Ten years ago today we had the rare opportunity to get together with Shari’s side of the family – the Wingers, more Wingers, and the Kidders!
Here we are, out on the water in Glacier National Park (the one in the USA – as you may know, there’s a Glacier National Park in Canada too.). Just click the photo for a larger version.
So this year Hannah designed her own birthday party. And we didn’t get to be there (although we at least spent some time together virtually!). 🙁
However, it sounds like she had a good time! Check out her awesome work on Instagram. 🙂
But we were able to celebrate with Nathanael! Although it was a fairly simple party, we did still have a theme – The Lord of the Rings (and The Hobbit)!
Feeling particularly ambitious, Shari created two cakes – a chocolate cake (left) and an orange creamsicle cheesecake (right). Click on the image to see a larger version.
Some friends from church and from the neighbourhood came over for hot dogs and hamburgers (very traditional party food around here!), and cake. And they played some games, such as Flick ’em Up, chess, and crokinole.
Good times! Happy Birthday, Nathanael!
10 years ago today (and tomorrow, to be precise) we were having a lot of fun taking a holiday in Mexico City! So here are 4 photos for the price of one.
Top left – Hannah and Albert Einstein (well, a wax figure of Einstein)
Top right – Jim and Cantinflas (Mario Moreno) (again, in wax. Moreno was famous comedian from Mexico City)
Bottom left – Shari and Hannah in the pool
Bottom right – Nathanael outside Chapultepec Castle
We appreciate all you people out there who are praying for the ministry here in Mexico! I probably don’t give updates as much as I should, but here are a few things that are going on.
We had a fun youth event the other day, sacrificing two frisbees and two pizzas to the cause. We had a devotional and talked about the concept of “seeking the Lord” from the story of Asa in 2 Chronicles 14-16 (a fascinating story, by the way).
Bible studies have started up again for the new year, with “Discovering Life 2”, a 15 week study (although we’re not meeting every week). Tomorrow night we continue, studying about how God works in our lives.
Shari is working on a women’s event, which will take place in February. Please pray that this will be a good time of fellowship and encouragement for the women of the church!
The Institute classes continue. We’re doing a survey of the New Testament. Numbers have gone down somewhat, but there are still two churches heavily involved. We should be finishing this course in the spring.
I’ve started doing classes for musicians who want to be involved in worship music, and I’m doing some training for those interested in helping with the sound system. Nathanael has been helping with the sound, and also played his ukulele last Sunday.
There are three men preaching on Sunday mornings right now – well, not at the same time. We’re taking turns, like we learned to do in kindergarten. Anyway, that’s two men plus me. We’re pushing through Romans 9-11, and so we’ve been spending a little extra time discussing the text together, which has been a help to me, anyway!
It looks like we’ll be starting an “anthropology” study as well, one Sunday a month this year. This will be a look at the biblical teaching about men and women, probably covering topics such as artificial intelligence, transhumanism, race, reproductive technology, art, justice, sexuality – you know, some of the topics which occasionally come up these days! I’m working on the first part of the series now, which will start, Lord willing, in February.
A couple other things you could pray about. Please pray for the family of a woman who passed away recently. This woman was highly involved at the church in Jesús María. She was in her 40s. Please pray that the family and her friends would be drawn to the Lord – especially pray for those who are not saved.
Also, a much lesser situation in comparison, but we’re struggling through some small issues with our van insurance. Please pray that these issues would be resolved completely soon. And then we have some maintenance and repairs to take care of. It’s all taking too long (in our impatient opinion)! 🙂
There, now you know some of the things that are happening here! Thanks again to all those who are praying!
It’s been too long since I did a podcast, so I’m just stopping by to talk about a few things I’m thankful for. That’s all!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
For his physical education class, Nathanael had to put together an activity using “SMART goals” (goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound). So he decided to do an Ixtapaluca hike.
So, yesterday after our main meal of the day we set out to fulfill the goals. He had mapped out a route (which we ended up adjusting somewhat en route), which included climbing up to two archaeological sites on two sides of town.
I took some pictures as we went, so I thought you might enjoy this mini-tour. I’ve linked to each picture in our Photo Gallery so that you can see the full-resolution version (you will want to actually download the photo from the gallery if you want the full-res version).
