A little over a week ago, we went to a local aviary known as "El Nido" (The Nest).  We drive by it all the time, but only recently found out that it’s the third largest aviary in the world!

And I have to admit, it was pretty cool.

So here is some video from El Nido – mostly birds, birds, birds.  But what an amazing variety!

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)

This video is from the MI Team from their time in Mexico.  Yes, I’m still working on my video, so you haven’t seen the last of them!  But here’s their version of events.

PS – not sure who made the video – I hear rumours that Dave Trenholm was involved…

This video by Cameron Fenske shows a glimpse of a typical Sunday morning in Jesús María.  The footage is from a few months ago, but things haven’t changed too much.  We do have chairs now, thanks to a gift from the MI Team.  Harder to carry up the stairs, but much more comfortable to sit in.

As you might imagine, moving all these things constantly does take its toll.  It was my turn this past Sunday to move things, and we discovered that the keyboard has kicked the bucket.  Someday we may have the time and money to see if we can repair it.  Allan was mentioning that the drum set is in pretty bad shape as well.

But right now we have other priorities – as a church, we’re praying for a building – which will mean a lot less moving!

If you’d like to help, you can donate toward this project (Project #63604) in Canadian currency here and in US currency here.

video via Plastic Stool Video

100 years ago today, the RMS Titanic sank, after hitting an iceberg the night before.  As the ship sank, the band played on – but what did they play?

Some of the survivors claimed that the last song the band played was "Nearer My God to Thee".  But today, there may not be enough evidence to know for sure.

If this hymn was the last song played, it would certainly be appropriate.  And the very fact that the band played on, calming the passengers, and giving their own lives to do it, is heroic enough, hymn or no hymn.

But as my Dad recently pointed out in his blog, the tune played may not be the tune you’re familiar with.  The scene from A Night to Remember (1958) got it right.  Here’s the clip:

Nearer My God to Thee is a beautiful hymn alluding to the dream of Jacob at Bethel (Genesis 28:10-22).

100 years ago today, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg, just south of Newfoundland and west of Nova Scotia.  Early in the morning of the 15th of April, 1912, the ship sank, leading to about 1500 deaths.

Built in Belfast, Ireland, as a part of the White Star Line, it was delivered to Southampton, England before beginning the voyage that was supposed to take it to New York.  As we all know now, the ship never made it.

In the years leading up to 1912, modern technology had promised solutions to human struggles.  Modern philosophy theorized that humanity was developing and evolving and that nothing could stop its eventual triumph.

The sinking of the Titanic shook the confidence of the world in humanity’s achievements.  Two world wars were about to shock the world again, as technology was used to fight and kill and conquer.

Today we’re at it again.  Technology – the great new species that humans will become – the triumph of democracy.  Technology will grant our heart’s desire, humanity will save us, and evolution will finally triumph.  How soon we forget the lessons of the past!

There is only one place where we should put our trust.  Long before the Titanic sailed, King David looked beyond armies and technology to our real hope…

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…

Below is a somewhat rough video with clips from the past 4 days (Thursday to Sunday).  It will give you an idea of what the MI Team has been up to in their first few days.  It’s not all video of the people on the team, but more clips of the activities they were involved in.

I didn’t take a lot of video in downtown Mexico City.  One thing we did was go to the Basilica in the city, and you can see a video from another visit back in 2010 here.

The team has already been a big help, but they are really just going to be diving into some of their main ministries today.  But through the activities and social times of the past few days, new friends have been made, they’ve worshipped together with the Mexican believers, and there have even been some who have prayed to receive Christ.

The team is doing well, although as I have mentioned there has been a bit of sickness – two or three of the guys – but they seem to be getting over it quickly.

Today the kids’ club begins, and there’s an English class in the afternoon, plus some construction work… stay tuned!

Below you can watch a video with a few of the moments from our anniversary service at Iglesia Bíblica Sendero de Vida Jesús María this past Sunday.

We had a tent set up in front of the community centre for the morning.  We also invited Iglesia Bíblica Sendero de Vida Santa Barbara, so many of them were there as well.

It’s amazing to think about what God has done over the past few years – and before that even – and to see the faces of so many people that He has touched and used for His glory!

Come to think of it, it was an unusual service in that every member of my family was involved.  How did we manage that?

Here are a few clips of Claudia’s 15th birthday party from Saturday.  In Mexico, Quinceañeras are often very formal events, as you’ll see.  A coming-of-age party for girls in Mexico, it could be bigger than a girl’s wedding.

Claudia is a great girl from our church and it was a privilege to share the time with her and her other friends and family!