Castro Family Mission- Operation Water Well

Last summer, Neil and I both read a book that our church was going through together. It is called The Hole in Our Gospel and I think will change the life of anyone who reads it. At least that is what it did to us. It convicted us very deeply and left us asking, "God what can we do?"

We decided that one thing that we are going to do in response to that question is to do what we can to help build water wells in Africa. For those of you who don' t know, as many of 5 million people die every year of water-related illnesses. "A child dies every 15 seconds of a water-born illness which creates a no win sitution for millions of parents- they can watch helplessly as their children die for lack of water, or they can watch them die from diarrhea, because the only water they have is tainted." The Hole in Our Gospel

This left me with a haunting thought. What if I was not blessed to be born to Stan and Margo Papi? What if I had not been born in America, but in Africa?? What if I were the widowed mother of 3 boys living in Africa with no clean water, watching helplessly as my children kill themselves with the only water they have to drink while another mother of 3 boys in America wastes water getting the bath just the right temperature for her children? How can I sit by here in the comfort of my warm home with a water flowing freely from the faucets and not do anything for my sister who sits in agony in Africa??

The answer is: I cannot. I must do something. I know that I cannot provide clean drinking water for everyone in Africa, but I can for one woman, for one family, for one village at a time. So, Neil and I decided to make this our mission. We have decided to set aside a certain amount of money each month and put it toward the funding of a water well. When we get enough money, we will have a celebration, send in the money, and start over again.

Our desire is to build one water well a year for as many years as God allows. Did you know that one water well will provide clean drinking water (600 gallons a day) for an entire village (about 150 people) forever!!! The cost of a traditional well is $2,600.

Unfortunately, at this time, it is not within our means to be able to allot $200 a month to reach our goal of one well a year. But as Neil and I processed this, we realized that we know other people that are concerned about the same thing and that if 5 families decided to join us and set aside $40 each month (or $500 a year), then we could make one water well a year a reality. And if that number becomes more than 5, praise Jesus, we can help more communities!!

So, that is where we sit now. We have a jar above our computer that holds our monthly water well deposits and we pray that others would want to join us on our mission to build wells so that instead of it taking 3 1/2 years to reach our goal, we could have an annual celebration!!

Please join us in praying for those less fortunate than us who do not even have the luxuries that we take for granted daily. Or, you can join us in praying for 5 families to step up and join us in making our mission a reality.



God Bless!!

Matthew 25:

For I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.

Lord, when did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink?

I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine,

you did for me.

Merry Christmas- 2010

This year for the Castro's could not be defined as quiet, boring, uneventful, or calm, but it was exciting!! We learned this year that nothing we can do or experience even compares to the abundance that comes from knowing and following Jesus as your Lord and Savior. He is able to provide for you in ways that are beyond your wildest dreams and imaginations.

One way that he demonstrated that to us this year was during a family trip we were able to take to Jamaica. We were blessed to go on this trip because Neil taught tennis in one of the resorts and it was there that God showed how He can make travel arrangements and coordinate experiences that absolutely take your breath away. Not only was our breath taken away in Jamaica, but also part of our heart was. As you can see in other posts, we were able to visit an orphanage while we were there and it was a day we will never forget. It has been my desire since that visit, that we will not forget what we saw and that we would not conform to the patterns of this world but that we would remember what we saw and allow God to use those memories to be his hands and feet and to accomplish His work.

Aside from that trip, our year was filled with many sporting events. Along with the usual soccer, baseball and basketball games, we added football, tennis and cross country to our repetoire of events. Neil and I enjoy every game, race, and match and love watching the kids do what they love.

On top of all of the athletic events that take up our time, Nicholas decided to take up French Horn in his school band and Cody joined the school choir. Lastly, Nicholas and Cody also were on a Robotics team for their school that competed with over 100 other teams from all over the valley.

Like I said, there is never a dull moment in the Castro household!!!

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a truly blessed Christmas season as we celebrate the birth of Jesus!!

Merry Christmas!!

Fall Birthdays

Nicholas turned 11 on October 3rd and Brett turned 8 on November 1st. Because their birthdays are so close, we often celebrate them together.

We had the family over for dinner, cake and ice cream and had a great time with all the cousins!!

Nicholas had some of his friends over for a party Minute to Win It Style....

And Brett had two friends over for pizza, movies and a slumber party and mommy forgot to take pictures!!

FIrst Day of School 2010

This is our annual First Day of School picture that we take in front of the Nelson Elementary sign. It is hard to believe that this is already the sixth picture I have in this spot.

This year Nicholas is in 5th grade, Cody in 4th and Brett in 2nd and we absolutely love Nelson Elementary!!

Fall Sports Recap

Well....we survived a pretty wild and crazy fall. Every other year the boys are just far apart in age that they all have to be on three seperate soccer teams. That happened to us this year. On top of soccer, this year Nicholas, as a fifth grader, was able to experience his first taste of football- with pads and all. Seeing him on the football field for the first time, outfitted in his pads and helmet was another slap in the face and reminder of how fast he is growing up. He looked way too big to be my son!! Although the team did not have a very successful year, Nicholas is warning us that football has become his favorite sport because, "It is fun to hit people."
Cody, as a 4th grader, got to experience his first taste of upper-grade sports: cross country. He did great and although he did not wear Nicholas's lucky yellow hat from the previous year, he did just as good as his brother did. He placed first or second in every head to head competition with the other schools and placed 10th out of 120 runners at the district finals!! He truly loves to compete!!

Cody also decided that he wanted to start playing tennis. So, we decided to enter him into his first tennis tournament out at Fig Garden Racquet Club to see how he would handle it. Of course, he loved it and asks us every week when he can play again. I think it really helped that he took third and got to come home with a trophy in his first tournament!!

Brett played Under 8 soccer again this year and was a star on the field scoring at least one goal in every game. His favorite position to play is forward and he had a great time on a team filled with all his favorite buddies.