A little late, I know, but this is a brief video of the Women’s Conference in Jesús María from the 19th. The theme was Being a Mother: A Rewarding Challenge, and the speaker/singer was Becky Baron de Muñoz.
The turnout might not have been quite as good as expected, but there was still a good group that seemed to really enjoy the conference. It’s encouraging to see some new faces and some repeat visitors (this being the second conference like this), as well as some familiar faces.
Thanks for your prayers for the conference! It went well overall, it was lots of fun and Becky shared a lot of practical advice.
Here are a few quick clips from Hannah and Nathanael’s birthday party that took place this past Saturday in our neighbourhood. As the title suggests, there was a joint theme – hockey (Nathanael) and figure skating (Hannah). We’ll upload some pictures as soon as possible, so you can have a better look at the cakes, etc.
Thanks for all those who helped out, and those who prayed for the event – as far as we’re concerned, it was a success! We really enjoyed the time getting to know several people a bit better, and celebrating God’s gifts – our children! 🙂
By the way, you’ll see two large posters – one of a hockey player, one of a figure skater. Do you know who those people are? What you can’t see as clearly is that the posters are photo mosaics. The photo of the hockey player is made up all of pictures of Nathanael, and the photo of the figure skater is all made up of photos of Hannah. All photos were from the past year.
Without further ado, here’s the video – if you have further questions, feel free to comment!
On the 1st of May, our new community centre in Jesùs María, Ixtapaluca (the community centre is now called "Tiempo de Vivir") hosted a Children’s Day event.
Children’s Day in Mexico is on the 30th of April, but of course there are events all around that time. The day landed on a school day, so there were big parties in both our children’s schools.
But let’s get back to the event in Jesùs María, which was the next day (Saturday). The event was a big success. We had lots of amazing help from all sides – people really gave to make this event happen! Shari was heavily involved, being in charge of children’s ministry in the church.
About 150-180 children were there, plus all the adults, so it was a big crowd. It was also a very windy day, as you’ll see. So that made things interesting!
Anyway, thanks to those of you who prayed! Here’s a few minutes from the day so you can see what it was like:
On Saturday we went to visit someone we first met in Canada, who is working for the school year in Mexico City. We were also able to meet some of the mission team that she, Monica, has been with. It was great to see Monica and meet some of her friends! 🙂
When we found out she’d never been to Xochimilco, we decided to go on a whim. Actually, we haven’t been since we moved here, so Hannah and Nathanael have never seen it.
As you may or may not know, Mexico City was once called "the Venice of the New World". Started on an island, it expanded out into the lake with a series of canals. It was a beautifully organized, developed city when the Spanish first saw it.
Spreading out from the city were man-made mini-island gardens called chinampas. This brilliant method of farming provided rich soil and rapid growth and harvesting of crops for a rapidly expanding empire.
When the Spanish arrived, the chinampas covered almost 90 square km (35 square miles). Today, the lake is gone, and the few canals of Xochimilco are all that are left.
Taking a boat out onto the canals is popular with Mexicans and tourists alike. Especially on holidays – like yesterday. I talked to several people who worked there, and they all said that it was crazy-busy – busier than last year.
So, at times, it was more like bumper-boats than a leisurely float down the canal! But it was still fun to see the sights, and listen to the music. You’ll hear it and see it in the video, and see how gardening is still key in this small part of Mexico City.
Note: I intended to post this yesterday, but had some trouble uploading the video. So here it is, a bit late. I’ll write more about today and the first service of the new church tomorrow, Lord willing.
I did take some video of the special program we had Friday night in Jesús MarÃa. It was quite an evening – and didn’t start at all the way we expected. For one, our clown didn’t show up….
Also missing from the video is the song that two students from my keyboard class and I played. Since I was playing, I wasn’t video-ing, of course!
But Carlos and Jacqueline (the two students who were playing) did a great job, especially considering the time they had to prepare. Because of the time of year, we chose a song related to Jesus work on the cross. In English, Before the Throne of God Above (different tune, though). You can actually buy the Spanish version we used here – Ante el Trono Celestial.
You’ll see clips of the rest – some of the women in Amigas del Alma, David Gomez and his guitar class performing, a presentation from the English classes, and a game.
You might even learn some Spanish if you listen closely!
After the program we said goodbye to various people, and many said that Lord willing they would be at the worship service Sunday morning – our first time meeting together for worship as a brand new local church!
An event is starting around now in Jesús María to celebrate the closing of classes. It’s a bit of a Holy Week (Semana Santa) theme as well. There will be participation from my keyboard class, from the guitar class, and the English classes. There will be a big game with English and music questions. And who knows what else!
The Amigas del Alma baking class will also be celebrating the close of another series of classes. I made up the video below for their part of the event.
