Believe it or not, we are on our way to Canada!  But we’ll only be there a few days.

Since returning to Mexico in November, we’ve been working on issues related to our visas.  A number of things have changed, and so we’ve basically been starting from scratch with a number of documents.

Our work on this has been in some ways a comedy of errors.  Emails didn’t arrive, information was lost, there were meetings about things that don’t concern us and yet impacted some document somewhere, changes in Mexican law…

The work goes on, as we try to get documents from Canada and documents from Mexico and figure out legal issues.

To make a long story short, our visas are expiring and we are required to leave the country – and then come back.

It’s not what we would have chosen.  However, we can see some good things in all this.

First of all, we will be able to briefly visit Shari’s parents and my parents.  Obviously this is not something we are able to do very often!

Secondly, we do have some business to do in Canada, and this may actually save us a trip down the road.  So we’ll try to make the most of our time and deal with some things while we’re there.

Some of the things we’re planning to do should actually save us some money, so thankfully it’s not a 100% drain on the wallet!

As an added bonus, we get to see our Mothers right around Mother’s Day, and the Grandparents get to see the Grandkids right around their birthdays!

So we’re off for a few days.  If you think of it, do pray for us as this will be a challenging trip in many ways.  Also, pray for our visa situation.  We had an encouraging meeting on Monday, and hope that we’ll be able to get the final documents in order very soon.

All right, gotta run.  We have a plane to catch.

Today was the big day!  It was the day we had a special service to recognize the first elders (one who is pastor) of the church in Jesús María.

It’s almost better not to say anything – I think I’m a little speechless.  When you look around and see the people that were there today, you think of the amazing things God has been doing, you think about how time passes, and yet how quickly things have happened.  What can you say?

I did take some video, and hopefully one of these days I’ll get it posted.

I did have a small part in the service today, so maybe I’ll use that here.  We made special presentations to the two couples.  They were given a cutting board, reminding them to feed the flock.  They were given walking sticks, reminding them to lead.  They were given plaques for their homes, reminding them to be hospitable.

And I had the privilege of giving them Bibles.  So I’ll translate here what I … well, more or less what I intended to say in Spanish. I actually took the idea from this post.

Yesterday I was sick.  It’s always difficult for a wife (or a husband) when the other is sick in bed.  But around mid-morning, my wife took the time to bring me some delicious baked oatmeal.  Pretty nice, right?  It’s pretty cool to have an Amiga del Alma in my house!  [Amiga del Alma is a term for best friend, but in this case it refers to one of the teachers of the baking classes we have here.]

If you want to feed the congregation, put aside your opinions, and give us Scripture.  You can speak with authority and confidence, because the words are not yours, but God’s.  If you want to lead the church, get on your knees with this Book open in front of you.  Every good work.  Without exception.  God’s sufficient Word.

You know how it is.  Every once in a while something happens – or maybe a whole bunch of things happen – and you’re reminded that, no, you’re not at home (if your home is heaven), and you’re not in friendly territory.

Frankly, there have been some amazing things going on this month.  We’ve been meeting new people, new people have made confessions of faith, and there are new people coming to worship with us and study the Bible with us.

On Thursday the church started a new evening workshop for women in the community, entitled "Is it hard to be a woman?" (do they really need a workshop to answer that question?).  The idea is to cover a variety of topics over several weeks (until the beginning of July) relating to women’s issues from a Christian perspective.

We were wondering if anyone would come… and in the end, the room was packed with 30 women!  And there were so many kids that … well, it was like herding chickens.

And we continue to see growth in people – and there’s a whole slew of people who want to be baptized at our next baptism service in June – and the church is about to recognize its first elders – and there are so many wonderful incredible things happening, you wouldn’t believe it.

Oh yeah – and life is hard.  Sometimes it seems like just about every area of life is in chaos.  And that’s just us.  Other coworkers and fellow believers have been going through major challenges as well.  And it drives us to our knees, where we should have been in the first place.

And it reminds us – oh yeah.  We’re in a war here.  It’s not supposed to be easy and comfortable.  People we can see and spirits we cannot are against the work of God.  That’s just the way it is.

So it all brings verses like these to mind:

…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
(Ephesians 6:12-13)

When they [Paul and Barnabas] had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
(Acts 14:21-22)

And I keep thinking of the passage I quoted just 10 days ago – Psalm 20.  Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
(Psa 20:7)

What else is there worth trusting?

At the end of March/beginning of April we hosted a team from two churches in Alberta Canada – Mirror Alliance Church and Innisfail Baptist Church.  Below are some clips from their time here.

The time with the team was filled with a lot of new friendships, a lot of fun activities, and always the unexpected.  But every person on the team adapted well to the changes and showed themselves willing to learn.

Among other things they were involved in a kids’ club, they did some work for the community centre (including building shelves, painting, and building a swing set), and they were involved in services and studies (where they shared testimonies, and more).  But they were also willing to simply spend time interacting with people, and that’s what it all has to come down to.

At the farewell party for the team, some people from the church here shared that they were inspired and motivated by the work of the team to do more for the Lord here.  We also had some new confessions of faith, and there are brand new people attending Bible studies and services now that we had never met before the team came!

So although only God knows the impact that the team made, He has allowed us to see some little glimpses of what He’s doing.

We would love to see some – all – of the people from the team come back!  And maybe more from these churches.  And what about your church?  Do you think you might like to come and help out?

The video below has a few clips from the team’s visit.  As usual, the clips are somewhat random, but they should show a little of what the team did.  You can also check out the video from their first four days here.  That video shows more of the activities from those days – this video includes those days but is a little more MI Team-centric.

[If you're reading this in an RSS feed, you may need to jump to the blog to see the video here]

By the way, I also posted almost every day the team was here.  Here are the posts, in case you’re interested:

• MI Team: First Day+
• MI Team and Easter Egg Hunt
• MI Team: Days 1-4 (video)
• MI Team on a Monday
• MI Team on Tuesday
• A very full day!
• Video Clips from Today
• Never what you expect…
• Pass
• Resurrection Sunday – and Despedida
• Departed (on the plane)

I just checked the flight for the first six team members to leave, and apparently it has "departed".  And as far as I know, they’re on it!

This morning we met at the house that the church rents in Jesús María.  It was another despedida for the team – gifts, hugs, and prayers!

Then I took some and a taxi driver took the others (a taxi driver named Jesus, no less).  The traffic was a little heavier than I expected but we got everybody to the airport, checked in, and through security.

Traffic was very light on the way home, so we rolled in just about when the first group (maybe) took off.  The other two leave in about an hour.

From our perspective it was a very good trip.  The team did a great job overall.  I’ll likely have more comments later – and I hope to post some pictures and video … in the future … when I can!

Thanks again, MI Team!  Safe travels, and may God continue to use you and work in you!

La Despedida

I was leading the service this morning.  I decided to share a series of passages that related to the resurrection throughout the service.  In case you’re interested, here they are:

After the service the men started grilling meat, cactus, and onions – and we had a fantastic meal.  We hung out for a while, and the kids swam in the kiddie pool.

Then we had a despedida for the team – that is, a farewell party.

Everybody thanked each other and praised God, and the team received some gifts.  It was great to see the relationships that have been built in just a few days.  Finally, Ismael prayed for the churches in Canada that the teams come from, and Dave prayed for the churches here in Ixtapaluca.

Just in case anyone doubted we were in Mexico, we had a piñata.  Tiffany chose this fantastic bird piñata – a bird that was quite angry.  And we smashed it and got candy.

The team members are hanging out with their new friends this evening, and packing up for the trip back to Canada in the morning!

A great way to spend Resurrection Sunday!  Praising the Lord for all that He has done in so many lives – in Canada and in Mexico!

Today we went up to the pass between the volcanoes – our family, Rod and Mayra’s family, the MI Team, their host families, and a few other guests.  So it was a big group!  Here are most of them in front of the active volcano, Popocatépetl:

A good time was had by a… well, ok, I had a bit of a bumpy day personally.  Woke up with a crick in my neck.  We got out of the house late, and I went to get money out – and got my bank card stuck in a bank machine.  Finally got it out and went to another bank machine – where it promptly got stuck.  Finally got it out – and had success at the third machine!

But by the time we got to the pass I was feeling pretty sick (migraine attack), so I spent the day in a tin can (what we usually call our van) under the hot sun, with smoke and dust coming in every crack, and crowds streaming around me.  They kept bumping the van because it was parked so close to the other vehicles they could hardly get by.

I think the only worse place I’ve been in for a migraine attack was an emergency room.  Now that was scary.

Anyway, other than that I think it was a good day for most people.  Tomorrow we rise early – very early – for a 6am (Mexican time) sunrise service for Resurrection Sunday!

Today was not what we expected – then again, no day has been what we expected!

But we had a great time anyway.  We enjoyed a bilingual prayer meeting the morning, and the team gave an impromptu concert.

Then we spent some time cleaning the community centre area and rented house, and working on some of the projects of the week.  Today was mostly painting – here are Janice and Janelle painting the swing set that was built and put into place this week (while Nathanael tests them out).  It has already gotten a lot of use!

Later in the afternoon we headed up to the ruins above Ixtapaluca, and had some good views of the city around.

This evening we went to a Good Friday service – packed into the rented house:

Ismael led the service, and Rod led the music.  Several from the church gave testimonies about what the Lord has been doing in their lives – it’s incredible what He has brought people through – and to.

Believe it or not, we even had a guest speaker tonight.  Ready to "preach, pray or die at a moment’s notice", Dave gave the devotional while Mayra translated.  He did a great job, and really focused us on what the Lord did for us.

Then we spent some time hanging out with friends – under a full moon!

Tomorrow will be a day just to spend time together, as we travel up to the pass between the volcanoes.  The families who have been hosting the team members are all invited to come, so it should be a lot of fun!  It’s great to see so many new friends that have been made in a short time.

When the dust has cleared, I hope to make a video of the team’s time here.  But for today, I had my computer automatically choose some clips and throw them together for you, to get a glimpse of what happened.  The clips move by quickly, so pay attention! 

Today was the last day of the kids’ club, and the closing program.  Everyone heard the Gospel more than once today, and some of the children talked to the leaders about salvation.

During the club this morning, some of the Moms got together with Shari and also Heather, Janelle and Janice from the team, and they had a baking class.  They made some delicious apple-cheese-pie-stuff, which you’ll see in the video.

Also throughout the day, construction projects continued, such as work on a swing set for the community.

The last thing I have clips of from today was a visit to a restaurant called Espartacos (the Mexican word for Spartacus, but with an emphasis – EsparTACOS).

This afternoon the team came back to our house to chill out a bit – and some of them even learned from Hannah and Nathanael how to use trompos.

Here are the clips…

Wow – I just don’t really know what to say about that day – today!  So much happened, it was kind of like a week all packed into a day!

Well, maybe it’s not worth it to go into too much detail.  The kids’ club went well today, as usual.  The children are learning a lot about the Gospel, about Jesus, about the Bible.

Trying bannock at the English Class

I was looking forward to hanging out at the club today, but we discovered that we were out of gas at home and Shari had baking to do in preparation for the big baking class tomorrow.  Our second tank was defective, so I went out to find somewhere to fill the gas – and that led to a stop by the police and other adventures I won’t get into (don’t worry, the police let me go… apparently I hadn’t done anything wrong.  I guess they just wanted to chat…)

In the afternoon the team did a lot of cleaning and construction-related stuff.  (Our word "construction" loosely means anything related to screws, wood, paint and metal – we’re doing a lot of small projects).

The English class this afternoon was a smash-hit – packed out with people from the church and the community.  The team played some games, taught some geography and even made bannock.

After the class we went out for tacos (YUM), and then they team went to do some more socializing (which, without doubt, is a very important reason why they’re here!).

Shari, Hannah and Nathanael were on their way to join us for tacos when Nathanael fell splat onto the pavement.  He had quite a goose egg, and we went to the doctor as a precaution.  But the doctor felt he was fine, and he’s doing well now.  Although I admit he looks a little worse for wear.

So that’s a quick summary of our day – here are a few pictures.  By the way, eventually I’ll upload some high definition pictures into our photo gallery.  Time being limited, I’m just throwing up a few previews here.

Dave plays hopscotch – with all his might!

Parachute game!

I guess it was a bit of a Dave-centric day for pictures – but here’s Dave again, showing everyone a Canadian coin at the English class.