As many of you know, the church plant in Jesús María (Iglesia Bíblica Sendero de Vida Jesús María) grew out of the small house we were renting long ago.  Move to another house?  Well, they’re all small – no help there.

So we temporarily moved to a studio above some stores just for Sunday mornings.  We rent it just for Sunday mornings, and every Sunday we move instruments, stools, sound equipment, etc, into the building, up the narrow winding stairs, around the corner, through the hall and into the room.

Good exercise, but not great for the equipment, or for the church budget.  Also rather time-consuming.

Please pray with us that we can find a building – or a lot to build on – that can be used for ministry.

Here in Mexico, people love to get together and invite their friends and family.  Events like getting together to worship on Sunday are a blessing.

But in these housing developments, everything is small.  We’re praying for space.

The church family has been raising funds little by little.  You can help too, if you like – in Canada go to http://bit.ly/donatecanada and give to Project #63604, or for US funds go to http://bit.ly/donateusa and again give to Project #63604.

So here’s the building we’re in in the mean time.  It’s the second floor, behind the arched windows.  Normally it’s used for Zumba classes.

During the morning service on Sunday, all three store fronts are open below doing a booming business (this was taken before the service, when we were starting to unload instruments).  I wonder what they think of our worship above their heads?

I’m attempting to take and post 30 pictures in 30 days.  I believe the 30 days will be ending this week sometime…

It’s always a highlight to get both the new churches in Ixtapaluca together for a service.  One church not yet 7 years old, the other not 2.

It’s great to see people growing in the Lord, to see new faces, to reconnect with friends we don’t see as often as we would like.

This time the service was hosted by the first church – Iglesia Bíblica Sendero de Vida Santa Barbara.

I tried for a panoramic shot, but it’s pretty hard in this room.  For one thing, there’s a lower level up front and you can’t see the people there.  There are also still people off to the right and left.  And as you can see if you look carefully, people were still arriving (see the lady coming up the stairs).

So here it is, for our photo of the day, the panoramic of this morning’s joint worship service.  Praise the Lord!

(As always, click the image to see larger versions)

I really need to write about my adventures of last week.  But I wanted to briefly stop by to tell you about our adventures of today.

On Saturday Nathanael and Hannah were at a birthday party (along with their Mom, my beautiful wife), and Nathanael was playing on one of those big inflatable thingmes.  Another kid apparently thought that Nathanael was just a part of the inflatable thingme, because he jumped right on top of Nathanael.

Nathanael was in a lot of pain – his leg in particular.  He refused to walk on it at all that night, and all the next day.  And he had some trouble sleeping.

Since it’s rather complicated to get answers on something like that on a Sunday, we waited until the less complicated day.

Well, I was rather sick on the complicated day (alright, I really should have been in bed all day).  Nathanael was still not walking on his sore leg.  So off we went to the doctor in the morning.

Dr. Lettuce (el Doctor Lechuga) said he didn’t think it was broken, but it needed to be checked out.  So off we went to the lab in Ixtapaluca to get pictures taken of Nathanael’s bones.

Parking being hard to find, I carried Nathanael quite some way to the lab.  Then we were informed that they couldn’t do that kind of thing in Ixtapaluca.

So off we went to Chalco.

Traffic was atrocious.  We drove around in Chalco, through the market and crowds of people, finally making it to the lab.

I’m sorry, they told us.  We can’t give you the results until tomorrow.

Well, my son’s in pain – and the doctor wanted to see him again today!

Well, we can mark it urgent, if you pay.  Oh, you’ll have to pay.

Well, you’ll have to pay three dollars and change extra.

Fine then – could have told us that at the beginning!

So we did the x-ray, I carried Nathanael back to the car (wasn’t sure if I was going to make it), went home to grab food (I slept – remember, I’m pretty sick here.  Poor Shari is doing all the driving!)  Traffic was terrific again.

Back we went to the lab to get the x-ray, then back to the doctor.

No, it’s not broken!  Just some trauma around the joint.

Off to the pharmacy for the obligatory meds.

More traffic.  By now it’s starting to get dark, and we’re thinking about having cena (last meal of the day) and getting the kids to bed.

Nathanael is gently walking on his leg for the first time since Saturday evening.  Hopefully he’ll be feeling a lot better in a few days, and maybe with an anti-inflammatory he won’t be up a lot in the night.

Another Monday in the life of the Cottrills – two cities, two labs, one doctor — now I’m going to eat cena.

Tonight we had our December "clausura" at the community centre in Jesús María.

What in the world is that?!

A clausura (say clow-SOO-ra) is a closing program.  The fall set of classes at the community centre is finished, and at the close of each set of classes we have a special closing program.

Tonight we had some games for English class, and we sang a couple of Christmas songs.  We saw some country dancing.

  There were special presentations for everyone who participated in various classes, including basketball and baking class.  There was a demonstration from the drum class.

Afterwards there was ponche and corn dogs – what a combination!

Why in the world do you do that?!

Clausuras are a great chance to get to know people in the community.  Sometimes we meet family and friends of people who are in community centre classes.  Sometimes we meet people who just happen to be walking by.

It’s a great way to end a series of classes with a bang, and recognize students that have been working hard.  There’s usually an opportunity to share God’s Word in some way, as we did tonight by sharing the Christmas story and giving out some Gospels of Matthew.

How did it go?

Very well!  Our new community centre director, Tina, did a great job getting everything organized.  We didn’t have a lot to do tonight, although I played keyboard for the songs.  But it was good to spend some time with new and old friends.

Everyone will be taking a bit of a break from community centre activities over Christmas.  Then we’ll be starting a new set of classes later in January.  The next set of classes will end just before Holy Week, so there will be more opportunities to share about why Jesus came.

The community centre has been a great opportunity to make friends, and to offer services that actually help the community in various ways.  Thanks to those of you who have been a part of it!

The Clausura Crowds assembled for the program
Jesús María, Ixtapaluca, Mexico City

Today was a day to say goodbye.  Our friend David will be heading to Uruguay in just a few days.

David is from Mexico City, and he was a part of the Iglesia Bíblica Ciudad Azteca (Ciudad Azteca Bible Church) for many years, before coming to Ixtapaluca as a church planter.

David was instrumental in the starting of both the churches we’ve been a part of here in Ixtapaluca.

Now David has been accepted with FAM Mexico (a CAM related Mexican mission agency), and is heading to Uruguay to work with a church planting team there.

There had been a commissioning service here in Ixtapaluca for him already (while we were away), so today was a chance to say goodbye.  David led the worship time, and Rod preached from the Gospel of Mark.

During the service, the youth and the children made special presentations.  Hannah had a part – she read a verse in Spanish (I believe it was John 4:35), and later gave a little farewell in English, reading from Numbers:

Afterwards we had a potluck, and a big cake. What a privilege for our baby church to help send David to share God’s Word in a faraway land!

We’ve had the privilege to work alongside David ever since we came to Ixtapaluca, and we will miss him very much!  But our loss is their gain in Uruguay.  Please pray for David as he experiences life in another very different culture, and as he shares the Gospel with the people he meets there.

David cuts the cake

I guess I haven’t really written much about our trip home – since we got home.  So – here goes.

Last I wrote we had arrived in Mexico.  Well, the trip down through Mexico took several days, but was fairly uneventful.  Ok, Shari did get her hand shut in the van door, but she recovered quickly.  And there was that incident with the jellyfish and I, but I’m fine now.  Other than that it was fairly uneventful.

And we didn’t even get stopped by the police until we were on our way to conference.  I felt like saying, "What took you so long?!"

So we arrived home a week ago today, and had a whole day at home before leaving the state.  We got the van cleaned and verified (so we could drive it when we wanted in the city), unloaded the trailer, and did some other quick errands before packing up for our CAM team retreat and then the CAM Mexico conference.

We had a good time with our team, then were able to see missionaries from all over Mexico at the conference.  I always get rather sick at conference – I think it’s because I don’t have time to adjust to the altitude change.  So it’s always a bittersweet experience, but it’s great to see everyone.

The conference always falls on American Thanksgiving, so there’s an arrangement with the hotel that we have a Thanksgivingish dinner one day.  Inexplicably, this Mexican-style decoration showed up (thanks to the hotel staff) that didn’t fit this rather patriotic American holiday at all…

Yes, that’s the 11-point Canadian maple leaf.  So I’m not sure what we were celebrating, but the food was good. And it was a nice blend of cultures to remind us of where we had been and where we were!

So we returned home Saturday night and crashed.

Today we were excited to go to Jesús María to worship with our church!  I can’t possibly express how wonderful it is to be back!  We had a great time seeing friends again, and were even able to go to a birthday party (Melanie’s – Happy Birthday!) and watch a piñata get smashed.  If we doubted whether or not we were home, we don’t doubt it any longer!

Now we’ve stopped home only a couple of days, and most of those days we were out and about.  So as you may imagine, there are several inches of dust all over things, spider webs everywhere, laundry to do, and full and empty boxes, bins and suitcases scattered all over the place.  If we can find our way to our beds tonight, and get all the stuff off them, we will try to get some sleep.  Then maybe we can spend some time getting organized.

Maybe.

In Sunday we were in Arizona, planning to cross the border the following day.  We were meeting someone to cross with Monday afternoon.

But Sunday evening we received an email – their vehicle had broken down.  So the plans began to change.

From there on in, in phone calls and emails, plans changed . . . and changed . . . and changed again . . . and again . . . and yet again!

Our friends were very gracious (very) and eventually things were organized.

In the end, instead of going Monday, we ended up going Tuesday.  Now, this cost us an extra night in a hotel.  But it was a nice hotel to get stuck in.  And more notable, I was sick Monday – very sick (migraine attack).  So it did remind us that God is in control of these things.  Crossing the border Monday would have been pretty difficult for me in the shape I was in!

On Tuesday our friend came with another friend (who had a reliable vehicle) and we met them and then crossed the border.

Once again I should report – since so many of you were praying – this was the smoothest crossing into Mexico ever.  In fact, all our border crossings this trip have been super-smooth.

The biggest hitch came when I simply forgot a couple of documents in the van and had to run back to get them.  No big deal.  We had nothing searched, paid no duty on anything . . . and a couple of times when we were sure we would have to stop (for inspections, customs, etc), we were able to roll right on through.  The officials we talked to were friendly and in good moods.  We even met some people while we waited in line in various places – even a couple of Saskatchewanionians.

So – here we are!  Safe and sound in the Sonora desert, in the city of Hermosillo, as of yesterday.

The only change now is that, instead of staying here two nights, we’re heading out today.

Oh, and more good news – our friends were able to repair their vehicle.

So there’s lots of driving in Mexico yet to come!  So we’d better get on with it.  Thanks again to those who have been praying – God has been good!  And if you want to pray as we continue to travel, that would be great!

Tonight we stop – and we’ll be enjoying a day of rest from driving tomorrow – not too far from the US/MX border.  It’s our second day in Arizona.

Can you believe it though – we’re not even done 60% of our trip south yet!  Yes, Mexico is another BIG country.

In fact, it’s even longer to go when you consider that we’re just stopping home then heading out for a team retreat and then a conference.  So we really don’t get home – really home – until the 26th of November

We were able to stop mid-trip today to get a headlight replaced, so that’s one repair out of the way.  And we finished our drive a little earlier today – and we’re REALLY looking forward to actually getting a little sleep!

Thanks for your prayers.  We’re more than half-way home!

Nathanael in the snow this morning.
The freezing temperatures have followed us
up until this afternoon!

So, the damage from our little mishap with the deer on Wednesday comes to about $1700. Now, if you know much about these things, you know that’s nothin’.

On the other hand, with thousands in unexpected expenses in 2011, it doesn’t feel like nothin’. But the good news is there doesn’t seem to be major engine or body damage.

The driver’s door was jammed shut, but the mechanic was able to do a temporary fix, and wrench things into place. So – joy! I can now get out without climbing on the other seats!

Some body work will need to be done, and a new headlight. Amazingly enough, the bulb still works, although the one headlight was smashed.

We had also discovered soon before driving down that our trailer tires were on their last legs, so we got them switched and headed out – quite late – on Day 3 of the drive down.

We’ve arrived- quite late- at our destination. Good night!

Actually, everything went very smoothly today except for one thing.  You guessed it – we hit a deer.

The good news is (and actually there was a lot of good news today) that we were just leaving a town and driving slow.  And, of course, when I saw the deer, I drove slower and slower.

As I was driving slower and slower, the deer was trying to decide if it should stop (good choice), turn (pretty good choice), or go out in front of the van (bad choice).  It chose unwisely.

So we hit it on the drivers’ side.  But we’re all fine – as I said, I was going pretty slowly at this point.

The deer?  Well, it lived and got away.  I’m afraid we weren’t able to find out just how badly off it was.

The van?  Well, we were able to keep driving all the way to our hotel.  But some repairs are going to be needed.  A headlight was smashed, and just how extensive the body damage is we’re not sure.

We’re hoping to take it in tomorrow and have it checked out, so we would appreciate your prayers that we can get it checked out and dealt with in a timely fashion.

The good news?  Well, you already read some of it, didn’t you?  Everyone is fine, the kids are in bed, and we’re thankful that the Lord protected us.  We also had a very uneventful border crossing today, and the rest of the trip went quickly and smoothly.

What happens next?  Well, it depends on what the mechanics say, if we can find any tomorrow.  We’ll be playing it by ear.

What can I say?  Another day in the life . . .