On this day 10 years ago, Shari and I were in Bath, England. Having travelled all night, we were exhausted, but we still had the energy for a bit of an outing in the town, including this visit to the ancient Roman baths. And no, because of the quality of the water, people don’t swim in there today!
The earliest inscription at the site, seen below, is from 76AD. It reads, “. . . in the 7th consulship of the Emperor Vespasian”. Amazing to see things that date from a time when there were still people alive who had witnessed the resurrected Lord! Vespasian became emperor in 69AD.
Retro: Glacier National Park (USA) – This isn’t in chronological order, it’s just a memory from 2011. Has it really been 10 years? Those kids are a little bigger now…
First, I have to admit that we did not go to the dental office that you see below. But it is from the same area near us, and it looked so cute I had to take a picture. According to the helpful “writing on the wall”, they even do surgery in there. Nice!
Anyway, we did go to a (different) dentist, for regular checkups and cleaning and all stuff like that there.
Teeth in the waiting room
I was trying to think about what might be different from your typical dental office up in Canada. Actually, for this kind of thing, the differences were not major. Maybe the biggest thing is just a typical thing for a temperate climate like we have in Mexico City – the office is not sealed in as it would be in Canada. There was a wide-open window (with a screen, I think?) in the room as we had our teeth checked.
The dentist also gave me a good look at my own teeth after she had finished, like a barber showing me the back of my head. I don’t recall dentists in Canada doing that very often. Except maybe showing an x-ray on a computer screen.
Speaking of x-rays, Nathanael and I went to another lab nearby to get his panoramic x-ray done. In a few minutes we came out with a large envelope with a lovely picture of his jaw and teeth. Very fast and efficient. So Shari dropped the envelope off at the dental office, and we’re waiting to hear the official news. But let’s just say, I think Nathanael’s adventures with the dentist(s) are not over yet.
We have some other medical issues we need to deal with in the next few weeks, but that’s not all that’s on our minds. We’re also preparing to get Nathanael’s visa renewed. We’re trying to get Nathanael’s textbooks for the beginning of a new school year (with a little help from our friends!). We have a few things to get done in the city. The van needs some work. Well, let’s just say there are a lot of things that have been piling up that we need to get to!
So I’d better go and get some work done, while we wait for the call from the dentist…
This month is a bit of a cheat, because I choose pictures from two days – so, around this time, 10 years ago, in Lashburn, SK, we were having fun at Grandpa and Grandma Cottrill’s house!
First picture: Nathanael playing ball with Grandma. Second picture: Hannah and Nathanael making cake-in-a-mug with Grandpa (a dangerous skill to learn). Click each picture for a larger version.
As many of you know, we have a quarterly newsletter. And at some point, we started having different themes for each letter.
I’ve often wondered what those themes would look like in a big long list. Besides, after dozens of letters, I’m afraid I might start repeating myself! So I thought I’d try listing all the themes here – maybe more for my sake than yours!
The first official “Notes from the Cottrills” – August 1998
Pre-2003
The regular themes really started in 2003, although we did have themes before then, such as a focus on Russia (December 1999), the handwritten letter (December 2001), and “Basic Training” (September 1999).
The “Notes” theme came from two places. First, Shari was using the theme in her newsletters before we were married, including “Notes of Prayer” and “Notes of Praise”. The concept of actually having little “notes” – short segments of information instead of a long letter, came from our friends the Kortens. Except they have “slices” instead of “notes”. 😀
2003-2021
Date
Theme(s)
Theme Verse(s)
May 2003
“Building Partnerships, Creating Vision”
Romans 10:14
August 2003
“What’s missing?” A glass half empty
Romans 6:23
November 2003
“Regalo” – gift – Christmas stockings
Luke 14:28-29
February 2004
The tower – the cost of discipleship
May 2004
The Metro (Mexico’s subway/train system)
August 2004
“What we wish we could tell you”
November 2004
Hope/Esperanza – Anchor/Ancla
Romans 2:12; Psalm 42:5; Hebrews 6:19
February 2005
“7” – seven years as missionaries, 7 things we’ve learned, etc.
May 2005
(M)Expedition – explorers, antique map
August 2005
Diary
2 Thessalonians 3:1-5
November 2005
Archery Target (why Mexico is strategic for world missions)
February 2006
“Two sides of the coin” (still in Canada, getting ready to move to Mexico)
May 2006
“Transplanting” – classic flower prints (packing up for Mexico)
1 Corinthians 3:7-8
August 2006
“From here on in” (living out of suitcases until we settle in Mexico)
November 2006
“Just the FAQ”
February 2007
“Learning Curve”
May 2007
Puzzle pieces
August 2007
Kids (Notes from Hannah and Nathanael)
November 2007
(Not so much of a theme, but talked about the Day of the Dead in Mexico)
February 2008
“Thank You”
May 2008
Compass/Maps/Moving (to Ixtapaluca)
September 2008
(no theme)
November 2008
Highway Sign (challenge to come to Mexico)
Luke 2:30-32
February 2009
Word art – “Pour forth the memory of His abundant goodness”
Psalm 145:7
May 2009
Epicentre! (earthquake and H1N1 flu)
August 2009
Footprints (no, not the poem) – “We walk by faith, not by sight”
2 Corinthians 5:7
November 2009
Cross/Gospel
(a whole bunch!)
February 2010
(no theme, but talked about the Chalco Flood)
1 Corinthians 3:12-13
May 2010
“It’s Called Community” – the birth of a new church
Acts 2:42
August 2010
“Picture This” (mostly photos)
November 2010
“God gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist”
Romans 4:17
February 2011
“Changing Challenges”
Daniel 2:20; Psalm 102:25-28
May 2011
“Linking Worlds” (chain links)
Galatians 3:28
August 2011
Shepherd
Acts 2:28
November 2011
Highlights
Psalm 77:11-14
February 2012
“. . . and that your fruit should abide” (classic fruit prints)
John 15:16
May 2012
“Overwhelmed?”
August 2012
“School Days!” (Hannah had completed 5 years in Mexican schools, Nathanael 3.5 years)
November 2012
Light/sunshine – classic story
(a whole bunch!)
February 2013
“Making Space to Make Disciples”
May 2013
“This I confess to you…” Paul’s confession in the face of those who called his religion a “sect”.
Acts 24:14-15
August 2013
One Baptism
Ephesians 4:4-6
November 2013
Instagram – “The Goal of the Gifts” … they are for God’s glory!
1 Peter 4:10-11
February 2014
“Pressing On” – the municipality of Ixtapaluca and future goals
Philippians 3:14
May 2014
“What. A. Sunday.” (first Sunday at the new property for the church in Jesús María)
Ephesians 1:15-18
August 2014
FAQ
November 2014
Facebook (and some Christmas carols)
February 2015
Retro – typewriter
Psalm 96:3
May 2015
The Lord of Time (T.A.R.D.I.S.)
(various)
August 2015
Old (good) Newspaper
Acts 14:15
November 2015
History – of Camino Global, and our ministry in Mexico “It started with prayer . . .”
John 17:17
February 2016
Prayer Calendar
May 2016
Finding direction / compass
August 2016
RESET
2 Corinthians 5:21
November 2016
New Life (the poinsettia)
March 2017
“A time to every purpose” – the year of our Lord – clock
Ecclesiastes 3:1
May 2017
Thanksgiving
Revelation 7:12
August 2017
“Serving Together” (dirt and shovels)
Mark 9:33-35
November 2017
“EARTHQUAKES” – life interrupted. This newsletter had a section “torn out” in the middle.
Psalm 5:11
January 2018
Love/garden (art by Hannah)
Romans 5:5
May 2018
“flourish like the palm tree”
Psalm 92:12; John 12:13
August 2018
“Down the road” (Littlest Hobo theme) – animal warning signs
Philippians 3:20
November 2018
Lamp
Psalm 18:28
February 2019
“Radical Change”
Ezekiel 36:26
May 2019
Tour brochure for Mexico City “Camino Tours invites you to discover . . .”
July 2019
“What you need to know about . . .” (featuring baking classes)
November 2019
Entrust (relay race) (featuring institute classes)
1 Chronicles 22; 2 Timothy 2:2
January 2020
Almond Tree “He who supplies seed to the sower . . .” (featuring Hannah’s Columbia Team)
2 Corinthians 9:10
May 2020
“What God ordains is always good . . .” (hymn) (featuring Jim and Hannah’s verse cards)
August 2020
“Opening up/Reopening” (doorway to the outdoors) (featuring Sunday morning setup)
Psalm 139:7
November 2020
“Be still my soul” (hymn) – ship in a storm (featuring Hannah’s graduation)
The Pillar (the local church as “a pillar and buttress of the truth”) (featuring baptisms)
1 Timothy 3:15-16
I realized as I went through these that a lot of them had a “theme within a theme” – and who knows if I even remember them all! I almost missed the Instagram one, based on the Instagram logo at the time.
Anyway, there you are. I see I haven’t repeated too much – although there were some close ones (“light” and “lamp”). I did repeat FAQ more or less, but that’s a good one to repeat once in a while!
Thanks for putting up with this post. Now let’s see . . . what will the next theme be?
There are a few things in our house that run on gas – that is, liquefied petroleum gas (LP gas), a mix of propane and butane. It heats our water, heats our dryer, and runs our stove and oven. All of which is common here (ok, except most people don’t have dryers, and rarely use their ovens).
We usually have a lot of gas on hand – in fact, enough to last for weeks. But once in a very blue moon (maybe once every year?) we run out. Completely.
We can either go somewhere to get the tanks filled (and there’s a 24-hour place in Ixtapaluca) or wait for the gas truck to come. Well, we’ve been waiting for the gas truck to come. We were listening for it over the weekend, but we just never caught it.
So, on Tuesday morning, Nathanael and I went to the 24-hour gas place – only to find a sign that said: “Opening at 7 pm”. Then we went to another gas place. Closed – and lines of gas trucks outside. Hmmmmmm.
With a little research, Shari discovered that there was, indeed, a strike.
And it’s actually a long story, an ongoing story. But essentially, it has to do with rising gas prices, government control, and organized crime. So you can imagine.
Anyway, of course this would be the one time in years that all our gas was gone, right at the beginning of the strike, which began on Tuesday.
So, I checked the news (often) today, and found that the strike was (more or less) national. And then the President got involved. And the second day dragged on.
But later this afternoon, I checked Twitter – let’s face it, Twitter is great for things like this – and discovered that the strike had just ended. Like, minutes earlier, as far as I could tell. So I dashed downstairs, and hopped in the van, and went to a nearby gas dispensary to see if the line was already ridiculously long.
Lined up to get lp gas
Well, I must have got there very soon after it opened. In half an hour (of standing in the rain – but just a light rain), I had one tank of gas.
Meanwhile, the gas truck also came by our house, and by the time I got home, Shari already had another gas tank connected (and clothes drying in the dryer, I might add).
Filling a gas tank
Looking at the way things are going, I would guess that gas troubles will continue in the months ahead. But for now, we’re good for a few weeks! As as we always say when our gas is close to running out – we’re never going to let it get that low again. Well, at least not this year. Right?
