Family

27 February 2012

Camp – MKs and Bloggers

Late Saturday afternoon we returned from camp (and were greeted by a hailstorm in Ixtapaluca – go figure! Just a mild one, though…). A good time was had by all.

Topp Talk – Chuck and Karla Topp did a great job in the younger kids’ chapels

Nathanael had a great time, and I’m sure he’ll be talking about it for weeks. Even though he did fall out of the top bunk onto the cement. And there was that freak swing accident – ***kerTHUMP*** right on his face. So now when people greet him, they say,"Hi Nathana… what happened to you?!"

But it was fun. We learnt verses, songs, stories… had great food (I kept asking them when were were going to get the "yucky camp food", but they never served it), played great games (thanks to Tina)… I even got to lead an activity, and help with crafts, and help with the younger boys cabin.

Nathanael was introduced to kick-ball

One thing I noticed about this camp was that there were a lot of bloggers (and former or delinquent bloggers – but we won’t talk about them!) there. So let me see if I can remember them all, and not get nasty comments from the people I forget.

Helping in the kitchen among other things was The Ice Cream Grandma. The camp director is the man known by Knowing Your ABCDs.

Since it’s a family blog, I’ll mention The Smith Connection – the kids were at camp, and their parents showed up on the last day.

And we had someone in avoidance of the perfunctory who was also a great counsellor and game-leader. And we enjoyed getting to know the person who posts about This and That. The Aguirres helped with the youth chapel.

And, of course, yours truly.

So now we’re home recovering… Nathanael had a slight fever last night, but seems to be feeling better. And – did I hear a rumour that we’re supposed to check for lice?

I love camp.

The young boys cabin. Jonathan Baker and I are young boys at heart.

22 February 2012

Nathanael and I are going to Camp.

Jim Family 0

Today (Lord willing) Nathanael and I will be making the long and arduous journey of about 200km (124mi) to Campamento Koinonia (Camp Koinonia). We’ll be at the camp with a few other missionaries and MKs (well, most of the MKs are missionaries too – but you know what I mean) from CAM (and perhaps the occasional other mission – I think some are coming from Pioneers).

The purpose of the camp – well, apparently it’s somewhat in a state of evolution (and in the State of Querétaro), but it’s mainly for MKs who are homeschooled – and some of their parents – to get together and worship and play and all stuff like that there.

All right, so we’re not 100% clear about what it’s all about. But we know most of the people who are going and organizing it, and they’re cool, so how can we go wrong?

Tina Barham (the mid-missionary who is running the community centre Centro Cultural Tiempo de Vivir in Jesús María) will be going with us. She’s going to add her rather considerable camp experience to the venture, and lead some games and stuff.

They tell us it’s going to be cold at night – I believe these are unheated cabins – so we’ll see if we can find something warm enough to wrap ourselves in when we need it! (Then again, if we were camping somewhere like around Buffalo Narrows, SK, it would be about 18C colder. Except that the buildings would be heated!)

Shari and Hannah are having their own girls’ camp back home. They have some neat things planned, so they should have a fun time too.

So – here we go!

11 February 2012

30 Photos in 30 Days – Overview

Jim Family, Just for fun, Mexico, Ministry glimpses 0

So I did it – I took and posted 30 photos in 30 days. Looking them over, I thought they presented an interesting glimpse into life here.

Of course they didn’t always represent what we were doing on a certain day, though I often talked about that. But it’s a good mix of ministry, culture, and daily life, over the course of a month in Mexico. A typically untypical month, I suppose!

So here they are, all together. Just click the image to go to the post. If you want to go in order, go down the left column then the right column.

Just for your interest, I put in bold the 5 which have been the most popular so far.

Ismael and Marta		Guilty Pleasure?
The Lime		The Moon at 23%
Prayer Meeting		Arroz con Leche
Sergio and Elizabeth		Joint Service in Santa Barbara
A Sunday Morning in January		Gas!
Half Ollie?		José Teaches (exam night!)
The Growing Community Centre		Yogourt Drinks Galore!
Our Mini Street		Tigers going to Church?
Out to Lunch		Ixtapaluca Monument (and a taco stand)
Terminal 2		Coffee Shop – Grand Opening!
Violin Class		Temporary Meeting Place
Three Guitarists		Our Team (I finally took a picture)
The Captive Child		Freshly Squeezed
Priorities		Volcano Popocatépetl Appears
Pigeons in Puebla		Ixtapaluca at Night

27 January 2012

The Moon at 23%

Jim Family, Mexico, Video Blogs 0

Usually on Fridays we try to have some family time. After our gallivanting all over the place lately, we were ready for an evening at home.

So we made some popcorn and watched God of Wonders (see trailer below). It was especially appropriate because Nathanael is studying astronomy (and actually the video also talked about water cycles, which Hannah has been studying).

So today for my photo of the day I took a picture of the moon. I understand that the moon is the same phase wherever you see it around the world (in this case 23% of full), but at a different angle. As you can see, here (from Hannah’s window at 8:39pm) it looks like a boat or a cradle. You can even see some of the detail of the surface of the moon on the dark side (click the image for higher resolutions). Not bad for a point-and-shoot camera in the middle of the city!

26 January 2012

Guilty Pleasure?

Jim Family, Food, Just for fun 0

We have a bad habit. There’s a Krispy Kreme at the airport in Mexico City (one at each terminal, actually). And yes, we have a habit of getting a doughnut when we go to the airport. It’s not exactly Tim Hortons, but it’s not bad.

Today we went to drop off Brittany, who has been here taking photos for CAM International (soon to be Camino Global). Brittany is on the plane right now (as far as we know), heading to Uruguay. She won’t be arriving until tomorrow morning.

We’ll miss Brittany! It was fun having her around, and I know she took some great pictures. Thanks, Brittany!

Anyway, while we were hanging out with her, we went to Krispy Kreme and discovered they have everything… except doughnuts.

Come back in half an hour, we were told.

So we did, and we got some raspberry fills.

Here are Hannah and Nathanael with their brand new long awaited doughnuts.

19 January 2012

Out to Lunch

Jim Family, Mexico 0

Today among many other things we went for lunch at the home of some friends who currently live in Jesús María. (I say lunch – I mean the main meal in the middle of the day, which tends to be around 2 or 3pm or so.) I told them about my project – to take and post 30 photos in 30 days – and they were kind enough to join us for a picture.

We had a great time over great food – and now it’s their turn to visit us. 😉

So here we are with Martín and Lydia, with children Zeltzin, Allan, and Ian, and beside Shari special guest Melanie. 🙂

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