DEAR FAMILY AND FRIENDS:
With much love and gratitude, we greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  We would like to inform you of our latest happenings in our lives and ministry.  

Ministry
In April, we finished our first period of marriage enrichment and parenting classes and begin preparations for the second period of the year.  During the graduation dinner, participating couples expressed, once again, how these courses have been a real blessing for them.  This encourages us to continue with our ministry in family development. There is a great need in this area.

The transformational development program closed activities in Dec 2007 with a great family gathering in a recreational center where parents and kids from the community of La Campana (and us!) had a lot of fun.  Many of these families have never been in a place like that.  We celebrated accomplishments for 2007; we ate, played, and created community.  Thanks to the Lord for such a blessing!    
And it is precisely this project the one that has particularly flourished this year after two years of hard work, moving the soil and planting. The kids and their families know now who we are and how much we care for them. Every week we have 35 youth (from 8-18) participating consistently in the English club (our colleagues Erika and Kerith are in charge of this part).

Once a month, Lisandro takes the kids to a museum or a park, or to any out door activity that they otherwise would not be able to enjoy (because of finances, distance, etc). The purpose is not only recreational, but also to provide spaces for dialogue and reflection with the kids about issues that affect their lives. We listen to them and help them to find God in through their life experiences.
On the other hand, every week, while the kids are in English club, their moms have Bible study sessions with Patty (two Mondays a month) and hand-craft classes with Kerith (the other two Mondays a month).  We all enjoy this time very much.  In this group, they not only learn or develop new skills, but also laugh, learn from each other, and most importantly, they get to know how God is profoundly in love with them and reveals Himself in every experience in their lives.  Once a month, we go out together for a cup of coffee, to the movie, to a museum, etc. Keep in mind that these women do not have enough income, so doing these activities help them to feel that they deserve it, that they are valuable and loved. To support us in this ministry, we are blessed now to count with four Christian volunteers faithfully helping us with the different activities.  Praise to the Lord, we really needed help!

Proyecto Down never ceases to grow.  We have had many new families with their just new born babies, seeking information and support.  At the same time we have the first generation of our kids now as pre-adolescents who face new issues and challenges.  It is our desire to respond to these new needs.  However we are facing space problems given that the group is large enough to occupy all the Foundation’s rooms.  Please pray for resources for new space. Project Down’s coordinating committee (composed by parents) has continued working faithfully.  Patty facilitates and she is constantly seeking opportunities for training and equipping them better.
This is the year for the second Congress Down organized by a group of parents also.  Teresa, a dear member of the committee and the heart of this event, recently lost Ceci, her daughter with the syndrome, due to a motorcycle accident.  Our community of parents is in deep pain.  Please pray for Teresa and her family.

Partnerships
We both continue supporting the women group in the communities of Escobedo and Las Palmas, but only once a month.  Patty offers workshops and trainings on topics they have selected by themselves, which includes a spiritual component.  In addition, Lisandro and she, assist them in aspects related with the bank when it is requested.  

Personal
Our Christmas and New Year time was marvelous!  We had a great time and enjoyed or relatives in Colombia.  We rested and recharged batteries for starting 2008.  After coming back, however, we have been sick, in part due to the unstable climate here in Monterrey.  Samuel Julián has been particularly affected.  

Our plan is to take some time for home assignment this year.  It is most likely that we will go to the USA from August to December, but some things need to work out.  God willing, we will visit some of you who we could not visit last year.  Also, we want to rest and spend some time with family in California.

Please pray:
•  For every activity, class, contact with people, training, and service offered here through the Foundation, that all of these would be a beautiful offering fragrance to God and an opportunity to love those who we serve.
•  For our group of volunteers (Ernesto, Marcela, Ana, Lucia, Saul, Lucy, and Lupita) and their families, that the Lord continues being a blessing for them.  May He strengthen their faith and commitment to Him.
•  For the couples, kids, and women we serve, that they may know the Lord and seek His face with all their hearts.
•  For some of the couples we are counseling who are going through very difficult time in their marriages, that the Lord may bring forgiveness, healing and restoration.
•  For our Team of missionaries in Mexico in general and Monterrey in particular, that during this time of transition and evaluation of our ministry at the FDF, we be united in faith and love and continue working for our Lord with renovated joy and commitment.  
•  For Carlos Barragan’s health.  Carlos is a faithful servant, co-founder of the FDF, and an important piece in our ministry.  He is fighting cancer.
•  For our own health, especially Samuel’s respiratory problems.
•  For discipline from our part to find time of rest.
•  For our everyday quiet time with The Lord.
•  For quality time as a couple and as a family.
•  For our families in USA, Colombia and Spain.  Particularly for our parents.

We would love to have news from you and get to know how we can support you in prayer.  Please keep in touch. Every one of you is very special to us. Your names are in our minds and hearts when we write this… We love you,  Patty, Lisandro and Samuel Julián

“But whatever was to my profit I now consider lost for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a lost compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…”  Philipians 3: 7-8