News and Photos

Here are some stories and photos of what we've been up to over the last year. Our travels have taken some of us from Mexico to the States and to Europe.

Healed of Cancer

Our first bit of news is an encouraging testimony about our friend David. Almost a year a ago our good friend David was diagnosed with throat cancer. From all that we heard, the chances of recovery were very slim, but not too slim for the Lord. We really prayed with our family for David’s healing and asked friends to do the same. From the beginning we received messages from the Lord indicating that David would be healed. This really encouraged us to fight in prayer on his behalf--a process which took months. We made a book of these messages to give to him, which he really appreciated. We’re happy to announce that things worked out as the Lord indicated and that David no longer has cancer.

Trip to Europe
In August Carol was hired as a nanny to accompany a couple and their one year-old daughter on a Scandinavian cruise. After setting sail from Dover, the ship first docked in Copenhagen. Carol was able to take the day off and visit our daughter Tabitha and her family. They got to see the sights and have a picnic lunch.

By the way, congratulations to John and Tabitha who just gave birth to their third child on October 30th.

Older sister Elaina and new baby sleep after making it back home from the hospital.

Speaking of grandkids, the end of October saw the birth of another one of our grandchildren: Jude Christopher. He’s the latest addition to Justin and Nadia’s family in Mexico.

Little Joleen Christina was born to our daughter Liz and husband Andrew--their second child on November 4th. The arrival of these three new grandchildren has upped our total grandkids from 12 to 15!

Teacher Seminar
Ken, who has been our faithful home school teacher over the years, attended a teacher seminar in Baja California during mid-October. About 180 teachers attended from North America, Central America, and Mexico. Besides enjoying the lectures and discussion group, Ken also brought his saxophone and participated in the musical presentations before the lectures, and even sat in with the hotel piano player one evening.

Trailer
You may remember awhile back when we were looking for a travel trailer. We were able to get one recently thanks to Stephanie and Bill who helped finance the down payment. We made it out of Houston the night before Hurricane Ike hit the city. Thank the Lord that none of our friends in Houston suffered any major property damage.

For those of you who didn’t know, we are now continuing our missionary work from outside the Austin area. We still make trips in to Mexico from time to time and are involved with musical and educational endeavors there.

Tara with Ken on Guitar

Carol Shining!
Our son, Joey, and Kevin.

Smoothin' it out with the sax and Last Christmas--Carol and Tara
Restaurant Caroling and Neighborhood Caroling

Congratulations Gabe and Tina

We're happy to announce that little Winston Gabriel was born to Gabe and Tina yesterday on February 17th at 5:22 AM.

Winston weighed 8 lbs 15 oz and measured 21 inches. Here are some photos of our 12th grandchild.

Congratulations John and Mya

A beautiful baby boy was born to John and Mya in Mexico City on January 22nd at 6:32 PM. Here are the first pictures of our latest grandchild. They had been told it was going to be a girl, so they weren't prepared with a boy's name. Did you ever consider naming him "Kenny?" Just joking :)

Wedding Bells Are Ringing

On November 8th, we celebrated a double wedding at a beautiful resort on the Baja California. My son Jason (left) married Clara, and Liz (second from right), one of the twins, married Andrew.

Here I walk Liz down the aisle. I better get used to this!

The wedding was held outdoors on a grassy area overlooking the Pacific Ocean. In the photo below, Tom leads the couples in the marriage ceremony. Each one shared a special marriage vow written for the occasion. Their pledges of love were beautiful and moving.

In this next shot, Carol and I pose with Liz, Andrew, and Andrew's father, David.

Sandy (my first wife) and I, pose with Jason, Clara, and Suzanna, her mother.

Jason and Clara
Andrew & Liz

This next shot shows Carol and me along with our 11 kids and their husbands, wives, and children.


We found a spot that was big enough to even take a couple of shots of the extended family. In the next one we see all the kids and the parents. In the photo below that one, we added all their husbands, wives, and kids.

At Christmas

By

Edgar A. Guest

A man is at his finest towards the finish of the year;

He is almost what he should be when the Christmas season’s here;

Then he’s thinking more of others than he’s thought the months before,

And the laughter of his children is a joy worth toiling for.

He is less a selfish creature than at any other time;

When the Christmas spirit rules him he comes close to the sublime.


When it’s Christmas man is bigger and is better in his part;

He is keener for the service that is prompted by the heart.

All the petty thoughts and narrow seem to vanish for a while,

And the true reward he’s seeking is the glory of a smile.

Then for others he is toiling and somehow it seems to me

That at Christmas he is almost what God wanted him to be.

If I had to paint a picture of a man I think I’d wait

Till he’d fought his selfish battles and had put aside his hate.

I’d not catch him at his labors when his thoughts are all of wealth,

On the long days and the dreary when he’s striving for himself.

I’d not take him when he’s sneering, when he’s scornful or depressed,

But I’d look for him at Christmas when he’s shining at his best.

Man is ever in a struggle and he’s oft misunderstood;

There are days the worst that’s in him is the master of the good.

But at Christmas kindness rules him and he puts himself aside,

And his petty hates are vanquished and his heart is opened wide.

Oh, I don’t know how to say it, but somehow it seems to me

That at Christmas man is almost what God sent him here to be.

Trailer Needed

Hi! We’re up from Mexico visiting and getting different supplies. We thought we might need help with this one so that’s why this post.

One specific need is a travel trailer for our volunteer work. We’re looking for a 25 to 30 foot travel trailer, preferably no older than the year 2000, with an enclosed bedroom and perhaps a slide that could be donated to our work. We’ve decided to email all our friends and supporters just in case somebody might have a lead.

Drop us an email if you know of one or would like to contribute in some way. We'd be happy to pick it up. Our email address is:

lillyflower27@yahoo.com

Take care,

Ken and Carol

The Precious Stone

A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation.
The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime.
But a few days later, he came back to return the stone to the wise woman. "I've been thinking," he said. "I know how valuable this stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me this stone."

Our Family's Getting Bigger!

One obvious result of having a lot of children is that sooner or later you're bound to have a bunch of grandkids! Well, it's that time for the Paone bunch.

Just in the months of April and May we've had three little ones added to the list of grandchildren brining the total up to nine.

Our son, Sam, and his wife Natasha had little Anthony on April 5th. Sam has been in the Coast Guard for six years, and Natasha is taking a three month leave from her job to enjoy the new baby. Carol went out to Miami to see them shortly after the birth and had a great time with Sam, Natasha, and Anthony.

Then at the end of April, Carol met up with me in Houston and we went to nearby Austin to be with Liz (one of the twins) and her husband Andrew for the birth of their first child, Corina Jane. Carol is an assistant midwife and was happy to help with the birth at the clinic, while I just waited patiently with Tina, Liz's twin sister, in the waiting room. Corina was born on May 7th, weighing 7 lbs. 4 oz. She came just in time for Carol and me to make it back to Mexico City in time for a Mother's Day show. (See pics below and click here for video clip)

Let's not forget Clare who gave birth on May 24th to her second child, Ella. We all thought Clare would have the baby early, but early or late we're glad she's here. Here's a picture that hubby Nat took of Clare and Ella.

Let's hear from Carol...
In April I stopped by to see some friends, Julie and Mark, whose triplets I had helped care for, for the first six months of their lives. After the triplets had eaten and were getting ready for their nap, Julie asked if I would lead them in a little prayer to ask Jesus into their hearts. I read to them from a book that they had about Jesus and His life on earth. Then, one by one each of the children prayed with me. It was a very memorable experience. One that helps me to pray for them each time I think of it.

Mother's Day Show

Cathy (15) and Tara (13) did a great job adding their talents to our Mother's Day show, which we performed in a major shopping mall in Mexico City. Check out the short video clip of Tara's song "Where Would We Be Without Love," with Cathy and friends doing some choreography. The "Pink Panther" theme also features some choreography by Cathy and her friends.

Here are the girls before the show. Celeste (left) and Tina (right) are in the back row. Tara (left) and Cathy (right) in the center row and Suzy (center).

Below Tara sings "Where Would We Be Without Love"

Esteban and Carol singing "Dejame Mirar Tus Ojos"

Esteban, Carol, and Ken singing "Un Poquito De Amor"

Dancing for the shoppers

Our Latest Christmas Show and News

Click here to see a 7 minute video clip of our Christmas Show




On our way down to Mexico City from Houston at the beginning of September, we arrived in Monterrey late at night and were unable to find our friend’s house where we were to stay.

We met a very precious family that opened their doors to us and took us in! Thanks Graciela! We appreciate your hospitality.


In October, my son, John, and I performed for a Teen retreat that was held for about 150 young people in a nearby city.





















Carol and I did a little recording in the studio too.

This year Christmas started even earlier than last year. We did our first show on November 9th at a large shopping mall for the lighting of the Christmas tree. Carol, Michael, Cathy, Tara, and I joined forces with another family and prepared a variety show with choreographed dances, instrumental numbers, solos, and group singing. We even threw in some breakdancing and rap in our Christmas numbers. (Click here to see a 7 minute video segment)

We’ll be returning there right before Christmas to do a couple more shows.


Carol sings for the crowd at our first Christmas show

Ken on sax with Carol singing "Contigo en la Distancia."















Cathy (second from left) and Tara (right)

People the Lord Has Brought Across Our Path

Recently in a shoe store, Carol met the owner who was sitting there reading the Bible. He explained to her that he’d been having a lot of problems in his life and so he was reading the Bible searching for answers.

Not only had his mother just had a heart operation but his family has been the target of threatening phone calls since they are somewhat wealthy. One caller demanded money saying that her son had been kidnapped. They made sounds in the background as if he were being tortured. At the time, she had no way of knowing if he was safe or not. It was all just a put on as he was perfectly fine.

He eagerly prayed with Carol to receive Jesus as he broke down crying. We’ll be going back to visit our new friend share more from the Word with him.

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

One day as Ken and I were on a walk in a nearby park, we saw a woman that was walking the in the opposite direction. Every few steps she would hold on to a tree then walk some more and then hold on to another tree.

I became concerned as I thought that she was ill and might fall. I watched her as I continued my walk, and I noticed that she sat down on a park bench and put her head in her hands.

I decided to go find out if she was okay. As I approached the woman, I noticed she was crying. When I asked her if she was alright, right away she told me that she was battling depression because her husband had passed away.

I sat next to her and asked her if she would like to pray with me and ask God to help her. She said yes, so I proceeded to pray for her. What happened next was amazing as the Lord showed me he had died of a sickness and that that sickness was cancer. He said this because He wanted her to believe that He was nearby watching out for her and her children.

So, when we were done praying I asked her if her husband had been sick to which she responded yes. Then I asked her if he had died of cancer to which she answered in amazement, “Yes, he did.” I then told her that the Lord loves her very much and that He is looking out for her and her children.