Family

As sometimes happens, there has been a lot going on and very little time to blog.  So I’m going to break out of my usual pattern and just give you a quick random list of some of the things that have been happening.  For your interest, prayers, whatever…

• Rod Fry posted a brief video of the passion play in Ixtapalapa (which is, yes, close to Ixtapaluca).  Here are my pictures and comments from 2007 (from the TV broadcast).
• This year I’ve enjoyed reading, for the second time, The Cross He Bore by the late Frederick S. Leahy.  I joined a "reading group" over at challies.com.  Read what I had to say about this book last year.
• Our church has been having some great services this month – Maundy Thursday (all night), Good Friday evening and Holy Saturday evening (which I just enjoyed).  Tomorrow* we’ll meet at 5:45am for a sunrise service on Resurrection Sunday.  I haven’t been able to make it to all of these due to health reasons, but what I’ve been at has been great!
• Why then, you ask, am I still not in bed if I’m getting up that early?  Well, the immediate answer is that I’m scanning receipts that I promised to get to the CAM office by today.  I was sick in bed yesterday or I would have been finished then.  It’s a routine matter for a year-end audit, but it means hours of work!
• A longer answer might be that we are just generally SWAMPED at the moment, and probably will be to some extent until we start travelling in the summer.  Recently I commented to someone that we all have the same time in every day – 24 hours.  In that sense, everyone is busy to the same extent.  But what are we busy doing?  Right now we have so many things coming from so many angles, we are praying for extra wisdom as we set priorities and decide what to do and what to say no to.
• Guess what?  I put some new pictures and video in the photo gallery.  There are even some pictures of the prayer time from the leadership Sunday as promised.  Check out our Recent shots… album!
• Nathanael got a bike for Christmas.  It quickly broke.  We finally took it to the repair shop and got it fixed – new inner tube, and new brake.  Cost?  About CA$4.
• I just got the van fixed.  Cost?  Almost a thousand dollars.  I think I need to start walking more.
• While investigating a minor matter, the CAM Canada office discovered a major matter – a change is being made to our income which means we’ll need to pay a much larger chunk of tax every month (current guess around 2-3 hundred dollars a month).  We’re working on trying to figure out exactly how this is supposed to work legally, and how we’re going to come up with the extra money.
• Last Sunday our clocks changed – spring ahead 1 hour.
• We had a great trip to San Juan del Rio last weekend.  We visited friends and learned a bit about the ministry there.  I was quite sick half the weekend, but they had a very comfortable futon.
• Speaking of health, the rest of the family has been doing pretty well.  Hannah was sick early in the week, but bounced back quickly.
• I have to admit it, for me this is an interesting time of year to be in pain.  It’s a reminder of how insignificant our pain is in light of the cross – His pain, our future hope.
• You know, it’s so neat to see God raising up leaders here in Mexico.  I really need to write more about that sometime.
• We’re busy getting ready for our trip in the summer, and part of that is scheduling, another part is paperwork.  Partly because of the trip, and partly because of the timing, there’s a lot of complex, red-tape, expensive, time-consuming paperwork to do.  Not complaining, just explaining.
• I hope to meet with our landlord Armando this month.  Our contract is about to run out, and we hope he’ll let us stay in this house into the fall.  We’ll need to negotiate rent and all stuff like that there.
• This coming week is Neurologist week.  Nathanael just had a blood test (he was very brave – they always have trouble finding his veins) and will get his regular 6 month checkup in Cuernavaca.  We’re all travelling to the city of Puebla this coming weekend, and I’m taking the opportunity to see a new neurologist and possibly a neurosurgeon regarding my migraine attacks.
• We’re looking forward to visiting Puebla for other reasons – seeing friends, learning about ministry going on there.  We’re even looking forward to singing on Sunday (Shari and I).  These trips to Puebla and San Juan del Rio are a part of the requirement of our Orientation Year.
• The day before Resurrection Sunday in Mexico is a traditional day for water fights and splashing around in the pool.  Hannah and Nathanael had a great time when some neighbours shared their blow-up pool with children on our street.  It was probably the warmest day yet here – getting up to around 33C.  This tends to be the hottest time of year, right before rainy season starts.

There you are – a glimpse into the lives of the Cottrills.  Hope I can write more detail soon!  Now, gotta finish scanning these receipts.

*Note: I started writing this Saturday and finished it Sunday, so I’m writing as though it’s Saturday.  It’s that tricky midnight thing.