Weekend with Friends in Uruapan

We spent this past weekend with Juan Carlos and Cynthia and their three daughters, Alejandra, Juli and Mariana.  Juan and Cynthia were our neighbors for the past five years; we lived in the house directly in front of them in the coto privado (gated community) before we moved to where we live now a few miles away in Colonia Mariano Otero.  Ally was—and still is—Ceci’s best friend.  Juan is originally from Uruapan, in the neighboring state of Michoacán and has for some time been talking to us about going there with them.  Nancy and Cynthia have been developing a really good friendship for years.  But Juan and I had never found a good opportunity to go much deeper than just neighbors.  It was fun to be with them this weekend. 

We got up early Saturday morning and made the 3-hour trip to Uruapan.  Each year in Uruapan, on the weekend of Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday), a huge Tianguis de Artesanias begins and runs through Semana Santa.  They say it is the largest such artisan market in all of Latin America.  The indigenous people from all the regions of Michoacán bring their handicrafts.  There is traditional music and dancing—an opening parade—major celebration!  The streets are full of people. 

We spent Saturday and Sunday together—seeing the sights, looking at the Artesanias, hanging out and talking, and eating lots of traditional cuisine from the region.  It was especially fun to do this with Juan and Cynthia because its their old stomping grounds and they loved showing us around and taking us to their favorite places.  And Juan appreciates good food! 

One of my favorite things about getting to know any region is trying the typical foods.  Juan certainly didn’t let me down on this trip.  We ate tacos de carnitas (deep fried pork), enchiladas, gorditas, several flavors and types of atole, corundas (a triangle-shaped tamal that is typical of the region), several pastries and sweets, exotic flavored ice cream (avocado, peanut for example), goat tacos and Tarascan soup.  We also drank a few cups of locally grown café.  All of this is especially significant when you remember that we were only there for about 30 hours!  It was my kind of weekend. 

But the thing I really liked about the weekend was the way Juan took us behind the doors on the street to where his family members live.  We visited his aunt.  We spent several hours on Sunday afternoon with Juan’s sister and her family.  With great pride, they showed us several of the local sites and then invited us to their home for Sunday comida—showed us good, Mexican hospitality.  They are both educators in the school system in Michoacán—their families have been there for generations.  The conversation was easy. 

It was lots of fun.  I wish we could have gotten to this point in our friendship earlier.  

I wonder what—if anything—will happen next with this relationship.  

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Gotcha Day

Yesterday was “Gotcha Day.”  Five years ago yesterday—on March 26, 2005, our daughter Cecilia Grace was born into our family.  It was the day we got Ceci.  I can’t believe how fast the time has passed! 

Yesterday we had a family date; after school we ate at one of our favorite restaurants and went to a movie together.  It was fun being together.  It was fun telling remembering together all that has happened since Ceci came into our family.  It was fun imagining what the next few years will be like.  

We are blessed! 

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Running with Jose Luis

I had a good time running a half-marathon this past Sunday with my friend Jose Luis.  He and I joined about 2300 others for the 24^th annual running of the Medio Maraton Internacional Benito Juarez here in Guadalajara.  We began running together about a year ago and have enjoyed training on and off together for the last few months.  We enjoy the running and the hours of conversation that come with it.  This was Jose Luis’ first half-marathon.  It was fun to watch him run!

Jose Luis is a good guy.  You may have noticed from the picture that he is a few years younger than me—about 20 years younger!

Several years back, he was working in a factory and became impressed with the lifestyle and strength he saw in one of his co-workers, Martín.  Martín was a follower of Jesus and a part of the church that lives and meets in Colonia Jardines del Valle.

In the months that followed, Martín helped Jose Luis come to know Christ and the strength that comes from living in the Kingdom of God.  At first, it was difficult for Jose Luis because his family didn’t understand and felt threatened by the changes they saw in Jose Luis.  They threw him out of the house and threatened to disown him.  But Jose Luis persevered—and now a few years later, a house church rotates their weekly gathering between Jose Luis’ small home and the home of his sister Luz.  Most all the family has made or are in the process of making decisions to follow Jesus.  You can’t be around him very long without noticing Jesus in him.  

It is fun to watch Jose Luis run!

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Paying Attention

Thursday evenings are usually one of the high points of my week.  Last night was no exception.

Almost always, 3 or 4 of us fellows gather for a couple of hours.  Martín, Gerardo and Jose Luis came to my house last night.  It is always good just to hang out together as friends—to eat supper or drink coffee together—to catch up on each other’s lives.  Of course, these guys are not newbies when it comes to following Jesus; between the three of them, they have almost 28 years of experience as Christ followers.  Each of them is fleshing out Christ in obvious ways where they live and work.  The conversation is almost always rich! 

One of our main reasons for gathering is to pay attention to God’s work and word in each of our lives; to do this together—to be there for one another during good times and bad—to listen for God together and to support one another as we each try to be obedient to that word.  Besides our weekly gathering, we also try to connect by phone several times during the week—to ask how its going and to pray together.  We usually agree to read some section of scripture during the week in our personal time with God—lately we have been making our way through Ephesians.  Out of all of that, God almost always speaks. 

I think that we are learning how critically important it is to spiritual formation and maturity for us to have these close, and ongoing listening relationships with another person or two.  I’m impressed at the constancy of this element in the lasting spiritual formation I’ve seen over the years.  

I hope that these friends of mine and I don’t forget this important lesson.  I think it could make all the difference in the world.  

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A Blessing to Families in Crisis

This past Sunday afternoon we drove out to a nearby campsite to join our good friends, Gerardo and Carola, for a little while as they finished up a weekend Camp for recently diagnosed children with diabetes and their parents. 

It was cool to see them and their team as they tried to be a blessing to the lives of some 25 families in crisis.  I felt so proud that they are my friends—so impressed with what God is doing through this group—so hopeful to see this light shining in a dark place. 

As they have done six times in the last couple of years, they and a growing group of about 30 professionals (nutritionists, psychologists, educators in diabetes, doctors and social workers) offered an invitation to children who have recently been diagnosed with diabetes.  They invited the children to bring a parent and spend a weekend being pampered, being shown how to care for themselves, being educated about their illness, being listened to—generally being blessed by others who know what they are going through.

There were special workshops being offered for both the children and the parents—covering all the relevant subjects and questions that these families are experiencing.  We met many parents and children—saw looks of tiredness, fear, stress…but also glimpses of hope in the eyes of the parents.  We saw kids having fun! 

One of the things I love about this is the way God has helped Gerardo and Carola discover this ministry out of their own life experience.  About 4 ½ years ago, their 10-year old daughter, Melanie, was diagnosed with diabetes.  Their world was turned upside down as they faced an illness that threatened to change and destroy all their hopes and dreams for their daughter.  Yet out of this crisis and the salvation God provided for them, they were drawn by God to notice and try to help others who now find themselves in a similar crisis.  The telling of their story has become healing for others.  They began the Hope Foundation for Children with Diabetes—Mexico’s first and only non-profit foundation for children with this disease.  They are presently serving over 200 families with this disease. 

I think of the Apostle Paul’s words of praise to “…the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). 

Another thing I love about this is the way others—young professionals who hear about what is happening with these kids—are begging to get involved in this project.  They are finding purpose and satisfaction beyond the materialism and “success” that is being advertised to them as professionals.  While very clear about their own faith and about how God has been at the center of this story, Gerardo and Carola are partnering with many who are at various stages in their walk with God.  Gerardo and Carola see it as a way to plant seeds and build relationships with all kinds of people—to allow God to plant and nurture the seeds in hearts as those hearts become ready. 

At a coffee shop this week, a young fellow asked me about my life and my reason for being here.  As I told him about some of the things that are going on around us—and mentioned the Hope Foundation for Kids with Diabetes, he stopped me and asked:  “Could somebody like me get involved in that as a helper?” 

Gerardo calls this their proyecto de vida—their “life project”—a God given mission that springs out of one’s own design, one’s own pain, one’s own experience.  It is a mission that brings life both to the one on mission and to those who are being served. 

He has lots of people wondering about what their own life project might be.   

I wonder where all of this will go.  I wonder what God will do with all these seeds being planted in so many different hearts. 

It sure is fun to watch and imagine! 

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Multi-Church Gathering Yesterday

Yesterday we enjoyed being with good friends.  As commonly happens on the 1^st Sunday of the month, members from several of the house churches gathered for an afternoon of worship, fellowship and fun.  This month’s gathering was hosted by the church that lives and meets here in Colonia Mariano Otero.  We gathered in the carport and patio of the Zendejas sisters—and spilled over into our house across the street.  

The afternoon began with an extended time of singing, prayer and reading of passages from the Psalms.  Jose Luis, who came from the group that lives in Colonia Nueva Santa Maria directed the larger group in a reflection around the Lord’s Supper and the common desire to follow Jesus’ example of perseverance and self-sacrifice.  A little later, my daughters and some of the youth took the small children aside for a Bible Story while Gerardo, who came with some of the members from Colonia Jardines del Valle, exhorted the larger group to live with faithfulness—and then facilitated a time of discussion and sharing of passages from Scripture.  Then, after a time of focused prayer for those with special needs and requests, the rest of the afternoon was spent cooking tacos, eating together, playing ping pong, laughing, celebrating a couple of birthdays, and generally sharing life together.  

Days like these are good for my heart. 

One of the things I especially liked was the way that the members of the different groups enjoyed and played with one another.  Sergio and Amelia had birthdays in the last few days—in good Mexican style, we made the most of the opportunity to have a party with them!  

I think our shift to small house churches in the last few years has been important because it has helped many to envision themselves as a group who fleshes out Christ in their neighborhood.  The focus on simplicity and smallness has allowed the groups to “do church” simply and focus much of their limited time and resources on family spiritual formation and connecting to God, on discipleship and on reflecting Christ to others in their own colonias.  However, the regular practices of gathering monthly as a larger grouping of house churches—and of regularly gathering for retreats, special studies, and youth activities reminds the house churches that they are not alone—that there are other groups like them who are similarly trying to follow Jesus—that we are looking out for one another.  

Another thing I liked was that there were several visitors among us yesterday.  It was cool to see how the group welcomed each one and to notice how the visitors felt comfortable enough to share needs and ask for the prayers of this group—to see everyone eating together and enjoying the afternoon.  

Yes, days like these are good for my heart. 

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A Recent Baptism

Gerardo’s and Carola’s friend Mara was baptized a couple of weeks ago.  She has been trying to follow the Lord for a long time—been in and out of our group (and in again) over the years.  But recently she decided she wanted to make changes in her life—asked for Gerardo’s and Carola’s help with this.  

We pray God’s guidance and blessings for in her new beginnings.  

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A Men's Weekend

I had a great time with 10 of my friends this past weekend.  Six of us from Guadalajara met up with five guys from Mexico City at a cabin on the east side of Mexico City—in the shadow of the volcano, Iztaccíhuatl.  After several weeks of prayer and preparation, we wanted to spend the weekend with God and with one another in conversation about our role as men—in our families, jobs, churches and communities.  We wanted to be brutally honest with ourselves and with each other about how our life is going, about what we really want, about what it will take to live the life that God intends us to live.  As followers of Christ, we wanted to seek God together in these talks. 

From Friday night until Monday morning we hiked, talked, prayed, discussed scripture, played, ate and challenged ourselves and each other.  At times the conversation was intense.  We told stories from our own lives.  We considered the stories of men we admire.  The conversation was focused.  We also had great fun together!

We talked about our desire to see real transformation in our families, in our churches and in our culture.  We know first hand how difficult it is to live a sane and Christ-centered life in the big cities of Mexico—anywhere for that matter.  And at the same time, we know how critically important it is that there are strong, good men who are living up to their responsibilities as leaders in their homes, in the workplace and in Mexican culture.

We spent a lot of time considering Jesus Christ and the kind of life he lived as a man.  We talked about our Enemy and his common strategies against us.  We recognized together how important it is not to be alone in this battle. 

One of the things I liked about the weekend was the way we were able to get past superficiality and really get to the heart of what it means to live and struggle as men.  I was impressed that in spite of the diversity in this group, we all are challenged with the same questions and doubts, the same failures and needs, the same desire to make a difference in our world.

It was also a cool thing to see the strength in each of my friends—to see how each of them wants to flesh out what God has placed in them.  

As we headed back to our cities on Monday, there was a newfound unity among these men—a simple yet clear commitment to walk together as friends and to help one another succeed in our important role as men—a commitment to a handful of practices that we hope will help us keep moving in the right direction.  

It was not a bad way to spend the weekend.    

I wonder where this will lead in the weeks and months to come. 

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Ronnie and Sandra Schroeder

We spent this past week enjoying a visit from my folks, Ronnie and Sandra Schroeder.  As always, we had a great time together—talking and being together.  We stayed a few days here in Guadalajara and then spent a few nights vacationing near San Miguel de Allende.    

I’ve been blessed with good parents—which is not a small thing! 

One of the things I really like about my mom and dad is the way they have always supported us in our desire to be missionaries.  I remember years ago when I decided to put off post-graduate work and instead enroll in the Adventures in Missions program; they not only gave me their blessing but also provided financial backing and visited me when I lived in England as an AIMer.  Later, when Nancy and I decided to begin our mission work in Mexico, they could not have been more supportive.  During these 19 years in Mexico, they have made dozens of trips to visit us and have given much money to bless our lives, the mission, needs of coworkers, special projects, etc.  Not only have they been supportive; but also they have allowed themselves to be influenced and changed by this experience.   

Nancy and I want to be that way with our daughters and the dreams God has put in their hearts.  We hope it won’t be anything too crazy!

I also like that my folks are really interested in the lives of our Mexican friends.  Yesterday one of my friends told me what another had said after they spent time with all of us on Monday.  "I like Chadd's mom so much because you can tell she really is interested in what our life is like--she asks questions and really wants to know what we think and what we want to do with our lives." 

I like that about her too.   

We were trying to count how many trips my mom has made to Mexico since we moved here.  We came up with between 40 and 45 week-long visits in the last 19 years.  This means that my mom has spent almost a year of her life in Mexico!  My dad has averaged a week each year which means he has spent 3 or 4 months here.  We’ve had lots of fun and made many good memories. 

I wonder what they’ll do with their vacation time when we’re not in Mexico anymore.  

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Women's Gathering on Saturdays and Kid's Formation

Every other Saturday afternoon, our house is the gathering place for several women who come together to help one another grow in their understanding and skills around the idea of spiritual formation in children.  Nancy invited them to begin this Kid’s Formation Workshop back in September.  

I’m amazed at the sustained interest in this…that they keep gathering with such enthusiasm.  They have a lot of fun together.  Lots of things are happening—fellowship, fun, eating and praying together.  But Nancy is especially focused on a few elements:

1. They are growing together in their understanding of the larger Story of the Bible.  Instead of merely seeing the Bible as a hodgepodge of stories, poems, laws and prophecies, they are seeing that the stories of Scripture make up a larger storyline.  These women are grasping this important truth and are also learning to share these stories in the context of the larger Story with the children in their own families, in their house churches, and in their neighborhoods.  Its cool to watch them grasp this together. 
2. They are learning together how important and yet simple it is to tell and “play” these stories together with kids—and perhaps adults.  They have a growing confidence that they don’t have to be professional teachers, but that God does something formatively important when we begin playing with kids around these stories…that important questions and conversations often come out of this experience.  The kids are blessed; the adults (when we let ourselves) also can enter into the play and be blessed as well. 
3. These women are also growing tremendously in their confidence.  Most of them have a very limited education.  This has caused them to doubt their ability to contribute.  But Nancy is helping each of them put together a resource box of simple tools which can be used to tell the different stories of the Bible.  Each time they meet, they work to make the material together (on a recent Saturday they each made a wooden temple that can be used to tell several of the Bible stories).  You can tell that they feel good about themselves and their ability to be helpful to kids.  Its neat to see their confidence grow and to hear them tell of how they are using all of this with the kids in their lives.  

Its fun to see the growth and wonder what will become of all the seeds that are planted in good hearts. 

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Our Old Friend Pedro

One of the things I liked about our recent visit to Mexico City was that we got to spend a little time with our old friend Pedro.  Pedro is a tough guy from one of the toughest areas of Mexico City—Tepito.  Pedro has been following Jesus for almost 20 years now.  It shows.  

When we were together a few days ago I heard him tell his story again…how 18 years ago this month he stumbled out of a cantina at about 11:00 am in the morning and  was handed a piece of paper by a girl who was handing out invitations to a Christian film series.  She spoke no Spanish and he no English.  But she led him to where I was and in my poor Spanish (Nancy and I had been in Mexico for only 6 months or so) I explained to him about a film series we were offering and invited him to attend. He came and met several of us—he and I began to read the Bible together each week.  A few months later, he decided to commit to Jesus—and has been walking and growing with God ever since.  

I heard him tell of important people God has used in his life—the Moore and Fanning family—Gerardo and Carola Garcia—and many others.  

It was cool to hear him describe his life and ministry now and his dreams for the future…to hear him talk about the brokenness he sees daily in that huge city and his desire to participate with God in seeing things made right.  Pedro ministers to at least 3 small communities of disciples—celulas he called them in different neighborhoods in Mexico City.  He has friends all over the city.  He knows life is tough.  He likes to teach and help people…but especially loves telling the story of God’s work in his own life and helping others see that God is willing to do the same thing for them.  

Pedro is still a tough guy from one of the toughest areas of Mexico City.  He has a faith made mature through experience with God on the streets of Mexico City.  It was good for my heart to see the evidence of Christ in my old friend.  

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Bringing in the New Year in Mexico City

We spent last week in Mexico City—decided to go over a few days after Christmas and see the New Year in there.  Our friends, the Degraffenreid family (a missionary family from Guadalajara whose kids go to school with ours) went with us.  We had a great time showing them Mexico City, seeing the tourist sites, hanging out with old friends, and visiting our memories of our early years as missionaries in Mexico so long ago.  

In later blogs we may write in a little more detail, but we visited the Pyramids of Teotihuacan, the Basilica of the Virgin Guadalupe, Chapultepec Park, the Zocalo and Templo Mayor, the museum of Friday Kahlo, the center of Coyoacan, and Six Flags Mexico.  We took 17-year old Zane Degraffenreid to Los Narajitos for tacos and he ate 30 tacos in one sitting—we wonder if it might be a record!

We got to spend time with our good friends the Brednich and Henderson families—and got to eat lunch with Pedro Marin.  We also got to visit the orphanage where our daughter Ceci spent 2 years of her life—got to visit several of the people who were responsible for caring for her back then.  We got to say “gracias” again to them. 

One of the things that I really liked about the week was that we stayed at the Pink House.  When Nancy and I first arrived as missionaries to Mexico we lived our first 5 ½ years in the Pink House.  We brought Morgan and Natali home from the hospital to this house.  It was there that we studied Spanish everyday and began to fall in love with the Mexican people. 

It was cool to visit old memories last week!  

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

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Making Memories on our Last Noche Buena in Mexico

Last night was likely our last Christmas Eve—Noche Buena—in Mexico…at least for a while.  We spent the evening with the Zendejas clan.  The Zendejas sisters have been following Jesus for many years.  They live across the street from us—we’ve been doing a lot of our life with them lately.  

It was a fun night—and una experiencia muy Mexicana. 

We arrived at the sisters’ house about 9:30 pm—the only non-family guests.  The night was chilly—probably in the low 50’s.  As people arrived, we were served snacks and ponche—a hot, fruity drink.   By about 10:00 a group of 35 or so family members had arrived each bringing food and gifts.  Amparo welcomed us all and after a couple of prayers, we ate supper about 10:30 pm—two or three types of tamales, a spicy meat dish called Birria, a corn based stew called Pozole, beans, rice, tortillas, and lots of desserts.  They asked Nancy to bring Lasagna—also delicious but not so Mexicana.  Lots of food!

After the meal, the kids had put together a skit re-enacting the story of Jesus’ birth and they performed it for all the adults.  Then the family did the traditional Posada—which is a re-enactment of Joseph and Mary looking for a place to stay in Bethlehem.  Several songs were sung.  At midnight, everyone began giving the Christmas abrazo (a hug and “feliz navidad”) to every other person in the house.  So theoretically, everyone was hugged about 35 or 40 times from 12:00 to 12:05! 

There were Christmas gifts for everyone and lots of candy for the kids.  The sisters had made sure that our family had gifts under the tree—something we had not expected.  Everyone had lots of fun. 

We made it home about 1:00 am or so…feeling tired but very blessed to have experienced this special night. 

Something tells me that we’ll be drawing on these good memories for years to come! 

¡Feliz Navidad!

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Blessed to be with Good Friends Yesterday

Yesterday several of us from 4 or 5 of the house churches met together at a park in the north of Guadalajara for a shared time of food, fellowship and fun.  After spending some time greeting one another and catching up in conversation, we began a time of singing and worship.  The children had worked up a rendition of the story of Jesus’ birth—cool to see them telling the story together.  We shared the Lord’s Supper and Gerardo gave an exhortation to the group on the importance of a life focused on Christ and our desire to grow together in 2010.  We spent the rest of the day eating and playing together.  A blessed day! 

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MAWLing at the Monthly Leaders' Gathering Last Night

I was encouraged last night as I sat with a group of house church leaders.  We try to all get together at least once each month.  Yesterday was fairly typical of these gatherings.  Everyone was with their particular church community in the 1^st part of the day.  Several of the leaders then, gathered about 5pm at our house.  The main idea with these gatherings is to provide mutual encouragement and support for the leaders as each is involved in parenting spiritually a group of Christians—and usually also involved in helping several not-yet Christians in the journey towards Jesus.  The group tries to provide a safe environment for each to be honest about struggles and victories—and to encourage one another from Scripture—and discern God’s will as a group regarding different challenges—and spend lots of time praying together.  

I’ve been thinking a lot lately of the MAWL approach to leadership development.  Model.  Assist.  Watch.  Leave.  At this point in our ministry here and with our departure date coming up in a few months, we are trying to live squarely in the “Watch” stage.  We want to watch our Mexican brothers and sisters as they go about their life and ministry—and we want to be available to provide feedback and conversation along the way.  

Last night, I was encouraged to watch my Mexican brothers and sisters minister to one another.  It is cool to see so much evidence of growth and maturity.  I wonder what will happen in the years to come.  I continue to be hopeful!

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Renewing our Missionary Visas in Mexico City

This past weekend we drove the six hours over to Mexico City to renew our FM3 missionary visas.  In addition to getting the legal stuff done and coming away with Nancy’s and my little green booklets (our girls were all born in Mexico and have dual citizenship), we also got to spend a little time with fellow missionary families in Mexico City—Benjy and Carolyn Brednich, James and Erin Henderson, Ryan and Amanda Gray and Nelly Javier de Molino.  Besides working in church planting with her husband Israel, Nelly is also a lawyer.  She does a great job helping people like us get our legal status sorted out.  

Oh yes—we may or may not have eaten some tacos and ice cream while we were there!  

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In Mexican News Today

I try to pay attention to the daily newspaper and radio.  A few of the headlines and stories that caught my attention from the Mexican news today: 

• Money From Remittances Has Fallen 36% Since This Time Last Year.   Money sent by Mexicans living in the U.S. to their families in Mexico (remittances) is the 2^nd largest source of income for Mexico—petroleum sales is first and tourism is third.  The Bank of Mexico says this is the largest decrease in history.  Experts here say that the pullback in the construction industry in the U.S. has hit Mexican workers in the U.S. 20.9% were employed in 2008.  Estimates say that 13 of every 100 Mexican migrants living in the U.S. are presently unemployed.  

• For the 2^nd time in 12 days, a key witness in a huge case against massive police corruption was assassinated yesterday in a Starbucks in Colonia del Valle in Mexico City.  (This is very near to the Sunset House).  He was supposedly in a witness protection plan. 

• President Felipe Calderon is finishing the first half of his 6-year presidential term this week.  There is lots of talk about his accomplishments, failures and challenges as President of Mexico.  A few of the lists that caught my attention:

• Key Priorities of President Calderon’s 1^st three years in office:

1. The war on drug cartels
2. Energy reform
3. Trying to offset declining oil revenues with a tax reform
4. A national infrastructure plan

• Great Problems Faced by President Calderon in his 1^st three years in Office: 

1. The world economic crisis
2. The H1N1 influenza outbreak with its effect on Mexico
3. The drop in revenue for Mexico as a result of health concerns—tourism has been hard hit
4. The 2009 drought in Mexico

• Main Accomplishments of President Calderon in his 1^st three years in Office

1. The criminal law reform in Mexico
2. The pension reform for public servants
3. Elimination of a corrupt public utility company in central Mexico
4. His decision to combat organized crime head on is considered courageous by most everyone
5. Educational equality reform
6. The tax and energy reforms (though limited) are being considered accomplishments

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Thanksgiving with Friends

What a feast!  About 35 of us—half Mexican and half from the U.S.—gathered at our house this past Thursday for a shared Mexican/American Thanksgiving meal.  Besides the traditional turkey and dressing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie—we also had Mexican Mole to go with the turkey, Frijoles Puercos and Flan.  Several card games were going on.  We cranked up the old Nintendo 64.  Good food.  Good fun.  Good friends.  And I got to watch the Cowboys win with several of my friends who were rooting against them.  Can it get any better?

For many things we are thankful!

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A Good Week with the Pruett Family

This past week we got to spend time with Joe and Elaine Pruett and their three boys: Seth, Parker and Cooper.  We go way back.  Joe was an AIM (Adventures in Missions) student back in 1992.  After he spent his AIM time with us in Mexico City, he went back to the U.S., did some more ministry and missions training and married Elaine—who Nancy and I knew even before we married.  Then, along with 3 other families, we all formed a mission team to Guadalajara and moved here in 1998.  We’ve been through a lot together!

This past summer, after almost 12 years in Guadalajara, they moved to San Antonio, Texas to begin a new chapter in their life and ministry.  We miss them.  But its cool to watch them with people and to imagine how God will use them for Kingdom purposes in the days to come.  They are educators.  Joe is working in the San Antonio school system—teaching 5^th graders.  I can’t imagine a better influence on a 10 year-olds formation than Joe!  Or on anyone’s formation for that matter. 

It was fun to be with the Pruett family this past week.  They had been given a vacation package at the beach and invited us to join them for three days.  Then we spent the rest of the week in Guadalajara.  It was fun watching our three girls and their three boys together!  

A good week!

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Looking Forward to Camping Again

I’m thinking about camping with my friends again next year.  

This past weekend 34 of us went camping together about 2 hours from Guadalajara at Santa Maria del Oro—on the banks of a lake that is in the crater of an old volcano.  Most all of the adults in this group have been following Jesus for some time now and are actively involved in leading and caring for (mothering and fathering) others—and in incarnating Christ among those who don’t know him well in their corners of the world.

During the weeks before our camping trip, we envisioned the weekend being mainly about spending time together with God—allowing God to draw us to and prepare us for this retreat—and to guide our time together.  For the weeks before many of us prayed with expectation to that end—that we would encounter God together.  We tried to structure our time for a balance of encounters with God over the weekend:  solitude, small groups of 2 or 3, large group conversations, and just having fun together.  We encouraged all of the participants to prepare for the time by being attentive to God and to come to the weekend prepared with what each believed God had given them—to be prepared to both give and to receive.

It was great fun—and a great blessing from God for all of us I think.  Lots of things happened: prayer, mutual encouragement, reading of scripture, singing, playing, confession, eating, discovery, crying, and laughing—lots of laughing.  It was a blessing to be with some of my fellow missionary coworkers—Cory & Toni Burns and James & Erin Henderson.  It was a blessing to be served by some of our AIM apprentices as they played with our little ones.  It was fun watching the interaction between older and younger leaders, between those with different experiences, gifts and styles.  It was cool to see the discoveries that were being made.  It was super cool to see the unity and the love and respect for one another that was shown.

We believe that this kind of regular retreating together and attentiveness to God together is an important practice for those who are intent on caring for others—for those who are in the trenches of kingdom leadership.  The desire of this group of friends is to continue this practice a time or two each year. 

I’m thinking that wherever they are camping this time next year is not going to be that far from Texas!  

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