Knowing Your ABCDs

We've Moved

2012-01-28T11:47:00.002-06:00

Knowing Your ABCDs on Wordpress.com

If you're looking for our blog, we've moved. Please follow the link above for our new location. Thanks!

WE'RE MOVING!!!

2012-01-27T13:31:00.001-06:00

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!)

2012-01-26T12:58:00.002-06:00

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

2012-01-23T22:29:00.001-06:00

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)

2012-01-13T12:25:00.000-06:00

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

2011-12-23T20:33:00.001-06:00

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

2011-12-19T15:25:00.002-06:00

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

2011-12-13T22:24:00.001-06:00

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"

2011-12-08T22:47:00.001-06:00

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)

Windshield Sunsets

2011-11-30T14:11:00.001-06:00

Two days of driving to get from DeLand, FL to Dallas, TX. Two beautiful sunsets.

Vicksburg

2011-11-30T13:41:00.001-06:00

We didn't plan to drive through Vicksburg, MS on this trip. It just sort of happened. Actually, what happened was we had decided to try to make the drive from DeLand, FL to Dallas, TX in 2 days rather than 3 days. This is a distance of about 1,100 miles which means a couple of long consecutive days in the car.

We stopped Monday a little over halfway to Dallas at Slidell, LA. This ended up being a very good choice for both location and logistics. On Tuesday morning I happened to think to check the traffic situation down the road ahead of us for Baton Rogue and discovered that our interstate highway was shut down completely due to a bad accident. Traffic was backed up for miles and not moving. Since we were still far enough away to not run into the back of that parking lot, we took a 50 mile longer route up I-55 to Jackson, MS and then over I-20 from there to Dallas. This route put Vicksburg right in our path and I figured, we might as well make the long day even longer by taking a couple hours to drive through the Vicksburg National Battlefield to see what was to see.

Turned out there was a lot to see. Way more than we could enjoy in just a couple hours, but we did our best to maximize the visit and learn as much as we could absorb in a short time. We're glad we stopped. It would have been great to spend an entire day there and maybe even longer to see the city and some of the historical sites in the area. We didn't even see the city of Vicksburg. The topography was different from what I expected. Lots of bluffs and hills. I should have imagined that, but I hadn't.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T21:59:00.001-06:00

Today...

For the first time since 2003, we enjoyed Thanksgiving inside the borders of the USA.

For the first time since 2003, we enjoyed a day together with all four of my siblings and my parents.

For the first time since 1995, we enjoyed a Thanksgiving (or any holiday) with my parents as well as with all my siblings and my parents.

For the first time ever, Cameron and Dayton enjoyed a holiday with their McManus grandparents and also their McManus uncles/aunts.

It was a rare event, a great day, and of course, we forgot to get the camera out of the van. Fortunately, there were other cameras (better than mine anyway) taking a few snapshots. Here are a couple I've snagged from Facebook so far.

I guess you can kind of see why we don't do this very often! It gets a little rowdy!

Seriously, it was a great day, a special time, and one we'll remember. We probably won't be able to take another shot like this on a Thanksgiving Day with all of us still here on this side of eternity. God has been good to us and we have more to be thankful for than we can tell.

We were blessed to have a special guest today who we were quite happy to be a part of our photos...she's from a country that is sensitive to reveal and which has ongoing safety issues with its citizens as well as with foreigners. She was fine with us posting the photos with her in it, but I feel better about not revealing her identity or country just in case.

Good Eats

2011-11-22T18:30:00.001-06:00

After our visit to Blue Spring State Park we stopped in at a local Puerto Rican restaurant to try the combo of the day: beef steak with 2 sides and a drink. We love flattened, fried plantains called "tostones" and so we got 2 orders of those for the sides. We would have tried more tastes there but the boys were wanting to try New York style pizza down the road which was pretty good, but nothing nearly as good as the foods at Lelo's BBQ (http://www.lelosbbq.com/menu.php).

Our sister-in-law, Esme, is Puerto Rican and makes awesome tostones. I think hers are even better than these, but hey, these were available, and today, they were delicious.

Blue Spring State Park

2011-11-22T17:46:00.001-06:00

Today we visited Blue Spring State Park just outside of Orange City, FL, which is neither a city nor filled with oranges but is located in Florida.

This park is known for being a popular destination of large, swimming, mammals that enjoy warm water. No, not people (necessarily!)...manatees! Of course, people often fit that description too I suppose but let's not go there.

This park is also known for being the largest spring along the St. Johns River. The park brochure stated that the spring exudes about 104 million gallons of water every day. In doing a little reading on Wikipedia regarding the River, that site cites a source claiming something over 64 million gallons a day. Either way, they both agree that Blue Spring provides the most water of any spring along the river.

Finally, the park is also notable because it was the location of my first-ever job. I was a summer, seasonal worker called an O.P.S. the summer between my junior and senior years of high school. That would have been 1984. It was a glamorous position. I mowed a lot of grass, picked up a lot of trash, cleaned a lot of bathrooms, and lost a lot of sweat. I was paid all of $3.35 an hour for the 40 hour work weeks.

With manatees in the immediate area of the river, swimming, snorkeling, and diving is now closed for the winter. It was hot enough to really want to take a dip but we were contented with nature watching. We didn't view any manatees (they were out in the river during the warmth of the day) nor alligators, but we did see a lot of fish, some birds, and no large, swimming mammals that didn't belong in the water which is always a good thing.

Florida Scenes

2011-11-18T21:56:00.001-06:00

We've spent 2 days in Florida. We're staying four nights in Daytona across from the big race track. It's relatively close to my parents' home (30 minute drive). They can't house us and so we're staying at a clean, cheap motel on the main highway. On Sunday, we'll pack up and move in to a Bed & Breakfast that is only 2 miles from my parents. Because we'll end up staying there for 8 nights, the British owner has given us a nice discount and it will only be $60 a night (plus tax) which is a great deal and save us the commute. Thanks a lot mate!

Today we stopped in at the Daytona Flea Market. The boys weren't sure what to expect and I think we enjoyed it. We ended up buying...yeah...you guessed it...used books. It's gotta be some sort of mental illness...or maybe we're just normal missionaries with a 10,000 book library. OK...it could be both. We also picked up two yummy loaves of homemade bread baked by a nice Colombian baker. We enjoyed trying to keep up with his rapid Spanish. We also purchased a bag of Indian River navel oranges, some fresh squash (which Beth fried this evening), and a cheap shoe organizer (because Beth's shoes back home have an organizational deficiency...trust me on this...we've tested them). We just barely passed on a large skull and crossbones flag that read: "Until Morale Improves -- The Beatings Will Continue."

We picked up some Thanksgiving supplies at a nearby Sam's Club and then spent some time at my folks' house. We're working on a long list of projects at their house but wanted to break that up today a little bit. One other diversion we enjoyed was a trip to the nearby wildlife refuge at Lake Woodruff and walked a mile or so and took a few photos that might be worth sharing.

Tomorrow...we deep clean the kitchen. Pray for us. :-)

A Drive Through Snowy Roads

2011-11-18T21:44:00.001-06:00

One of our small hopes for this fall trip was that we would see just a bit of wintry weather without having to actually deal with it. Last Friday, we did just that as we drove from eastern PA to north central OH. In central PA we drove through some snow squalls that actually stuck to the ground and roofs. The roadway was never icy and our lack of winter clothing was not a problem either.

We thank God for continuing to keep us safe on the roads as we've topped 8,000 on this brief home assignment which began on September 23. We have many people to thank for their hospitality and generosity. We're finally in Florida to visit with my folks and to spend Thanksgiving here with them and all four of my siblings and their families. We expect to begin our drive back to Dallas from Florida on November 28.

Gideon Slew the Mennonites (not quite)

2011-11-07T11:02:00.000-06:00

We're staying in Lancaster, PA with friends while we commute each day to visit with Beth's sister. Actually, with both of Beth's sisters because the one from Indiana is here visiting as well. So is Beth's mother. That's why we're staying in Lancaster because there is no room in the inn here. Cameron is staying overnights here while Beth, Dayton and I commute back to Lancaster. It's about 40 miles and takes a little over an hour, including a brief stop at Dunkin Donuts for coffee and a couple of yeasty diabetes inducers.

On our way over for today's visit we were pointing out the local Amish and Mennonite culture and some of the differences between them (as much as we know and understand). Dayton piped up, "Didn't Gideon kill the Mennonites?" Uhhh...yeah...something like that.

Home Assignment - Time Zone Update

2011-11-05T19:39:00.002-06:00

OK...this has been one crazy week. Where to start?

After returning from Iowa and Illinois this past Monday, we arrived back at the home of Beth's sister and brother-in-law in Chesterton, IN. My plan was to use our time there this week to prep for this Sunday's first hour Sunday school and then message for the 2nd hour. However, the Lord had other plans.

A phone call to our good friend and my old college buddy, Tim, who lives near Dayton, OH resulted in an unexpected change of plans. On Tuesday morning I left Beth and the boys in Chesterton and I drove the 300 miles to visit Tim. His wife and kids were away for the week with her parents so we had a brief but very special time just to talk and laugh and catch up on life and ministry.

On Wednesday I spent the day with Tim in his 3rd grade public school classroom and gave a little presentation to each of his two team-taught classes.

That evening we drove over to visit Tim's parents and Tim treated his dad and me to a nice dinner out in honor of our birthdays (mine was that day). Afterward I shared a ministry update at his parents' home for a Wednesday night prayer group from their church which is one of our ministry partners. It was a very sweet time as we closed in a couple rounds of prayer.

Early Thursday morning I headed back to Chesterton and on Friday morning we loaded up again and headed to WV to stay overnight with some friends on our way to our ministry update tomorrow morning near Grafton, WV.

As a result of all the traveling this week, I started the week in Central Time Zone then spent a day and a half in Eastern Time Zone thus turning the clock forward an hour; then spent nearly a day in Central Time Zone turning the clock back an hour; before returning to Eastern Time Zone putting the clock forward an hour; and tonight ends Daylight Savings, so I will change the clock back one hour once again!

After lunch tomorrow we head to Lancaster, PA and we'll be visiting with Beth's sister and brother-in-law and their 9 kids from Monday through Thursday. We'll be commuting the one hour to their home each day. They won't have room for us this visit because Beth's sister from Chesterton and her 4 kids and her mother are all staying there too! Our hosts in Lancaster, PA are dear friends and we're looking forward to spending some time with them. It should be a fun week.

I do hope I get the time I need to prep for the following Sunday's set of messages! Something tells me with 15 kids in the house, this might be a tricky endeavor!

Some Fall Colors

2011-10-25T23:11:00.000-05:00

Haven't been able to capture many photos of the fall colors. The top two I took today at the Iowa welcome center along the Mississippi River. The bottom two I took about 2 weeks ago in North Carolina. The best color we've seen has probably been here in Iowa. I hope to get a few pics of color while we're here in western Iowa, although there are more corn fields than forests.

It was a 450 mile drive today. We're enjoying the fellowship of Beth's high school English teacher and high school cook! Bill and Treva Turpin are a very special couple who are also ministry partners with us while they too are missionaries here in the grain belt of western Iowa. They founded and direct Bethany Farms (a Christian camp) and have a variety of Bible studies and Kids For Christ meetings going on all week long. They have amazing energy for being in the upper 70s and are still serving Christ with all their heart. We're so blessed to know them.

Tomorrow, we'll break the fast in the morning and then Bill will guide us over to a small town not far from here called Elk Horn. There is a working, authentic Dutch windmill there. Although due to the expense of repairs, they don't run it much if at all. It is the last Dutch windmill ever to enter the USA and maybe it was the last one to ever leave Holland. That was back in the mid-1970s. Holland passed a law to prevent them from leaving the country lest they end up becoming rare in the land for which they were created. Anyway, it's a neat thing to see. I recall there being some pretty tasty Danish pastries worth exploring and I suspect I'll not spare the coffee either.

We'll have a farmer's style lunch in Atlantic, IA and probably get to meet with Pastor Al from the Atlantic Evangelical Free Church as well. That's a different post though so I'll save that. Tomorrow evening we'll have dinner with the younger couple who are running a lot of the camp activities here at Bethany Farm. Looking forward to getting to know them better as well. What a neat place this is out here.

If you don't remember, Bethie and I were here without the boys in June 2010 to share missions with the kids here one week. It was a super experience for us. Here is the link to our first day of ministry here that week which contains some photos of the place if you care for a reminder.

Vengeance in Iowa?

2011-10-25T22:49:00.002-05:00

Home Assignment Update - Michigan (in 3 days or less)

2011-10-25T09:54:00.000-05:00

Michigan was our last victim for our home assignment visits. Thanks to Beth's cousin Matt & his wife Shari and their "big kids" (teens) for sharing their home with us for a few nights while we visited with them, a few other Hanna cousins, and uncles and aunts, and Beth's grandmother too. We met some other friends and visited two of our supporting churches, one of them rather unexpectedly.

How does a missionary "unexpectedly visit" a supporting church? It's a long story...I'll try to explain via the very short version.

Due to some logistic changes after we arrived, the only way to meet with one of Beth's uncles and aunts was to meet them for lunch on Sunday around noon. That meant we'd have to leave the supporting church we were visiting after the Sunday school hour in which we were presenting. They were graciously understanding of our situation and so we stayed as long as we could in between Sunday school and the service and we awkwardly left as the service was getting underway.

As we drove away from Rollins Christian Fellowship, it occurred to me that our other supporting church in Michigan was only about 10 minutes away and was on our way back for our lunch appointment. I also realized that since it is a very small church and that it was just after 11 a.m., perhaps they would not mind if we just walked in, gave a short 10 minute update and then went back out on our way for our lunch appointment. I don't know what possessed me to think such thoughts on a Sunday morning but I do hope it was the Holy Spirit!

So, we did just that and when we arrived and peered in the glass door, I could see a man at the pulpit praying. Ahh...this might be a good transition time. Then, I noticed on second look that another man was about to lead in a song. So, we walked into the foyer, I spied the pastor on the front row, and I purposefully walked up to the front row and shook his hand and whispered the "plan" in his ear. He nodded and smiled. Whew! So, after the song and a brief song from a few little children, I was up on the platform and giving a brief (I know that seems unlikely to those who know me) update. It was brief though and I was relieved that this seemed to fit seamlessly into their service.

I figured they would continue with the rest of the service and the preaching would ensue after I asked the pastor to pray for us and figured we'd make our "getaway" when he said, "Amen." What I didn't expect was that when he ended his prayer, everyone left their seats and headed for the parking lot! Well, in God's providence, the service was actually coming to a close there at 11:25 a.m. I discovered later that the service at Colfax Community Church normally ends at 11 a.m. (before we even arrived) but that since they'd had an earlier presentation from a missionary with C.E.F. they had run over by about 15 minutes. That gave us just enough time to get in and to share our update of what God is doing in the ministry in Mexico.

Who could have planned such a thing?

Of course...God!

(we even made it to our lunch appointment a few minutes early!)

CAM's New Name

2011-10-21T17:07:00.004-05:00

Coming Spring 2012...

CAM INTERNATIONAL WILL BECOME CAMINO GLOBAL.

After more than a year of focused study, prayer, and audience research, CAM International's Board of Directors adopted the name Camino Global to refresh the mission's identity.

The name Camino Global reflects the fact that our ministry remains focused on Spanish speakers, but also the reality that Spanish speakers are no longer limited to the Western Hemisphere and Spain. Spanish speakers are on the move globally. As they move, we will move with them, inviting them to join the journey of spiritual transformation (Camino is a Spanish word that means journey, path, or way).

We highly value the 121-year history and legacy of CAM International, but the name CAM no longer reflects the global scope of our ministry in the 21st century. We know we stand on the shoulders of generations of faithful servants who have laid our foundation. This change is not about turning our back on our rich heritage and legacy of impact in Latin America and Spain. Rather, CAM is entering a new season in our journey with Spanish speakers everywhere.

The new identity of Camino Global, including a new logo and website, will take shape over several months, launching in Spring 2012.

Read the Press Release and Frequently Asked Questions at introducing.caminoglobal.org.

Written by: Phil O'Day

Director of Organizational Development and Communication

(taken from CAM's website: http://www.caminternational.org/index.cfm?go=page&pid=568)

Home Assignment Update - Travel Day Ohio

2011-10-20T21:13:00.002-05:00

We left Parkersburg, WV today encouraged and blessed and with a little tiredness after a few days of constant activity and numerous conversations and presentations. It was great.

I left this day as a travel day as we head to Traverse City, MI. It's about 550 miles and some folks might do that in one day but I wanted to leave it open to whatever we felt up to doing. With the rain and heavy winds (gusting 40 mph) and getting packed up and saying goodbye at nearly noon, we were all content to turn in at Findlay, OH after only 4.5 hours on the road. Tomorrow we'll still have about 6 hours of driving.

We're in a very comfortable room and enjoying a few hours of down time with the boys.

This hotel has a nice indoor/outdoor pool and Dayton and I spent some time enjoying the pool and the hot spa as well. In the pool Dayton had his first experience of swimming under the divider and popping up outside with a 40 degree temperature and strong, gusty winds.

We played a few games. One was a simple swimming race from inside to the outside wall. I gave him a good head start but even as a poor swimmer, I beat him handily.

He said, "You only won because I'm so slow."

Yup, that's my smart homeschooled kid!

We then played tag and he was having a hard time tagging me. Finally, he feigned injury (which didn't work) and then he raised his arms and said mournfully, "I need a hug." Nope. Didn't fall for that one either, but I did get some good laughs.

Home Assignment Update - West Virginia

2011-10-18T14:37:00.000-05:00

Once again I find it a challenge to post more than about once a week.

We're in Parkersburg, WV as I write this post and we've been here since Saturday afternoon. We've been participating in the missions conference of our sending church, Bethel Baptist Church. The theme has been..."How to Be a Sending Church" or something close to that. (see how close I read things) BBC graciously accepted us as members in 2003 (I think it was) so that we could have a sending church (our previous sending church was going through some very difficult circumstances and just couldn't commit to sending and supporting us). We were the first missionaries BBC had ever commissioned to an overseas mission field and this was new for them just as much as being missionaries was new to us. Now they're in the process of sending their associate pastor and his wife and children (Jamie and Mandy Smith) to Zambia as missionaries. The theme for this conference is à propos for the church and for us too. The renewed fellowship and sharing has been encouraging and helpful.

On Saturday the missionaries were treated to a very nice multi-course dinner along with the missions committee, the church leadership, and our hosts/hostesses for the week. A number of teens served us with a great spirit and a sacrifice of their Saturday evening.

On Sunday the morning session was mostly a historical review of BBCs commitment to and involvement in outreach and missions. The Sunday school hour was devoted to Wendy Heinzman (spelling?) who is a single missionary in France and has ministered to women there for 14 years.

The presentations from her and all of the missionaries were to contain a cultural representation of what we experience routinely back in our ministering countries. Wendy had us (the audience) participate in a "Christmas Tea" which was a novel (for France) approach to making acquaintances and building relationships at Christmas time.

Sunday night we were in charge of a kids' presentation for ages 2 up to grade 5! What an age spread! Gratefully, we had a number of teenagers helping us with the kids. We were to share a Bible story or some sort of Bible-based story from our culture in Mexico. We adapted that idea to share an untrue story because in Mexico, that is the story that gains the most attention, the most followers, and affects the reasons why we minister in Mexico more than any other culturally based story. That would be the story of Juan Diego (the Indian peasant) and the Virgin Mary's appearance to him. We made sure the kids understood that this was not a true story but it is the story the every Mexican knows. They did some coloring and received some pin buttons.

At that same time Randy and Cari Woughter were sharing their ministry in Nicaragua. They propped up tables on their sides all around a small rectangular area and made all the chairs form very tight rows with very little space in between rows and no space in between the chairs (from side to side). Except for the dirt floor, the roaming dogs, chickens, and pigs and many ambiant noises, it was just like a church service in Nicaragua!

Last night was our turn to present and we shared an update of our varied ministries as we sat in a U-Shape. This was to represent how we often meet in our house church plant on Sunday mornings. We then had four of the church members read a first-person testimony and prayer request of four of our house church members. We had to write these ourselves but we did our best to make these as "non-fiction" as possible. They were brief but it was great to see the church members listen and take to heart the grace of God in how He saved the core of our small group. One of the ladies who was waiting her turn to read a testimony seemed in awe of the testimonies. She asked Beth (who was sitting next to her), "Are these real?!?" Yes, they are real...God is real...these dear friends are real...their stories are real...and God is really changing lives in Mexico! We only wished they could be here with us to share their testimonies in person.

Tonight we'll be "visiting" Colombia with a young couple (the Breyers) who are raising support to serve at a camp there. We'll conclude tomorrow night with our keynote speaker, Mike Allen, who is a Captain and Chaplain in the National Guard and also serves several times a year in Romania in a ministry there in leadership training.

Small world: Captain Allen went through chaplain school at Fort Jackson (?) with our good friend and fellow chaplain, Mark Olson. Also, on Friday night we stayed in Beckley, WV with and old college friend and she and her husband asked us if we knew Mike Allen who they knew was from this area around Parkersburg. I wasn't sure if we did or didn't...but we surely do now!

This morning we were up and at 'em at 6 a.m. (and that's not normal for us night people!). We and the other missionaries were special guests in 4 different high school classes and were given 45 minutes in each class to present cultural and language themes to each class. We enjoyed that experience and it was a familiar feeling to walk into a large school once again and drink in the hallways and classrooms and the presence of all those students in one place. I must admit, teaching just gets in your blood and it's not something you ever really lose even though it has been 10 years since I taught in a formal classroom on a permanent basis. Well...not so "permanent" since I'm not doing that now!

We conclude tomorrow evening during the AWANA time and will be with a group of kids during their counseling time. I've not been in too many AWANA groups over the years so I don't even know what a "counseling time" is but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

We load up the van and hit the road again on Thursday; destination Traverse City, MI. Not sure of our route yet (I've looked it over on Google Maps more than once already). Not sure where we'll stay on Thursday night. We'll figure it out I'm sure. We're scheduled for Rollins Christian Fellowship, Manton, MI for this Sunday morning (combined Sunday school). If you're near there and want to join with us, I think it starts around 9:45 if I recall correctly.

Still not doing a good job of taking photos. I'll post some eventually. Keep checking in and thanks for your patience. We greatly appreciate your prayers as we continue to travel and share and talk and talk some more and talk yet even more. Whew! (good thing we're pretty good at talking!) Dayton has had a cough/cold since we left Mexico on 9/23 and today seems to have a fever. You can pray for him. I've not felt too well but I think it's sleep apnea. I didn't snore last night (says Bethie), and I do feel much better today even on 6 hours of restless sleep.

We're eating well...too well or perhaps too much as is often the case on home assignments! If you've ever seen the animated flick, "Despicable Me," I've changed a favorite quote to: "I'm so fluffy...I think I'm gonna die!!!" (a few of you might get that)

Chattanooga Scenes

2011-10-12T19:02:00.000-05:00

On our way out of Tennessee we couldn't resist a quick diversion to downtown Chattanooga (a.k.a. Chattaboogie and Chattanooger and Chatty) where we walked across the Tennessee River over the Walnut Street Bridge and visited a favorite pizza place (Mellow Mushroom).

The leaves were just beginning to turn. We were a little early for peak colors but seeing red and yellow leaves has been such a treat. I remember seeing the Delta Queen on the Ohio River as a kid. On one of those occasions, my family and I watched from just a few feet away as it traversed the Cannelton Locks. I remember a passenger at the front of the boat stepping off as the boat moved through the lock and then stepping back onto the Delta Queen just before he became a new local resident.

Home Assignment Update - Tennessee

2011-10-10T08:23:00.002-05:00

After 7 nights with our good friends on Dayton Mountain, we're just about to leave Tennessee. We've enjoyed seeing many old friends in this area around Dayton, Tennessee. If you're wondering, yes, our Dayton was named after this meaningful place where Beth and I first met.

Friday and Saturday was the annual homecoming for our alma mater, Bryan College. It was the first time we'd been here for that in 16 years. It was my 22nd year and Beth's 20th year. Attendance seemed a bit sparse but we really don't know what to compare it to. We were glad to see a few friends from years ago. We did think back to what we gained through our education here so long ago and how God has used our experiences and learning here to bring us along our lives' journey to where and who we are today. I'm sure we could never have written this life's script the way God has done. What an adventure!

Yesterday, we attended our former church here, Westminster Presbyterian Church. Yes, it may seem odd that a couple of "Baptists" would have been members of a Presbyterian church but our couple of years of fellowship here continue to be very special to both our memories and our foundation in Christ. We enjoyed sharing with them how God is working in our lives and ministries in Mexico. What a sweet time it was. I ran over by almost 15 minutes but considering I could have easily shared for another hour or more, I guess it wasn't too bad. We hope at least a few of our brothers and sisters there will come down and visit and minister with and to us in Mexico. There was mention from our English teacher friends of a "Shakespeare Camp." Now THAT would be cool!

The leaves are turning and we're seeing more yellows and reds with each passing day. I hope to get a few pics on our way out to Georgia today. I'll post them if I manage to take any. Seeing the fall colors is one of the highlights of the trip.

Here are a few pics from the Bryan College campus and a few old friends from Homecoming.

Home Assignment Update - Indiana (part 1)

2011-10-10T07:58:00.001-05:00

I see it's been almost 2 weeks since I last posted anything from our road trip. Since our last post, we've traveled through southern Indiana where we visited with my oldest brother, attended the wedding of one of his sons (all three are now married within the past year or so), and somehow managed to not take any meaningful photos throughout that weekend. I guess we were just enjoying ourselves. I also figured there were some other cameras snapping shots so we were covered.

My other brother and his wife came up from South Carolina for the same wedding so we enjoyed a reunion of the McManus boys for a brief day and a half. It was the first time all three of us were together in the same room since summer of 2003. Wow...how time flies.

Next post...Tennessee.

Homeschool Day

2011-09-29T16:26:00.000-05:00

We drove from Wills Point, TX to Memphis on Tuesday and yesterday, Wednesday, we drove to Mammoth Cave National Park. We made it early enough to take in one of the 2 hour tours. I think we'll count that as a "science" class. We learned a bit about the cave system and about some of the historical uses of the cave. Unfortunately for us, our first family cave experience was last year with Carlsbad. It's hard to imagine Mammoth Cave not impressing too much, but after seeing the best cave in the USA (arguably), Mammoth wasn't quite the same. Not complaining though.

A Home Favorite

2011-09-29T16:06:00.001-05:00

This tasty little item is called an arrachera burrito. It's filled with tender bits of flank steak and covered in a cream sauce with bacon and topped with guacamole. It comes with a side of what is supposed to be "frijoles charros" but seemed closer to chili to me. Our local restaurant serves these for $60 pesos (about $5).

Typical Pre-Home Assignment Missionary Task

2011-09-29T15:56:00.000-05:00

Not sure when I wore these last. Obviously, I don't need them very often in Mexico.

Home Assignment Trip 2011 - Update 1

2011-09-27T19:55:00.002-05:00

Someone this past weekend said something about following our trip updates on our blog and it dawned on me that I guess I'd better get on the stick and start posting trip updates!

Tonight we're safely parked and holed up somewhere in Memphis off of I-40. No Elvis sightings yet but we're OK with that. Really.

To sum up the trip so far:

Last Friday we drove up to Laredo, TX and encountered no problems or anything particular to note. It was a perfectly boring border trip for which we were very grateful. Thanks for praying us through the war zone.

On Saturday we drove to Dallas and again there was really nothing particular to note. Somehow we did find ourselves at the Collin Street Bakery store along I-35. (see here: http://www.collinstreet.com/) My mother should be in for a very nice birthday present any day now. If you don't know this bakery, it makes the best fruit cakes in the world. I know what you're thinking, but speaking of fruit cakes, I can assure you that I am no where near as good as these are. :-) I am not actually a fan of fruit cake but these really are tasty. I didn't taste any though. Too expensive! Upon arrival in Dallas, we even made it to Kohls to look for some decent clothes for the boys to wear at our church visits. Nothing like clothes shopping after driving 1,100 miles.

By Sunday we were ready to crash and enjoyed some extra sleep. We ended up needing to continue our search for clothes and shoes for the boys. We finally came up with what we were looking for, or at least close enough. It sure took enough stores!

A quick trip through Half-Price Books apparently was necessary to come up with some books for the rest of the trip. Dayton was disappointed to not find any books he was looking for. He did find a Hank the Cowdog book but it was a hardback version and we weren't about to pay $7.50 for a used, hardback Hank book. Interestingly, a teenage gal was looking for a book in the section we were perusing. I helped her get a book off the top of the shelves but it wasn't the book she was looking for. A few minutes later as I told Dayton that I guess we hadn't found a book that he could get, this gal shoved a crumpled $10 bill into his hand and said, "Here. You get that book." We stood there barely able to say "thank-you" and she was gone. It was an odd moment but for whatever reason this gal wanted to gift Dayton with a very nice "random act of kindness."

Yesterday, we packed it in and headed out to Wills Point, TX for a visit with our co-workers and former co-San Juan-ites, the Yingling family. What a treat to spend some time with our good friends.

That pretty much sums up the trip to this moment. Not terribly exciting stuff. That's OK too. We're glad to be on our way and to be knocking out some miles and finally out of Texas.

Tomorrow we have a shorter drive that sets us up for a quick Thursday visit to see Mammoth Cave National Park. We really don't have any other visits like this one planned on our schedule so we're looking forward to an educational element to our travel. I haven't been to Mammoth Cave for many years, perhaps since when I was a kid about Dayton's age. It will be great to take them to a place I remember from my own childhood.

Check back soon for Update 2. I suspect I'll get some photos to add soon. Wedding on Saturday!

The Trip

2011-09-20T23:29:00.000-05:00

As we do every other year, we are about to take a brief home assignment. It's a great time to share what the Lord has been doing in our lives and ministry here in Mexico and to catch up with what God is doing in the lives of friends and family back in the USA as well. This one will be about 2 months in length and will cover about 10,000 miles in about 10 weeks. It's a lot of driving. It's exhausting. It's worth it.

We will conclude the trip with Thanksgiving in Florida with my parents. It's the first time since 1995 that we've enjoyed Thanksgiving with any of my family. Christmas has been even longer. But, Thanksgiving was the holiday we always enjoyed the most as a "family holiday." To make it even better, all four of my siblings are planning to be there too. The last time that happened was also in 1995. Our boys will get their first taste of Thanksgiving with the McManus tribe. It will be a special time.

In case you're wondering where we'll be heading, here is the general outline. A few details have yet to be determined as we're waiting on a few replies, but overall this came together very quickly and many pieces to this trip fit together as only God could make happen. It's really amazing to watch Him work!

ITINERARY

9/23-24 – Drive to Dallas

9/26 – Wills Point, TX

9/30-10/2 – New Albany, IN

10/3-10-9 – Dayton, TN

10/9 – Westminster PCA, Dayton, TN

10/10-12 – Griffin & Stone Mountain, GA

10/13 – Pickens, SC

10/14 – Beckley, WV

10/15-19 – Bethel Baptist, Parkersburg, WV

10/21-23 – Traverse City, MI

10/23 – Rollins Christian Fellowship, Manton, MI

10/24-25 – Travel MI to IA

10/26-28 – Atlantic, IA

10/30 – TBD (IL*)

10/31-11/3 – Chesterton, IN

11/6 – Linn Chapel, Grafton, WV

11/7-10 – Glenmoore, PA

11/12-13 – Mifflin, OH

11/13am – Little Flock Fellowship, Mifflin, OH*

11/13pm – Cornerstone Community, Millersburg, OH*

11/14-11/18 – TBD (family rest)

11/19 – Xenia, OH

11/20 – Calvary Grace Brethren, Kettering, OH

11/23-28 – DeLand, FL

12/2-3 – Dallas, TX

12/4-5 – Drive to Home

* - tentative

(missing dates are travel days)

If you're in our path and would like to catch up with us (and we haven't already arranged to do so), send an email or something and let us know where you are and how to reach you. Our schedule is pretty tight in most places but something might work out. We always want to make the most of these trips and we hope we can see everyone we possibly can. If you follow this blog, you probably know everything we have to share, but in person, we can share a cup of coffee, some fellowship, some laughs, and a hug and prayer too.

As always we'd greatly appreciate your prayers for our travels. We do have some dangerous spots to drive through here in Mexico and while we take precautions with our planning and actions, we always find that section to be a little stressful. Nonetheless, the risks are in God's hands not ours and He is with us at all times no matter what may befall us.

I just was reading with the boys tonight "Paul's Boast" to the Corinthians as part of our annual reading plan. It is amazing to read of some of what Paul endured for Christ, the sake of the Gospel, and the benefit of many others. It was a fitting reminder that we would be expected to do no less for the same Christ, the same Gospel, and likewise for the benefit of others.

I don't mean to sound melodramatic. The trip is almost always uneventful. I mentioned to a friend tonight that it's probably the only time we travel when we pray for a boring trip. We really want have no desire to see any danger in our path. Praise God He is in control and He is in front, behind, and beside us!

Church Van!

2011-09-18T18:45:00.000-05:00

We're so thankful to have this "new" van. What a blessing to comfortably fit three families in it! Of course, this probably wouldn't be acceptable in the USA but here in Mexico, to have 10 people in a 7 passenger van is still considered about half full! Beth's mom recently told us that one of the young couples from her church had something like 16 people in their compact car. Yikes!

Today was our house church's first time to meet at the home of our co-workers, Tim & Michelle O'Brien. We have been meeting here in our house for over 2 years, but with our rapidly approaching home assignment (we leave THIS Friday!), the group needs to meet at their home. So Jason and Kristin and their son arrived here and piled in with us in the van. We then drove to the center of town and picked up Emmanuel and Mari Cruz and their toddler. We didn't have to go more than a couple miles so it was a short trip.

Tim decided to include the children in the music time so we began with an "old hymn" entitled "Pharaoh, Pharaoh." The kids and adults had fun with that one! Ha-ha...not to worry, we did sing a couple of serious songs too.

Mari Cruz shared with the group how the Lord had given her several opportunities in the past few weeks to talk with a neighbor in their cramped little housing community and how this past Tuesday after 3 hours of talking, Imelda prayed to receive Christ as her Savior. Imelda has some sort of class she is taking on Sundays but when her commitment finishes, she plans to join with us on Sundays. We sure pray and hope that this does happen. We'll have to figure out how to fit one more in the van!

I wrapped up our study of Ephesians 3 with my stammering Spanish. It's going to be even worse when we get back from being away for 2 months. I'll have to find some Spanish-speakers when we're in the USA to help me from forgetting my bad Spanish!

After church, the 5 ladies (Kristin, Mari Cruz, Jenny, Michelle & Beth) went out to a restaurant for lunch together and enjoyed a couple hours of fellowship. Jason, Emmanuel, Javier, Tim, and I came over to our house and cooked up some hamburgers and hot dogs and fed ourselves and our 10 hungry kids! (we were missing one of our families with 3 more kids too!)

When the O'Briens returned home late this afternoon, a neighbor lady, who at one time was attending a home Bible study with another missionary (Bev Kendal) who lived in the same house as the O'Briens, asked them if meetings were being held in their home on Sundays now. So, another invitation has been extended and we'll see if this woman joins in the coming on Sundays as well. She seemed very interested.

God is blessing. God is working. God is good.

Jesus Junkie - From Addict to Pusher

2011-09-14T22:32:00.000-05:00

Our Wednesday evening Bible study wasn't the same without Emmanuel to join with us and his wife Mari Cruz. He was over in Nogales (the small community where his parents and Jason and Kristin live) visiting with his mother who had eye surgery yesterday in Mexico City and had come home today. She suffers from diabetes and had lost the sight in one of her eyes some time ago but then suddenly went blind in the other eye (which wasn't working too well). They have hope that the costly laser procedure will restore some level of vision in the eye that just went blind.

Anyway, we didn't know it would be just Mari Cruz there for our study time. She started off by telling us that she had an interesting experience to tell us about. Turns out that Mari Cruz has befriended a neighbor, Imelda. Imelda is 21 and single. She left her home in a nearby town in order to be "independent." She works somewhere in town and comes back to her one room apartment which is filled by one small bed. That's it. She has no other furniture. I doubt very much more would fit in it.

Yesterday was Imelda's day off. She had nothing else to do so she came over and while Mari Cruz was ironing, they began a 3 hour conversation that centered around God. By the end, Mari Cruz had pulled out the little blue "el ABC de la Vida" ("the ABCs of life") tract which I shared and left with Emmanuel and Mari Cruz on our very first study with them back in late June. Mar Cruz led her through the tract and the prayer to receive Christ! How cool is that?!? Praise God!

After our study, Mari Cruz share some of her life's story with us. She's also only 21 years old but we were glued to her story as she told us just a few little pieces of her childhood. She was abused as a child. First, at a very young age her father tried to kill her while in a drunken rage. She was too young to even remember this on her own. Some years later her grandfather tried to abuse her sexually. As a teenager she tried to commit suicide.

In their effort to try to help her, Mari Cruz's parents sent her to live with two doctors who were psychologists. In God's sovereign and perfect way, these doctors were believers. They took her in and not long after, Mari Cruz prayed to receive Jesus Christ as her Savior!

She eventually returned home. However, she wanted to join in the small Sunday morning church service with the doctors. This was a problem. Mari Cruz's parents are very Catholic. She told us her mother is so Catholic that it "runs in her blood." They would never consent to her being a believer in anything but Catholicism. Furthermore, they would not allow her to fail to go to the Sunday morning mass. So, she had to tell them that she was going to do "homework" with friends. Of course, what she meant was, studying the Bible...which was "homework" of sorts! So, she would go to mass at 9 a.m., run to "homework with friends" at 10 a.m. and be there for both the two hours of services.

Her family knew, of course, but they apparently decided not to press the issue and she continued until she met and married Emmanuel. Her life took a dramatic turn at that point, three years ago. She didn't have any spiritual input, Emmanuel didn't have any spiritual interest and she strayed in her walk with the Lord. It wasn't until this summer that God changed her life and his too.

There's more to the story but I really can't share all of it. However, I hope you'll pray for Emmanuel and Mari Cruz. Pray for Jason and Emmanuel's parents...their salvation. Pray for their mother's sight to be restored as a result of this surgery. Pray for Imelda and that her profession of faith is real. She has a Sunday obligation for some time to come, but eventually we hope that she'll come with Emmanuel and Mari Cruz to our small house church. We're anxious to meet this new creation in Christ! (we probably won't get to meet her until after our home assignment...maybe in December we'll meet Imelda)

¡VIVA MEXICO!

2011-09-12T18:34:00.000-05:00

Cultural Correctness (or Incorrectness)

2011-09-12T18:31:00.000-05:00

As suggested by the commonly offered product in Mexican grocery stores pictured below, "cultural correctness" varies greatly between cultures. What one culture may find offensive, another culture finds the same thing as humorous or simply "normal." There are probably many examples of American culture that is greatly offensive to the Mexican culture and vice versa. Understanding that this is the case and that generally speaking, these differences are not meant to intentionally offend is an important part of accepting the diversity of cultures around the world, and especially our neighboring cultures.

I've never actually tasted a "Negrito." I'm told it's a hot dog bun covered in chocolate. It may also have a chocolate filling. They don't look appetizing to me nor does it sound appetizing. I think you can see where this product, in both name and packaging, would be ill-advised for the American market and its cultural sensitivities.

I don't know what you think of these, but maybe we'll just have to taste them to find out! (I hope not!)

The Real Chamoy

2011-09-12T18:07:00.001-05:00

from Wikipedia:

Chamoy refers to a variety of savory sauces and condiments in Mexican cuisine made from pickled fruit. Chamoy may range from a liquid to a paste consistency, and typically its flavor is salty, sweet, sour and spiced with powdered chiles all at the same time.

Our Costco in Querétaro, instead of caramel or candied apples, sells apples covered in chamoy. I've never had the opportunity to try one, but I'm sure to someone who likes chamoy, they're quite good. That probably wouldn't include me. :-)

(I would be happy to try one though!)

Meeting a Mexican Missionary

2011-09-04T22:27:00.000-05:00

Today, our Sunday house church didn't meet. Rather we drove across town to join with the Abundant Life Bible Church which was hosting a visit from Al (not his real name) [surname withheld for security reasons] who is a Mexican missionary to [a sensitive region]. Al and his family have been in [a sensitive region] now for a few years. It was great to visit the church (we haven't been there for a service in over 2 years) and to hear Al speak and share an update on their initial experiences in [a sensitive region]. No doubt it has been a real challenge for them. Praise God for keeping them safe and on the field there through their first term and for preparing them for a return to [a sensitive region].

I wanted our Sunday participants to have a first-hand introduction to missions from the perspective another Mexican. Missions is not just Americans ministering in Mexico, but rather believers all over the world ministering...all over the world! I also am hoping that as our group develops and matures that we'll exercise the discipline of giving offerings and that perhaps our group will decide to become supporters of this family as they minister where God has sent them. We'll see.

Following the service, Beth and I spent the afternoon ministering to a couple who are going through a very difficult situation. Their teenage son has decided to leave home in the manner of a prodigal and they are dealing with a range of emotions. We listened to them over lunch. The dad is truly heartbroken. He nearly wept while giving thanks for the meal. The mom is hurt and perhaps angry. There is more to the story than I can share and more than I know. We prayed with them. We've known this family since we first arrived here in San Juan in 2005 and know them as well as any of our Mexican brethren. It's a very tough thing.

Perhaps you could pray with us for a prodigal son (Christian), a broken father (Juan), and a wounded mother (Carmen). They really could use your prayers.

Pray also for Al and family that God will continue to use them in [a sensitive region] and that they will be encouraged from their final days home in Mexico and ready to return to the blessings and challenges of ministering in [a sensitive region].

Totonacs and MK Homeschoolers

2011-08-29T20:47:00.000-05:00

Last week we hosted a missionary family heading to the state of Puebla to begin working in an outreach to the Totonac indigenous tribe in the Sierra (mountains). The Aguirre family are working under the mission agency Pioneers and will be about 7.5 hours drive from us.

There are roughly 200,000 Totonacs and very few have ever heard the Gospel and even fewer have become believers. However, there is a village with a Mexican couple from one of our CAM-related Bible churches in Puebla (Iglesia Biblica El Camino) that have been laboring for some years there and now there is a small group of believers who have matured into disciple-makers themselves. This is a great start. The Mexican couple is older and they don't think they have many years of ministry left so the timing is good for the arrival of the Aguirre family to begin ministry among this people group.

So, we enjoyed meeting the Aguirres and learning more about their ministry and family. The Aguirres have four children from age 10 down to age 4. They homeschool and this is a relatively new experience for them. Of course, that's where our educational ministry comes into the picture. Beth had a long talk with Becky (the mom) about homeschooling and they perused the library and checked out a few bags of books!

Funny thing. I noticed that Miguel (the dad) had a shoe size that looked the same as mine. I was right. I discovered he only had one pair of good shoes and an old pair of tennis shoes that have been patched up a time or two over the past 4 years, so I was glad to tell him that I have a closet of 11 4Es that are in good shape but that I can't wear anymore. I have a few leg and ankle problems that require me to switch out my shoes after about 6 months of solid use. The midsoles wear thin and I can barely walk at that point, so I have to keep new pairs ready to wear. I discovered 5 used pairs that I can't wear anymore, and to him, they felt great! They were good New Balance shoes so it was great that he not only wanted them, he was wearing a pair when they left! Mexicans don't often have such large feet. I've never found anyone who could wear them (without stuffing rags in them which some would do).

So...with shoes on their feet and books in their hands...we sent them off! :-) We really enjoyed getting to know them and blessing them on their way.

Knowing that we're helping a family heading out to reach an unreached or lesser reached people group like the Totonacs is a thrill for us. We're helping them in the education of their kids, which in turn is helping them stay on the field to reach the Totonacs! And that's help worth giving! That's part of why we're here and part of how we serve Jesus in Mexico.

Thanks for having a part in our ministry through your prayers and support. Remember the Aguirres today in prayer as they spend a couple months in the city of Puebla getting to know the church there and making final preparations for ministering in a remote location in the mountains.

To get to know this family more, read Becky's blog, This and That.

Becky's blog post here in February tells more of how they've come to ministry among the Totonac in the state of Puebla with Pioneers.

Co-Op 2011

2011-08-29T20:08:00.000-05:00

Co-Op is off and running. Beth is teaching science with our younger kids (Astronomy), Michelle O. is teaching a reading/lit class (starting off with the book Homer Price), and Heather H. is teaching art! We're glad to see the participation of those two families plus Jenny (from our Sunday house church) is bringing her three kids. The two older boys, Cameron and Ivan, are joining in with the art class.

Some pics from the last session:

I Hope This Isn't Your Local Church Experience

2011-08-22T19:32:00.000-05:00

Some Harvest Thoughts

2011-08-16T00:16:00.002-05:00

I found this photo above while weeding through our large collection of digital photos we've taken these past few years. (pun intended of course) Bethie took this one while at a women's retreat at a rustic Bible church camp over in Michoacán a couple years ago. Maybe to you it's just a photo of some corn at sunset. However, as I ponder the image, I see much more than that. I see a lot of what God is doing here in us and in the ministry He's brought us to and brought to us.

For example, this evening we enjoyed a brief (about an hour) time with Emanuel and Mari Cruz in their home for our weekly Bible study.

The words I just wrote really don't describe for you the scene and situation. Allow me to sketch out some images of this setting:

This young couple has gone through the most difficult time in their lives these past two months, but since the darkest of dark moments, they've seen God reach into their hearts and change everything.

Mari Cruz has come back to a faith she once held to in her youth in a place not too far from where the photo above was taken. Emanuel came to faith and is discovering, much like his older brother, Jason has discovered, that what he once thought about God was not the truth of who God really is.

Each week we've enjoyed wading through an introductory study of Romans with this couple. We drive downtown to a cross street that has high curbs (curbs high enough at some points that to jump off them one could literally break a leg!), narrow sidewalks, and masonry covered homes and buildings that are contiguous. There are no spaces between each building. The front doors are right there, right up to the sidewalk.

Having a modest salary, they live inside a small compound of rooms. The large metal, black gate at the entrance to this compound has a door set inside it, and this door has been open every time I've ever passed by it. Inside, there is a long narrow patio with "apartments" wrapping all the way to the back and and lining both sides. Simple metal doors that lead to one or two small rooms. Emanuel and Mari Cruz live in one of these small 2-room apartments. There are no carpets. Not even tile. Just cement floors. There are no bathrooms inside these apartments. There is one bathroom near the middle of the compound with a shower and toilet. This is the bathroom that all the tenants share. There are over 25 apartments.

The first few weeks when we came to study, they pulled out the two plastic chairs that they use as dining room chairs and Beth and I sat on those while they sat on their bed. Last week I noticed that they put up a rope with a sheer curtain to divide the larger room (about 15 feet by 10 feet) into half with their bed on one side and a couch on the other side. I was surprised that they had gone out and purchased a couch. We found out later that they were embarrassed that they didn't have seats for all of us when we come to study the Bible with them, so they bought the couch so that we'd have something nice to sit on. They use the plastic chairs, and Beth and I sit on the couch. There's not enough room to sit across from each other, so we form sort of a "T" shape in the small space.

It's warm and humid most weeks during this time of year. They turn on a fan and always ask if that's OK. YES! It's OK! I hold my loose pages together and enjoy the air movement while the sweat under my shirt runs a lot slower than before the advent of the fan. The spasmodic flies, which liven up the room, at times, retreat from the blowing air.

Their toddler, Luis David, plays out in the patio with the neighboring kids. He runs around and through the apartment's open metal door which is guarded by another sheer curtain, I usually can see that he's out there and still playing. He comes to the doorway from time-to-time and grunts and points (he's not quite talking yet). A neighbor comes home from work and passes through the patio. Another neighbor passes the other direction, a towel wrapped around her head. The community shower is open and available again.

Please don't get me wrong. I am not writing this for anyone to feel pity for anyone. Nor am I writing this to glorify anything we're doing. I'm honestly just trying to give you a picture of grace. What God has done in their lives is so sweet. I can honestly say, I've never known anyone else who ever bought a couch so that I could study the Bible with them. When we come to study, they're dressed in their best and are sitting in the little patio area with their Bibles in hand (with their neighbors walking in and out, heading in and out of the bathroom, kids running and riding around the little area) and just waiting for us to arrive. I don't really know if our visit with them is the highlight of their week, but I sure get that feeling every time we come. Of course, it's not us. It's Him. It's God and He has made all things new and all things worthwhile. His Word truly is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.

There is a harvest around us and around you too. The sun is setting. The Son is coming. Oh that we'll be ready when He returns. Oh that we'll be found faithfully tending His harvest when He returns. Will we be? Are we ready now?

The next three days we'll be joining our teammates for some time to get away from our routine, enjoy our families, read, rest, pray, and think. I have no agenda and don't know what, if any, agenda there may be planned for us. I know I'll be thinking about what God has been doing here and what He is doing. I'll be praying about what is yet to be done and what part in it God would have us take. He's all that we have; and we are His. I am looking forward to whatever it is He says in these brief days ahead. I'll be praying for His harvest...and for His harvesters. I'll be praying some for you. I hope you'll pray for us too.

Thanks.

Galatians 6:9-10 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

Amen.

No Pink Allowed Party

2011-08-14T23:10:00.000-05:00

I should follow-up the last blog post about Dayton's 10th birthday with some photos from his party on Friday/Saturday. The 5 boys who joined us were well-behaved and had a great time. We finally were able to channel Cameron's bossy tendencies toward his brother and let him be the "rules police" for the games and general behavior throughout. That was definitely a win-win for Dad and Mom. :-)

We had to move both boys' dressers out into the hallway to fit all 6 boys in the bedroom for the night...and leave the door open in order to make it work and to keep the room from becoming permanently fragrant-impaired. Cameron slept on the living room couch and swatted mosquitos all night long.

The kids played "Minute to Win-It!" games, smacked the piñata open (with and without blindfolds), played Wii games, ate cake and ice cream, pancakes for breakfast, and hopefully enjoyed themselves enough to want to go home after it was all over. We told them they could stay up as late as they wanted as long as they didn't make so much noise that it kept awake anyone who wanted to sleep, including the nearby adults. I didn't hear anything. Word has it that a couple of boys stayed up to at least midnight. Given how most of them couldn't walk or talk straight in the morning, I figure they went home and slept pretty well on Saturday night.

Big D Turns the Big 10...1-0...TEN...X...iiiiiiiiii

2011-08-12T01:34:00.002-05:00

Dayton, a.k.a Big D, Doo-Boy, D-Boy, Baby-D, and probably a few more names that are more descriptive of his true nature (e.g. Monkey) celebrated a decade of life on Thursday.

His party has had to wait until Friday evening when we could scrounge up some buddies to enjoy a sleepover with him. Dayton has 5 other MK boys planning on enjoying an evening and night of ten-year old rowdiness and silliness and near-ADD experiences.

The older brother will spend said evening and night trying to maintain some distance from the cloud of dust, while two parents will be alternating between contentment through observing the glee of a boy full of life and joy of friends to remembering that we're not the party animals that we never were and will be resisting the urge to count down the hours until they all go home again...but not being entirely successful in our futile attempts to do so.

Ah well...sometimes you just gotta let your hair down (until you remember there isn't enough hair left to "let down"), let the kids be kids, and figure out how to recover at a later time. :-)

We love our stinker-pot and hope his next 10 years will be even better than the first 10...and those were pretty good ones.

His birthday presents have consisted of small plastic toys that he constructs into things, then destroys, then scatters the parts around the house, and then constructs them again with all the parts that he's able to recover. He was pretty happy about receiving them. He also received a small oil painting set to which he commented, "Maybe I won't be able to do that." Nothing like a positive spirit.

His cake is a "Ben 10" theme. If you don't know what "Ben 10" is, you're luckier than I am. :-) It's a cartoon and character who has a two-toned button on his shirt and when he touches it and maybe says something, the boy, Ben, turns into one of 10 different creatures so that he can fight the "bad guys."

I'm not sure why he chose the "Ben 10" theme. I haven't noticed him watching this show much over the past year, if at all. However, the abundance of piñatas in the market gave us the choices of Barbie, Sponge-Bob, Cinderella, Barney (and who wouldn't like to beat the snot...ummm...I mean candy...out of Barney?!), and similar offerings, mostly feminine; thus, Ben-10 was the best option available and the cake should match the piñata, right?

Nonetheless, I can see why the Ben-10 theme is attractive to Dayton, although I've never known him to require such a button to turn into one of a variety of creatures. He's pretty good himself at transforming into different characters with little apparent effort. We even like some of them. Speaking of which...if I don't post these photos now and get to bed (since it's now well after midnight), I just might turn into a creature of sorts myself...probably will do so by morning wake-up time. Buenos nachos and good night!

Enjoy the pics...

D-Boy today and his cake for the party on Friday are above...

...and a quick walk through the past 10 years (in case two pics just aren't enough!)

...now wasn't that fun?!?

Happy Birthday Big D!

The Journey Resumes

2011-08-09T09:44:00.000-05:00

Sunday afternoon we drove up to Amealco and enjoyed a few hours of fellowship and celebrated the 5th birthday of one our 21 OHMSers. It rained a bit and we were treated to a beautiful sky and sunset as we returned home.

Earlier on Sunday the Bible study in our home resumed. What began about 2 years ago in English with Jason, Kristin and their little boy Justin, this summer has seen it turn into a study and worship time in Spanish with those three, plus Jason's brother and sister-in-law, Emanuel, Mari Cruz, their little boy Luis David, a teenager named Jharley and his parents, Ariel and Antonia, and Jharley's brothers, Jesús and Antonio. They brought their grandmother who was visiting from the nearby state of Hidalgo. She introduced herself and said that Jharley has been telling her about his friends and "bugging her to come meet us," and since she had a doctor's appointment on Monday in Querétaro, she came. Quite a character. Early next week we'll see Jenny, Ivan, Chloe and Isaac return from their summer trip and we'll probably see them rejoin our group as well. Add to the group our co-workers Tim & Michelle and their four kids, and also add us and our two boys and our small group numbers 25. What? 25! Wow. The small seeds planted by God are growing!

Of course, to date only about half of the group have made professions of faith in Christ so there is much more work to do in watering, weeding, praying and watching God bless the harvest.

Yesterday (Monday), we began our homeschooling for the year. We have some interruptions in our schedule ahead as we have every year so we needed to get started and begin pushing into learning as soon as possible. Cameron is now in 8th grade and Dayton is in 5th grade. I teach them their English grammar (Cameron just about teaches himself through the book now) and Beth teaches the rest of the curriculum. The boys and I are continuing to read through the Bible in a year together and we just caught up last night after being behind due to the rough schedule in Dallas.

I'll be resuming my Bible study with Jason this evening and we'll study as a couple with Emanuel and Mari Cruz tomorrow evening. Beth has a study time with Kristin tomorrow morning. On Thursday we'll be starting up the science co-op and one of the parents is adding art to the mix for this year. Depending on when we receive the sermon transcript from the church in Iowa (on Friday or Saturday), translation work takes up about 5 hours on either or both of those days. There is interest by a few of our unsaved contacts from the community center in receiving out-of-classroom English tutoring and I am contemplating what evening might be left to accomodate that as well. Evenings are looking a bit crowded at the moment. I don't want to turn down a potential "divine appointment" so I'm praying for the best fit into the schedule.

Next week our ministry team (21 OHMS) will be spending 3 days and 2 nights at a hotel/water park (think Mexican-style resort...not as fancy as what it sounds...no A/C, etc.) for a team retreat. It's always a struggle to match four very different schedules and all of us make it happen, but it looks like we're going to make it happen. May God use it to build our relationships and refresh our bodies, minds, and spirits.

Home Again...Driving in Mexico Again

2011-08-02T23:07:00.000-05:00

...and I just washed and waxed the van :-(

Trip Update and URGENT PRAYER REQUEST

2011-07-25T15:16:00.000-05:00

(this is a copy of our email update which some reading this might not receive)

This trip has truly been excellent in every way. We praise God for how He has worked in these past 17 days.

He gave us an amazingly smooth trip up through northern Mexico. All three vehicles in our caravan drove flawlessly and no one got sick or injured. There were no safety issues encountered throughout that day, and none since then either.
God provided $6,600 toward the purchase of a replacement vehicle in one week with only an email message sent out to mention our need!
God provided the ideal vehicle at auction that fit all of our list of requirements/needs and it was the only vehicle in the huge Dallas auction that made our list of potential vehicles for our dealer contact to bid on.
God providentially and unbeknownst to any of us ahead of time had Beth's brother and his family from El Paso (an 11 hour drive from here) staying in the same building at the same time Cameron and I were staying there here in Dallas!
God has provided friends who have housed and fed us for many nights and meals.
The "new" 2006 Toyota Sienna has performed very well and proven to be in excellent physical/mechanical condition. (never know with a used vehicle, especially one bought at auction)
God has blessed us with some wonderful contributions...like new curriculum (just what we needed!) and a classical guitar (to give to Jason so he can join in learning our worship songs...he's a very good guitarist but couldn't afford a guitar)
Cameron has enjoyed a number of days playing with other MKs that we know well and who live in this area now.
Most of our shopping list of needs has been filled and all of our homeschool curriculum for the next 2 years is now packed in the van and ready to roll.

PRAISE GOD! He is so good no matter what...whether things go well or not well. So many things have gone perfectly!

This leads me to one important prayer request. Despite the best efforts by our dealer who did all that he could to ascertain the title situation of the van before bidding, there has been some sort of hitch. It doesn't seem to be a critical problem, just a delay in getting the papers for reasons he could not discover. It appears the vehicle was brought here from Florida and we could speculate that it might have been repossessed, although we really don't know.

The problem this delay presents us is that we are scheduled to head to the border on Wednesday. Our teammates who have two vehicles and can travel within CAM's strict travel policy without me, apparently would need to do just that should we be unable to drive the van into Mexico. While I don't need a title in-hand, the previous/current title must be produced here in Dallas in order to finalize the purchase and to allow the vehicle to be registered in my name (along with an application for a new title in my name). That must happen before I can leave. So, if our co-workers leave us, we're stuck here even when our papers come through because we'll not have another vehicle to travel with us through northern Mexico where CAM's travel policy applies. At least, we don't have to travel with other CAM missionaries, we can travel in tandem with just about anyone else, but we do have to know them and have some info from them for tracking our whereabouts as we travel those few hours through the northern region.

We have no idea when the title will arrive. It could come today, tomorrow, or anywhere from 1 to 8 more weeks from now. Obviously, with Beth and Dayton at home in Mexico without us or a vehicle for the past 2 1/2 weeks, it would be difficult for them to have us delayed for a significant period of time. Not to mention we all miss each other and are hoping we can be reunited as planned later this week.

Would you please join us in praying that God will provide the title to our dealer today or tomorrow or just as soon as He wants it to arrive? We know that God is in control and has us here for just as long as He wants us. If it creates a human crisis, that's something He certainly can do. He knows what is best for us and we trust His heart and hand in all things. Nonetheless, we're charged to pray for our needs and desires as they fall into place with His will and since we don't know for sure what His will is in this matter, we will presume to pray for this matter to resolve any hour or day now. If God does have us here with our papers after it's too late to rejoin our caravan before they cross, pray that He will provide another suitable traveling partner that could help us satisfy CAM's travel requirements.

Ironically, the reason we felt the need to purchase the van was because it puts us into a position to meet the strictest travel policy requirements whereas our former vehicle didn't meet those requirements. So part of our purpose of making this purchase was to avoid finding ourselves in a bad situation due to the very policy that could once again leave us stranded in the USA as it did last October.

Your prayers have been so very much felt and appreciated these past few weeks, and we hope you'll take a moment and pray for this situation.

God is good all the time!

You Know You're A Missionary When...

2011-07-24T23:58:00.002-05:00

You know you're a missionary when your luggage ensemble includes Wal-Mart bags.

(You're a veteran missionary when you double-bag them.)

FAMILY!

2011-07-22T13:18:00.000-05:00

Getting to see family is usually a huge treat for missionaries. We're no exceptions (aside from Beth's mom who lives upstairs from us so we see her all the time!).

A neat thing God did for Cameron and me on this trip is that while we were making last minute plans to take this trip to Dallas for a list of reasons, Beth's brother, Ken, had already been planning a trip to Dallas that overlapped with our few days staying at the CAM Center. In fact, he was planning on staying in one of the five CAM Center guest apartments too! We had no idea until a few days before we came up!

Ken and Esme were planning to get away from El Paso for a few days and visit with some old friends who were also passing through Dallas for a short time. Of course, God's timing was impeccable and we enjoyed nearly three full days of delicious family fellowship and some great memories. Thanks to our Father for arranging a very sweet time together without any of us even planning it!

Darwin Award Loser (whew!)

2011-07-22T12:58:00.000-05:00

If you know what the "Darwin Awards" are, you might appreciate knowing that I don't qualify for them yet. I'm sure some of you who know me well are probably surprised by this. Yesterday, I came close to qualifying for consideration for the 2011 awards.

If you don't know what the Darwin Awards are, I'm tempted to not tell you. Basically, these are awards presented posthumously to idiots who have managed to die in dumb, self-inflicted ways. The idea is to connect Darwinian ideas of "natural selection" and "survival of the fittest" with our fellow humanity who come to the end of their lives on this earth through stupid ways that result in "removing them from the gene pool."

The short version of the story is I was in the process of replacing the battery on our recently purchased Sienna (see previous post for photos). Unfortunately, my tools were limited and my attention to what I was doing was even more limited, and I somehow grounded the small wrench in my left hand to the battery terminal while attempting to remove the brace that holds the battery in place. I didn't really even see it happen.

I heard a pop, saw a large spark, felt a lot of heat from the wrench (which I threw behind me) and also from my wedding band which I frantically attempted to remove. The 100+ temperatures of the afternoon which tend to make fingers a bit swollen did not help the situation. It was comical except for the fact that it really was a near-Darwin Award moment.

The end result was a slight burn all around my ring indentation, a layer of skin missing on the top of that location, a collection of fluid along the bottom of that location (I used a pair of sterilized scissors to cut the skin open to drain it off), and a couple of damaged points on my wedding band where the electricity found its way into my body. After removing the ring, I thought for a moment that there was some sort of strange writing on it, but I may have been mistaken. I don't see any writing now. :-)

Of course, with every negative lesson in life, there can be positive lessons learned (pun intended, of course):

I am quite sure I will be much more attentive when dealing with car batteries in the future.

I will likely remove my wedding band before handling metal tools near electrical sources.

I also can attest to the fact that when life gets charged up with shocking events, a solid marriage will keep your life grounded "'til death do you part"! (literally!)

No awards for me so far this year. I hope to keep it that way!

The marks are on exact opposite sides of the ring. I guess opposites don't really attract after all!

A Sunset Walk

2011-07-20T23:07:00.000-05:00

Cameron and I are enjoying most of this week with our good friends and co-CAMers the Yinglings. Cameron is hanging out with Monica and Keegan as well as Brent and Kathryn Buhler. Both the Yinglings and the Buhlers were families from our area in Mexico who are now living in the Dallas area.

The Yinglings actually live about an hour east of Dallas near world-famous Canton. I guess it's world famous because the wall in the Dairy Palace in Canton says its hamburgers are world-famous. I think that means the town must also be world-famous. I could be wrong.

Anyway, the kids were out with Aunt Ruth this evening and I made a late decision to take a sunset walk down their washboard road. It started out nicely enough with the sunset and the beginnings of a prayer walk, but I was interrupted for the remainder of the walk by two friendly labs that decided to appear out of nowhere to accompany me down the road and back. It was probably just under 100 degrees because it felt nearly tolerable out which is much better than most of the time around here.

I managed to take a few shots of the sunset and the dogs and the road so you could enjoy the moment too.

Answers to Prayer!

2011-07-13T18:58:00.000-05:00

Thanks very much for your prayers and for some very timely (less than a week from letting you know of our need!) gifts that helped us trade-in our 2003 Toyota Highlander with over 123,500 for a 2006 Toyota Sienna with only 47,100 miles. With the generous gifts received we only tapped into about $4,000 of our savings to make this work out. Thanks to Dick Bergman, a former Wycliffe missionary, who was the key person to make this happen in such a short time. It was purchased at a dealer auction here in Dallas and from the huge lot of vehicles and about a dozen Siennas up for sale, this was the only one we found suitable on which to bid. It's really amazing and to put it simply, that is our God!

The Sienna runs great. It looks like it was definitely a family vehicle...the carpets bear that out, but the important issues and parts are all in great shape. Neither Dick nor I could find anything wrong with this van. Also, the previous owner/dealer had put brand new Michelins on it which I assumed would be our first post-purchase expense. Oh, and while I wasn't decided if we should have the 7 or 8 seat version and had decided that would certainly be up to whichever God provided, I was hoping for silver...and that was a nice touch from our Lord too.

What a tremendous blessing this is to our family and will be an immediate help in our ministry.

Thanks for praying and for four generous gifts which made this happen. We can't express how appreciative we truly are.

Another Safe Trip

2011-07-09T22:51:00.000-05:00

Appreciate your prayers for our trip. The Hower family, Cameron and I all arrived safe and nearly sound in Laredo, TX yesterday afternoon. Today, Cameron and I arrived the rest of the way to Dallas and are staying this first week in Apartment 1 of the CAM Center guest housing. Cameron has had a little reunion with his buddy Brent Buhler who is staying in Apartment 4 with his family. They are sitting outside here after 10:30 p.m. playing chess and undoubtedly talking the paint off the building. I'm very happy for them both. "MK cousins" are some of the closest friends they'll ever have in life I'm sure.

Oh and back to the trip. It was uneventful and if not for traveling with friends who have a great set of radios for conversing, it would have been rather boring. That and except for one slow down due to an accident that was still being cleared after what must have been many hours. I did shoot some pics as we crept by the scene. They're the only pics I took over both days and it probably was the most interesting oddity we saw over the two days anyway.

Heading to Bed and Hitting the Road

2011-07-07T22:13:00.001-05:00

Need to get to bed since I'm supposed to wake up again in about 5 1/2 hours. Cameron and I hit the road tomorrow in a caravan to the border. We should be leaving the area around 4:30 a.m. We'd appreciate your prayers.

If you get our email updates, you'll already know that we're hoping to sell our Toyota Highlander and upgrade to a Toyota Sienna. There is a long list of reasons why we want to do this, and because of a few of those reasons, we really need to do this. Too much detail to go into tonight. However, we're praying and asking the Lord to raise up about $5,000 toward the purchase of a used Sienna (we'll use the funds from selling the Highlander and then kick in savings to make up the rest). At this point, we know of one check for $1,000 that is in the mail! That's great. We could use 4 more of those! Of course, we aren't twisting anyone's arm...not yours and certainly not God's!

So, pray with us if you are so inclined that God will find a way to provide these funds in the next week or so. If you'd like to know more about why we need to change our vehicle, do ask. I'll be happy to share the details with you. Also, if you'd simply like to contribute, I'd be MORE than happy to share whatever details you'd like to know!

Thanks so much for your prayers. If you're in the Dallas area and would like to meet with me (and Cameron?), let me know. I've got a growing list of appointments and things to do, but I'll do my best to clear everything just for you! :-)

Appreciate ya'll! (practicing my Texan)

Spanish Sunday

2011-07-03T14:19:00.001-05:00

Today our study for the adults was in Spanish [edit: I originally wrote "English"...oops!]. That was a first for us. Kristin struggled some but then so did I. Nonetheless, it went fine and not without a few laughs and giggles at a few mistakes. That's all good with me. Keeps things interesting at times!

I never think to take a photo of our group but with our newcomers today, it seemed like a good opportunity to finally take a quick snapshot as we were wrapping up our study and worship.

Thanks for praying. This is a new adventure for us, especially for me. Beth was with the kids (all 8 of them!). Michelle O'Brien was kind enough to stay with the kids today and help out. I don't think Beth would have survived otherwise.

From L to R: Jharley, Tim O., Mari Cruz, Emmanuel, Jason & Kristin

(Jharley is pronounced "Harley")

A New Study - Part 2

2011-07-02T23:04:00.000-05:00

This is a follow-up on our study with Emmanuel and Mari Cruz on Wednesday.

Beth and I studied with this couple Wednesday evening. We began an evangelistic study of Romans using a simple study her dad, Ken Hanna, created years ago and is available online at www.obererofiel.com for free download (as all their downloads are free).

The story gets even more interesting as it turns out they had already made professions of faith about 2 weeks ago under the evangelistic outreach of some other believers who live in the center of town somewhere. We don't know them and don't know who they are exactly. Nonetheless, because of our relationship with Jason, Emmanuel's older brother, and Kristin, they feel more comfortable studying with us since they don't know these other folks either.

So, the short version of this story is that this couple will be joining us on Sunday mornings now for our weekly Bible study with Jason, Kristin, and the O'Briens. Jenny and her kids are in the USA for the summer. Since this couple doesn't speak English we're making a change to Spanish.

Kristin's Spanish has improved a lot in the past couple years and is probably better than mine. Due to doing so much of our ministry in English my bad Spanish has gotten rusty. With beginning a Wednesday night study with them in Spanish and switching our Sunday mornings to Spanish, I hope I can shake off the rust and expose my bad Spanish once more! Well, maybe it will get better. I only said one inappropriate thing on Wednesday night as I was mentally translating something from English to Spanish and came up with a doozie in Spanish. I don't remember what it was...so watch out. I might make that mistake twice, whatever it was!

We praise God for their recent professions of faith. We certainly are anxious to see evidence of spiritual fruit and growth in their lives. Due to the tremendous and tragic situation that came about in their family that centered largely around them, we're also praying that their professions of faith are genuine and not any sort of human response engineered to create a change in their family's feelings about them. At the same time, they surely have experienced the "pit of despair" and God often uses such experiences to bring lost sinners to come to faith and dependence upon Him. We pray that this is what is happening with them.

We appreciate your prayers for them and for Jason and Kristin as they've struggled with the family situation too and how to respond. They are learning a valuable lesson on how Christ wants us to love those who have done unlovely things, especially those who are closest to us. It's a challenge for them. Pray for them too that they'll live and respond the Calvary way with love and forgiveness.

A New Study

2011-06-28T11:04:00.002-05:00

While our primary ministry continues to be providing educational support for other missionaries in Mexico, the summer months are often quiet on that end and our schedule during these months often involves travel, work teams, hosting ministry guests, spending time with our teammates, relaxing, and continuing our discipleship efforts. It's a hard mix for which to write up an annual work plan! Many ministry opportunities arise unforeseen and thus unplanned on our part.

The present time is not excluded. It's a long story and some of the details are sensitive for those involved, and so I can't share them. However, I can say that due to an extraordinarily tragic set of events, God is reaching deep into Jason's family. We've been praying for God's hand to move in this family for several years now. Tomorrow (Wednesday) evening Beth and I will begin an evangelistic Bible study with a couple from Jason's family. I wish I could share with you more details because it's obvious that only God could have orchestrated this. We did not offer to study with them. They asked us to. Some of the damage done in recent events may never be undone. However, there is healing and there is forgiveness and there is hope to be found in Christ.

Pray for Emmanuel and Mari Cruz. They need more prayer than any of us know. They also need to understand the Gospel and to respond to the invitation in faith. May the Holy Spirit draw them into a saving relationship with God through faith in Christ. Would you pray for them? Today? Right now?

Pray for us too that we'll speak the words of life through this study of the Gospel of John. We'll be studying and sharing strictly in Spanish and this will be a challenge for me since so much of our ministry has been in English the past couple years. I'm looking forward to it. Pray that I'll speak clearly and correctly in Spanish so that the messenger wouldn't mangle the message.

Thanks for praying. We hope we'll have another story of God's amazing grace to share with you some time in the future!

Happy 480th Birthday San Juan del Rio!

2011-06-24T18:59:00.000-05:00

from Wiki:

The city was founded on the Feast of Saint John the Baptist June 24, 1531 by Fernado de Tapia, an Otomí chieftain that converted to Catholicism and dropped his Native name Conín. San Juan was one of the first Spanish settlements outside the Valley of Mexico and thus marked the beginning of the colonisation of Northern and Western Mexico, including the city of Querétaro which was founded one month later. The settlement became important since it was an obliged stop en route to the rich mining regions of Guanajuato,Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí.

We celebrated by enjoying a delicious Molcajete La Vaca at our favorite restaurant in town. I don't think I've been for about a year so it was a nice occasion. Actually, we were taking our guests there for a nice lunch before they head back to the States. San Juan's birthday is a good added excuse.

The syncretistic Aztec dance group was doing their thing at the big Catholic church on the plaza earlier this afternoon. I happened to be walking by there on my way home for the copy shop with materials for tomorrow's English class at the community center. Took a few photos. It's strange. That's about all I have to say about it. (The Indian thing...not the lunch!)

If you're wondering, the Molcajete you see here consists of chicken, beef (arrachera), sausage (chorizo), nopal (cactus), onion (cebollita), cheese, and salsa. To eat it, simply take a fork or spoon and put some of these yummies into a tortilla and add more salsa to taste and enjoy. We did do just that. Each one feeds about 2 to 3 people and costs about $14. The drinks are gouge prices for here, about $2. Come visit and we'll enjoy it all over again with you!

Loom Weaving in Bernal (A Dying Art)

2011-06-23T20:12:00.000-05:00

A Really Nice Day

2011-06-23T20:03:00.000-05:00

Beth and I left the boys at home and taking our Texan guests to La Peña de Bernal, a famous monolith (otherwise known as a very large rock), that is located about an hour from here as the car drives.

It's a lovely little town with some nice shops, some nice views, and a little restaurant on the main plaza that is owned by believers. We didn't know that until we were seated and began conversing with our waiter named Cristian. He sounded like he had an Argentinian accent which made me wonder if he was somehow related to the nearby Christian training center and camp, Palabra de Vida (Word of Life), which has a branch in Argentina, and apparently many other countries as well. I don't know it well, but we've been impressed with the college age students we've met here who have attended the local branch.

So, we asked him realizing he may have no idea what we're talking about. Just so happens, he is affiliated with Palabra de Vida, and he is a missionary from Argentina to Mexico through Palabra de Vida. He was very busy as the only waiter in the restaurant so we didn't get to talk much. We made sure to slip him a few extra pesos on the way out to bless him and his family.

We were graciously allowed to go into the back of one of the shops that sells all sorts of textiles. They said that they're the only remaining shop in Bernal that still uses looms and makes their own products in this way. I took a couple of videos which I'll post separately. A man working on one of the looms told me he's been doing this kind of work for 35 years. Wow. When we first visited Bernal with Beth's family back in 1990, it was a sleepy little hamlet with rough cobblestone streets, many shops had large looms being operated by indigenous men and women, and locally made wool sweaters were in practically every shop. Today, you won't see too many tribal people and if you find a sweater, it will probably be made thousands of miles from Bernal. It's very touristy, attractive, but missing that pueblito charm that it once held. It will never look like that ever again.

I did finally get some photos of our guests. Something I might not have remembered to do if we hadn't gone out today. It was a really nice day. It even rained on our way home; hard enough rain that the boys would have declared we received a "missionary car wash." (i.e. free! ha-ha)

A Sharp Reminder

2011-06-20T11:23:00.001-05:00

A reminder from the latest Operation World:

The Rosary Belt, a region in central Mexico consisting of Zacatecas, Jalisco, Aguascalientes, Guanajuato, Colima, Michoacán and Querétaro. This region is often called the “10-40 window of the Americas” by Latino evangelicals. Spanish colonial and religious influence is very strong here. None of these states numbers over 2% evangelical, and Querétaro is only 0.25%.

If you didn't know this already, the occult is the 2nd leading religion in this state of Querétaro where we live. I was reminded of this last week as I walked downtown to pay the electric bill (see the photo below of a newly opened tarot card reader in town).

Sad to say, since we began our small ministry here in San Juan del Rio in 2005, among CAM or CAM-related missionaries, I can count at least 11 missionary units (families/singles) that have left this region (all 11 are in the USA now) and 3 have come that are still here. I could count a few more families with other evangelical mission agencies that have also left and not been replaced. The attrition rate is difficult to comprehend. At the same time, according to Operation World this is the least reached state in Mexico and one of the least reached areas of the Western Hemisphere.

Pray with us for the Lord of the Harvest to send laborers into His harvest field. He still has "other sheep" here who need to hear the Gospel. There is nothing lacking except "the feet of those who bring Good News."

Too Cute

2011-06-20T11:04:00.000-05:00

We enjoyed "cena" Friday evening at the home of Miguel and Minerva. Miguel is a leader in the Bible church that meets in the community center. We attended and worked in this church for about 4 years before beginning our Sunday study and outreach in our home. We don't have many opportunities to visit with very many of the believers from the church, so this was a special treat.

They have six adorable children and the youngest is certainly a cutie.

Summertime is Here

2011-06-19T00:15:00.000-05:00

Inviting isn't it?

Those strawberries could be really yummy or practically deadly. Anyone want to give them a try? We don't know anyone who has yet! (believe me...when you've had strawberries washed in tainted water, you will probably never take that risk twice!)

The town is busier than ever in the two adjacent plazas on weekends. These shots were taken last Sunday evening as we took a long walk with our guests in ministry the past 10 days.

I've so far somehow managed to not get a photo of Martin and Rubi Sweaney while they've been here, but maybe I'll do better next week. They left this morning for some ministry in Salamanca and will be back Tuesday for a few more days. We've enjoyed having them. Martin is a great guest...I'm too slow in the morning to get the coffee made, and he's done a great job of making it for us! I can't complain!

We've decided to call it a school year for now and are giving the boys and ourselves some welcome break from schoolwork. They've finished all but some extra writing I want to do with them. The writing will wait...hoping their literacy won't wait. Actually, we received the results for their Stanford Achievement Tests and they performed better than all their previous years so far! They're catching up in their language as becoming more bi-lingual has put a drag on their spelling and structural development. They scored no less than the average range on everything and are edging up into the above average ranges in many areas.

We hope to see them turn into Lake Wobegon kids before they finish high school!

Today was my third English class of six at the community center. I hadn't felt too great about the first two sessions, so I spent a few extra hours trying to figure out how to approach the book we're using and to come up with a better lesson.

When I drove across town to the community center, I felt very comfortable with my plan today. I walked in and discovered that I had three new students for a total of six. None of them are from the church and that is very much what we're trying to accomplish in making new, unsaved contacts.

To my chagrin, no one in the class had the textbook we're using for the class, and we have no more to sell them. That messed up most of my lesson plan for the day, but the one worksheet that I put together was plenty to work with for the hour. We had some good conversational practice and they were definitely involved and paying attention even though they varied in ages from about ten to forty-something. I'm looking forward to our final two lessons for this segment of classes. I hope we'll be able to resume classes in August after taking a break during the school summer break which is mostly just the month of July.

There is plenty more happening around here but hey, this is the summer. No sense in getting too wound up over details. Enjoy some watermelon, sit on a wooden bridge and drag your toes through a chilly creek, and remember the time when summer was all about doing anything but chores, school, and work.

Wasn't that nice?

Now snap out of it. There's a lot to do!
(I remember hearing something similar in my childhood summers too!)

A Helpful yet Unwelcome House Guest

2011-06-05T12:44:00.002-05:00

You might recall the video I posted here last August of a thread snake we caught in our bathroom and ended up flushing it down the w.c. Only problem then was we didn't have any idea what it was and had never heard of such a creature before. It doesn't help that we're not fond of worms or snakes...at all.

However, this one showed up in our hallway this morning and instead of disposing of it in a more permanent manner, Beth swept it into the dustpan (I took a quick pic before it slithered over the side), and she took it out to the weeded lot beside our house.

While the snake is harmless to people, other than the fright it might provide, thread snakes eat ants and termites and other kinds of unwanted invertebrates. They are effective in doing so. Given we had an ant invasion in the bathroom just a few steps from where this friend showed up, it's no wonder this one is longer than the last one we discovered. Perhaps its presence in the hallway rather than the bathroom may be an indication that the ants in that part of the house are now eradicated. We haven't seen any since our intense 2-day battle against them a couple weeks ago.

It's good to know that God has created predators to deal with many problem pests and pestilences. For example, Coke and chocolate cake combat rice cakes and aspartame.

Hopefully, if you've been considering coming down here for a visit, you aren't scared off by some ants and snakes. I would think we're weird enough of our own account to scare you off, but we'll try to be good. :-)

Teenager In the House...Camboy Is 13 Today!

2011-06-01T17:37:00.000-05:00

As Beth and I go the way of all the parenting-earth, we have reached the milestone that brings excitement, fear, and trembling into the hearts of parents everywhere:

the big 1-3
thirteen
XIII
trece
iiiiiiiiiiiii

Only a few photos can take us back in our minds to the Camboy we first knew and remember, but he's still a great kid and we love him like our very own son. Oh yeah...he is! (on loan from God)

A few photos from way back and one for today:

I Took A Walk

2011-05-28T18:22:00.000-05:00

On Thursday I had a dental appointment (my 4th of 5 planned) and also needed to drop the truck off at a reputable shop to fix the A/C system. While walking from the repair shop to the dentist was a little awkward in a few places and required much caution to cross a few lanes of traffic, it was well worth the effort. I always enjoy exploring on foot and gaining a perspective I wouldn't normally have from inside a car or taxi or bus. I ended up walking the 20 minutes to the dentist and back to the shop and then another few miles toward the center of Querétaro. Here are a few of the more interesting scenes I came across.

Scenes From Our "Mexican Autobahn"

2011-05-28T17:58:00.000-05:00

I posted these on my Facebook wall but thought they'd be interesting for the blog too. We drive one of the most dangerous stretches of highway in all of Mexico each week. I call it the "Mexican Autobahn" because over time one will see speeds from 0 to over 115 mph on the same lanes. It's outright scary sometimes! We pray for safety in our travels and it's not just a cliché.

Sometimes vehicles, like this box truck, will park on the shoulder of the "Mexican Authobahn." Thus, it can be dangerous to use the shoulder as an acceleration/deceleration lane. There are few such lanes throughout and traffic, pedestrians, animals, and cargo often are located on the shoulder. Be careful! Certainly be more careful than this driver was. Again, this is a stretch of highway we usually drive each week.

They said the instantly-deceased driver of this Nissan Tilda was doing over 180km/h (i.e. 112 mph+) when he lost control on the highway. I drove this same stretch of highway yesterday, but fortunately, I drove it before and then well after this wreck. The specs on the Nissan Tilda say its top speed is 186 km/h. This guy was red-lining on the highway that is always filled with traffic. Suicidal? He hit one of those trees they have in the center of the "Mexican Autobahn." The trees do tend to stop these cars from going too far through the median. Wow.

Learn From the Ant (WARNING: Do NOT imagine you have an itch while reading this post.)

2011-05-25T22:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I heard someone spraying the Raid bug spray inside the "pink bathroom." That's not unusual these days. During the ongoing drought here, we're finding large cockroaches arriving almost daily coming up our sink and shower drains. Just one of these things you have to deal with this time of year.

Fast forward.

Last night, I came home from an extended Bible study at midnight and after catching up on correspondence and some reading, I headed to the dimly lit pink bathroom and happened to notice that there was some unusual movement in the corner of the room. I flipped on the light switch and discovered ants all around the back of the toilet and crawling up the wall.

I grabbed the can of Raid and started blasting them when something else came into view. It made my skin crawl. There was a think layer of these small red ants complete with eggs in between the folds of the hand towels on the shelf above the toilet. So, I let them have a good dose of Raid too. By this point, I was ready to just get to bed and try not to think itchy thoughts.

This morning I told Beth about the situation from the late night, ant invasion and we checked it out. Dead ants. Lots of dead ants. We removed the towels and Beth began looking for something under the sink. There are two long shelves under the sink with almost sliding wooden doors. After a few moments she says, "There's a lot of dead ants under here too!" Hmmm...I hadn't sprayed under there. Then I remembered that Cameron must have been spraying them the day before.

So, I found Cameron and asked him if he had sprayed in the pink bathroom on Tuesday and if so, what was he spraying. Yes, it was he who had sprayed, but he says he didn't see any ants. He was after three cockroaches that had taken cover somewhere underneath the sink. I know he had sprayed quite a bit.

So, then I realized that in his efforts to spray the cockroaches, he had unwittingly and unknowingly upset the large nest of red ants that we had no clue were even under the sink. Beth began pulling things out and I decided to go ahead with my morning shower.

After a few moments with the water running in the shower, I noticed something moving on the shower knob. Ants! More ants! I couldn't believe it. So, I quickly removed the hanging wash cloth and grabbed the Raid. I began spraying and spraying again. Ants were falling in globs from inside the shower knob! Man...this is creepy!

I finally began using a container and filling it with hot water to douse the shower knobs. After a few minutes the globs of ants slowed to just a few. I went and grabbed a couple of slotted screwdrivers. I pried the plate from the wall to expose the hole behind. More ants. I sprayed some more and threw some water in for good measure. Don't tell the landlord.

Finally, no more ants.

Beth removed everything from under the sink and got the shop-vac directed toward the mess. Uh-oh. The wall still has ants in it. More Raid. We noted that the ants seemed to have eaten the masonry. Wow. At least, we were finally done with the ants!

Not so fast.

By this time I realized that the ants were thirsty. That's why they were coming into the bathroom. It has been dry here for a very long time. The drought has persisted for I don't know how many months. It's normal to have dry season, but when it stays dry for too long, the lakes and ponds dry up and the water begins to disappear from not just the surface, but from the water service. Two of our teammates have been either completely without water for the past 5 or 6 days or with just a few hours of water delivery during those days.

I hadn't really done a complete job of checking out the toilet area. So, I started looking around the top of the toilet tank and moving the books and stuff there and sure enough, more ants! I took the top of the tank and the ants were hiding against the wall, on the lid to the tank, under the lid and even inside the porcelain lid because there were two holes in it. Many ants had gone inside to take refuge. Even more ants were drowned in the water inside the tank!

Whew! After getting rid of all of those ants, it was a relief to have them all gone.

Until...

Dayton was ready for his evening shower and yelled that there were ants in the shower! I told him they were dead. He pointed out that dead ants don't walk. Good point. OK...they're not dead. Sure enough, there was what I hope a final outpost under the track of the shower door! I worked on killing those for about 20 minutes by pouring hot water over the track, and I THINK, I HOPE, I PRAY that we've finally seen the last of them.

Somehow, I suspect there are still some more ants in the walls. I hope it rains soon so the ants can have something to drink out there, and maybe they will be happy to stay in the great outdoors.

In the meantime, I will remember the Proverb that tells us to learn from the ant. I already know the lesson that these ants are teaching:

The water in the bathroom can kill you. Don't drink it.

Florida and Back

2011-05-23T00:05:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the silent blog lately. Our trip to FL the 12th to the 20th kept us occupied. The travel and the visits went very well. Dad is doing better. Mom mentioned several times how he is eating better and was more active and talkative during our short visits throughout the week than he'd been for several months. We also enjoyed visits with both of my sisters and three of my nieces. What a treat!

We tried to fit in as many yummy treats as possible too...ice cream and hamburgers seemed to be high on the list. I have to admit Five Guys makes a tasty burger. We spent several nights on the beach but mostly because it was the same price as staying anywhere else. We didn't get to walk on the beach but twice, but I know I thoroughly enjoyed the walks. While I'm not much for the water, I love the sound of the waves, the breeze, the smell of the ocean, and hunting for shells and anything unusual. Very relaxing.

When with my folks, we got so busy with things I forgot to even take any pics with them. I did take a shot of my oldest sister with Mom. That will have to do!

Seeing the Space Shuttle Endeavor launch right from our balcony (about 50 miles away from the launch) was a small highlight. We splurged and took the boys to Wet 'n Wild in Orlando on our last day which everyone enjoyed, especially the boys. Glad we could fit that in. We also found some much-needed shoes and clothes for these two sprouts. Always hard to anticipate what the next size up in shoes will be for Cameron. I think we did take a stab at size 11 after much debate.

We arrived back Friday night and jumped back into the thick of things. I taught a new ESL class on Saturday (which I had to prep for Saturday morning!), a 4 1/2 hour translation job with Jason, and then prep for our Sunday morning Bible study & fellowship! We had everyone stay for lunch and enjoyed sharing a meal of tinga on tostadas (or flour tortillas in my case). Delicious! I think all 17 of us were full of both food and friendship.

The 9 kids with Beth in Sunday school seemed to have enjoyed their class and craft given the adults never heard from them throughout our 2 hour session (that's never happened before!), and the 6 remaining adults considered the important points of Romans 14. (kid #10 took her normal port-a-crib nap)

Here are a few pics from our trip:

(*the only reason I got this shot of Cameron was I finally told him the camera was broken. OK, I confess...I lied. hee-hee!)

"For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him."

2 Chronicles 16:9

A Special Trip

2011-05-10T19:49:00.000-05:00

As you might know, my (Alan's) dad has not been in the best health the past few months. He suffered a near fatal heart attack on Christmas Day and another heart event in March. He is home, uses a wheel chair and hospital bed and I guess you could say he's just hanging in there. He's been relatively stable the past few weeks. It's required a lot of changes at home and Mom has to deal with a lot of new responsibilities and has to have extra help. They can't afford nursing care and so they pay friends and relatives a little to come and help with lifting and such as needed.

While I saw them last October, Bethie and the boys haven't seen them since our last time through Florida in late August 2009. After much thought and prayer, I decided we should all visit them as a family again. We plan to do this at Thanksgiving this year, but given how the past few months have gone, there is a feeling of urgency to see my folks sooner than late November.

So, we've planned out a short trip from May 12 to 20 and we'll fly from Mexico City to Orlando, rent a car, and stay mostly in area hotels since we really don't have many options for accommodations. We'll manage to get some beach time around our family visits. Dad can't handle a lot of guests for too many hours on any given day. We'll space out shorter visits throughout our week.

It will be a special time for us and we trust an opportunity to make a few lasting memories, especially for the boys. They haven't seen their FL grandparents very many times. We'll also see my two sisters and their families and so we'll have added family value to the trip. Given the boys are growing like weeds and Cameron is finding that men's size 10 shoes are starting to get tight (he's only 12!), we desperately need to get some clothing shopping done. Stay away from the Kohl's clearance racks if you're in central FL...you might get run over by some frantic shoppers who speak Spanglish in public places. Ha-ha...I suppose that could be just about anyone, anywhere these days, but we'll join them for sure!

We'll appreciate your prayers for our travels. The boys have never flown before. They're a little nervous about it. I'm not a huge fan of flying either but I'll try to tell them how fun it is...if I can come up with anything. :-)

Thanks!

FINALLY! REAL TACOS IN MEXICO!

2011-05-10T19:35:00.000-05:00

Found these at a supermarket in Querétaro (we just want to know who would possibly eat these here?)

¡LOL!

Happy Salad

2011-05-10T19:32:00.002-05:00

Dayton wants you to see his lunch he made yesterday.

La Boda (The Wedding)

2011-05-08T05:00:00.006-05:00

The seating was crowded and Cameron was near the front, so Bethie gave him the camera and told him to take as many pictures as he could. He did. Below are 22 photos from the wedding.

First, I should mention a few details. Like, whose wedding was it? Julio is the son of Ivonne. Ivonne is the best friend of Bethie's mother. Ivonne also is the owner/operator of the local literature ministry, La Jornada Espiritual.

Julio is tall. Very tall. He seems like a giant. He's a gentle giant. Julio took on a car wash business a couple months ago. He is working hard at it. He doesn't make much doing it, but hopefully he'll be able to provide for his new family through it. He loves to play basketball. You might notice his wedding shoes were a brand new pair of size 15 high tops. He has a terrible time finding size 15 anythings. I can't find size 11 shoes here so I know he has a tough time locating size 15! Of course, I imagine it was practical to buy shoes he can actually use after the wedding!

His bride is Talia. She's from Puebla and now she's from San Juan del Rio. I really don't know anything more about her.

Most Saturdays I work with Jason from around 5 p.m. to 9 to 10 p.m. doing translation work for a church in Iowa that needs their sermons translated for their Spanish-speakers on Sunday mornings. With a translation project lined up for today, I didn't get to attend the wedding. If you know me, this was not a great sorrow. Weddings and dressing up aren't my favorite things to do.

This wedding was slated for 1 p.m. so I knew there would be no way I could attend and still get the translation work done. I was correct. It started promptly at 3 p.m. when the bride and groom arrived with their families. It promptly began with some formalities and then a one-hour sermon. At 4:15 p.m. the recognizable parts of the ceremony began and somewhere around 5:30 p.m. is when I think it sort of moved toward the meal. The cake showed up around 7 p.m. as I recall Bethie telling me. Beth, the boys and Beth's mom probably left a little early and got home around 8 p.m. Seven and a half hours for a wedding sounds about right for Mexico.

If I come up with some more necessary details, anecdotes to share, or corrections to make, I'll post them later.

However, without further delay...

drum roll please...

I present to you...

....a Mexican wedding through the camera lens of a twelve-year old boy:

This is the part where the bride is escorted onto the scene by her dad.

This is the part where...oh...it's still the part with the dad and the bride entering the scene.

This is the part where the dad reluctantly brings his daughter to the groom with a few solemn words and sharp looks with piercing eyes that could divide asunder body and soul. The groom acknowledges that his life is on the line and nods to indicate that he understands the seriousness of marriage.

This is the part where the groom and the bride settle in for a long couple hours of wedding service. They look good, the flowers are still in good shape, and smiles are still beaming despite the chairs which aren't too uncomfortable yet, but they will become weary friends in a couple of hours (the chairs, that is).

This is the part where the 12 year-old boy is having trouble focusing...on the ceremony.

This is the part where someone is praying while the couple stands and hold hands and tries to remember what comes next.

This is the part of the ceremony where someone brings a rope called a lasso and throws it around the couple and then hog ties them and takes them for a ride in the back of a dusty pick-up truck. Ha-ha...no, actually, this is the part where a double-lasso is placed around the couple in a symbolic gesture of both unity and of a sort of visible reminder to the groom that he ain't getting out of this marriage...ever.

(and that's the way it's supposed to be)

This is the part where the groom realizes what the lasso really means.

This is the part where the bride and groom take a break from the chairs and pray a lovely prayer for each other while practicing the appropriate posture for dealing with future marital "discussions." The groom is really the only one who needs to learn this posture, but the bride is a good sport and goes along with this for now. An already-married friend of Julio's shows him how this is done without pillows.

This is the part where the groom claims he's looking for the bride's lost contact lens. (oh wait...that was last week) This is now the part where the groom and the bride demonstrate a party game involving a toothpick (mysteriously lost) and a life-saver.

This is the part where someone points out that they don't think there ever was a toothpick or a life-saver.

This is the part where after 3 hours of sitting on metal chairs, the bride claims she is unable to walk and describes the sensation in her feet as "feeling like pins and needles." The groom thinks she's kidding, but he's willing to carry her as long as it leads to the meal, the cake, and another round of "toothpick and life-saver relay."

This is the part where delicious carnitas, rice, and beans show up to provide sustenance for the rest of the ceremony until the cake should arrive.

This is the part where everyone poses with the bride and groom for a photo so as to remember their lives at this great event in which they spent a measurable portion of it together.

This is the part where my 9 year-old boy exults in the joys of boyhood and of a concluding wedding. (it's genetic, I guess)

This is the part where Cameron takes a photo of a couple of chicks at the wedding.

This is the part where Cameron takes a photo of a lovely young couple...we once gave them their wedding rings (seriously!). There are a few different elements to a Mexican wedding. The "padrinos de los anillos" purchase and give the couple their rings and present them during the ceremony. We were honored to have that part in this couple's wedding a couple years ago. Glad to see they're still smiling!

This is the part where the groom presents his bride to his mother. We're not allowed to show you any frames taken after this shot while the police investigation continues. Ha-ha...no, I'm sure they all get along well and Julio and Talia will be a great blessing to Ivonne.

This is the part where a bunch of little kids think they're going to get the first piece of cake.

This is the part where a bunch of little kids (and adults) re-think that idea and wonder if the cake will still be worth tasting. There is now a sort of rush to be the person who gets his or her piece of cake near the end of the cake distribution process...from the other side of the cake.

This is the part where the bride and groom claim they found a life-saver in the cake and are going for another relay round...again without toothpicks.

This is the part where the bride is unsure of whether she has just found a piece of a coconut life-saver or Julio's missing dental implant.

Well, there you have it. Just the way it happened...more or less. Since I wasn't there I took the liberty of guessing at what was happening. I suppose you've been to enough weddings to figure it out, but just in case you have any doubts, I'm sure my comments are pretty close to accurate. At any rate, I imagine by this point the groom is thinking this marriage thing is a slam-dunk...and he's got the shoes to prove it.

Congratulations to Julio and Talia...may God bless your marriage with laughter and much joy!

For Ken & Kris (a visual memory)

2011-04-26T12:05:00.000-05:00

Last week when we were in Querétaro finishing up our annual visa renewals, we explored a mountaintop that used to be barren. It now is a fancy community complete with a Superama! (a trendy supermarket with some American imported products)

On our way back down the mountain I spied the following scene below us. Beth's brother and sister should recognize this area very well. For the rest of you who have no idea what this is about, the little community in the valley is called Hercules. Beth's family lived there for several years before leaving Mexico for Chicago. I recall visiting them in their Hercules home in 1990.

Between the train whistles throughout the night, the 30 second factory whistle (at 3:30 a.m. 3:58 a.m., and 4 a.m.), the church/monastery bell at 5:30 a.m. next door, dogs barking and the roosters crowing on all sides (all night), I don't remember sleeping very well! They said you get used to it...I guess after you're dead from sleep deprivation!

Just thought you'd like to see it again, Ken and Kris!

Christ, Our Passover Lamb

2011-04-25T13:09:00.000-05:00

Joined by our teammates Tim & Michelle O'Brien and their four children, Jason, Kristin, and Justin, Jenny, Ivan, Chloe, and Isaac, and Beth Hanna we celebrated Resurrection Sunday with a semblance of a Messianic Passover Seder meal. We've never participated in one before and have never observed one either.

We followed a script, and we used whatever ingredients we could locate that would closely approximate the items from both an OT description as well as a traditional Jewish perspective. I doubt we came too close to either one, but the symbolism was interesting. The Scriptures read and alluded to were what really made the experience special. Seeing Christ as our Passover Lamb and the One to whom the ancient Passover meal looked forward to and also the One who we remember and on whom we reflect as the fulfillment of Passover, not just for the Jewish nation but for all of us who call upon His name.

Beth did find a large leg of lamb in the market which was neat. We followed the little symbolic ceremony with a larger meal. Some really liked like the lamb but others deferred to chicken. The foods were not what were important, but the worship from the heart and the honoring of our lovely Savior.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

Shhh! Don't tell anyone what we did with the lamb bone!

Visual Ironies of Semana Santa

2011-04-18T22:28:00.000-05:00

Before I get to the point of the title of this post, I should mention the great news that our annual visa renewal process concluded today. We now have our new visas (good for another year) which are required for our presence and ministry here. It's always a challenge to find that April is one of our busiest months of the year with SAT testing and MK camp and we're supposed to have our visa documents on our person at all times, especially when driving, and then find that we have lots of local driving to do without any papers in-hand. So, we're always relieved to get through these 3 or 4 weeks (sometimes more) without having them. Another plus is that the immigration system here now allow us to finish the process in Querétaro instead of Mexico City. This saved us a lot of time (it takes 2 days for immigration appointments in Mexico City). This only took us a few hours today. It probably saved us at least $200 in bus fares, a hotel stay, and our meals. Praise God for getting us through this once more!

It was that trip we took to Querétaro this morning that presented us with the images of irony in this land of paradoxes. As we pulled onto the 6 lane highway toward Querétaro this morning, we noticed that with the coming of this "Holy Week" ("Semana Santa" in Spanish) the traffic was thick with workers trying to finish up their duties so they could join the steady stream of vacationers flowing out of the Mexico City population basin. While I was busy trying to avoid running into the back of trucks that were traveling at 50 mph, I was keeping a watchful eye on the rear-view mirror for the cars flying out of Mexico City at 90 to 100 mph. That's pretty much the norm for this route, but the heavier traffic made it a little more challenging.

As if that wasn't enough to keep my attention, we noticed that the shoulder of the roadway was filling up with bicyclists, some of them lugging a small shrine (a box with a doll of the Virgin Mary inside). There are pilgrimages throughout the year, and of course, during the Semana Santa these are common. At one point, a contingency of cyclists took up the shoulder and the 3rd lane. This added to the traffic perils since it was tough to see this from a distance with the trucks obstructing the view ahead and then finding the traffic quickly merging left to avoid the cyclists.

These Holy Week images on the highway contrasted with the observation on our way home in the afternoon that the prostitutes that work right on the side of the highway were more numerous today than at other times. We weren't intentionally counting or even noticing them but I would guess there were three times the normal number of them. We wondered, why were there so many more today? My guess would be that with the increased traffic of Semana Santa this presents a "business opportunity" for these women.

Obviously, you understand the paradoxes presented by these worldly images of "Holy Week." To us they are reminders of the continuing spiritual needs of this great nation. Mexico is very much a place populated by hedonistic materialists, religiously lost zealots, and spiritually entrapped and enslaved people.

May God continue working through missionaries and national believers, including us, in reaching out to the millions here who need the real Jesus, the "friend of sinners" and the Savior of all who call upon His name.

MK CAMP 2011

2011-04-16T18:42:00.000-05:00

14 MKs (plus a few younger siblings)
1 Broken Nose (from one of the younger siblings!)
15 Missionary Adults
29 Hearts Challenged, Comforted, & Encouraged!

Thanks for praying!

I think this pretty much sums it up...

MK CAMP BEGINS TODAY!

2011-04-13T10:30:00.000-05:00

One of the top highlights of each year is a couple of days of camp with some of our MKs from the area. Every one of them is a homeschooler and every one of them is very special in God's sight (and ours too!), and every one of them has needs just like everyone else. May God use the next few days to encourage, challenge, and refresh each one of them.

There will be 14 MKs and 15 adults, including designated "grandparents!" How awesome is that?!?

Please pray for this time to be everything God wants it to be, and pray for all these kids:

Matthew

Mikayla

Kaitlyn

Priscilla

Josiah

Tabitha

Kathryn

Samuel

Tucker

Kendra

Tara

Ben

Cameron

Dayton

The Great Commission

2011-04-10T22:57:00.001-05:00

Jesus told His disciples to go, make disciples, baptize them, and teach them to obey all that He's commanded them. It has been our great honor to go wherever Jesus tells us to go, and to have a part in making disciples who are Jesus followers.

These past couple years we've been blessed to obey Jesus' great commandment in ministering to Jason and Kristin. After seeing them become disciples of Jesus and teaching them the Bible, today it was especially sweet to have a hand in baptizing them with water. Of course, they've already been baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit when they repented of their sin and placed their faith in Christ alone as their Savior. Today, this water baptism was simply a visible, public identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and that they are not ashamed to be called disciples of Jesus and children of God. We're thrilled to see them take this step of obedience and public confession.

Of course, another highlight today was baptizing our own Dayton. He's young and still learning the basics, but he knows what it means to be a believer and that he has and is trusting in Christ alone as his Savior. What a thrill to baptize him!

He was thrilled too! He woke up this morning and came out dressed in his best clothes saying, "I'm ready for church!"

Beth said, "But we're going to a swimming place!"

Dayton replied, "Well, I AM getting baptized!"

He went back in his room and eventually came out wearing his bathing suit! Funny kid.

Dead, Buried, and Risen Again

2011-04-10T22:34:00.000-05:00

What an awesome privilege and experience to witness and participate in water baptisms today! At the special invitation of the New Birth Bible Church in Querétaro, our small Sunday fellowship joined them in a special baptism service at a local water park. Beth took at least one photo of each one who was baptized.

There were several unique aspects that made today's baptisms very special.

One special thing was that out of our CAM ministry team's four families, three of our families each had one child baptized.

Second, in each of these cases, the dad was blessed to baptize his own son! In the case of Bryan Smith's son, he was baptized by BOTH of his grandfathers and his dad (Bryan)! How cool is that?!?

Third, I was blessed to baptize both Jason, Kristin, and our own Dayton! I can't describe how awesome that was. Even though our little "congregation" is an English-speaking group, I was asked to be do my part in Spanish. That was a little challenging but I prepared my lines ahead of time and basically had them memorized. I'm glad I did. I think I would have totally blanked out while standing in the pool with over 50 people standing around watching and listening!

In the photos below you'll see our teammates baptizing their sons and the individuals from the New Birth Bible Church who were baptized. Since there are many photos here, I'll post separately the photos from the baptisms I helped perform.

"March Dry & Dusty Brings..."

2011-04-04T19:03:00.000-05:00

"...April Drier and Dustier...oh yeah...and a Few Flowers Too."

No spring rains here in San Juan del Rio. It is hot, dry and dusty. That's normal for March, April, May, and sometimes June, July, August, and October. In November, December, January, and February, it's cooler and dry. It sometimes is rainy in September and can be from May to October but not always. Glad I cleared that up.

The pics below are of a few flowers that have arrived in Beth's little garden.

Aside from these there is a lime (limon) tree and a lot of green, leafy plants and grasses that have particular names. I just don't know any of the names. It's better that way. They would all die as soon as I knew their names, I'm sure. Not that I would kill them intentionally. It's just that my horticultural skills rank behind my culinary skills, and my culinary skills are only limited by my ability to stop pouring the cereal out of the box. Enough said.

A Prayer Chain (of a different class...and species)

2011-04-04T17:30:00.000-05:00

"A Prayer Chain"...get it?!? Today, my buddy Brock just happened to notice a strange pod on this chain hanging outside of our kitchen. I looked up and discovered what came from inside that pod. A whole congregation of praying mantises had been born from that pod and had made their way up the chain!

I was thinking of calling them "praying McMantises." (*ugh*)

Here is a little bit of information about their breeding which I discovered here.

BREEDING

Breeding season is in the summer in temperate areas. After mating, the female will lay groups of 12-400 eggs in the autumn, in a "frothy" liquid called an "ootheca", that turns into a hard protective shell. This is how these insects survive during the wintertime. Small mantids emerge in the spring. Often, their first meal is a sibling. Young mantids or nymphs, also eat leafhoppers, aphids and small flies. Young mantids will shed many times before it is full grown. It takes an entire summer or growing season for mantids to mature to adulthood. One generation develops each season. Many species of mantids resemble ants when they are small, but as they go through a series of molts, they begin to look more like adult mantids.

Still Thirsty?!?

2011-04-04T17:13:00.000-05:00

April puts the "A" in SAT

2011-04-04T17:11:00.000-05:00

As we've done every April since our arrival, we're proctoring MK homeschool students taking the Stanford Achievement Test. We are testing fewer students this year than in most of our seven years doing this, but it seems we're testing over more days than even our fullest years. Today marked the 5th day of testing, and we have at least 4 more days to go between now and next Tuesday.

As ever, we're appreciative of Puebla Christian School for facilitating the procurement and shipping of the tests to and from the USA. This year we're proctoring in Querétaro a total of 3 days, near Amealco on 2 days and here in our home for at least 4 days. We'll be following testing with 4 days of MK camp. It's a busy three weeks but a lot of fun too.

Here is a pic of our first three ~~victims~~ students!

No Fooling...This Is Worth a Thought/Prayer Filled Read

2011-04-01T08:28:00.001-06:00

http://f1church.com/ (press "ENGLISH" button a little ways down from the top)

A translated blog from a Japanese Baptist Pastor whose congregation was in the shadow of the nuclear reactors of Fukushima and in the path of the tsunami. Grab your kleenex box and be prepared to pray as you read this. Even so, please take a few minutes to read this. You will be blessed beyond expectations.

San Juan del Rio Is Growing Fast

2011-03-21T16:22:00.000-06:00

The economy doesn't appear to be very good, but our small city is still growing. I just read an article today in our local online paper that the government is funding the construction of 5,000 new small houses. Another government project will fund an additional 1,200 houses. The total deficit of needed houses is estimated at 8,000. That probably would mean between 20,000-30,000 people for that many homes. Wow.

It appears that all of this new construction is over on the side of town where the fledgling community center is located. It is about 4 miles across town from our home to the community center. This construction will be added to housing construction we've observed over the past couple years. Can you imagine adding 25,000 people to a one-mile stretch that you drive routinely? I can't either, but it appears we'll find out soon enough!

Unfortunately, we don't have many workers here in San Juan del Rio to develop more outreach and ministry. Pray to the Lord of the harvest with us...the fields are white and the laborers are few; Jesus said "GO!" and very few ever get moving.

http://www.oem.com.mx/elsoldesanjuandelrio/notas/n2010812.htm (in Spanish)

Two Projects Today (prayers gladly accepted!)

2011-03-19T11:32:00.000-06:00

I've meant to mention this first project for a couple of weeks and it just hasn't made its way from brain to screen due to a condition known as forgetfulness.

Late this afternoon (evening in the USA, we are still at central standard time until April 3rd), the ladies at the Abundant Life Bible Church are hosting an evangelistic ladies' tea. They asked Beth to be give the main message which she has somehow been finding a little time to prepare for over the past month.

Please join us in praying that there will be some unsaved ladies in attendance (many have been invited) and that the Holy Spirit will work powerfully in the hearts of many.

The other project has been only about a week in the making. A church in western Iowa has an outreach to Hispanics in their rural community and have about 10 to 15 that attend their Sunday morning worship services. Unfortunately, they don't understand much English and so the sermon has been translated on paper into Spanish so they can follow along as best they can. Their translator is not available on Saturdays to do this work any longer so I was asked to consider translating the sermons. My translation skills are not at that level so after discussing an idea with them, I'm going to help Jason translate the sermons and the church will provide some renumeration for his time and effort. This is expected to be a continuous, weekly project.

This is a great idea as Jason and Kristin struggle to make ends meet on just a few hundred dollars income each month (even while working 60+ hours at the factory). The factory is slowing down production so there is no overtime now and a few extra dollars each month would really help them out. Jason is very excited about doing this kind of work. He has always wanted some experience in translation work and this will give him that. He also is excited about ministering to Mexican believers in the USA. How cool is that?

Thanks for praying with us over the ladies' evangelistic tea as well as the translation project to go well and to be a true help and blessing to the brethren in Iowa.

Typical Scene

2011-03-14T15:38:00.000-06:00

We've been driving the 35 minutes to our new dentist over in Querétaro every Monday and most Fridays (to finish whatever was started on Monday) for Beth's overdue work on a dozen teeth. The dentist seems to be doing a good job so seems to be worth the effort to see him.

The drive on the 6 lane highway generally provides us with something interesting to see. Very rarely do we make the round-trip without seeing at least one car accident. Today we were almost home when I spotted what appeared to be a tornado. We have never heard of tornados in this region of Mexico before. We do have dust devils which can appear to be tornados. I'm not sure what it was but since there were some very dark clouds in the vicinity (this is dry season so we were noting how nice it was to see some juicy clouds in the area). I tried to get a photo of it but as I was driving slowly trying to find a good spot to catch it with a photo, there was our one accident scene for the day. I got photos of that. I did get one photo that showed the end of whatever it was I saw, but it's very hard to make out.

Tacos!

2011-03-06T18:00:00.000-06:00

Tacos al pastor may be the most common type of taco in Mexico. Any night of the year one can walk or drive around just any downtown of any city or town that I've ever visited and find at least one place making tacos like you see in the picture below.

Recently, we discovered "Pastor Seasoning" at a supermarket. We had never seen that before, so we bought a box and Beth decided to try making it. We don't have a "spit" like the normal way of making it, so she tried something different.

Since we really like the flavor of the pineapple (on top of the spit above), she decided to put the thinly-sliced marinated pork (that was slightly broiled first) into a hollowed out pineapple. She placed this into the oven for about an hour. After cooking, she chopped up the pork and we ate it in tacos. We had some leftover mango salsa to put with it. It turned out really well. It was less greasy and without the fat and gristle we often get with the normal pastor meat. We'll probably do this one again!

"Comidables"

2011-02-27T20:45:00.000-06:00

That's not a word by the way. "Comida" is dinner/supper/meal in Spanish. Edible comida might be a cross-cultural "comidable?"

Whatever.

Here are a couple of pics of stuff we've munched on recently:

This is a well-known Mexican dish called "chochinita pibil." Traditionally, it would involve a suckling pig (ours was not) as well as cooking it in an underground pit (our was cooked on the stove in the kitchen). Minor differences really...except for how it tastes. But never mind that. It was good. This was Beth's first attempt to make it. It needed some adjustments for next time. We decided the best way to eat the leftovers was to put all the meat in a skillet and bathe it in Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce! That was good too!

Kristin sold Beth two Tupperware empanada makers (they were only $30 pesos apiece on sale!). For dinner recently Beth made some with ham and cheese in them and others with beef and cabbage. The boys preferred the ham and cheese. Beth and I preferred the beef and cabbage, although I drizzled Louisiana Hot Sauce and Valentina Salsa Picante on top of mine.

The cherry empanadas with glazed sugar were easily my favorites.

This is...what IS this? Oh yes, this is actually nothing, or rather two things. One is a nopal cactus salad and the other is some kind of lentil salad (sort of like pico de gallo). Not sure which salad had which ingredients but in the photo I detect cubed nopal cactus, tomato, onion, cilantro, lentils, lime juice, and serrano pepper. Yes, I did eat this. Yes, I liked it!

There's Nothing Better Than Fear

2011-02-24T22:23:00.000-06:00

I've been reading through the Bible this year using a daily Bible I found while in Texas last fall. It groups the readings by date so there's no need to find the passages for each day scattered all over. It also helps remember what day I'm on. It's not that I'm getting old and can't remember things like which passages to read or what day I'm on, but then I can't really remember why I thought this format would be helpful. :-)

When I began the daily reading this year, I made a last-second decision to read it out loud to the boys as I put them to bed. This has been the best decision I've made all year! What a blessing it has been to read with them each night and explain passages with them and to admit my own lack of understanding at some things too. I look forward to each night's reading and what we're going to cover together.

As you probably know, there are some very "interesting" passages to have to read to 12 and 9 year old boys. Sometimes I find myself making a quick decision on whether to "translate" the word to a milder reference or just let the Word speak the way it was written. There are certainly some PG-13 (or maybe R) rated stuff to cover in the Old Testament!

Anyway, we enjoyed reading this portion from Mark's Gospel tonight along with an accompanying commentary from the editor's notes (J. MacArthur):

And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” (Mark 4:37-41, New King James Version)

The disciples were afraid they would die from the effects of the storm raging outside of their boat. Then after Jesus with supernatural power ordered the storm to immediately cease (and it did!), they "feared exceedingly."

MacArthur adds this comment:
"The only thing more terrifying than having a storm outside the boat was having God in the boat!"

So true sometimes, isn't it? We'll never know the power of God unless we experience a storm and what He can do to calm it. It's through the valley of the shadow of death that He demonstrates His power. I think we should not shun or be afraid of the storms around our "life's boats" but instead allow the God who is inside our boat to show Himself powerful and to find ourselves fearing Him in reverence and awe. That's the kind of fear we need. That's the kind of fear our children need too.

Proverbs 14:26
"Whoever fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge."

Lucha Libre

2011-02-20T21:09:00.000-06:00

NACHO! NACHO! NACHO!

2011-02-20T20:10:00.000-06:00

Beth and I took a walk downtown on Friday in the warm weather. Yes, it is warm here. Almost hot. Summer is arriving believe it or not.

When we arrived in the main plaza, we noticed lots of people milling around and seated in plastic chairs. There was a large wrestling ring installed and to our surprise an amateur "lucha libre" started up. I took a few photos and a video which I may get formatted and uploaded. It reminded us a little of the movie Nacho Libre. The people watching seemed to enjoy it, especially the children.

Dust in the Wind

2011-02-14T23:49:00.001-06:00

We spent most of our Valentine's Day (and our general day off) traveling in Querétaro attempting to get both boys and Beth to dental appointments. Beth has needed to see a dentist for months but we were unable to locate one in our area here last summer that didn't have a negative recommendation from the experience of either ourselves or someone else so that she never had a chance to see one. In October when I was having over $800 worth of dental repair done, we really couldn't afford to have even more done so Beth had to wait on getting some work done that she really needed done.

Finally, today was the day. We just received a new recommendation on a dentist so we're giving him a shot. He's young. He's got some fancy-looking equipment. He's not cheap for Mexico. However, we'll give him a try. We have an annual medical/dental membership card that saves us money with certain doctors and dentists in Querétaro, and this dentist is new to the discount list. Beth has two teeth that need immediate attention (one with a continuing cavity). He'll work on those next Monday. Then, on future Mondays he'll be working on 10 more teeth that have very old (20-30 years old) fillings that are crumbling. He was impressed that these fillings had made it this long.

Including today's visit and all the subsequent work he has planned out, it should cost about $8,000 pesos. That's under $700. For that much work being done, we really can't complain. Whether he does the work well or not is the big question. We sure hope so! We've seen such promising starts end poorly before, so we'll just have to see how it goes. If it goes well, I'll probably eventually go in for a bit of work myself.

Finally, you may be wondering what the blog post title has to do with visiting the dentist. It isn't anything profound. Simply, we were within sight of the dentist's office today on a 6 lane highway and we were needing to go further up the road a bit and follow a "retorno" (basically a U-Turn) to get over to the other side of the highway where the office is located. Up ahead we could see in front of us a white local bus ("ruta") and out of nowhere, just to the left of that bus a cloud of dust all of a sudden whipped up in the rocky median. Within moments we realized that somehow a car was in that cloud of dust and was now resting on its side. We see a lot of accidents long after they've happened, but not very often do we see one happen right before our very eyes.

Beth took a photo as we passed by after having made the U-Turn. About 5 minutes later after dropping Beth off at the dentist, Cameron took a photo of the car after it had been pushed back onto its wheels. Amazingly, just before taking the first picture, we had seen the driver pull himself up out of the seat and jump up on his car and hop off of it. He must have had his seat belt on to avoid serious injury. It was quite a surreal-looking scene. Glad it seemed to end up better than what our first glimpse of the dust in the wind made it appear.

If you notice in the bottom photo, the front right bumper of the white bus, appears to have a dark scrape which matches a dark scrape on the driver's side quarter panel of the small Nissan Tsuru. It appeared from the tire marks on the pavement that the car apparently changed lanes too close to the front of the bus which spun it a bit, and then by hitting the curb, it popped over onto its side there in the median. (My first job out of college was as an insurance adjuster. I covered auto accidents among a lot of other types of claims. Always find this stuff interesting.) Knowing how aggressive the buses in Querétaro often drive, it could be the bus that was changing lanes but it didn't seem like the bus was moving laterally when the accident unfolded in front of us. Either way, we praise God for a safe drive to and from Querétaro every time we go.