The Pan de Vida Team
Yesterday I took a drive down to University Drive Alliance Church to hear a presentation by their Mexico team. Here’s the story – a few days after our team left Pan de Vida, the orphanage near Querétaro, they arrived. A team of 26, they were able to complete a large amount of construction, and also run a vacation Bible school for the kids (about 80-100 of them). The picture above is of the boys’ dorm at the orphanage.
Now, I have to admit, it was absolutely a joy and a delight to hear about what God had done, and to see pictures of what they had accomplished. I was able to talk to a few of the team members, and I wish I could have talked to more. (Actually, if any of you are reading this, please give me a call and we’ll go out for a manzana. Oh yes, I know where to get them. I have connections…) It sounds like it was a great team – ready to serve, excited to see what God would do.
Of course it was wonderful to hear about Mexico and see the pictures, but also painful. Painful because I had to leave it behind, and I’m not there now! But in the mean time, it’s always great to hear from someone who’s been there.
Recently some black top was put down in the loading zone behind our local grocery store. Our living room window faces that direction, and on Saturday night I was watching while a group of skateboarders took advantage of the new surface. This may be a rare event, because I imagine the owners won’t want the back of their store to become a local hangout. However, I was tempted to go out and watch, since I do love skateboarding. But, the dishes were important too, so I kept drying them.
I got thinking about how great opportunities like this come up every day. Opportunities to get together with people who have a common interest. That’s really a big part of church planting, and missions in general.
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I was reminded of this again last night, when someone was sharing. They were talking about one
guy on the team who loved skateboarding so much he had dragged his board all the way to Mexico. Everyone thought it was pretty crazy. But then they saw this guy giving rides to the kids in Mexico, and they saw the joy on the kids’ faces, and they realized it was all worthwhile.
What do you enjoy doing? A hobby, a passion, a sport? It just may be that God can use that in ways you never imagined. It’s great to see people connecting with other cultures in creative ways. When they see the joy and love that Jesus can bring through it all, they’re changed and excited and ready for more. What a great God we serve!
What we’re reading these days
Shari was sitting on the floor with Hannah and Nathanael, reading to them. For kids that usually can’t sit still for more than 3-4 seconds, they were unusually quiet. Of course, they’ve both always enjoyed reading.
Shari was reading a book that was quite popular at the preschool where she used to work. It was written by a lady from Winnipeg and illustrated by a man from Bellville Ontario. It’s called Too Many Chickens. So if you’d like to read what the cool kids read, check it out:
As for me, I’m still working my way through some books I’ve been working on for months. Some books like to be read slowly, to give them time to absorb. Others like to be read through quickly.
One book I’m really enjoying is Crisis and Hope in Latin America, which is a sweeping survey of religion, politics and culture in Latin America from an evangelical perspective.
I’m also reading The Silmarillion
Here’s a tip from Nathanael – he really enjoyed The World God Made, by Alyce Bergey.
So there you go. That’s some of what we’re reading these days.
A new poll!
I know, I know – it’s about time. We now have a brand new poll on our website. Go and click on our logo in the top left hand corner, and then look on the left hand side of the page. There it is!
As you remember, the last question was How many books have you read in the last 6 months? We were amazed at the erudite group we have visiting our website. 16% had read over 25 books! How many “over”, I don’t know. But that is a lot of books. Maybe they were short books, but still.
This time, we’re actually going to make you do some thinking. It’s a tough question, but nobody is looking over your shoulder (at least, we didn’t send anyone to do so), so go ahead and take a stab at it. It’s completely hypothetical, of course, but it’s interesting to think about.
So what are you waiting for? Go vote! 😛
Pass the pipes
Just thought I’d stop by and show you this picture. It was taken 50.5 years ago. The older man with the pipe is about 91 years old (in the photo). He’s my great-grandfather, William Young.
The younger one with the pipe is my second cousin and his great-grandson Norm. We think so, anyway. Hw would be 2 but almost 3 in the picture. Here’s a picture of Grandpa Young in his younger days, and here again on the far left. As you can see, he gave up some of his hair but never did give up the moustache. Thanks to my Mom for sharing this one.
The paper under the door
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It was a paper that had been slid under our front door. We picked it up and took a look.
It was an invitation to renew the lease on our apartment. We get those every once in a while. The rules have changed over the years, though. Now we have the option of going month to month, or signing a 1 year or 6 month lease.
The problem is, the shorter the period of time, the more expensive it gets. Shari and I kinda gave each other that “look” that says,”Well, what can we do?”
It’s a common problem really. We have just enough of this to last until our move to Mexico. We hope our van will last just long enough. We won’t bother buying one of these because we’ll just have to get rid of it again…
The problem is that sometimes things get expensive. As is the case with leases. Do you sign a lease and save a considerable amount a month, but then get stuck paying extra at the end to try to get out of it? Or do you go month to month, pay a considerably higher rent, in hopes that in a few more weeks we’ll be on our way to Mexico?
The good news is that we still have a while to figure it out. Hopefully we won’t have to sign a lease until the fall, and hopefully by that time we’ll be a lot closer to moving. Keep praying! We’re trying to save money, not spend it.
The bad news? Either way, our rent has gone up. The sooner we can stop paying rent here and start paying it in pesos, the better. Meanwhile, this paper will sit ominously on the “to do” stack…