Movin' Back With the Gringos

As I implied in my blog the other day, my friend Sarah left Queretaro on thursday to move back to Kansas (and wherever college is, I'm so bad, I forgot).

Sarah came here the middle of August for a study abroad semester at the Queretaro state university. The family she stayed with is friends with a lady who comes now and then to Horizonte Church, so Sarah came to Horizonte her first sunday here. Hence me meeting her.

Sarah immediately got involved in the young adults' group at church, and made lots of friends - at church and school. It was great getting to know her and share stuff that I've learned about Mexican culture, missions, and life as a gringa in Mexico. We went to Guanajuato together, went out for crepes or coffee or crepes or ice cream... or crepes... many times, and I showed her how to make Honduran pupusas! Sarah is an amazing Christian lady who I know God will use in great ways, and already has! I was sad to see her leave!

We had a goodbye party for Sarah on tuesday night, at our house. I think there were probably about 30 people in and out of the house that night... And if you've ever seen our house, you know that's a pretty big feat. Especially with the lack of places to sit. hehe

Cinthya, Brisa, Sarah, Ari, and Me (I am SO the old lady of this picture! Everyone else is between 17 and 20!)
Everyone who was at the house when the picture was taken (minus JP who was taking the picture!)

So, we'll miss you Sarah! (jaja, creo que vas a leer esto!)

Being Prepared... Or Not...

This week I saw a side of me that has DRASTICALLY changed in the past several years - planning and being prepared.

On tuesday, we had a goodbye party for our friend Sarah, who has been here for 5 months and just left yesterday. The party was a my house, so I had a LOT to do before it started at 6:30. Thankfully, I had done the majority of house cleaning on monday, but I still needed to bake a cake, make punch, buy paper - cut and decorate that paper for friends to write notes to Sarah on to make a memory book for her, put up signs outside so people would know where our house is, and find some plastic chairs to borrow for the evening. Oh, and I was house-sitting a dog for a few days.

So, by 5:30pm, I still needed to bake the other part of the cake (I made a double layer one, with only one baking pan), put the jam between layers of cake and frost it, clean the mound of lunch dishes that we in the kitchen, rearrange the furniture to accomodate everyone, phone around to see if any friends had chairs to loan, go get the chairs, make the punch, make the "Sarah's party" signs for outside, and find pens, scissors and stickers for people to decorate their goodbye book pages with.

As you may have guessed, it is not humany possible for one person to do all of that single-handedly in 1 hour, which is what I needed to do. It was made even more complicated by the fact that I only had the car for about 15 minutes because JP had to go to his school practicum. But, I located some friends to loan us 4 chairs immediately (thankfully they live close by), threw the cake in the oven, went to pick up the chairs, rearranged the furniture, got stickers etc. for the book, washed all the dishes, took down the dry laundry, put the signs outside (as I found one friend wandering around the neighborhood looking for the signs I said would show the way...) and came back to find Sarah and a few friends waiting outside the house. So, by 7, I finally had the cake finished, and punch made, and was ready to hang out with the 10 or so people who had showed up so far (that in itself was amazing, as for parties like this, many people just come for an hour or so, anytime between 6:30 and like 10pm that they can). And everyone thought it was perfectly normal that I was still working on getting stuff ready for the party.

Yesterday night I still hadn't bound the goodbye book for Sarah, and was at a friends' house until almost 8... Arriving at home, I left to put the book together, and rushed to Sarah's house to give it to her and say goodbye. :)

My week has pretty much been that way... between discipling times, work at the church, housework, (I STILL haven't cleaned the sticky/muddy floor in the house after the rainy tuesday evening that we had about 35 people in and out of our home)... No worries, I was ON TIME and prepared for the discipling times, as those are some of the most important times of my week!

Absolutely Amazing

I've written about "KidStuf" (Cosas de Niños) before, the monthly music and drama program that we do here at Horizonte Church that reinforces the concept that the elementary-age kids learn in Sunday School, and is also an outreach to the community.

Well, in March of this year, we began the second season of KidStuf. Lots of the first season actors and singers were no longer available to participate, so we had a casting. Some kids from a neighborhood close by came to the casting. They are not Christians, but we decided to let them participate anyway, hoping that it could be a way to share Christ with them. There was some controversy in the church about whether or not non-Christian youth should be participating in KidStuf, as it IS a MINISTRY of Horizonte Church. Like, the entire point is spiritual growth for the kids who have a relationship with Christ, and to share the Message of Salvation in Him with kids and parents who don't have that relationship. Generally in a MINISTRY we have Christians doing ministry, for obvious reasons. So this was a big step that we were unsure about taking, but took it anyway.

Over the course of this year, there have been about 10 different young people who are not Christians participating. They learn the Bible verse for the month, and sing about faith in Christ. I've participates on and off during these two seasons of KidStuf, acting and singing, but had to leave it in July because of other activities. But I really love those young people, and they look up to me as well. The girl who leads the choreography is an 18 year-old named Cinthya. (She is a Christian). She's had a HUGE impact on all the KidStuf kids, they lover her look up to her. And she is an excellent example to them of how being a Christian DOESN'T mean you can't do anything "cool" with your life.

This past sunday was the season finale of KidStuf until February or March, when we'll begin the THIRD season. So saturday, the day before the finale, you can imagine that there wer hours of practice going on. I knew that Edith, the coordinator of KidStuf, and Cinthya had in mind to share the Message of Salvation with the young people in a direct way, and give them the opportunity to accept that gift of Salvation and a relationship with Christ. I SOOOOO wanted to be there, but I didn't know when they were going to do it, so I wasn't.

SIX of the young people accepted the Lord on saturday!! Because of their participation in KidStuf, they had a good idea of what a relationship with the Lord is - that it's not really a religion at all, but an actual RELATIONSHIP. And, to top that off, six of the Christian young people (really young, like 13-16 years old!!) met individually with the six new believers to tell their story of what God has done in their lives, and hopefully to begin discipling them! So this was a DOUBLE blessing - to have new believers, and to see our youth begin discipling them!!

I'm so excited to see where this goes. And, if you're thinking "Right, those teens are going to disciple other teens" (which I totally believe is possible!), in case that doesn't work out, there are several of us, like Cinthya and myself, who are totally ready to step in and continue working with the new believers to walk along side them as the grow in their faith!

The end of the good-bye song at the KidStuf finale:


We had hoped to see this day come, when God would touch the hearts of all the KidStuf kids and bring them to a relationship with Him. I am SOOO thankful to see His work in KidStuf!!!

Free Vacation!!

Jean Paul has vacations from work this week, they just told him to pick a week in november to not come to work. We fear that this means he won't get vacation in august, but, oh well. Anyhow, we figured that JP would just relax around the house this week, so I didn't ask for days off at the church. But, on Friday, JP came home saying he had a big surprise, and that we could go to Guanajuato. I was bummed because I knew we couldn't pay for that, and that we really couldn't go. But he had won a 2 night stay in any City Express hotel in Mexico! So we COULD go somewhere for MY weekend (monday and tuesday are my days off).

The closest City Express to Guanajuato is in Silao by the Leon/Guanajuato airport, so we picked that one. We left sunday night to drive out there (1.5 hours).

On monday, we went to Leon. There's a pretty cool zoo there, and I LOVE zoos, so we went!

JP with an anteater (we think... there was no sign saying "Oso Hormiguero," but it looks like an anteater to us!

I LOVE giraffes!

And they have CINNABON in Leon!! We previously pick un Cinnabon anytime either of us has to go to the Mexico City airport for any reason, and we don't have these wonderful goodies in Queretaro, so Cinnabon, plus finding "Nacho Libre" for $4 dubbed in spanish was a great way to end our day in Leon!

On tuesday we went to Guanajuato! I had just gone with my friend Sarah 2 weeks before, but JP had never been, and I enjoy visiting there, so we spent tuesday in Guanajuato!

It was an excellent weekend, and great way to start JP's vacations!! And, the only cost to us was about $50!! We seriously needed the vacation too. JP has been working in the mornings until 3pm, going to his practicum at 5, and school from 7 to 10pm... it's been stressful for the both of us. But being able to spend a couple days doing only things that we WANT to do was excellent!!

So, today, Thanksgiving, we're thankful for the time away... almost FREE!!

And, in a coule hours, we'll be having Thanksgiving dinner with Justin, Lluvia, Job, Yetzi, and Sarah. Three of us are gringos, so having Thanksgiving dinner is wonderful! Justin and Lluvia are bringing a BBQ'd chicken (I did a Turkey with my friend Julia for New Year's last year to take to her leutinent husband and the soldiers under him who were all stationed outside of Queretaro, and I DON'T do turkeys anymore!), mashed potatoes, homemade stuffing, green salad, develled eggs (pretty sure JP, Job, and Yetzi have never had those), blackberry cheese cake, and pumkin pie (with no cloves, nutmeg, or ginger... too expensive. But I tasted it last night and it turned out fine).

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Extreme Adventure!

So, about an hour outside of Queretaro, there's this huge rock formation called Bernal. (<-- click the link to see a picture) There's a cute town below it, and really really really yummy gorditas to eat. And, you can climb up the rock as well. You can go about 2/3 of the way up not even being an athlete or anything. You can go a little further up if you're not terribly afraid of height and have good balance, and to get to the tip top by rapelling. (I've only been to the second level...) It's a nice hike, and not really dangerous. We took some of the students from the Horizonte Church young adults' group up there last saturday... Anyhow, I know that doesn't exactly sound like anything EXTREME... But it IS if you're taking a paralyzed young man up with you!! Rafa is a 25 year old who'd been completely paralyzed from mid-torso down for the past 8 years. He was very active and adventurous before he was paralyzed, so it's been a rough 8 years. Rafa has very limited use of his arms and hands as well, but actually paints quite well, and does computer graphics stuff. Anyhow, he said a while back that he'd never climbed Bernal. So, we said we'd take him (to the base of the rock!), and Juan said he's CARRY HIM UP!!!

So we planned the trip. The guys talked for a few weeks about what would be the best way to get Rafa up there. (Although very thin, Rafa is about 6'2 tall (190cm) and probably weighs about 165 or 170lb, 75kg!!) They figured out the best way to get him up was simply to strap him onto Juan's back. I had serious doubts that Juan could carry so much weight (remember, Rafa can't cling on with arms and legs). But we went.

It took a long time to get Rafa strapped into a rapelling harness that we rented, and get that strapped onto Juan, and get everyone comfortable. I STILL had doubts about the safety and wisdom of this venture...

But we went for it! There were a couple times when we almost quit, but didn't. Everyone helped out - walking alongside Juan to catch Rafa if anything happened, carrying pillows for Rafa and Juan to rest on every 200 feet or so...

And we ALL made it up to the first level (2/3 of the way up the rock)!! AND made it back down safely!!

It was really an excellent day! We are thankful for the opportunity to have been able to get Rafa up Bernal, and get a feel for an adventure again!

For more pictures, see my Facebook page.

Things to Remember This By

The past two weeks in young adults group, Jesus has turned the water into... grape juice? and overturned the money changers tables in... Trawpilandia?

We've been studying the life of Christ cronologically. Each week, we see a different event in His life - from His birth, to going to the temple as a boy, calling the first disciples, etc.

So, two weeks ago, we wondered how we could make the story of Jesus' first miracle something memorable. So we MADE the wedding feast as similar to a wedding feast in Jesus' time as we could, being in 2009 in Mexico...

Short tables and seating on the floor, clay cups, green olives, grapes, pita bread with hummus, grape juice, and even Jewish party music!

We saw how Jesus demonstrated that he was both HUMAN, like us, and GOD, all powerful. Read John 2:1-11, and see in which ways He demonstrated both!

And last week, as the students entered the room (Trawpilandia, the elementary school kids' room, which means the land of growth), they saw tables laying on their sides, overturned chairs, some Bible-looking clothes scattered around, clay dishes from the week before tossed here and there, and money sprinkled on the floor... (We wanted to bring in a few white, furry dogs that could pass for small sheep, or even a friend's chihuahua, but no one wanted to clean up poop...)

We looked at John 2:12-22, about Jesus getting rid of the vendors and advantage-taking money changers in the Temple ("Hey! Over here! I'll give you 8 pesos per dollar!!") So, why did Jesus upset these guys in the Temple? The people were likely using the Temple for personal financial gain, AND they were doing it in the Temple Courts, which is the area that the gentiles were allowed to enter to worship God. So, the gentiles probably couldn't do a lot of praying and worshipping during the Passover time if there were a bunch of sales going on in their area of worship. And, most of the people in the Court area were probably there to get rich, and not to worship. Jesus loved His Father SO much, that He wanted the people to respect God how they should. His Father was/is His passion! Maybe it was ok for vendors to sell animals for sacrifices, or change money (13 pesos to the dollar please!) for foreigners coming to worship at Passover. But when the point of the booths in the Temple becomes personal gain instead of helping people to worship, it totally defeats the purpose. And since Jesus is passionate about people truly worshipping His Father, He put a stop to those who were abusing the right to be in the Temple Courts.

I don't have pictures of the overtuned room we "set-up" last week, but I hope it will help the idea of the passion Jesus has for His Father to stick with the students.

What are YOU passionate about?

HE Lives

Last Saturday, my friend Sarah and I (she is a college student who is studying here for 5 months, and started coming to Horizonte Church) went to fulfull a school project that she had to do. That project involved going to an event having to so with Day of the Dead, celebrated on November 1 & 2. Sarah didn't want to go alone because of the sketchy and spiritually weird atmosphere of the holiday, so I went with her. We chose to go to an exhibit of altars and offerings. This seemed like the least creepy option, as there are altars set up in all the malls, and in various parks downtown, etc. So, we entered the exhibition courtyard of the public library and made the rounds looking at the altars. But Sarah needed, for her project, to explain one of the altars. We chose one made by a small group of Jr. High students. They began to explain the significance of the various parts of the altar. We didn't take the picture below, I just found it on the internet, but it's pretty similar to the one we asked about:

So, the kids told us that the altars should have representations of wind, water, fire, and earth; seven stair-type-thingies representing the seven deadly sins; a picture or representation of the deceased person receiving the offering; the favorite foods and the vices of the deceased... etc. I'd heard most of this before, and it always makes me angry because dead people are not going to come back for a day to eat little bits of food, drink alcohol, and put curses on you if you don't leave stuff set out for them. But I was REALLY horrified when the kid told us that three skull figures toward the middle of the altar represented the TRINITY!!!

Many Catholics in Mexico fully participate in the Day of the Dead, and Catholic churches set up altars. For them, Jesus is still dead (hence being represented by a skull). I'm not going to say anything about catholicsism in the US, but here in Mexico, there's just no way that you can say that Catholicsism is like Christianity. The entire base of the Christian faith is that Jesus rose from the dead! I don't have a relationship with a dead guy, but with Jesus who LIVES in heaven, and who's Holy Spirit lives in me and in all others who also have a relationship with Him. The kids showing us their altar made the altar as a "good deed" that is needed to EARN their way to heaven. People just can't (don't want to?) believe that you don't have to do all kinds of good crap so that God will let you go to heaven. I mean, we should do good stuff, but when we mess up, there's forgiveness directly from God, not from a priest of a saint. Sarah was telling one a young guy that lives by her that good deeds don't get you into heaven, but accepting forgiveness for sins from Jesus does. He looked at her weird, and pulled out a wallet-sized picture of the saint from his hometown with a prayer on the back, and told her that this saint would make sure he got to heaven... he hoped.

So, if you thought that Mexico is about as much of a Christian country as the USA, think again. I mean, morally, sometimes I think Mexico isn't as far in the hole as the US (and then sometimes I think it's the other way around), but as far as people who actually believe that Jesus is STILL alive after His ressurrection, and that they HAVE a relationship with Him... There's just not many. It's figured that 1.5% of people in Queretaro go to an Evangelical church regularly. So, how many people out of that percentage ACTUALLY have a relationship with Christ? We figure 1%, optimistically.

So that's why JP and I are here. And why we consider just the act of daily living as sharing the Gospel with others. LOTS of people here have NEVER heard the message of salvation!! (Like our friend Brenda...) In the USA, LOTS of people have actually heard the Message, they just choose to not accept it. But here, we have a huge opportunity to live the love of God in our daily lives, and explain Salvation to others.

Sarah and I were both on the verge of tears when the kids explained the skulls to us. It was hard for two gringas who grew up in Christian homes to even HEAR that the skulls are for the Trinity... Please keep praying for JP and I in our daily ministries, and for Sarah too, as she lives with and goes to class with lots of people who had never heard that Jesus is alive.

And, saturday, Sarah and I are going to the town of Guanajuato (2 hours from Queretaro), we're still seeing if there are any other girls who want to come with us, and I hope it's a good time of exploring the city and encouraging one another!

Sarah and our friend Amayrani:

Viva... MEXICO! And Honduras! And USA!

What? What am I talking about, you ask?

Yes, I know, most of my readers are "gringos" from the US, and put "soccer" in the same sports category as water polo and lacrosse. But it really shouldn't be that way you know... Soccer is the most popular sport in the WORLD - it should be embraced!

Especially when MY THREE COUNTRIES are going to the World Cup!! South Africa, 2010.

In Mexico there wasn't too much celebrating going on when we won the game that clinched entry to the Cup. Most people just automatically assume that Mexico will go... although I have to admit that two months ago, I betted two people 1liter Cokes that Mexico would NOT go, as they were playing so horrible... But that's beside the point.

My brother, Franklin, in Tegucigalpa, sent me video footage of the celebration the night Honduras won entry to the Cup. And footage from the airport when, what seemed like the entire 2million people of Tegus, came to welcome the Honduran team back from El Salvador, where the victory was won. In both of the videos, you may be surprised to know that some Hondurans were toting around not only the Honduran flag, but also the USA flag. This is because if the US hadn't tied or won their game against Costa Rica, Honduras would NOT have gone to the Cup. But USA and CR tied, so CR is out, and Honduras in.



And speaking of Hondurans carrying around the American Flag...

It makes me think back about my time there and the way people treated me, being a gringa. I honestly never felt anyone bad-mouthing the USA, nor discriminating against me for being from there. True, there were store and bank atendees who tried speaking to me in broken english - either thinking that I can't speak spanish, or wanting to practice their english - I prefer to think the latter. And I may or may not have been ripped off at stores, etc. for being a gringa. But in general, people were at least OK with me.

Now, in (Queretaro) Mexico it's a different story. I'm not saying that gringos are treated badly, but frequently people make comments about the US government (can't blame them) and the country in general that rather irritate me. I don't go around saying bad things about Mexico... But what really gets me is the "being ripped off for being a gringa" part. I've been here almost 4 years now, and my spanish is actually quite good. And STILL I have people in stores, taxi drivers, and market vendors trying to make me pay outrageous prices for things, because I'm white so I have money right?? hehe. It usually does change things a bit when I throw in some mexican terms while telling them I won't pay that ridiculous price...

And then, there's being a Mexican in Honduras. "But you're NOT a Mexican!" you say. Well, because of said "mexican terms" that are now a very well-used part of my daily vocabulary, and the fact that women on mexican TV shows are tall and blonde, I very easily pass for a Mexican in countries south of Mexico. The last 2 times that I went to Honduras, I was frequently asked if I was "from Mexico." I always said yes. (I actually DID come from Mexico to Honduras...) And that good attitude toward "Jessica the gringa" that I mentioned above, abruptly disappears. "Yesica la mexicana" is attended to in stores with glares, and given rude comments about my country of residence. Suyapa says it all has to do with soccer. I can see that soccer plays a part in this, but I can't believe that it would make up ALL the animosity of Hondurans toward Mexicans. It could have a lot to do with the fact that some immigration offices in Mexico treat CentralAmericans very badly when caught illegally in Mexico (you think I'm joking, but Mexico treats illegal CentralAmericans as bad or worse than the US treats illegal mexicans...) If any Central American is going to get caught illegally in Mexico, shoot for Queretaro. Our immigration office feeds them a choice of KFC of Pizza Hut, and actually treats them like worthy humans (as all humans have the right to). I see this because of my visits to immigration for my residency...

The famous "Caballero taunting Cuautemoc" in one of the games that Honduras won against Mexico... Cuautemoc is NOT a favorite of mine...

Anyhow, I'm glad that Suyapa and family were able to come visit Mexico last year. They fell in love with our friends Luis and Sandy, and were able to break the sterotypical "mexicans are lazy wife-beaters" mindset that was mentioned to me right before I started dating JP. Franklin even wants to come here for a month or so to visit... he'd LOVE all the art museums and going to the lovely towns around QRO! I'm still a little wary about taking JP to Honduras some day, and he's not exaclty jumping-up-and-down excited to go either. But someday we'll go, and (God willing!) he'll love it despite a few nay-sayers and their comments...

So, I'm not sure what the point of this entry is... MY countries are going to the World CUP, and I LOVE being in all three of said countries... I love living in Mexico, but I miss the warmth of the Honduran people, and their beans and quesillo and crema de mantequilla; and the grass, carpet, and chinese food of the USA. But, when outside of Mexico, I miss all my friends, and the world's most yummiest cuisine, and the excellent weather in QRO... And here we'll stay until God says otherwise!

Adventures in Disicipling

As many of you know, a lot of what I do in ministry here in Queretaro is discipling young ladies. This is also my favorite part of ministry!

Recently, I've been meeting with Cristina (pictured below in the green shirt). She's the same as as me, and grew up in a Christian home, but spent years not following the Lord. After several years of bad decisions, a year in the US, and returning to try to pick up the pieces to her life, Cristina has decided that she can't go on without the Lord. So we're walking through the process of learning exactly what is a relationship with the Lord, and that, while He always forgives us and forgets our mistakes, He doesn't necesarily take away the consequences.
It's been great to see how Cristina relies more and more on the Lord every day, and is seeking Him in her decisions!

About a year ago I had been meeting with Ere. But she kind of dropped off the planet for a while... I called her frequently, but was discouraged that she never wanted to make time to meet. So about two months ago, Ere came to me and asked to talk. We went out to lunch, and she told me that she hadn't been feeling well (emotionally and spiritually) recently. I asked her why, and she, very honestly, replied, "because Ere is most important in my life, and not God." She decided to begin the process of changing who's number ONE in her life, so we are beginning to meet regularly to study the life of Christ together! It's great to be able to learn and grow alongside another young lady! (Ere and I are pictured below)

And, not all discipleships go as planned. I was meeting weekly with Carmelita, a young lady from an extremely difficult financial and family background. It was a challenge for me to relate to her, as I have never even come close to experiencing many of the things she's gone through. But she seemed to be willing to open up to me about the hard times.
Carmelita frequently asked me for money. At first, I was not hesistant to give, as JP and I aren't going to starve if we help her and her family out a bit. And we SHOULD help the less fortunate. But, the asking was getting to be more demanding than asking, more frequent, and also extended to various other church members who also thought they were the only ones helping this family. Carmelita is out of high school and does not go to college or work. This posed a bit of a problem for me... After talking to our church staff and another trusted Christian friend, I slowly began to talk to Carmelita about the asking for money, and the fact that she's not studying, working, nor even looking for a job. I felt like it went over well in that moment. I even volunteered to drive her around to look for jobs, and to help her put together a resume. During this entire conversation, I never told her that she MUST go work, but I asked several times if she would think and pray about what the best way to support her family is (morally, spiritually, as well as financially). We left knowing that we would both be praying about how best to be in support of her family.
But since then, Carmelita has avoided me completely! I'm rather surprised about this. As I mentioned, I felt like that sensitive conversation went over quite well. So I hope to see Carmelita soon, although I don't want to pressure her to meet with me if she doesn't want to...

Independence Day... A Tad Bit Late

We just want to share a few pictures of this years' Independence Day celebration! We begin celebrating in the evening of Sept. 15 (the official holiday is the 16th), and this year we went to Horizonte Church for food, fellowship, fun, and MORE food!

Pile of three different nationalities! Marica (Costa Rica), Jessica (USA, STILL not a mexican), and JP (Mexico)... Oh! And that bluish-colored tamal* is blackberry flavored! VERY yummy!!

Ladies serving up pozole, tamales, elotes, tostadas de tinga, fruit cider, and lots of other Mexican foods, especially typical of Queretaro!

Face painting and goofing off! (Hey look, I'm not the blondest gringa here!)

My friends: Sarah, Amayrani (have fun pronouncing THAT name!), Brisa, and Ana!

It was a great night!!

* "TAMAL" is the singular for TAMALES (tah-MAH-lees). So just one tamal is "tah-MAHL." Oh the fun facts about Mexican cuisine... :)

Stay tuned for: Adventures in Discipling (the good, the bad, and the well, less than desireable...), A short trip to Mexico City to visit JP's dad, Young Adults' ministry... etc.

Thank You God for Mexico!

Although I've been here in Queretaro for almost four years, (yeah, it's gone by REALLY fast!) there is still so much to learn culturally! I frequently that the Lord for sending me to Mexico - besides the fact that I met my husband here - it's really not been that difficult for me to adjust to living in this country. The thought process of Queretanos is somewhat different that growing up in Oregon, but nothing too strange. I seriously think that Mexico is home to the world's best cuisine, and Queretaro is an excellent place to enjoy that! The dress of the middle-class society is basically the same as middle-class Oregon, with the exception that not many women wear shorts outside. But that's not a problem. The list of subtle differences goes on. I've been thinking about this lately, as my new friend, Sarah, who is in Queretaro from Kansas studying at the State University, frequently asks me about cultural things.

I recently met with my CostaRican friend, Yami. Yami and her husband are missionaries from CostaRica to Queretaro. They have opened the Mexican regional offices of an organization that sends Latino Christian workers to restricted-access countries. Yami and her husband had prevously lived in one of these countries - a predominently Muslim country. She told me about many of their unpleasent experiences with immigration, having to leave the country at least once a month in order to live somewhat legally in the country, having the police come to their home looking for them to question them in a language that they didn't speak very well, and many other things. (This conversation started as we talked about how frustrating Mexican immigration in Queretaro has been this year - complaining about the $250 per person to renew a visa, and the 3 months it took to GET the visas renewed. After what Yami told me about their experiences in the other country, I'm pretty thankful for the $250 fee and a 3 month wait. I live very peacefully here, and have all the same rights as a Mexican, with the exception of voting.) Anyhow, Yami told me that their experiences overseas were NOTHING compared to what some of their missionary friends went through. I seriously won't put those things on this blog because it would make you sick.

I have a friend, Elsy, who is from El Salvador, who went to the same country as the stuff I won't mention. Elsy, in my opinion, comes from poverty. I've stayed a few times at her family's home. It's very small - about the size of my parents' kitchen/dinning room - and 5 people live there (I'm the 6th when I go). The two girls sleep in bunk beds that must've been made for midgets - I was 15 pounds lighter than I am now when I stayed there, and my hips hit the metal sides of the bed when I laid down... Elsy and her sister shared the top bunk when I was there. The wall between the girls' room and parents' room is a tarp. It's interesting to have a random elbow poke you from the other side of the tarp as you go to sleep! And the bathroom, well, you go down a really narrow, and constatly wet, staircase to where there is a hose that comes from the neighbors' home. That's the shower. And the toilet is a concrete tube sticking out of the ground.
Anyhow, I would have a hard time adjusting to living more than 3 or 4 days at a time in those conditions. And when Elsy moved to the restricted-access country, she said the poverty was so horrible she couldn't stay for the 2 years she'd signed up for. A few times she mentioned some of the living conditions, and mainly rituals that happen there, and it's just hard to believe that there are people who live how she described.

Jean Paul and I went out to dinner with one of his teachers, Alejandro, who gives world culture classes in his school. Alejandro had just returned from China. We were eating BBQ pork tacos during this dinner, and we asked about the food in China. Alejandro grimmaced and asked if we get grossed out easily. We don't. So he told us about the schishkabobs he saw in China. Schishkabobs are pretty common in Mexico - chunks of beef, onions, green peppers, and other vegetables on a stick and BBQ'd. Well, in China, Alejandro saw a guy with two kabobs, each with two recognizable RATS on them! The skin was the only thing missing from the rats! Jean Paul and I thanked God for Mexican food right then!

All in all, I feel like we have it very easy here in Queretaro. True, many people are VERY resistant to accept ANY religion, much less a relationship with the Lord. But they are generally not hostile toward Christians. Here is a nice place to live!!

Pork Tacos...

Side note: The other day I was walking and, after seeing something funny that I'll mention in a moment, thought about some of the weird store combinations here. For example, near our house there is an office-supply store that also sells foods like ham, cheeses, and many things other than snacks and pops. There's also a famous muffler shop that sells tacos. No one would think anything of it if you invited them to lunch at the Chavez Muffler Shop! And, while walking, I found another really interesting store combination that I don't know how I'd missed before, as it's about 3 blocks from my house. It's a hardware store that also sells cleaning supplies (mops, pinesol, bleach, etc.) That doesn't seem weird at all. But this is a hardware and cleaning supplies store, that also sells lingerie! hehe.

Go Ye Therefore and Preach the Gospel...

A few weeks ago, Jean Paul and I had the opportunity to go out with Brenda, one of Jean Paul's co-workers. She was having a very difficult time with her boyfriend and family, and knew that we would be willing to listen to her. We went to coffee in the Centro, and she began explaining the situation. She asked how she could improve her life and make the situation less problematic. Jean Paul and I just looked at each other and smiled, and began to explain Salvation in Christ Jesus. It was obvious that Brenda had never heard this Message of salvation before. We explained very simply that God loves her so much, that He sent His Son to die to pay for HER sins. That one decision to accept forgiveness from Christ is what can change her life. Not take away the consequences of sins, but begin to live a new life. Brenda was very honest with us. SHe said she knew that her lifestyle was bad, that she's done lots of bad things in her life, but that maybe if she just asks forgiveness of all the people she's wronged, THAT will bring about a change. We admited that asking forgiveness of those people is a good thing, but it's asking GOD'S forgiveness that brings life change and eternal life.

I know that Brenda understands the concept of salvation in Christ. She asked many questions to clarify questions and doubts. She did not, however, make that decision to accept Christ. We will continue to pray for Brenda, and to hang out with her. We want her to know that we love her, and that God loves here. We trust that soon she we make that decision to follow Christ!

Oregon!

Wow, it's been a REALLY long time since I've written...

We had a great time in Oregon in August, visiting with people we hadn't seen in a long time, or for Jean Paul MEETING lots of people!, hanging out with my parents, and visiting the Oregon Coast, Silver Creek Falls (state park with several waterfalls), dowtown Portland, and exploring Salem!

Here are just a few pictures...

Jean Paul and I with Lindsay and Roger at the Portland Rose Gardens:
At Silver Creek Falls...

Freezing our buns off at the beach!

The Big Trip!

Jean Paul and I will be in Oregon for a while... August 14-25. This will be his first time going to the United States! We're very excited! We hope to see those of you who live in the Salem are while we're there. Our plans include times to get together with many of you (if you haven't received an invitation to come to my parents' house on Tuesday, let me know... we are also having a get-together at SS Naz on this Sunday, so if you attend there, we're hoping that you'll come on sunday, it will be in the gym, since not a lot of people will fit in the house!)

See you soon!

Camp!

The other week, we had youth camp for ages 12 and up. I have to admit that I was extremely skeptical about having jr. high and high school AND young adults in the same camp. But it actually turned out REALLY well!

We had some huge snags in our plans on the first day (camp was thursday thru saturday) that had to do with the facility that we were renting... We weren't given our rooms when we arrived, there was a huge group of teens that should've left in the morning that was still there when we arrived, lunch was 2 hours late, etc. But, we went ahead with some activities that we could do on the lawn, like games and a devotional; and enough kids brought lots of snacks that we were able to stave off the hunger with Cokes and chips. Everyone had incredibly good attitudes despite plans not going, well, as planned.

Our camp theme this year was "My Identity In Christ." We had some great times of worship, some activities that related to "my view of me," and "God's view of me in Christ." We had two guest speakers (adults from Horizonte Church) and a few people from the young adults group share Scripture and experiences related to the theme, and encouraged students to think and pray about what actions or steps they need to take in their lives once they begin to discover an identity in Christ.

The worship group: Ruben, Alex, Job, and Chino is hidden behind Alex


Students participating in the worship time:

Some of the young adults sharing experiences and Scriptures:

Girls hanging out! (Ana, me, Aurea, Brisa, Lluvia, and Amayrani)

And we had some weird fun times... This was in a photo scavenger hunt in downtown Tequisquiapan (a town about 1 hour away from Queretaro), one of the things we had to take a picture of was our team with weird hair-do's. We had four teams for all the games and activities at camp, this was my team, the red team... They're awesome (Back: Alan and Abdiel. Front: MariJo, me, Amayrani, Mary, Dirce, and Justin was taking the picture.)

And a terrible picture of me and Ana after a game... We always seem to get our picture taken together at our worst!

The camp turned out very well, and the students wanted it to last longer! Maybe next year we'll shoot for 4 or 5 days... I feel like the students really learned more about their walk with the Lord, and they definitely built stronger relationships with each other as well!

Welcome to Our Humble Home

We are very blessed to have a nice little house to rent. It's very centrally located, and within walking distance of our church, several friends' houses, and two grocery stores. The lady that we rent the house from LOVES us, and even LOWERED our rent for a few months so we can continue to live here!

Jean Paul and I want our home to be a place of ministry. Of course we use it a lot as a place for the two of us, a place where we can relax and rest. But you can frequently find lots of things going on... We're a little low on furtiture... no couches or anything yet, but hey, it's less for me to clean!

Several evenings each month there are two or three college students sitting around out table studying with JP. He has one year left of his International Commerce studies, and works on several group projects at our house with his classmates. I make dinner and/or dessert for them and they usually stay until the wee hours of the morning (1, 2 am…) working on school stuff, laughing, and drinking too much Coke.

The young adults group from Horizonte Church has used our home on occasion for movies and snack... movies work great with the youth group's video projector, and the DVD being played from a laptop... Big screen in our house!

A couple weeks ago we had our first over-night guests in the house. Monica and Vilma from Merida (kind of by Cancun) came up for the Calvary Chapel pastors and leaders conference that was held just outside of Queretaro.

We love having other young couples over to eat, chat and play games too! Ricardo and Ana, and Javier and Yaneth are our "Monopoly" friends... We have a mexican version of Monopoly - the red squares have places from Queretaro! - and every now and then we play well into the night! Although Ricardo and Ana haven't played ever since Ricardo stood up, slapped his hand down on the table, and said "Jean Paul, you're being manipulative!" (te pasas de gandalla!) Because JP wouldn't sell him any properties! It was really funny though, and Ricardo wan't really upset... We appreciate these times with other Christian couples who encourage us so much!

We've also been able to have some non-Christian couples over for dinner - One of JP's teachers and wife, and a couple from work have come over, and we've been able to share our faith with them!

It's not all fun times in the house though. We've had some difficult situations as well. One night, JP's frind Jorge pulled up to the house around 11pm and asked to talk with JP. I fixed Jorge some dinner and left them to talk. Jorge had all his clothes and belongings that could fit in his car with him... he had just left his wife. He's not a Christian, but JP was able to share Biblical truths about marriage and relationships with him. A few hours later, Jorge had calmed down, and went back to his house and his wife. Their situation isn't perfect, but they're still together...

Carmelita is a girl who I've been discipling for a couple months now. She lives with extreme financial and family problems. I've had her at our table on occasion crying about her family situation, asking for prayer and wisdom... I feel totally unequipped to deal with her situation, but we both trust that God is in control...

All in all, we feel very blessed to have this house as a place of ministry for whatever circumstances come along. Please continue to pray for us as we share the message of salvation with those who still don't believe, and encourage young Christians in their faith!

Kids Stuf!

Well, it's been about 3 weeks now since we last had a Kids Stuf drama presentation for kids in Horizonte and the community. In fact, the next presentation is next week. But I just wanted to throw in some photos...

In June our presentation was about Gratitud. The elementary-aged kids at Horizonte Church learned about gratitude throughout the month of May, so at the end of their study of the "virtue of the month," we have Kids Stuf to further drive home the point of learning the virtue.

This was my last month participating, for a while at least, so I can focus more on young adult ministry and youth camp. And I was drafted (possibly out of lack of anyone else who can somewhat carry a tune??) to sing for the presentation. The singers usually participate in the correography as well, but the day before the program it was clear that I could either remember words to the songs, or the motions - not both! So that's me singing from the top bunk bed:
Roberto and Gaby (my little siblings here, since I lived with them for my first two years here) doing an excellent job portraying siblings in the funny drama...

Alma and Arturo presenting the mini-comedy show:

And some of the high school girls selling popsicles after Kids Stuf to raise money for youth camp that will be July 16-18.

Quick Update...

Wow, I haven't been good at writing in my blog for quite awhile...

We've been pretty busy... Jean Paul has finished with the political candidates' visits to his school (see previous entry), and is busy with another semester. He graduates in August 2010!

Oh, speaking of August, we received a large enough financial gift from a generous person to be able to go to Oregon THIS August!! We still haven't bought tickets, but it looks like we should arrive on August 15, and stay until the 26th. It will be JP's first time to the States - actually his first time ever leaving Mexico!!

As far as the young adults group goes, things are good! We are planning a youth camp for ALL the young people (age 12 and up); that will be 16-18 of July. Please pray for the planning of the camp, in which we're trying to involve many of the college-age students, that the Lord will give us wisdom in WHAT to talk about with the teens, and what to plan for. We want this to be a camp that is not only FUN, but that also IMPACTS their lives! Our main theme is "Identity in Christ." We hope that the speakers can communicate well to the teens, and that all activities are uplifting, fun, and learning experiences! The camp will be held in a place with cabins in the town of Tequisquiapan about an hour away from the city of Queretaro.

Our friends Mark and Abby, who have been in Queretaro since January, are leaving this week. They came here to study spanish before moving to the state of Chiapas (southern boarder of Mexico with Guatemala) to begin a youth ministry there. So the time has come to see them off to their ministry destination!


And, my 10-year high school reunion was a couple weeks ago - that makes me feel old - and No, I didn't go, but I heard it went well. It looks like about half the class was there! (Yeah, there were only 45 in my graduating class...)


Look! Most people look just the same as 10 years ago! haha!

Politics

Well, the swine flu scare has passed, and things have returned to a much more normal state here. And we've been busy!

JP started summer semester at school, and has had some interesting things happen there...

JP's friend Benjamin works for the county government. He's affiliated with one of the political parties, and helps the candidates for mayor, senators, and governor. In JP's school, one teacher (an ex-polititian himseld) mentioned that he thought it would be an excellent idea to be able to bring one or two political candidates to the school to either have a debate or just talk with the students. Benjamin went to JP's school until he transferred to another this semester, and began talking to his political party's candidates. Since Benja no longer goes to the school, he passed the organizational part of the candidate event off to JP. JP met with the college president and the ex-polititian teacher, and they decided to go ahead with the event, inviting the candidates for both mayor and governor (state and county elections are on July 5). JP is in charge of setting things up for the event. We're excited that he has this opportunity, as it may provide a chance for a better job in the near future, especially if the invited candidates get elected. JP hadn't previously been affiliated with any political party, but this is the party that he would've been a part of... The party that, in general, seems to be most like what JP would vote, AND the party that is most likely to win the elections here in Queretaro.

Please pray for JP in the process of this event, and his relations with the candidates. He's always had a desire to minister to the upper-class and famous people... it kind of seems like God has given this opportunity for that specific reason!

The Projects

I have been very encouraged by our group of young people at Horizonte Church. I had mentioned in a previous blog that the young adults expressed a desire to do something to both serve out community and share the message of salvation with those around us. I mentioned that they thought of six different projects that we could potentially begin that would help accomplish those two desires. After much thinking, organizing, planning, and praying, we found that three of those projects have the most potential to meet needs in the community and share our faith with others.

Several students, including myself, plan to visit the state physical rehabilitation center to visit and play with the children who have handicaps. We actually had our first event – a short music and drama presentation – planned for April 30th (which is children’s day), but that was postponed until further notice due to the flu outbreak. We hope that through small drama presentations, the children and parents will come to know the Lord.

Two young ladies have been raising money, by selling homemade cookies, to buy healthy snacks and small toys for children on the streets. The plan is to talk with the kids – and their parents if available – and hopefully continue to take time to play with them and chat with their parents on a regular basis (most children and families are at the same intersection begging every day). The girls who are organizing this project and those who will go with them to talk with the kids and families hope to form relationships with them that may lead to the children and families knowing the Lord.

The third project is a little more complicated, and I will talk more about it in a future blog, as it has several purposes!

Please pray for our young adults to continue to be excited about the ministry projects and to have courage to share their faith. Pray for those who we will meet through these projects, that they may choose to follow the Lord!

And some pictures so you have something to look at! Heehee!

Alan (from the high school youth group) and I acting in Kid Stuff - a once a month music and drama program for the kids at Horizonte Church. This is what we were (and are, once the quarentine lifts!) going to do at the physical rehab center for the kids!

The musical part of the kids' program... :)

OK in Queretaro

Just in case some of you have been wondering if JP and I are ok living here in Mexico during the flu outbreak, we're still alive and well!

We live about a 3 hour drive to the north of Mexico City, where the flu has hit hardest, and about 2 hours to the south of San Luis Potosi, another flu hot-spot. All schools in the country (as far as I've heard) are closed, at least until May 6th, as are all pools, gyms, water-parks, and other places like those. Most people in Queretaro are still going to work. JP has to go - there are two headquarters for Santander Bank, and the one in Mexico City is closed, so that leaves a nice workload for the hq employees here in Queretaro... I, on the other hand, am working from home this week, per the decision of Pastor Martin to suspend activities beginning today, until I'm not sure when.

The situation is a LOT calmer here than in Mexico City. I'm trying to think of what you all see and hear in the US (and Australia! Hi Mr. and Mrs. Jones; Rose!), and the pictures of people wearing surgical masks is pretty much how it is here too, but we haven't had rediculous lines of people buying 100 liters of milk and 50 cans of tuna here in Queretaro, like in Mexico City. We went to the grocery store yesterday and didn't see anyone buying in "panic quantities."

To answer questions, Yes, this is a situation that has potential to become grave if not handled well. However, most people are being sensitive and respecting the rules and suggestions that the secretary of health has put forth. No one has died in Queretaro of flu-related symptoms, and those hospitalized with flu sypmtoms have not been confirmed to be THIS strain of the flu yet (they may have a different strain that isn't as bad).

Oh, and about the earthquake, we didn't even feel it here!

Thank you for your prayers for this situation! And we'll keep you updated on this as things unfold (or hopefully improve!).

Easter

For four weeks here at Horizonte Church we had a wonderful series about the glory of God. It ended on Easter Sunday. The series involved paintings being done love on the stage during the sermon (those of you who have been at North Point for a while, it was the “Canvas” series). It’s hard to describe the sermon series, but the paintings had everything to do with what Pastor Martin was speaking about. On Easter Sunday, all the paintings were put together and made a representation of God’s gift of salvation to us through Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection. (I’m being kind of vague here because I think you should find the “Canvas” series from North Point Ministries and watch it in English!)

One of the artists who painted during the service was Rafa. If you remember, he’s the young guy who is paralyzed from the waist down, and only has partial use of his hands and arms. Rafa arrived at Horizonte about two and a half years ago, and was very shy and rather depressed because of his physical situation. He’s since slowly gotten involved in the young adults group at church and, while still rather reserved, considers us his friends and it’s embarrassed to have to be lifted out of us chair to go to the upstairs room for young adults group, or to come to the water park with us even though he doesn’t go in the water.

Anyhow, the Easter service was very impacting for probably most everyone present. Even Arturo (a young non-Christian guy who’s been helping with our monthly children’s theater and song presentation) was touched. While he still doesn’t want to be a “religious” person, on Easter he took communion with us after saying that he believes that he’s a sinner, that Jesus is the Son of God who died for our sins and rose again. I really don’t care if Arturo identifies himself as being a Christian or not; he believes! And we want to help him grow in those beliefs and begin to live a life pleasing to God! (I hope you’re reading this from C.R. Phil!!!)

So pretty much, besides being a great sermon series because of the content and paintings, this past month has been amazing to see Rafa step out of his comfort and even more, seeing Arturo accept the Lord!!

My picture of all the paintings didn't really turn out, but so you can get a little bit of an idea...

Spring Break!

We've had a lot of funness going on around here in the week that JP was off school and Horizonte church staff was out of the office!

On Easter Sunday, JP and I went to the fair in the Centro. This isn't the big State Fair, but a smaller one, kind of like a county fair - no rides or anything.

One famous tradition in Queretaro (and some other cities too) is the burn a figure of Judas on Easter Sunday. I imagine that originally it was because we could say that Judas was responsible for Jesus' death, although we know that He would've died anyway even without Judas' involvement. Nowday, besides the statue of Judas, the Catholic Church - who organizes the event - also burns statues that represent people or problems that the church doesn't like. This year, figures of the "financial crisis," "drug addiction," and "violence" were burned.

It was hard to take pictures in the dark of a moving piñata-type figure, but here's one of the figures before being burned by fireworks:

Lots of people in one of the main streets of downtown watching the figures being blown up:

And our favorite part of the festival... the food booths! Jean Paul loads up on candies:

I love "antojitos queretanos" - typical street food from Queretaro! However, we opted for pizza instead this time, as my stomache health has been a little delicate lately...

Then last friday, we had a water-park outing with the young adult group at Horizonte Church! I LOVED this water park, the water isn't freezing cold like it is at most of the parks! There were several water slides, a diving pilar, a wave pool, and smaller pools for kids.

Alma in the funnel water slide:

Checo, Alma, Cinthya, Arturo, and Andrea hanging out in a pool:

Dany going off the diving pilar. Several people went up to the top but never got up the courage to jump... :)

And today I made "sopes" (SO-pays) for lunch! Sopes are "antojitos queretanos" also. I kind of guessed at how to make them, and they turned out great! Sopes are thick corn tortillas grilled with refried beans, cheese, meat (I used sausage), and salad on top. YUM!

Tomorrow it's back to the office for me! I'm excited to get back with the young adults group too, next week we are going to a physical rehabilitation center to do a small skit and invite the kids there to Kid Stuff (monthly theater and musical presentation for kids at Horizonte). This is one of the projects that the young adults suggested to reach out to our community a while back!!

More to come:

Easter month services at Horizonte

Maricela's baptism