10 years ago today (and tomorrow, to be precise) we were having a lot of fun taking a holiday in Mexico City! So here are 4 photos for the price of one.
Top left – Hannah and Albert Einstein (well, a wax figure of Einstein)
Top right – Jim and Cantinflas (Mario Moreno) (again, in wax. Moreno was famous comedian from Mexico City)
Bottom left – Shari and Hannah in the pool
Bottom right – Nathanael outside Chapultepec Castle
It’s been too long since I did a podcast, so I’m just stopping by to talk about a few things I’m thankful for. That’s all!
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It’s been a while – yikes! A year! – since I posted about some of the books I’ve been reading. So here are a few that you might want to check out:
The Hidden Hand by J. Sidlow Baxter – One of my favourites, and a book I’ve read many times. I enjoyed it once again. It’s a mystery/romance written by a Christian preacher, so if that doesn’t get your attention, I don’t know what will. A little preachy at times, but overall a great novel by someone who knows his material (see below). I’m always sorry to get to the last page. More about The Hidden Hand here.
J. Sidlow Baxter: A Heart Awake by E. A. Johnston – So here’s the mystery. The Hidden Hand is supposedly loosely based on a true story. So – what is the true story? Well, after quite a bit of research I suspected that it was the story of the author himself. So I finally got my hands on his biography, thanks to some birthday money, and confirmed my suspicions. And also whet my appetite to read more biographies.
For the Glory: The Untold and Inspiring Story of Eric Liddell, Hero of Chariots of Fire by Duncan Hamilton – Of the books on today’s list, I give this one 5 stars along with The Hidden Hand. I don’t think the author is a believer, but he writes with great respect about the life of Eric Liddell, with a special focus on his life as a missionary in China, and the end of his life in a Japanese prison camp. Highly recommended.
The Bible among the Myths: Unique Revelation or Just Ancient Literature? by John N. Oswalt – Quite a variety of books here, I see! This one is a discussion of the Old Testament in the light of what we know of ancient Middle Eastern religion. That might sound rather academic, and in a way it is. But the author presents a compelling case that, despite superficial similarities, the worship of Yahweh in Israel was so drastically different from the religions around it that it’s hard to imagine how it could have (humanly speaking) come into existence. If you’ve read books like The Other Worldview his observations will make even more sense. Although I would have some theological differences with the author, his observations from history and interactions with other scholars are fascinating and insightful.
For his physical education class, Nathanael had to put together an activity using “SMART goals” (goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound). So he decided to do an Ixtapaluca hike.
So, yesterday after our main meal of the day we set out to fulfill the goals. He had mapped out a route (which we ended up adjusting somewhat en route), which included climbing up to two archaeological sites on two sides of town.
I took some pictures as we went, so I thought you might enjoy this mini-tour. I’ve linked to each picture in our Photo Gallery so that you can see the full-resolution version (you will want to actually download the photo from the gallery if you want the full-res version).
10 years ago today, a ministry called Uncharted Waters was back in Ixtapaluca to help us train local churches to share the gospel through sports camps.
Several churches were involved, and a lot of continuing ministry grew out of the skills that we learned during that time. Both Hannah and Nathanael attended the sports camp (which was in the community of Jesús María), playing basketball and soccer.
One of the leaders asked me to take photos that they could use in future promotion, so I took a lot of pictures! Here’s just one, during a game of – what do you call it? It’s that one where you steal the bandana or flag from the other person. In this case, you have to keep dribbling the whole time…
Ten years ago we were out with some missionary friends in the pass between the volcanoes. There’s a little lake there where you can fish.
There were not only Cottrills, but Smiths and Topps and Frys, some of whom are in this picture. I believe Tiffany was there as well, and maybe one or two others…. hey, it was a long time ago.
Here’s a close-up of the left side, where Hannah is playing in the water and Shari is standing behind:
Fun times!