A Purple Cow

I never saw a purple cow.

I never hope to see one.

But I can tell you anyhow

I'd rather see than be one.

Gelett Burgess

Except in this case, it's a purple pie! That

is certainly something I had never seen before...until now.

Miguel absolutely loves sweet potato pie 

and purple sweet potatoes make for a really colorful pie!

It's a pie that would make even the 

Peculiar Purple Pieman of Porcupine Peak proud, 

villain that he is! Resident artist Micah 

did me the honor of drawing a picture.

Miguel liked it so much that now there are more 

sweet potatoes waiting to be made into

peculiar purple pies. Sweet potato

season is almost over, so he wants to

enjoy them while he can.

Thanksgiving 2012

It seems like just a few short weeks ago that we celebrated Thanksgiving 2011 and here we are again just having celebrated Thanksgiving 2012! Reading over my post about Thanksgiving 2011 was a blessing because it reminded me that even without an oven or friends to celebrate with, it is possible to be deeply grateful for God's blessings.

This year, however, I do have an oven and I made good use of it! In fact, I have found myself baking several times a week since we moved here...I am quite happy with my new stove!

But I digress...I wasn't sure exactly how Thanksgiving 2012 would go and we'd been so busy in the weeks before that I hadn't been able to think much about it. So it was a pleasant turn of events to be invited over to our friends' and fellow missionaries' house to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal together.  Bill and Debbie are the directors of a Mexican mission agency that partners with Pioneers and some other agencies to help Mexicans connect with missions worldwide.

Their coworker Misa also joined us, which was fun because he is a great favorite with the kids!

So we got together to plan the menu and then got to work...I put together some cornbread dressing, a relish tray, rolls, pumpkin and sweet potato pies and stuffed mushrooms. Gracia made some jello. Debbie baked the turkey, green bean casserole, gravy, and three kinds of bar cookies.

The kids were so excited about Thanksgiving, especially with a real turkey (we don't usually get a turkey when outside the U.S.-it's not that turkeys aren't available in Mexico, they are just kind of expensive!) that they were up early and quite anxious for it to be time to eat...I noticed that Jojo had even gotten dressed in 'church' clothes of his own accord for the special event! It was touching to see how much they were enjoying themselves this year.

I also made a Thanksgiving tree again, although I decided to do a bit of a different model than last year. We scouted out some good twigs to make the 'tree' and used scrapbook paper circles to record our thanks. I hung them on the tree with some fishing line. I grabbed a juice pitcher and wrapped it with some pretty paper and tied some matching ribbons around it. The tree made a nice centerpiece on the table, although we had to remove it once all the food was ready and besides, someone was in danger of getting their eye poked out or something...

There were quite a few 'entries' on the tree...it's good to see a physical reminder of everything for which we are thankful. My favorite, however, was this entry by Jojo...well, that one and the mushy one Miguel wrote about being thankful for me...

Jkaile really enjoyed the mashed potatoes and gravy, but was most excited by the dessert table! And what picture wouldn't be complete without the complimentary rabbit ears...

With all that wonderful food, of course we all felt just like Micah did here...ready to crash on the couch for a while to enjoy some American football!

What We Have Been Up To

Well, this has been a rather interesting couple of weeks...a week ago Sunday, Miguel was really sick. We knew that he had been exposed to dengue fever on his recent trip to Veracruz, so we feared the worst! He began having all the classic symptoms of dengue, beginning with fever, body aches and a headache located behind his eyes, so we got a bunch of people praying and I began mentally preparing myself to face this disease (some kinds of dengue require hospitalization).

And then on Monday morning he woke up with no fever, no pain and no headache! He was very weak, but nothing like he should have been if the dengue were to have run its course...we don't really know what to think, either he had something entirely different or God chose to heal him! Either way, we're really glad he didn't end up with dengue!

Another reason that was good was that Micah and I were scheduled to help translate for a team of eye-doctors who were in the area on that Monday and Tuesday, so I needed Miguel to take care of the other three kids while we did that...we had fun translating for the team, although we had two pretty long days and we got very tired! I was very proud of Micah, he did a great job at his station.

On Tuesday, Miguel even felt well enough to hang out with us for a few hours...we got the other kids' eyes checked and Miguel had fun playing with the kids outside while they were waiting for their appointments.

Tuesday was also Micah's 12th birthday, which we didn't really celebrate this year...we have always said we wouldn't have a big party for the kids every year and this year it just wasn't fitting into our schedule very well! We did get him a nice Lego set and a huge flan, as well as some other gifts. I love this picture of Micah, I think he was about 2 or 3 days old...he was so cute!

On Wednesday, Miguel felt sick again, this time sick to his stomach and spent most of the day in bed again (rare for him!). I'm beginning to wonder if maybe he isn't developing a lactose intolerance, because he was suspiciously ill after eating that flan the night before! It's possible, since he's been having a lot of stomach issues lately...anyway, he had been invited to share at a Totonacan youth event and was supposed to go on Thursday.  We had been debating whether or not to go as a family or whether Miguel should go at all! In the end, Miguel went alone and I stayed home with the kids.

Miguel had a good time at the youth event, which was sort of like a short camp, so we were glad he did not have to cancel. He shared about evangelism and small groups with the youth and they seemed to enjoy his session. Miguel always connects really well with the youth and simply enjoys hanging out with them, so these are good opportunities for him to use his gifts. He was also able to talk to a couple of the pastors there about areas where there are still no churches among the Totonacan people and that information is valuable for our survey.

Group picture

 Miguel interviewing the two pastors

While Miguel was gone, I was really struggling...I was very tired from not sleeping well and the kids were also cranky and chose to squabble a lot. It was quite discouraging and hard to know what to do to make it better, so I ended up praying a lot! I'm not sure what goes on when Miguel is not here to give me this fear and anxiety at night, but I do know that prayer helps.

Then we ran out of water in our rooftop tank and that was annoying...we had plenty of water in the cistern under the garage floor, but the pump wasn't working and I was having to haul it out in buckets (the plumbers came and fixed it last night, woohoo!). I really hate to complain about the water situation because I am very aware of the fact that many people around the world have to carry water or have very little water in the first place! And it isn't really that I mind hauling water, it's mostly that this house is not set up for carrying water, so it's a real pain to have to work around.

At any rate, all that was unfortunate because by the time Miguel got home on Saturday, I was not in very good shape to give him a warm welcome home! He wanted to rest anyway, though, so he went on up to bed and I worked on a scrapbook album we are making for Miguel's parents...that gave us some time and space to kind of recoup from our respective experiences of the last few days. I also had a lot of laundry to do and of course, the water ran out again in the middle of the busy laundry day and it also left me with a lot of dishes from baking banana bread and pumpkin bread to send with Miguel on his next trip.

Yes, Miguel left again on Sunday! Actually, both he and Micah left to meet up with a team from our home church in Arkansas who are doing a medical brigade in the city of Guadalajara, which is about six hours west of here. The brother of the pastor of our Puebla church is planting a church there, so a team goes from our home church every November to do medical work there in that neighborhood.

Miguel and Micah playing games

with the kids in Guadalajara

And while I am very glad that Miguel and Micah could hang out with them, coming on the heels of Miguel's other trip it's been a bit of a challenge for me. This is a part of our ministry, however, and my contribution often is to stay at home while Miguel travels...and while sometimes I struggle to see that as being a worthwhile contribution, I know that it really is.

After the struggle I had last week, I decided to make it easier for myself and lower my expectations of what I would try to get done or what I felt I 'should' get done this week...I also really prayed about the fear/anxiety issue I was dealing with at night and God has given me a tremendous sense of peace, which has allowed me to sleep much better than I was able to last week! I did have to go out on Monday to pay the phone bill, do some shopping and pay the rent, but it was a good outing with the kids and I even took them out to eat breakfast as a special treat. We've done some school, but not a whole lot and have spent some time just hanging out together having fun.

Miguel and Micah will be home tomorrow and I'm sure they'll need to rest for a couple of days...then I am supposed to make a cake for a friend's birthday on Saturday. She asked me to make her the cake and after I agreed, she stipulated that it have a Garfield on it! I'm not that good at decorating, so I decided to put a Garfield cake topper on it...I couldn't find one however, so a stuffed Garfield will have to do! That might be more fun anyway, since she can have it as a toy afterwards.

On Sunday, our Area Leader is arriving and that will start three days of intense yearly meetings and member care sessions for us. We're looking forward to it, though, and I think it will be beneficial to us and our ministry.

After that, I hope we have a few days to just be still...

Crazy Day

Yesterday was a really crazy day.  One of those days when you really wonder what's going on, you know?

Miguel originally had another trip planned to the mountains this week and was to be gone from Thursday to Sunday.  But then the pastor that was coming to give the conference sessions had to cancel his trip because his mother-in-law became very ill and the whole family had to go to California for a couple of weeks.

So then we decided to go to another Totonacan community in the mountains and were planning to leave today, Saturday. As we were making plans for that trip, Miguel's mom called from Venezuela to let him know that his pastor, Gilberto Nieves had passed away the day before.

Pastor Nieves was very influential in Miguel's life and is what would be considered a 'padrino' here,  something like a godfather.  In many ways, he was more of a father to Miguel than his own father.  Pastor Nieves was Miguel's pastor from the time he was young, baptized him and was also instrumental in how Miguel came to be a missionary.  Miguel was also very close to the family and spent a lot of time at their house as a teenager.

So when Miguel found out that Pastor Nieves had died, he really wanted to be able to go attend the funeral (an accompany his mom back here to visit us!). It's not easy to get to Miguel's home town in Venezuela from Mexico on such short notice, but Miguel found a flight leaving Mexico City around 1:30 a.m. that would get him to Caracas at 7 a.m.  He would have been arriving at his target location early afternoon, which was good since the funeral was planned for around that time.

So we hustled to get him ready and Miguel made his reservations online.  The instructions included the options of paying either at a bank or at one of the local grocery stores and Miguel had to pay within 9 hours to keep his reservation.  Neither of the bank options worked, but he was able to successfully pay the 8,000 pesos (around 800$) at the grocery store and they gave him a receipt for the payment that also indicated his reservation number.

He did a little shopping and then came back to finish packing.  I sent him off in a taxi around 8:30 p.m. to the  Estrella Roja (Red Star) bus station that would take him directly to the international airport in Mexico City, which is a really convenient bus service to have and cheap at about 18$ one way.  I heard from him a couple of times before I went to sleep and didn't expect to hear from him until he was in Venezuela.

At 1:40 a.m. I got a message from Miguel saying he'd missed his flight.  Turns out that his payment never showed up in the airline's system, so they wouldn't issue his ticket.  They told him that he had to pay 24 hours in advance, silly, because sometimes there are emergencies, people!  Then they told him that he should have paid at the ticket agency in the airport, even though the airline had only given him 9 hours to pay the ticket or lose the reservation.  Paying the ticket at the airport is risking not getting a seat if the flight suddenly fills up!

They were not helpful, in short, and at one point one of the agents at the ticket counter lied to Miguel when he asked for a manager. The man said that all of the managers had gone home by then, but Miguel later discovered that there were actually TWO managers on duty at that time.  He spoke to one of them who looked over his papers and said he'd go check something and be right back...only he never returned.  The other manager just handed Miguel a complaint form.

The only thing they would do for him was to change his reservation to the following day, but that wouldn't get Miguel there in time for the funeral, so he just decided to come back home.  He asked the airline for a refund, but they referred him to the grocery store and said he'd have to get the money back from them.  The most likely scenario will be, however, that the grocery store will just refer him back to the airline!

I had gotten to bed late and hadn't really been asleep that long when I got Miguel's message about missing his flight. Then I had a hard time going back to sleep.  Miguel arrived back home around 4 a.m. and I had to go down to let him in the door and pay the taxi, which further interrupted my sleep.  And Miguel had to get up early to take Micah and some other neighbor boys to the American football practices that Micah goes to on Saturday mornings.  So neither of us got much sleep last night.

Such a crazy day!  I was already emotional from having to tell Gloria that we're moving and seeing how sad she was...and while I was happy that Miguel could go to Venezuela for a couple of weeks, I was feeling the strain of the separation and goodbye (it's a bit disconcerting having my husband be a continent away...you never know what will happen!).  And then just like that, he was back, snuggled with me in bed and not going anywhere.

I also knew he was severely frustrated and very disappointed by the whole situation.  He told me later that it just wasn't a good idea to try to go on such short notice, but I don't agree.  It wasn't a bad decision at all!  Pastor Nieves was a huge part of his life for many years and there is nothing wrong with wanting to attend the funeral of a man like that.  People have emergencies all the time and airlines should be able to provide the services needed for emergency travel like that.  For some unknown reason(s), it didn't work out and we're trusting God that He had a purpose and a plan.

But yeah, a really crazy day!  And now we have some suitcases to unpack...

Jesus Prayed for Me

This week is Semana Santa (Holy Week) here in Mexico and as in many countries around the world, it is an important time to celebrate the passion and crucifixion of Christ.  Since all schools are on vacation this week (and next), we are taking a school break along with our friends (although we may have to start back to school next week).

Semana Santa is a time when most Mexicans travel somewhere...back home to visit their families, take a sightseeing trip, to the beach or maybe to spend a day or two at a balneario (swimming pool/resort).  Miguel is the only one in our family who is traveling as he is taking another trip the mountains this weekend and will have the privilege of attending a baptism of some new Totonac believers today in a mountain river. Then he will go spend a few days in Cuautotola, the town where our Mexican church has its Totonac outreach.

Miguel in the sierra (mountains)

This morning, I sat down with the kids and together we retold the story of Jesus' death, burial, resurrection and ascension as told in John 16 through Acts 1, with a few added details from the other gospels.  A couple of things that stood out to me in this story is first how Jesus took the time to more clearly explain to his disciples what was coming for them, even though they had a hard time understanding what he was trying to say (and they wouldn't really understand until later)...

Jesus went on to say, "In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me...very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy."

It was fun to imagine the disciples' joy when they realized that Jesus had truly risen from the dead!

Then Jesus goes on to pray for the disciples, continuing to bless and encourage them, but he didn't stop there...then he prayed for me!

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me (that's me! and you, too, if you also believe) through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one--I in them and you in me--so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 

Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 

Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.  I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." 

I am not sure why, but it was comforting to me today to read Jesus' prayer for all believers and know that even during a time such as the one he was facing, he was thinking of people like me.

Spring Break Team

If you talk to just about an expat missionary and ask them about the highlights of their time overseas, I would venture to say that receiving visitors from their sending churches would probably rank pretty high.  At least that's the way it is for us. Regardless of the controversy surrounding short-term missions teams (of which we are well aware and also have a few strong opinions about! but I'm not going to get into that here...), we do enjoy receiving visitors and teams from back 'home' (I say 'home', because well, it's hard for this international family to pinpoint exactly where that would be, for our purposes here it will mean the U.S.).

It is Spring Break in Arkansas and our home church has sent out teams to Belize, Guatemala, Mexico (that's us!), Memphis and a camp in Tennessee.  I have a niece and nephew who are in northern Mexico with their church from Kansas this week as well, wish it were closer so I could go see them!

Anyway, our team arrived from Arkansas last night, safe and sound, no luggage lost!  Which is good, because they brought a lot of stuff for us!  Having a team come from the states, is a good chance for Grammy to send chocolate and coloring books and our mail. I also finally got my own copy of One Thousand Gifts, thanks, my friend...you know who you are. Can't wait to read it!

It's also a good chance for us to buy things that we can't get here, or at least not as easily or as cheaply. It was interesting to see what we ordered, things like some car parts (the inside door handle on the van broke and it's quite annoying to have to roll down the window, wrench your arm opening it from the outside and then rolling up the window every time!), lots of missions/ministry books, a Wild Brothers video (that we can't wait to watch!), some electronic equipment for a pastor friend, some things Gracia needs for her Irish dance lessons, tennis shoes for Micah, peanut butter (we can get it here, but it's quite expensive!), and a few odds and ends of other things.

What am I most excited about?  Well, when Miguel ordered himself a laptop, he ordered one for me, too!  Woohoo!  It's an older model and refurbished, but I don't mind...Miguel and I are getting tired of vying for the one laptop we had, not to mention that it's also the computer that Micah uses for his home schooling.  So that's pretty cool and very sweet of Miguel to get that for me.

I also asked a friend to buy me some embossing equipment...so now I am all set to emboss something.  Gracia and I will be playing working with that later on today!  I have gradually built up my collection of scrapbooking/card-making supplies, so this addition is pretty exciting!  :)

My friend also sent me some food grade diatomaceous earth.  For an interesting read on diatomaceous earth, either look it up on the internet or click here. I am interested in trying it and seeing the results! Thanks, friend!

I also noticed that Miguel ordered a few things as thoughtful gifts and it really touched my heart.

There is an old man who comes by our house every week gathering cardboard and other recyclables in order to make a living.  This man is disabled and has a lot of trouble walking. Miguel has noticed that it's very hard for him to handle the large sacks he carries around the neighborhood using an old stick as a cane.  We don't know where he lives or how far he has to walk, but he has to compete with many others who gather recyclables as well, many of whom have bicycles.  It's a rough way to make a living, that's for sure.  So Miguel had a friend buy him a used walker to give to this man.  Like I said, that really touched my heart.

Miguel also asked for some used pairs of tennis shoes.  I thought they were all for Micah and some of them are (that boy goes through shoes like crazy!), but it turns out that there is one pair that Miguel ordered for a boy who is attending the American football practices with Micah on Saturday mornings. Turns out that this boy comes to practice in old dress shoes because that's all he has.  Miguel noticed and took this opportunity to get him some shoes that will work for sports.  Okay, my heart is melting here...

But even if the team hadn't brought us anything, it would still be a pleasure to receive them, to hang out with them, to have a chance to speak into their lives and (hopefully) be a part of expanding their world view.  I won't have the chance to hang out with them too much, probably, because of our home schooling schedule, etc. but Miguel will and I know that will be a blessing for the team because he's so awesome!

The plan for this week is a bit different from the Spring Break teams in the past, since they will not be visiting the outreach ministry in the mountains or doing construction.  The plan for this week is for them to have an Encuentro Juvenil, or a Youth Encounter.  They will be hosted by several families from either El Camino or the two daughter churches, preferably those families who have teenagers in their homes.  They will be hanging out together, accompanying their host teen(s) to school or whatever other activities they are involved in, as well as coming together as a group for some different times of worship and teaching.  The main topics will be on community, discipleship, and small groups, I believe.

This Sunday is also El Camino's 16th anniversary celebration, so they will get to be a part of a special service as well.

So I pray that this week will be a special time for each member of the group and that God will use their time here to speak to their hearts.  It is an honor to be a part!

Ministry Update

A year ago, I posted about our new direction in ministry.  A Turning Point, I called it, and it has certainly turned out to be exactly that!  A year later, we have certainly reached many of our objectives as we've been here in Puebla for nearly six months.

There have been some recent developments, however, more turning points if you will, as we have worked together with our different leaderships (three of them, to be exact!) in defining what our involvement with this ministry will look like.

I think it actually started soon after we arrived, because I remember Miguel sharing with me some of his thoughts about how he was sensing God's leading...and it was a bit different than what we'd thought we'd be doing.  It really shook me up! I mean, we had just spent months casting vision for a certain direction of ministry with all of our friends, family and supporters and now we up and say we're not going to do that?!

But that's not what Miguel was saying, exactly...he wasn't saying that we were changing ministries at all, just that he had a sense that maybe God was going to change the how of our involvement.  After I remembered that I am supposed to be trusting God to lead us through Miguel's ministry decisions, I settled down, apologized for freaking out, and found peace in waiting to see where and how God would lead.

Last October, we had some meetings with our leaders from Pioneers, our missions pastor, and the leadership of El Camino, our church here in Puebla.  The day before we all met together, we spent several hours with just our leadership from Pioneers and Miguel was able to share a little of what he was thinking.  We weren't sure how they would respond, but as it turned out, they were very open to it because what Miguel shared pretty much fits into a ministry role that Pioneers calls "ministry coach".  And they have been praying specifically for more team coaches!

One of Pioneers' core values is that of being Team-Centered.  Pioneers dedicates a lot of time and effort into helping their teams stay healthy and strong...not that PI teams don't ever encounter issues, but we've witnessed some pretty healthy teams in Pioneers so far.  One of the things they have discovered in the Mid-Americas region (and maybe in other regions, I'm not sure) is that teams with coaches tend to be more healthy and able to accomplish more than teams without coaches.  So it was pretty neat to find out that not only did our leaders welcome and honor how God was leading Miguel, they consider us to be an answer to prayer as well!

Once we got through that discussion, then we could formulate a rough plan of action for the next few years.  We're not sure of the time-line or exactly how it will all work, but another one of Pioneer's core values is Innovation and Flexibility, exemplified by a willingness to try new and different things.  Even though our leadership doesn't really have all the answers, they are willing to walk through this together with us, taking it one step at a time together (which represents another core value, that of Participatory Servant-Leadership based on trust).

Our Pioneers' leadership presented this new plan of action at the meetings in the following days and it was received favorably by our sending church's missions pastor and our Puebla church.  It is quite a change from the original plan, since it means that we will not be moving up to the mountains to work directly with Franco and Barby, at least not as soon as we thought.

So what will be doing?  Good question!  Like I have already said, we don't have all of the answers at this time and will continue to take things one step at a time...our first objective will be to conduct a survey of the Totonac people group to gather information about their language, culture, religious beliefs, spiritual needs, etc.  While there have been many ministries that have worked and are working with this people group, it has been a bit difficult to find good sources of information about the Totonac as a whole.  We are hoping to consolidate any information we come up with in one place so that it will be a great resource not just for us, but for any ministry interested in finding more about the Totonac.

The information we gather in the course of conducting the survey will also help us create a holistic strategy for approaching a ministry with the Totonac.  El Camino, our Puebla church, has a heart for reaching out to the entire people group, which is comprised of 5 to 6 different dialects.  The results of the survey will help El Camino in their efforts to determine the best strategy to use in reaching an entire people group for Christ, with the goal being that of establishing mature, self-governing, reproducing Totonac churches.

At some point, we will spend some time living among the Totonac, building relationship and learning as much of their language and culture as we can.  This will give us the much-needed personal experience that we will need if we are to coach a future team.  We're not sure when or where this will take place, but we're keeping our eyes open to where and when God might lead for that step.

So in the meantime, we will be staying longer in the city as we gather the information we need to complete the survey and cast vision in churches for the Totonac ministry.  Our prayer is that God will help us raise a team to go and work with the Totonac; a team that we would then coach through the process of team-building, getting the necessary cross-cultural training/preparation needed, creating a ministry strategy and then carrying out that strategy.

I know, huge task, and it's a bit overwhelming to think about!  But God is working here and we're excited.  We continue to feel such a calling and burden to the Totonac and it's neat to see how God has already worked to provide some of the contacts and resources that we need to move forward.

Miguel just returned from another trip to some Totonac communities in the state of Veracruz and not only had the opportunity to gather some information about the Totonac there, but was also able to share with the believers from two different Totonac churches.  Really exciting opportunities for him and we hope to return next time as a family.

One of the Totonac pastors (along with wife and daughter)
with one of the blankets that the retired volunteers at
Rio Grande Bible Institute 

sent with us to share with some Totonac families.

Miguel with one of the pastors and his son-in-law.

It is a fertile area, and many of the Totonac families have gardens where they grow corn and other crops.  Miguel and his pastor friend went out to his garden to harvest some yucca.  

Miguel enjoyed spending time with these kids...he

said the little boy is quite the question-maker!  

Yucca (or cassava) is a root, something similar to a potato.  They don't eat yucca here in this part of Puebla, but it is found in other parts of Mexico, such as the northern part of the state, Veracruz and in the more southern states like Oaxaca and Chiapas.  Yucca is commonly eaten in both Colombia and Venezuela, so both Miguel and I enjoy being able to eat some when we can get it!  One of our favorite ways to prepare yucca is to boil it and then fry it like french fries and eat it with ketchup.  Yum!  

The scenery reminded Miguel a lot of Venezuela!

Valentine's Day Treat

Happy Valentine's Day!  Or as they say here in Mexico...¡Feliz Día de Amor y Amistad!  Translation:  Happy Day of Love and Friendship!

It's been pretty much a regular day here in our household in spite of it being Valentine's Day.  Jkaile learned how to cut out valentine hearts, but otherwise the kids have had to do their schoolwork as normal (much to their disgust).  But we have homeschool camp coming up next week and we can't afford to take any days off at this point.

I did make them a special treat for dessert, however, No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies (perfect for an oven-less home such as ours).

Ingredients:
2 c. sugar
5 T. cocoa powder
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. butter
Dash salt
1/2 peanut butter, optional
1 tsp. vanilla
3 1/2+ c. oatmeal (quick cooking oatmeal is better, although I used the old-fashioned kind because it's what we have)
Bring everything to a boil except for the vanilla and oatmeal.  Bring to a boil and stir constantly while at full rolling boil for 1 minute.  Remove from heat and add vanilla and oatmeal.  Drop by teaspoonful on wax paper, foil or cookie sheets.  Cool to let harden.  

Miguel is still in the mountains and will probably not be home until Thursday.  But last week he brought me this sweet carved rose made by an inmate in a prison that Miguel has visited together with others from our church.  I put it in the vitrina (something like a china cabinet) along with a few other special things.

Here's a close-up...it's a bit hard to see, but the base of the rose is in the shape of a heart.

Weekend at Camp

Miguel and Micah are back from their weekend at camp...I thought they would be home on Monday, but camp went one day longer than we thought, so they got home yesterday afternoon.  The camp they went to was in the northern part of the state of Puebla, about four hours away from here, and it was for Totonac young people from the states of Puebla and Veracruz.  The part of the sierra (mountains) where they were was lush and green...cool at night and warmish during the day.

Miguel helped with various things, including setting up, washing pots and pans and packing up when camp was over.

He was also able to hang out with the kids during their activities.  Miguel said he had several opportunities to talk with the young people and their leaders about various things, such as discipleship, issues they are facing and community life in their churches.

Micah had a pretty good time, although he got sick with tonsilitis on Friday night and had to go see a local doctor for some medicine.  There were several children his age there, so he made a few friends as well.

I am very glad that Miguel and Micah were able to take this opportunity to serve at this camp and to build some relationships there in the sierra.  It's good to have them back, though!  It is also always interesting to see what Miguel brings back for me on his trips (besides the piles of dirty laundry)...

house plants...the one on the right is a coffee bush!

Café Tierras Altas (Coffee from High Lands)...

a few interesting rocks...

sugarcane...

and I am so glad that he brought me back my son!

First Days in Puebla

We spent the first few weeks in Puebla staying with Hiram and Cati, the pastor of our partner church, El Camino.  I think a hurricane affected the weather, because it seemed like it rained for days on end during the first week or so here!  We even had hailstorms, something we didn't really expect to see in Puebla, but apparently not all that uncommon...we've had plenty of sunshine since, though, which has been pleasant.  The days spent with Hiram and Cati's family was great, we had time to rest from our trip (we were way more tired than we thought!) and of course, staying with a Mexican family was very good for us to begin adjusting back to Spanish and the Mexican culture.  It has been so cute to hear the kids begin speaking more and more Spanish!

The Monday after we got here, another missionary from our church in Arkansas, Caroline, arrived together with her mom and Miguel went to Mexico City to help them catch a bus back to Puebla.  Caroline will be working with El Camino church for a year or so, helping develop their children's program.  Caroline's mom spent a week here and we took every opportunity we could to get out and about on the days it wasn't raining.  We spent a couple of days exploring the Cholula fair (we actually live in Cholula, a town on the outskirts of Puebla City).

Here we are with Caroline at the fair.

We also got to go and meet Franco and Barby, the missionaries who live and work up in the mountains...Barby was recovering from a surgery, so we were actually able to go visit them several times before they went back home.

Here I am with Barby...I hope we become great friends!

One of the most impressive sights around town is the volcano, Popocatepetl (we're still trying to figure out how to pronounce that word, mostly we just say "Popo").  Popo is an active volcano, about 17,000+ feet high and actually has a snow-covered peak...most days, however, it's covered in clouds.  The best time to take a picture of Popo is on a clear, sunny morning like this one.

Another interesting sight is this church that is built on top of an ancient pyramid...you can see the church and some ruins behind Miguel and I in this picture...

Every once in a while, I can spot this church from different locations in Puebla, it's pretty cool!  One day we climbed up to the top and had a look around, but that is a story for another day...

New Ministry Partners: Pioneers

In between those trips to the beach, we spent a week at the Pioneers U.S. mobilization base in Orlando.  They have an amazing campus located right on a lake, complete with a KOA campground, swimming pool, and plenty of wildlife!  We even found a baby alligator wandering around the property while we were there! 

Anyway, we were part of a group of 30 candidates attending the orientation with Pioneers and it was an exciting time of finding out more about how this agency's vision for ministry and core values as well as getting to know the folks at Pioneers and the other candidates there.  We thought it was a very profitable week for us and we are happy to announce that we have been accepted as members of Pioneers.  And the more we learn about Pioneers, the more excited we are for this opportunity to partner with them in ministry!  We think that the ministry among the Totonac in Puebla will definitely benefit from this relationship. 

Highlights from this trip include (but are not limited to!) kid-free time to hang out as a couple (we left our kids behind in the Midwest with my sisters!), beautiful scenery in FL, friends both old and new, focus on missions, our beautifully decorated room, an atmosphere of grace, openness and transparency, and lots and lots of laughter.  We look forward to returning as a family in June for our next week of training! 

Pioneers' Mission statement:  Pioneers mobilizes teams to glorify God among unreached peoples by initiating church-planting movements in partnership with local churches.

Pioneers Core Values:

1. Passion for God...The Great Commandment is our motive for the Great Commission. We want to live our lives fully surrendered to Him so that all nations may know that He alone is God.
2. Unreached Peoples...Pioneers focuses on those with the least opportunity to hear and understand the gospel.
3. Church-Planting Movements...We want to see new believers united in fellowship with other believers, forming churches that plant churches—until all peoples are reached.
4. Ethos of Grace...Understanding that each person bears the image of God, we endeavor to cultivate an atmosphere of mutual acceptance and respect in all our relationships, encouraging each one to attain his or her full potential in Christ. 
5. The Local Church...Pioneers partners with sending churches to plant new communities of Christians. We also work alongside local, indigenous fellowships wherever possible. 
6. Team-centered...Teams that are both task- and member-focused are the core of Pioneers. This is crucial since many of the world's remaining unreached peoples are in difficult and isolated pockets of the world. 
7. Innovation and Flexibility...Reaching the world's remaining unreached peoples requires creativity and a sensitivity to the unique calling, vision, and needs of each missionary. 
8. Participatory servant-leadership...Pioneers has a decentralized leadership structure. We are principle- rather than policy-driven, applying an interactive approach to decision making that is based on trust.

Trip to Florida...Fun in the Sun!

We've been busy!  On April 1st we arrived in Florida for our first orientation/training week with a mission agency called Pioneers.  We flew on a smaller airline that only flies on Mondays and Fridays in the spring months, so we had a day before the training started to visit with our friend Angela.  She took us to the beach and we had a great time...we pretty much spent every spare minute talking our heads off!  lol

I really did not expect Miguel to actually get in the water since it was a bit of a chilly day, but he did!  He and Angela's kids had a blast braving the waves, digging in the sand and having mud fights.  I was the victim of this particular mudball! 

After the orientation, Miguel headed south for Venezuela and I spent the weekend with Angela again before flying back to Arkansas.  Of course we had to go back to the beach again...this time I was the one who hung out with Angela's kids in the waves...it was great! 

Another highlight of this trip was getting to hang out for an evening with some of my MK friends I grew up with in Colombia.

There were other highlights, too, like the visiting owl, margaritas at Mi México, the slightly dismembered lizard the cat drug in, Spanish moss, wild turkeys and sandhill cranes, lunch with a rooster and so much more...I am treasuring these memories...

Testimonies...

Remember my friend Sol?  It was such a blessing to spend the weekend with her on our way to Arkansas from Chihuahua.  We missed Ciro and their son, Tona, since they were visiting family in Mexico that week.  

Our first morning there, as Sol busied herself preparing us a hearty breakfast of huevos rancheros, she excitedly shared with us how God has been working in her life.  She shared how God had released her from her hatred and resentment for her father and I listened with tears running down my cheeks of how she had led him to the Lord once God had changed her heart and attitude towards him.  I felt extremely humbled to have been used by God in Sol's life and to hear of yet one more person that had been changed because of her testimony.  I don't know how many people Sol has brought to the feet of Jesus, seems like every time I talk to her, she speaks of yet another friend or family member that has been saved because of her testimony.  I guess when God changes people's lives in such a drastic way, people take notice!

Sol still has struggles in her life and areas that she acknowledges that are challenging her, but I could sense a peace about her that she didn't have before.  I wish we lived closer so we could visit more often (besides, she's a really awesome cook and she made us not one, but two different types of flan!).  

Sol and I...

Miguel with his huevos rancheros...

Miguel at Work

We arrived on a Monday night and Miguel was working by Thursday...if you know Miguel, you that's pretty much par for the course...he's a hard-workin' man!  The reason he had a job so quickly is that our church hired him to work with the Buildings and Grounds dept. (a job he's had before); we were very thankful that they had an opening for him.  It's a long commute, he has to walk all the way over to the other side of the campus to get his gear (and coffee, because there's no way I'm up before he leaves at 6 a.m., sorry).  I've been able to snap a few pictures of him when he's come to work around the Village.

As you can see, there's a LOT of grass to be mowed around here...

I think the guys secretly have a lot of fun on those lawn mowers...

We're still tired, though, and we can tell

because this is what happens when we

stop to take a load off of our feet...