We were very thankful to be able to join our church in Mexico once again on Sunday, even though we’re in Canada. Although the church continues to meet in person, our friends were able to set up a remote link for those who couldn’t attend.
So we very much enjoyed the service, and were even able to say “Hi” to everyone from here.
And as a special bonus, after the service one couple in the church had a mini “gender reveal” party! Everybody had to guess boy or girl, and the winners got a prize. And, of course, the losers got a prize too! We gave away our prize, but the biggest prize is this blessing of a new baby. 🙂
About to pop the balloon to reveal – pink or blue?
We’re mostly recovered from our trip here, I think. So we’ve been working hard on a variety of things. This morning I’ve been preparing to teach my hermeneutics class this week – another Canada-Mexico link up.
We continue to be thankful for friends who have provided us a place to stay, and for all of God’s blessings. May you experience God’s blessing today too!
So without going into all the details, let me tell you a little bit about our trip. First, things were a bit rushed at the airport in Mexico, because we arrived a bit later than we planned. It wasn’t bad, but we were wondering if things would go faster or slower than in pre-2020 days. Well, things did go a little slower.
So we didn’t have time to eat at the airport, and no meal on the plane. They did give us a little packet with things like a face mask, water, anti-bacterial gel, and gloves (when were we supposed to use gloves??).
Steward in his protective gear.
Actually, if you’ve ever been in the hospital having surgery, you’ll have some idea what the ambience was like on the plane. Stewards and stewardesses roamed the isle as little as possible wearing face masks and long white robes, reminding you to do things for your own good. We were given another unusual form, based on new quarantine laws. (We had already filled out a form online, and one at the Mexico City airport, so I guess that makes three.)
So we arrived in Toronto, and of course the reminders of COVID-19 continued. Going through one line, we stood in front of a white background while an official with what seemed to be a camera asked us to remove hats/glasses and look up. It wasn’t until later that we realized that he wasn’t taking a picture at all, but taking our temperature. I’m not sure if smiling makes your temperature higher or lower…
There were some things open at the airports, though not as much as normal. For the most part, it didn’t look like the stores were temporarily closed, but permanently out of business. However there were still some of the usual places to buy a magazine or souvenir, or a bite to eat.
Anti-bacterial gel was everywhere, although it generally wasn’t “forced” on us (as it tends to be in Mexico).
Anyway, due to a bunch of problems (including our first flight arriving late), we missed our flight out of Toronto. So it wasn’t until late that night that we finally got something to eat, at the hotel, thanks to the fresh deli items that they had on hand. A hard boiled egg never tasted so good.
So, a very short sleep, before dawn, we were off to try again. We did finally arrive in Calgary, a day late.
And we have been very thankful for friends who changed their schedules to pick us up, and now to provide us with a place to stay for our quarantine!
But, yes it was a long couple of days, so we need a little recovery time. But we’re getting organized and doing a little work today, before getting more into regular work tomorrow.
Well, ok, Nathanael was a little bit isolated at camp last week, since it was all online. But it sounds like it was a good time!
And as for the three of us, we will be isolated soon. Although, I’m a little confused. I thought that, if I were sick, I would be quarantined. If not, I would be isolated. However, one government website in Canada explained that it was the other way around – when we go to Canada, healthy as can be, we will be quarantining. But if we get sick, we’ll be isolating.
Which was all good until we filled out the special form to explain where we were going to — to be by ourselves, away from the healthy crowds. And we received this seal of approval. Which clearly says – we’re isolating. Even though we’re healthy as can be.
Oh well – what ever. Serves me right trying to get the terminology right.
But we’re not isolated yet. We enjoyed our service this morning. Little by little people are trickling back to the services, which is fun. We’re continuing our journey through the book of Romans.
And soon we’ll be headed to Canada. Still a lot of details to work out! But little by little we’re getting organized.
You could certainly pray for our health, if you think of it, along with smooth travels. (Without the health, there will be no travels at all! At least, not for a while.) And I’ll try to let you know how it all goes.
Each year, Word of Life Mexico has a camp for kids and youth. This year, they’re at it again – except that they went virtual!
So Nathanael is enjoying his first week “at camp” this week – in his room. 🙂 There are a lot of the typical camp things – cabin groups and teams and leaders and activities and teaching and all that.
And parents that miss their kids (pretty pathetic, huh? He’s just up there in his room, but I feel like we’ve hardly seen him. Just think how much we miss Hannah in Canada!!!).
Basically there are morning and evening sessions or whatever you call them. Today there are special workshops that you can choose, so it looks like he’ll be busier today than most days.
And knowing Word of Life, there will be a lot of serious Bible teaching and challenges to make your life count! Which is something we all need to be reminded of, right?
We’ve had quite a few from our church attend camp this year and past years, so we’re thankful for so many who are using their talents to serve the Lord.
If you want to pray for the camp, it goes through Friday. You can pray for the usual stuff – new relationships, clarity of Bible teaching, fun times, and so on – but also for the tech. I know that the camp has had mixed success with all the technology, and so many people who have varying degrees of internet access.
I haven’t talked too much here about our upcoming visit to Canada, so I’m just swinging by to give an update.
We had actually planned to go to Canada earlier this year, but our plans were changed due to the situation with COVID-19. We’re going to serve in ministry where we can, help out family where we can, complete some minor paperwork, and take care of some other things that must be done in Canada.
We’ll be mostly in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Partly due to the reality of travel in 2020, we’re finding everything to be far more complicated, and by necessity far more last minute. So I don’t have a detailed schedule to share with you. But I will say that we will, Lord willing, be enjoying our mandatory quarantine during the last half of August. And at the moment I’m scheduled to preach at First Evangelical Free Church in Calgary on the 6th of September.
We just recently confirmed a place to stay for the first few weeks, although we may be looking more for a place a little later on. Yeah, it’s complicated. But we are so thankful for the people who have helped us with the details so far!
And no, we don’t know for how long we’ll be in Canada.
But it’s all good, because as you all know, we never plan much ahead anyway. Ok, that may not exactly be true.
So we do appreciate your prayers as we continue our last minute planning, and for endurance as we travel! It will be a long trip for us, because we’re flying to Toronto and then to Calgary (I know, all you world travellers are laughing at us for calling that a “long trip”).
Meanwhile, there’s lots going on here during our last little while in Mexico – Bible study, OT survey class, preaching, and lots of other details!
Last Sunday we celebrated baptisms together, this Sunday it was communion!
Setting up a tent – just one of the coverings we used
This past Sunday we met outdoors, a place we’ve met before, at a property owned by a friend in our church. We will probably meet here for a few weeks, because they place we used to meet in is not currently available. But we’re used to moving around!
It will probably take a while, though, before everything goes smoothly. But there were lots of people on hand before the service to help set up tarps and tents and hook up sound equipment and set up chairs.
This was our special monthly adoration service, and we’ve been learning about the fruit of the Spirit. This week, goodness! And God has been good.
On Friday we also completed our virtual kids’ club! We had only a handful of kids, but mostly not church kids, which was neat. And with the online format, a small group probably works better anyway. In spite of some technical challenges, the kids and their families were exposed to God’s Word and clear presentations of the gospel throughout the week. The teachers found creative ways to present the truth in an interactive way. Thanks to all of you who were praying!
Playing a game to review a Bible verse at the kids’ club
So this week we continue with our hermeneutics class, and we also finish our 15 week Discovering Life bible study.
And we also appreciate your prayers as we continue to work on the challenge of a visit to Canada. A lot of work, short time, full of change and uncertainty. But God is in control of it all!
