Community Centre 2011 – Here we GO! (podcast)
It’s just about to begin… listen to this podcast for more! Oh, and here’s the link to the Church & Community Center calendar.
Prayer and Praise
Sports Camp – Day 1
We’ve finished the first day of the sports camp! I’m not sure if I’ll post pictures every day, but I wanted to at least let you know that we’re off to a good start.
The day started first thing in the morning with a time of worship, and then the training began. Here’s a shot of the group being trained, although at this point there were still more to come:
And I’ll end with a few shots of the camp itself. I think there were about 30 kids there, plus the team, and the people being trained (about 20-25), and many more people who came to watch. I have a feeling there will be a lot more tomorrow – we’ll see!
Basketball Training
Soccer!
Tim Conrad from Uncharted Waters teaches the kids
with Teo Moreno translating
Today it Begins! (Sports Camp)
Yes, today is the day! The sports camp, run by Uncharted Waters, begins today. And, as you may recall, it’s not just for these kids, it’s a training program for Mexican leaders who want to go and run their own camps!
So Mexican leaders from all over Mexico, representing about 15 churches, are here to take in the training and see the camp in action. And the team from Uncharted Waters arrived last night (2 of them are staying with us – welcome, guys!).
On Monday we handed out flyers all over Jesús María, promoting the event, and I’m sure there will be kids from elsewhere as well. Hannah has invited some kids from our street as well, so we’ll see!
We would appreciate your prayers for this event – that the Gospel would be shared clearly, that ongoing relationships would be built… and also for those doing the training, and those being trained, that this would be a tool that leaders all over Mexico can use to further God’s kingdom.
We’ll let you know how it goes! Excuse me… gotta run….. ! 😉
Looking Back – The First Free Mexico Team (video)
Yes, at long last I have for you a video of the team from the First Evangelical Free Church in Calgary. All right, it’s not a cinematic masterpiece (and it doesn’t cover some pretty significant moments of the trip – time with Mexican families, the drive up to the ruins… yeah, the team knows what I’m talking about!), but it will give you a bit of an idea where the team was and what they were up to.
Thanks to the team, once again, for being open to friendships, for giving the community centre activities a boost, for serving both children and parents at conference, and so much more. I’ll let the video say the rest…
Thanks to the team, once again, for being open to friendships, for giving the community centre activities a boost, for serving both children and parents at conference, and so much more. I’ll let the video say the rest…
Nathanael’s Finger – a week and a bit later
We just got back from visiting the doctor. Nathanael’s finger is healing nicely, though it will probably be a few months before he has a fingernail there again. No doubt it will be sensitive for a long time.
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We’re changing the bandage every day, and it’s become a lot easier the last day or two as the wound has closed a lot more.
And more good news – Nathanael isn’t taking any more medicine for it. He sure hated the "pink medicine" which he finally finished on Monday!
In the picture you can see Nathanael and the paediatrician, Dr. Lechuga. The doctor is just putting some new bandaging on Nathanael’s finger. It didn’t hurt. Much.
The end of Nathanael’s Finger
Monday was the day of Hannah and Nathanael’s Christmas program at their school. It was in the evening, and they were just finishing a quiet time and Shari was just about to serve lunch.
And that’s when Nathanael got his finger caught in the door.
We were able to get to the doctor right away. The doctor put some freezing in the finger (two needles – definitely one of the low points of the day for Nathanael!), cleaned it and bandaged it up.
To make a long story short – and without getting to graphic – Nathanael lost his fingernail and the tip of his finger. Not too much of it – the doctor thinks it should pretty much grow back to normal, thanks to the way fingers are designed and the angle on which it was cut off.
Speaking of which, it really is the grace of God how our fingers are designed! Injuring the ends of our fingers isn’t such an unusual thing – after all, we touch things with them all the time! And yet there’s mostly skin and fat, with non-crucial endings of nerves and of course blood vessels (boy, fingers sure can bleed! Oh, sorry. We won’t talk about that any more). So for the most part injuries there can heal relatively quickly.
So set your mind at ease – in the title of this post, I was talking actually about the end of Nathanael’s finger – I wasn’t saying it was gone forever!
That being said, obviously Nathanael has had to and will have to put up with a lot of things (like pain)! He is taking something for the pain. And he’s been generally doing very well. Thankfully he’s been sleeping well at night, and was even able to go to his Christmas program.
Speaking of the Christmas program, we were a little late but we made it before the school doors even opened. Nathanael went up and down the line showing off his finger. The kids thought it was the coolest thing ever.
 Nathanael as a shepherd |
And Hannah and Nathanael both did a great job. Maybe I can show you some pictures and even video later. They were both shepherds. (I told Nathanael he should tell the other kids that a sheep bit his finger, but he didn’t think that would be honest.) 😉
There was a slight bad interlude during a performance where the kids in Nathanael’s class were supposed to hold hands – and his hand got twisted – but he got over it quickly and did a fine job.
So we’re headed back to the doctor this morning to have his finger checked and the bandage changed and all that. I’m sure Nathanael would appreciate your prayers over the next little while!
The rest of the family is still a little sick too (aside from Hannah, who almost never gets sick). But perhaps we can all chat with the doctor this morning. 🙂
