We promised new pictures, and here they are! These are actually from mid February. Enjoy!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Prayers for the Kids
Noah
I am sure that many of you have heard by now, but for those of you who have not we want to give you an update. Our son Noah has been diagnosed with nystagmus. This means that his eyes move from side to side very rapidly affecting his eyesight and balance. It is not common and is usually a side effect of something else that is wrong. So, we are in the process of doing some studies. We have seen several different specialists already. Our first stop was with a neurologist, and we have had a CT scan done on Noah. Everything in his brain appears to be normal (or as normal as it can be with a dad like he has), and we are moving on to some other genetic and metabolic tests. We would like you to pray for Noah. He is a great boy, and he smiles all the time. He has been a little slow in his development, and that has also raised some concerns. However, he is sitting up well now, with very little help, so that gives us a good idea that his balance is getting better. We are all doing well, and things are going as good as we can hope. We just pray that we keep on getting confirmations and answers to what is going on and how we can best treat the situation. Thank you for your prayers. We really appreciate it, and we will try to keep you all as informed as we can. Hopefully by the end of the month we will be able to tell you more news from the tests they are doing.
Adah
In Mexico kids start going to school when they are at the latest 3 years old. That was too big of an adjustment for us last Fall, but now we have all gotten used to the idea, so Adah has been enlisted in school! She will begin classes at the beginning of April. We were going to wait until this Fall, but it was reccommended for her to finish this school year so that she can really get comfortable with her Spanish before beginning Kinder II. (There are three years of kindergarten before starting first grade.) We are very excited for her, and so is she. It is going to be a very big change for our family, but most of all please pray that Adah adjusts well and makes many new friends. She is full of personality, energy and big words. The other day she told her mommy that she was, "actually quite hungry." That just gives you an idea!
We will keep you posted as soon as we know something about Noah. Have a great day and thank you for your prayers.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Febrero Loco
There is a saying here in Mexico. It goes like this, "Febrero loco, marzo otro poco." It means, "crazy February, March even more." This saying is used in reference to the weather, but for us personally February truly is a crazy month. We will see if this saying applies to March, making it even more crazy. It is starting to look like it, but stay tuned and we will find out. We are sure that your month has probably been just as crazy as ours, so we would like to share with you what has been going on in Mexico City.
AIM Group
As is our annual routine, we had the privilege to host the Adventures in Missions class and some guests along with them. This is a great time for the AIM students to come and not only see what life is like on the mission field but also be impacted by seeing with their own eyes the magnitude of the city and souls who do not know Christ. They are just beginning their school term that focuses on all of the mission points that they will be going to, and this trip to Mexico Cityis an impacting part of their process. It is one of the big steps that they take in realizing that they are going to be apprentice missionaries in a place foreign to what they normal know and do. It is a great eye-opening experience. It has been a highlight in the lives of AIM students for as long as SIBI has had the Pink House.
This year they were a very large group. It included AIM students, AIM assistants, AIM directors, current AIMers, future AIM students, and AIM sponsors from Paducah, Kentucky. Tagging along were also future AIM coordinators from around Mexico and AIM group guides from Mexico City. We never got an exact count, but we were at the very least 120 people. This was our first time to host the AIM students as caretakers of the Pink House. We think that it was a great success, but we are still waiting to hear their feedback! (hint hint) We actually enjoyed preparing them breakfast at the house, and because of it we have "war stories" akin to Belinda's! Boy could they eat! Every morning they ate 16 liters of yoghurt, fruit, granola, and varied main breakfast courses. One morning we flipped 400 pancakes and fried 300 strips of bacon. Another morning we scrambled 180 eggs with ham and cheese, and the list goes on and on.
We are so grateful that they took this time out of their schedule to come and use Mexico City as a launching point for the students to get an "in the face" view of the reality of what they are going to encounter on their mission fields.
Visit from SIBI Representatives
The day before the AIM students left, some representatives from SIBI also came to visit. These were Truitt Adair the director of SIBI, Jay Jarboe the lead minister at the Sunset church, Brad Pruitt the director of finances at SIBI and Rudy Wray long-time missionary to Latin America and current director of ministry training division of Pan America at SIBI. These four men came to Mexico City to take a look at the Pink House and its use in the work here. We hope and believe that received a good perspective, because this Pink House is being used in so many good ways. Our Mexican leaders were able to share with these men their own vision for this city and how the Pink House fits in for them. It was a great moment. We consider ourselves blessed to be able to be the caretakers and know that God is doing some amazing things here in Mexico City and has used and will use the pink house in this vision.
Football, Fútbol and Food
As far as the Benito Juárez congregation is concerned, things are going really well. We started the month off, probably like most of you, with the Super Bowl. We used it to host an event to reach out to people. We had a fun time! On the same day there was also a classic soccer game between the Pumas and America, two Mexico City rivals. Therefore, the moment that we concluded the church service everyone stayed around, and we grillled and watched sports all day long. The soccer game was a blow-out game, but the Super Bowl (as many of you know) was a great game. Those who were not necessarily interested in the games watched movies, and of course we all ate very well. We were able to start and expand some relationships this day, and we will see what the Lord will do with the friendships He has started from something as easy as watching some games together. We also had a half-night of prayer in Santa Ursula, a colonia in the delegation of Coyoacan (just south of Benito Juarez.) This time was planned by the leaders of one of our small groups that meets in the same home. It is so powerful to see God at work, and when we pray we can see how God does His powerful will. Please keep the work in Mexico City in your prayers.
Growing Up
Our family is doing very well. We are busy, but good. Adah spent a week with her Buela and Papaw (grandparents) at the beach and got to swim and eat lots of chocolate. She stayed with them while the AIM students were at the house. This was her first trip away from home and it went great. We are proud of how well she did. It was harder on mom and dad then on Adah. Noah is doing well. He is still a small guy but is still learning neat and new things everyday. He is at a very fun age. We ask that you please pray for us and the kids. We are trying to find Adah a school, and it has been going well. We will keep you posted on that, but please keep these decisions in your prayers. Jacob and Amanda are doing good trying to find balance in all of the hustle and bustle. Thank you so much for reading this, and we hope and pray that you are all doing well. We love you all. God Bless.
AIM Group
As is our annual routine, we had the privilege to host the Adventures in Missions class and some guests along with them. This is a great time for the AIM students to come and not only see what life is like on the mission field but also be impacted by seeing with their own eyes the magnitude of the city and souls who do not know Christ. They are just beginning their school term that focuses on all of the mission points that they will be going to, and this trip to Mexico Cityis an impacting part of their process. It is one of the big steps that they take in realizing that they are going to be apprentice missionaries in a place foreign to what they normal know and do. It is a great eye-opening experience. It has been a highlight in the lives of AIM students for as long as SIBI has had the Pink House.
This year they were a very large group. It included AIM students, AIM assistants, AIM directors, current AIMers, future AIM students, and AIM sponsors from Paducah, Kentucky. Tagging along were also future AIM coordinators from around Mexico and AIM group guides from Mexico City. We never got an exact count, but we were at the very least 120 people. This was our first time to host the AIM students as caretakers of the Pink House. We think that it was a great success, but we are still waiting to hear their feedback! (hint hint) We actually enjoyed preparing them breakfast at the house, and because of it we have "war stories" akin to Belinda's! Boy could they eat! Every morning they ate 16 liters of yoghurt, fruit, granola, and varied main breakfast courses. One morning we flipped 400 pancakes and fried 300 strips of bacon. Another morning we scrambled 180 eggs with ham and cheese, and the list goes on and on.
We are so grateful that they took this time out of their schedule to come and use Mexico City as a launching point for the students to get an "in the face" view of the reality of what they are going to encounter on their mission fields.
Visit from SIBI Representatives
The day before the AIM students left, some representatives from SIBI also came to visit. These were Truitt Adair the director of SIBI, Jay Jarboe the lead minister at the Sunset church, Brad Pruitt the director of finances at SIBI and Rudy Wray long-time missionary to Latin America and current director of ministry training division of Pan America at SIBI. These four men came to Mexico City to take a look at the Pink House and its use in the work here. We hope and believe that received a good perspective, because this Pink House is being used in so many good ways. Our Mexican leaders were able to share with these men their own vision for this city and how the Pink House fits in for them. It was a great moment. We consider ourselves blessed to be able to be the caretakers and know that God is doing some amazing things here in Mexico City and has used and will use the pink house in this vision.
Football, Fútbol and Food
As far as the Benito Juárez congregation is concerned, things are going really well. We started the month off, probably like most of you, with the Super Bowl. We used it to host an event to reach out to people. We had a fun time! On the same day there was also a classic soccer game between the Pumas and America, two Mexico City rivals. Therefore, the moment that we concluded the church service everyone stayed around, and we grillled and watched sports all day long. The soccer game was a blow-out game, but the Super Bowl (as many of you know) was a great game. Those who were not necessarily interested in the games watched movies, and of course we all ate very well. We were able to start and expand some relationships this day, and we will see what the Lord will do with the friendships He has started from something as easy as watching some games together. We also had a half-night of prayer in Santa Ursula, a colonia in the delegation of Coyoacan (just south of Benito Juarez.) This time was planned by the leaders of one of our small groups that meets in the same home. It is so powerful to see God at work, and when we pray we can see how God does His powerful will. Please keep the work in Mexico City in your prayers.
Growing Up
Our family is doing very well. We are busy, but good. Adah spent a week with her Buela and Papaw (grandparents) at the beach and got to swim and eat lots of chocolate. She stayed with them while the AIM students were at the house. This was her first trip away from home and it went great. We are proud of how well she did. It was harder on mom and dad then on Adah. Noah is doing well. He is still a small guy but is still learning neat and new things everyday. He is at a very fun age. We ask that you please pray for us and the kids. We are trying to find Adah a school, and it has been going well. We will keep you posted on that, but please keep these decisions in your prayers. Jacob and Amanda are doing good trying to find balance in all of the hustle and bustle. Thank you so much for reading this, and we hope and pray that you are all doing well. We love you all. God Bless.
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