for Benjamin... and for his safety (and Marco’s when he goes and checks on things)... 

Please pray for wisdom and strength (all of this is tiring) for Marco as he deals with the lack of security at the shops... Talking to some neighbors last night, he was told that when a thief was caught in the neighborhood a while back, they tied him up and beat him...  When they took him to the police, they didn’t want anything to do with him because “justice” had already been played out...  one authority suggested to a neighbor that next time a thief was caught red-handed, they should “get rid of him for good”... throw the body in a canal somewhere... and call in an “anonymous” tip to the police that there was a body found...  YIKES!!!  Please pray for protection for our shops... and the people in them...  The walls on the shops are high... but what it looks like we’ll have to do is put wire on the top of them...

Anyhow... those are our prayer requests for tonight!! 

Thanks again!!! ...and I’ll try and write this weekend to get caught up with some other updates... (on the little lemon – among other things)...

God continues to be Faithful...

Corina... for Marco too...