Practical matters

17 November 2012

When did November get so Busy?

Jim Family, Ministry glimpses, Practical matters 1

I’ve wanted to post here, but haven’t been able to. So I thought I’d stop by tonight to at least let you know I’ve been thinking about you all! 🙂

I don’t know when November became so busy – it seems like everything is “due” this month. And I haven’t made a lot of progress crossing the right things of my list. Which means the last half of the month will be as crazy as the first.

But aside from all the business, Shari and I have been sick. Shari had an ear infection starting late last month – which seems like it may be gone now. But then we got some other bug, and it’s a nasty one.

Actually, Thursday night I was sicker than I’ve been in a long time. I was actually quite concerned, and starting to imagine doctor’s visits and medications and hospitals.

However, although I was feeling pretty rotten today, it seems like the whatever-it-is is progressing and starting to go away. So Lord willing we’ll be feeling better soon.

That is to say, we’ve been in survival mode for the last couple of weeks.

On the practical side, I’ve been trying to get some things done – like paying a bill (forgot to bring it with me – twice), getting our van verified (No-go. They told me to get a tune-up and come back.), and get our visas (our lawyer tells us the laws are changing again, and we should wait for a call before we mail the rest of our documents).

But it hasn’t been all bad. Shari had a good baking class this week, with a lot of new women. Our Bible study on Tuesday was on evangelism, and I think we had a really good discussion. And we’ve been able to have some other good conversations with some other people. Oh yes, in spite of it all, there has been a lot going on!

Next week we’ll be going on a retreat – on the Gulf of Mexico. I know, we’re really suffering. 😉 It should be about 7°C or more warmer there than it is here, which will be nice. We’re looking forward to spending some time with friends there.

And to conclude our report on the week – a shot from Hannah and Nathanael’s swimming class:

3 November 2012

Haven’t seen a newsletter for a while?

Jim Practical matters 0

We send out our quarterly newsletter – well, four a times a year, obviously. It’s called Notes from the Cottrills.

If you used to get it, but haven’t seen it for a long time, it may be that your address has changed – and we (shame on us) are still sending it to an old address!

Sorry about that.

Our last newsletter was sent in the summer, and it looked something like what you see here. It was all about Hannah and Nathanael and their school days. So if you don’t recognize it – you probably didn’t get it!

If you want to change your information, simply fill out the form on this page. You can even change your email address (if it has changed).

Sending our newsletter also reminds us to pray for you! So be sure to sign up if you want to be a part of the work here in Mexico! 🙂

2 October 2012

Ethan, Documents, Study

Jim Family, Ministry glimpses, Practical matters, Prayer and Praise 2

Today. Stuff just keeps happening.

Today we got to “see” our nephew Ethan for the first time – all the way from Nairobi – via Skype! Here’s a snapshot of the little fella and his Mom. He was 5 days old.

Today I sent some documents to our lawyer, as we continue to work on our visas. I sent her 51 papers – yes, 51. (Not including photos of us) May the arrive safely and be accepted by the powers that be! What a looooooong process . . .

Today I have a Bible study. In just a few minutes, actually – I’m just about to head out the door.

This week’s study is How can I understand the Bible? and next week’s is How can I study the Bible? Trying to boil down those topics to something useful has been quite the experience. We’ll see how it goes tonight as we talk about some basic principles and try them out on some passages.

That’s not all, but that’s some of what’s going on today. But not time to write more! Today was painful, difficult, blessed and challenging. And tomorrow is coming fast.

1 September 2012

By the way, it arrived!

Jim Practical matters, Prayer and Praise 3

Remember my prayer request from the 21st of August? Well, thanks for your prayers! We received the most important cheque we were waiting for before the end of the month. Actually, we got it on the 31st. 🙂

So we were able to pay the bills we needed to pay. Praise the Lord!

By the way, the Bible study on the Holy Spirit went great too. 🙂

31 August 2012

Washers, Cables – Whatta Week (so far)

Jim Practical matters 0

And what a week it has been (so far)!

I admit, I started it in pretty bad shape. I was feeling quite sick by Sunday evening (although I managed to make it to a neighbourhood meeting – topics ranging from security to cat poop). And I don’t think I’ve entirely recovered.

In spite of my health and the current egg shortage in Mexico (yes, really), I finally managed to find some eggs on Monday. Can’t say I didn’t do anything this week.

On Tuesday – well, for a lot of the week, actually – we were working toward getting our new visas for Mexico (the next level up – longer lasting ones). We’ve been working on this since last November (yes, really), of course. I wonder how many hours I’ve spent on it?

Anyway, it’s been back and forth with the lawyer lately.

Problems with our printer plagued me on Tuesday, and I was late to my study, with only 1/2 of the handouts (that is, half per person – only one side of the sheet!). But it was an interesting study, with a good turn-out. (Topic – What is the Church?)

On Wednesday I tried to get the printer working properly, but the internet seemed to slow almost to a halt. As you might guess, it seemed that everything I had to do involved either the printer or the internet.

But believe it or not – after about 2 months and 10-15 visits to their office – someone from the cable company showed up! They connected out internet and phone service, ending (hopefully) about 4 years of an internet connection that didn’t really work.

(Let’s put it this way – our old connection generally wasn’t good enough to watch YouTube videos (for example), and seemed to disconnect completely every time someone in the neighbourhood used their phone.)

On Thursday, Nathanael was quite sick – briefly – but enough to miss a day of school and require … well … a lot of extra cleaning … which we’re still working on. But he’s a lot better now.

However, to top the day off, the washing machine stopped working and Hannah’s pet fish (Sparky) died. That which came from the sea has returned to the sea [insert flushing sound here].

(No, no connection between the dead fish and broken washing machine.)

Today I managed to cancel our old internet/phone account (the new one is cheaper, did I mention that?) and start getting some supplies for Hannah’s science class. Ah, the school programs are a whole other story – it’s a learning curve, let me tell you (although Shari and the kids are doing a great job).

We said goodbye to our washing machine today. We’ll miss it. Hopefully it will be back next week sometime.

That’s just some of what’s been entertaining us, on top of our regular work. Tonight Hannah is going for a sleepover, and tomorrow is the kid’s club/Bible study, so I’m getting ready for that, among other up-coming events.

Soooo… still not feeling well, but we’re making progress. Sort of. Well, progress in fixing broken things, anyway. Which reminds me, Nathanael has a hole in his bike tire. Must get that fixed. Soon.

21 August 2012

Quick Prayer Request – 21 August 2012

Jim Practical matters, Prayer and Praise 0

Hi everyone! I’m just stopping by to ask you to pray about some mail that we’re waiting for. 🙂

We’re actually waiting to be reimbursed for some expenses, and we’re praying that the money will come before the end of the month (the sooner the better!). Would you pray with us?

We’re expecting some big expenses in the next couple of weeks, most notably expenses related to getting our visas. There are also some expenses with Hannah and Nathanael starting the school year – some of that should be reimbursed as well, but it won’t be for a while.

If you’re praying, you could also pray for our Bible studies tonight! I’m looking forward to talking about a great topic – as I mentioned yesterday – the Holy Spirit! What a difference it would make if we were filled with the Spirit as we face the challenges God brings our way!

«‹ 18 19 20 21 ›»