Rio Grande Bible Institute

During Summer 2009, I met the wonderful faculty and staff of the Rio Grande Bible Institute. They used our church facility to meet for their staff retreat. There was an instant connection, like they were members of my family. And my heart was blessed to observe their joy in action. They had a clear sense of purpose and a fired up passion for outreach and ministry to the Spanish-speaking world.

Recently, Russ received a call from Robert Crane, Director of Ministerial Advancement at the institute. He invited us to go to Edinburg, TX to visit the campus. Thursday we made the 50-minute trip. Yes--that close to home!

First we dined at the famous Echo hotel with Bob, along with the president of the institute, Dr. Larry Windle, his wife, and about 20 guests and staff from Bibleville. The hotel was like stepping back into the high society of yesteryear. And great food!

Bibleville is a Christian retirement center with some all-year-round residents as well as hosting hundreds of Winter Texans and locals at Bible conferences, music concerts, trips to Mexico and ministry opportunities. They have about 100 RV hook-ups and over 100 mobile homes available.

After lunch, we drove to the campus and had a lovely tour. The weather was 84 degrees (yes, in January!), and the landscaping was colorful, so it made for a good day. Felt like I was playing hooky or something.

The Bible Institute is a place where Spanish-speaking students can attend courses for training in Bible, theology and Christian education. The goal is to equip workers for the ministry.

The campus also houses a Missionary Language School, where missionaries preparing for the field can come to learn Spanish in a 10-month intensive study. They are often paired with a national from the region of Latin America where they will be ministering, to assure they learn the dialect and slang phrases of their region.

There is also a correspondence school and video ministry for distance learning. And Radio Esperanza reaches thousands of Spanish-speaking listeners in South TX, Mexico and beyond. They often receive 5,000 calls per month in response to radio programming, with requests for prayers and counseling.

The staff and faculty of the institute come from all over to serve the Lord here, and they are financially supported through churches and individuals. This is a true mission work.

Besides Bibleville, there is also a Winter Worker Program for retired friends who travel South to avoid cold weather. They agree to work a certain number of hours per week (I think it is 28 hours), in exchange for a free RV hook-up. But they get so much more. The fellowship alone is reward enough.

We saw retirees painting desks, doing maintenance, working on landscaping, and quilting blankets to take in to Mexico. It was clear this institute could not function without volunteerism and mission support.

I enjoyed the tour, and now have a better idea how to pray for Rio Grande Bible Institute. I'm sure they would appreciate your prayers as well.

You can learn more about it here:
http://www.riogrande.edu/2006web/english/about.htm

Thanksgiving Day

Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? We spent the afternoon with new friends Wendy and Jack in Harlingen, and their families. Jack is an orthopedic surgeon, and his family comes from Mexico. They have a beautiful home, and were very gracious to open it up to several from both sides of their families, as well as us. It was a perfect blending of Mexican and American cultures of several generations, except the food was All-American Thanksgiving. I was introduced to Jack's cousin Pillar (sounds like pill and rhymes with car), from Mexico City. I said, "Como esta, usted" and she said, "Mui Bien, et tu?" and I said, "Mui Bien, Gracias." I said it with all the correct Spanish accents. Then Pillar thought I was fluent in Spanish and/or was Hispanic and she started a long conversation in Spanish before she caught her breath. I had to explain I didn't know much Spanish! She thought I did pretty well-but now I'm determined that I need to learn more!

My contribution to the yummy meal was a recipe from Paula Deen. No offense, Mom, but it's called Not Yo Momma's Banana Pudding. It is delicious. I changed it up just a bit from the original recipe. In a mixing bowl, I mixed 1 pkg of cream cheese, reduced fat (it's smoother and blends better). To that I added: 1 large pkg. jello instant vanilla pudding, 1 cup half-n-half, 1 cup milk, and 1 can sweetened condensed milk. Then I added 1 regular container of Cool Whip, extra creamy. I put one layer of cookies on the bottom of the casserole pan. The cookies are by Peppridge Farm and are a shortbread cookie with the chess game figures on them. Then I layered 3 sliced bananas and the pudding mixture 3 more sliced bananas and the rest of the pudding mixture, and ended with another layer of cookies, pressed into the mixture. YUMMO!

It was great to spend our first Thanksgiving Day in the Rio Grande Valley with families who love each other and embrace life with gusto!