WE'RE MOVING!!!

The good news is we're not moving from where we live!

The better news is we're moving our blog.  I've decided that Google's decision to become more and more invasive into our private and personal information has reached the point where it is time for me to minimize my usage of Google products.  It is a challenge!  YouTube, Gmail, Blogger are the biggies, but I also use Picasa (photo software) on my laptop, and of course, Google Search seems difficult to impossible to either live without or to avoid using.

Nonetheless, what I can easily change, I will.  Wordpress has made moving this blog quite simple.  I'm still tweaking it, but all the posts and comments from the past 3 years of existence have been copied to Wordpress.  It took about 5 to 10 minutes to set it up and about 5 more minutes to import this blog over there.  That's impressive.

However, what I need from you is two things.

1.  Change your bookmark for our blog to the following: http://abcdmcmanus.wordpress.com/

2.  If you're currently following our blog, please go to the new link and on the right column, you'll see near the bottom a place to enter your email address to follow our posts on the new site.  We'd love to have you stick with us as we make this move.  You may have to create a Wordpress login account to comment on our blog, but they don't ask for much info, and they didn't even ask for my name in order to set up the blog over there.  That's more like it!


Looking forward to "Pressing" ahead with "Knowing Your ABCDs" over on Wordpress!

(Good-bye Blogger; please know, Google, that you're the reason we're leaving you.)

MK CAMP (need some help!)

The past few years we've enjoyed participating in a very special event at nearby Camp Koinonia.  For a few days our missionary families have ministered to our kids by planning and organizing a camp just for them.  It was sort of a spin-off from the Puebla Christian School's "Spiritual Emphasis Camp" and so it was called the same here.

However, as it has evolved it is apparent that while it is indeed a camp with a spiritual emphasis (with Bible teaching/music for younger and older MKs), it was something a little more.  Unlike PCS's camp which brings in a large group of Cedarville University students to basically run everything from Bible teaching to music to games to skits, etc., we don't have anyone like that to help us out.  So, we as parents and some of our older missionaries have pulled together to make the camp happen.

The two key positions for this camp are the Bible teachers for the younger kids and also for the youth.  Chuck and Karla Topp (CAM missionaries from Mexico City) have been working with our younger kids for several years and are doing that again this year.  They do a fabulous job.  The kids (including Dayton...and Cameron before he bumped up to the youth group) have learned a lot of Bible verses and songs and usually we hear Dayton singing those songs in the shower for months after camp.

The past couple of years Mike Contreras (CAM missionary from Puebla) has done a great job teaching the youth.  However, this year he and his family are in the USA and can't be here.  So...we're looking.  I've basically struck out on the first two missionaries I've asked and I have one more considering it but this wasn't an area this person really wanted to do.  So, what to do?  I've thought about doing it and would do it if I really have to but it's kind of a bummer for Cameron to have his dad teach this.  Not to mention that my experiences teaching youth are pretty limited outside of 6th grade school classrooms.

So...we have this camp that normally is in early April but we just decided as a group this week that we need to have the camp earlier, February 22-25.  Wow...that's really close!  Yes, it is.  So, what to do?

I'll ask YOU!  I know there must be someone out there who is good with youth and the Lord may put it on their heart to spend a few days in Mexico and minister to a small group of teens who are some of the most outstanding kids you'll ever meet.  They have the potential to change their world for Christ and any youth worker would be thrilled to spend a couple of days ministering to them.

So...there's my pitch.  Anyone out there reading this feeling the Spirit leading?

Would love to hear from you...today!

(Call, email, Facebook, Skype me, whatever...even comment here...just let me know!)

Beautiful Feet of Those Who Bring Good News

Saturday morning we drove over to Querétaro for a breakfast "despedida" ("goodbye") with our good friends Art and Marita Mikesell.  To call them "our good friends" is probably not an honest description.  They've known the Hanna family for decades and "Uncle Art" was perhaps the best of friends of Bethie's father.  I can't call them peers by any stretch.  We're more than honored to know them.

This couple has served faithfully and fervently, and I know that I don't qualify to even recount what they've done for God's glory...the thousands upon thousands of Gospel seeds sown, the countless professions of faith they've led others to make.  Eternity will reveal more than we'll ever know.

Now, before I get teary-eyed over this, let me clarify, they haven't died!  I'm not giving a eulogy!  However, they are (this very day) moving away from their beloved Mexico to southern Texas.  Health issues and I'm sure many other considerations have finally led them to a new phase of their lives and ministries so that Mexico is no longer the place to permanently (in this life) call "home."  They plan to come back about every 6 months and they left some furniture and things for that very purpose.  We sure hope they do.

A photo really doesn't tell the story, so let me tell a story...a true story:

One of the first times I recall being up close and personal in getting to know Art and Marita was when we were studying language in Cuernavaca.  We had driven up to San Juan del Rio to visit with Beth's mother and to attend the inauguration of Camp Koinonia near here.

Turns out that Art and Marita were also visiting here for the inauguration service.  To our surprise, they were on their way to Cuernavaca to attend a conference and so we offered to squeeze them in and give them a ride back with us.  They took us up on our offer and so the 6 of us piled into our old Grand Marquis and headed down the highway to Cuernavaca.

At that time, we had newly discovered a way to drive to and from Cuernavaca and San Juan del Rio without driving through Mexico City.  This meant we drove some smaller highways through a smaller city, Toluca and through some mountain roads down into Cuernavaca.  Of course, Toluca is a massive city in its own right, but when you're comparing the size of cities to Mexico City, there just isn't any way to compare them!

Anyway, this story was supposed to be about Art & Marita, wasn't it?  As we drove through Toluca Art said they'd like to stop and get some lunch, perhaps chicken from a local chicken rotisserie.  We didn't really see any of those but we did come across a nicer "Pollo Feliz" ("Happy Chicken").  Can't beat a place called Happy Chicken in my opinion!  I could tell that this wasn't exactly what Art had in mind but we were leaving the city and it didn't appear there was much chance of seeing a small and cheap rotisserie shop.

So, we walked in.  It was a Sunday and thus a busy lunchtime.  We were seated and the large restaurant was rapidly filling up and easily seated over 100.  It may have been about half full but it was still a little early for lunch.  There were families and couples and old people all seated and talking and the noise level was really buzzing.

I took the boys to the bathroom to wash our hands and left Bethie and Art and Marita seated at the table.  We found the bathroom and washed up and came back out to the large room.  It was dead silent.  Eerily silent for all the people in there.  I thought..."Oh no...the place is being robbed."

I looked around.  No robbers in sight.  No one crying.  I looked from table to table as we slowly walked back to our table.  Everyone in the restaurant...EVERYONE...in the restaurant was READING.  Even the workers were reading!  I looked more closely.  What was it they had in their hands?  Ahhh...of course.  They were were reading evangelistic tracts!

Bethie told me later (if I recall this correctly), Uncle Art stood up and in a loud voice thanked everyone from coming to the restaurant today and that it was obvious that God had wanted to bless them for having them come there.  He then proceeded to reach into his ever-present fanny pack and pulled out a stack of tracts and handed them out to everyone!

And God gave "some to be evangelists." (Eph. 4:11b)  I can assure you, God gave to the Church, Art and Marita Mikesell, and that this verse is quite fitting in describing some of their gifting in the body of Christ.

We will miss Art and Marita's presence in Mexico.  I can only think to say one other thing..."watch out Texas...they're on their way or rather YOU'RE on their way!"

May we learn how to share the Gospel with their passion and their faithful fervency.  God bless you Art and Marita!  We'll miss having you here but hope you'll visit and be back when the Lord enables and leads.

Ever Had a Day Like This? (among selected follies)

Not hard to admit...I've had a few of these kinds of days.  I imagine you have too!

I just noticed it has been over 2 weeks since the last blog post.  We're going to lose our faithful following if I don't get with it and post something...anything!

As we've been vegetating over the holidays and then trying to dig ourselves out of a three month lull in formal schooling, we've been busy trying to get the boys back into school routine.  Who am I kidding?  We've been trying to get US (the parents, teachers, and presumed responsible adults!) back into school routine.  I think we're getting there, but we have had a few flailing jumps in the process.

Dayton has apparently forgotten what he learned in the first three years of school in his "Explode the Code" grammar/phonics course.  I discovered a couple days ago that he no longer remembered what a "short vowel sound" was.  As we worked through a grade 5 grammar lesson on comparatives and superlatives we came across the comparative word "hotter."  In explaining the irregularity of the spelling, I mentioned that the word has the "short 'o' sound" and asked him what that sound was.  He looked befuddled.  "I don't know," he said.  So, I stated the obvious, "ah" sound to him.  Then I just happened to follow that up with "So 'hotter' has the 'short o sound' as opposed to the 'long o sound,' which is what?"  With a pained, thoughtful look he finally replied quizzically, "ahhhhhhhhh?"

We took about a 10 minute break.  I couldn't stop laughing.  OK...some days you're the ledge, and some days you're the cat.  Keep jumping into life and have a good laugh while you're at it!

Opportunities Knock

As we've done the past few years, Beth and her mother (and Kristin helped this year too) made up some goodies for the neighbors that we "know."  I say "know" because most of the neighbors are known by very casual and limited interactions.  Several of them we know better than others but very few have allowed themselves to be known very well.  In fact, we really aren't close to any of them.

So, we've always hoped that passing out little bags of homemade treats would help "break the ice" a little.  That really hasn't done it, but it hasn't hurt either.  Early this week, Beth and I walked around our neighborhood to hand out a few goodie bags.  The results so far were that we were invited into two of these homes which was a first-time opportunity.  We've lived in this community over six years and for these two families, it was the first time we've received that kind of intimate invitation.

I don't think we'll make too much of this, but we're grateful for the opportunity to gain a little more trust from these neighbors.  It is often a hard thing to come by in this culture, especially in a nicer neighborhood like this one.  Perhaps we'll see some future fruit from these small opportunities to get to know them better.

Oh yeah...we're still "on vacation!"  Ha-ha...I don't think we've had a day without either visiting a neighbor or having company drop by.  Oh well.  Unfortunately, unless we go away, we'll not really get a true vacation in the way we would usually like it to be.  Nonetheless, we'll take what we can get...and afford!

For some pics and explanations of a few other things we've been up to, Beth's mother has posted some good blog posts.  I didn't take any photos this week so this beats anything I could write up for you.  After all, I'm on vacation, remember?!?  ha-ha

Last Sunday...what we did is about halfway down and to the bottom.

Christmas at the Market and in the Streets

Christmas Eve we'll have a turkey feast (we brought a large turkey down with us in a cooler a couple weeks ago) and maybe even open a present or two.  Christmas morning we'll open up stockings and any gifts we have left.  In the evening we'll have a house church gathering here to sing carols, enjoy a Christmas lesson and eat leftovers or whatever is brought and drink ponche.  Next week, maybe we'll enjoy some more vacation!

Merry Christmas! (again...I think I wrote this in my last blog post but I didn't know if I'd get around to another blog post before Sunday)