Never a dull moment

After the retreat, we picked Phyllis up at the airport, and headed straight for the airport in Morelia to pick Dan Coker up. He is spending the week here in Morelia, preaching and teaching. It has already been an encouragement and blessing to have him here. The minute we walked in the door, literally, the phone rang...One of our church family, Sandy was in the hospital after complications from a test she had done earlier in the week. Basically, she had a spinal headache that needed some serious attention. Just as Sam had lined up people to take care of her while Aldo was at work, the phone rang again...This time, one of our church family, Reina, called to say that her son, Juan, had just been in a car accident and was in the emergency room. So, Sam and Jose Luis headed to the emergency room to see him and Sandy.
The next morning during church, Jose Luis received a phone call... He was told that his oldest brother had just had a heart attack. They left immediately to be with his family and to find out that his brother had passed away. Very sadly, it was not a heart attack. His brother, Raul, had been drinking all night with his brothers and that morning choked, aspirated as he was throwing up and died. It was so tragic, especially, since Jose Luis just lost his father suddenly two months ago. As we had lunch with our neighbors, Arturo and Elsa, before heading over to the wake with them, Arturo got a phone call...One of his co-workers who had been sick for some time passed away. At Raul's burial, we found out that one of Jose Luis' sister-in-laws had just gotten word that her brother, traveling in the States, had passed away and they were awaiting for his body to be sent here. Wow! About this time we were wishing for more retreat time and for no phones!
And yet, in the midst of all this, God is faithful, oh so faithful. Sandy is home and feeling much better. The women in her cell group rose quickly and generously to the challenge and help to stay with her and take care of her. Juan ended up with a totaled car and a broken toe! He may have to have surgery, but that injury is so minor compared to what it could have been. Sam had the opportunity to say a few words of hope to Jose Luis' family at the burial, in a time of utter hopelessness and defeat for most of them. Jose Luis' sister-in-law has asked that Sam say a few words at her brother's funeral when the time comes. God has been glorified in each of these people's lives and we praise Him for that.
We do ask that you pray with us for the following:
1. Sandy's quick and complete recovery and healing
2. That Juan will use this opportunity to draw close to God and know a personal, loving, forgiving father in heaven.
3. For Jose Luis and Adriana as they tread the waters of grief, that they will lean more fully and completely in God, and that we, their Christian family, will be Christ to them in this time.
4. For Jose Luis' extended family as we have an opportunity to minister and share with them.
5. Specifically, for his brother's son, as his lost his mother also several years ago. That he will find comfort in God and that he will seek God.
Thank you for praying with us and for us. It is only this that sustains us and reminds us of the eternal hope that we have.

Pictures from the Retreat

Sara McClue and Victoria at the bonfire






Thanksgiving meal with everyone






An attempt at a family picture...








All of the little ones in a brief moment of sitting still








Here is a group picture of all those that attended the retreat, minus a couple of AIMers that did the picture taking honors.

Thanksgiving in Mexico

I am just now getting a chance to sit at the computer long enough to do a little blogging! It has been a busy last few days. We really enjoyed our time with fellow missionaries from Central Mexico, as we gathered together for a retreat and for Thanksgiving. Several of the families have time off from school, but our girls just took the time off and we headed to the mountains near Guadalajara for a few days of R&R. We had a great time! There were over 60 people at the reatreat, which included a plethora of children (of course, we made our dutiful contribution to the number of kids), many of whom were under the age of 5. Our girls play well with just about anyone, but there is something about being with other missionary kids that they really enjoy. Victoria picked up where she left off with her friend Sarah McClue, and they were soon joined at the hip. Sofia and her brother Phillip were also fast friends. In fact, we were cabin mates with the McClue family, who work in the south part of Mexico City.
Kent and Karen Smith from Abilene, Tx were the speakers at the retreat, and shared with us about spiritual formation and spiritual care. It was really important reminders for us as missionaries to make sure that we are receiving from the true source in order to give to others. This was also a good time to put that in practice.
Thanksgiving felt a little more like a "traditional" Thanksgiving, since it was a little on the cold side, and also because we had all the trimmings for an abundant Thanksgiving meal. The team in Guadalajara, which planned the retreat (and did an amazing job at it, I might add) brought the turkey, and the rest of us brought side dishes and desserts. We had food in abundance and fellowship in abudance. To top off the meal, we heard from each mission point on what God is doing in each place, so we had plenty to be grateful for.
This year, my birthday was the day after Thanksgiving, so instead of hitting all the major Thanksgiving sales (oh yeah...there aren't any of those around here...), I had a lovely day with my family. We had lunch in the nearby town and then cake. I had mananged not to make any public announcements about my birthday, but that night around the bonfire, Sam let everyone know, which was followed by at least 5 birthday songs! They would have kept coming up with more, but the kids were dying for smores! I'm grateful for smores! As if that wasn't enough, I got to finish off my birthday with icing on the cake -- a great game of nurts! The other ladies were even kind enough to let me win.
We took a detour on the way home and went along the Chapala lake, where many retired Americans live, and picked Phyllis up. So, we are enjoying her company this week. I am having picture posting issues,so I will try again later.

Church Sign

I forgot another important event of the weekend. On Saturday afternoon, some of the men installed a new sign for our church. This sign is at the "salon de fiestas" or place that we rent on Sundays. The owner has been very generous in letting us put the sign there on a permanent basis. As you pray, lift him and his wife up in prayer. Rene is a very kind man, and has made good friends with Sam. He listens to most of the sermons because he records them for us, which provides some lively discussion for he and Sam. In the last few days, several people that have businesses near his place, have been giving him a hard time and asking if he is "switching religions." God is working in Rene's heart in His timing, and our prayer is that He will come to know him fully one day. Enjoy the pictures.

Domingo de Cosecha/ Harvest Sunday

What a blessed day we had yesterday! It was special for a couple of very important reasons. First, as some of you already know, this past weekend we participated in an outreach event sponsored by the Billy Graham Association. Six homes from our church invited people on Thursday, Friday and Saturday to watch an evangelistic message and then a movie on Saturday. It was neat to watch a collective sense of excitement and even anxiety as the time approached, and, as always, God proved himself faithful. We had 60 new people from these groups that made a decision to walk closer to God. Wow! This is the beginning step for many of these people, but our prayer is that the fruit of this will be 60 new, forgiven, passionate, followers of Christ that will become a part of the community of believers here. There are many testimonies of God's greatness this weekend, among others, it seems that we may have a brand new cell group that spontaneously emerged...Sunday had been designated as Domingo de Cosecha (Harvest Sunday), where we invited these people to join us for our celebration service. Although, many of these people could not come, several did, and we enjoyed a great time of worship, prayer and fellowship. There were about 10 visitors there that we prayed for and rejoiced with them in their decision to follow Christ. Sorry, no pictures, since I haven't quite figured out how to nurse a baby without flashing the world, wrestle two other kids, sing, pay attention and take pictures all at the same time! The national goal for this event is to have 1 million people added to God's kingdom or reconciled to him. We will know in the next several days how it went.
As many of you know, yesterday was Harvest Sunday at Richland Hills. Summer and Sara participated in that as representatives of the work here. For those that may not know, this is the Sunday when RHCC takes a contribution specifically for missions and for spreading God's word. The goal was about $1.3 million dollars, and as of last night, almost all of it had been donated. Praise God! This is what allows us and so many other missionaries live and work for His kingdom glory. So, we rejoice greatly in that.
We topped off the day thanking God for his protection. We had "lunch" (at 5:00 pm) with a couple of neighbors. As we were eating, Sofia decide to walk behind a swing in motion and got hit on the forehead with a metal swing (not the first time she has done it, but I guess when we talked about the dangers of swings, we only mentioned walking in front of, not behind). As Sam ran out to get her and make sure she was okay, he ran right into a metal clothes line. He has a nice cut on his nose that should heal without stitches. Just to not feel left out, I whopped a guy with my purse on the way out of the restaurant. Oops...So, we came home tired, bruised and battered, but thankful for all that God has done in these past few days!

Pictures

Here a some pictures from our baby dedication yesterday. The first is several of the parents and children hearing Sam's words of encouragement and admonition for them as parents. The second is Adriana holding baby Daniel (Erandi's baby) for whom she is now a mentor. For those of you that would like to know, the kids that participated yesterday were the following: Mariana, daughter to Lupe and Enrique; Christian Steven, son to Esmerandi and Christian, both grandchildren to Rosita. Jovani, son of Cindy and nephew to Christian. Ricardito and Daniel, both sons of Erandi and Ricardo, and Hugo, son of Hugo and Yeslin. These are all grandchildren to Reina and Pepe who have been part of this body since last April. Olivia, our daughter, and maybe the cutest baby there! (yes I'm a lot biased.) Arturito, son of Elsa and Arturo, our neighbors who have been in our cell group for some time and just recently started attending on Sunday mornings, and Polito, son of Blanca and Polo. Are you sensing a theme here with boys and their names?
The following pictures are Polo and Polito. Blanca was unable to make it. Arturo and family, and our Olivia with Aldo and Sandy, her mentors.

Baby dedication Sunday

Summer and Sara have been gone for almost a month on furlough sharing with many of you at RHCC. We miss them very much, but are staying busy enough that time is flying by. Actually, Sam gets the award for the week, since he held down the fort all by himself at home and in ministry for 10 days while Olivia and I took a little trip north to visit cousins and grandparents. He really did an amazing job on all fronts and gets a big pat on the back for a job well done! He even had half the church over for lunch while I was gone. You go, Sam!
Today we had a special Sunday at church for our new babies. We took the opportunity dedicate these babies to God and to commit as a spiritual family to raise them up in the ways of the Lord. Well, it certainly surpassed our expectations! We had counted in 3 babies, but there were several families that wanted the opportunity to have their young ones included in the occasion. So, we ended up with eight young ones that we blessed and prayed for. Several families chose "mentors" for their children. These are couples in our church that commit to helping, praying and supporting the parents in their job of raising their kids. This is much like the godfathers or "padrinos" that people choose when they baptize their babies in the catholic church.
This special time ended with a potluck lunch with yummy food and plenty of fellowship. There were many visitors today that came with their families for this occasion. Also, some of those that participated are people that don't otherwise form an active role in this church body. Our prayer is that these people will have been blessed but also convicted of their spiritual responsibility as parents. Please pray with us for these families that they are one step closer to Him.
Looking ahead, we are preparing this week for "Mi Esperanza." This is a proyect in connection with Billy Graham and some prime time television programs they will be offering November 9 - 11. Many are participating and we look forward to see what God will do with this.
I am having picture posting issues, so I will try to post some tomorrow. Thank you for your patience!