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)

The Rest Of the Story

No, this is not a Paul Harvey message.  This is the part of the ABCD story where we REST!  It's the last two weeks of the year and we always try to leave vacation time for these two weeks to simply rest.

Of course, unless we actually join the millions of Mexicans and leave our home to go and stay in a crowded resort somewhere, we're not totally "on vacation," but we do get plenty of time to rest and relax. We have suspended our individual/couple Bible studies and educational activities for the next couple of weeks, and we will avoid anything we don't HAVE to do and attend to anything that just can't be left alone.

We still have Sunday house church and some preparation for that and we'll still spend some time with those we're discipling, but we'll keep that as simple as possible.  Generally, we'll just make up our minds of what we want to do do or don't want to do as the days quickly roll by and be sure to avoid feeling stressed about making those decisions.

So, if our lives and ministries are woven into a story of cultivation, this would be the part where we sew or perhaps sow a bit of rest into the story...the rest of the story.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Home Sweet Home

After 78 days and 11,535 miles on the road, we finally arrived home safely this past Friday night.  What a trip!  So many good visits with friends and family and many precious believers.  We're blessed to be in God's family and called to serve Him with the support of so many.

Since walking in the door of the house we've been busy putting things away and pulling out Christmas decorations and trying to get things in order.  Sunday we enjoyed the sweet fellowship of the believers of the church house plant here.  We'll be hosting our next church gathering on Sunday for a Christmas-themed service.  This will be followed by our ministry team Christmas party also at our house.  Should be a fun day.  On the 25th, we'll have the morning free for family and then we'll host an afternoon house church gathering for fellowship.

Tomorrow, I'm meeting with our co-worker, Tim, to discuss the community center outreach and English classes.  It sounds like there has been some neat things going on these past couple months.  Looking forward to discussing the future plans.

One More Day..."The Big One"

We've FINALLY arrived at the border.  We were delayed a couple of days due to car problems (not our car but Beth's mom's car).  The car got back to road worthy but not totally fixed correctly...no A/C...but shouldn't really need it too much on this drive.

We plan to be up early and cross the border tomorrow (Friday).  It's always a rather stressful and tense drive with plenty of reasons for faith and prayer (as if a moment of life goes by where we didn't need these equally the same).

Please pray for every aspect of the day to go well and for our safe return to San Juan.  It is about a 10 hour drive but may take longer with loaded vehicles.

Thanks!  (we'll keep you posted)