Thank you for all your prayers! We’re praising the Lord for the first service that we had in Las Palmas. There were about 30 people there, representing 8 families, not including the interns (I’m afraid I didn’t get any pictures when everyone was there together). We meditated on forgiveness – forgiveness from God, and our forgiveness of others.
As you may know – we were in a party hall. Which means that Woody, Buzz, a zombie, various princesses, Spiderman, and many others also “attended”, as you will see in the pictures!
The 4th of November, 2006 – 10 years ago today! We were on our way down to Mexico, and had the opportunity to visit our friends the Stirtzes. Out on the farm near Enterprise, Kansas, we enjoyed a taste of the farm. Here’s Shari and Hannah, beside the mysteriously hidden driver – Ryan, I believe?
Back in August, Shari took Hannah to “Dolphin Discovery” in Mexico City, as a (late) part of her 15th birthday present. It was a complete surprise for Hannah. Here are a few glimpses of their time with some sea creatures …
Note: Many of the pictures were taken by the Dolphin Discovery staff photographer.
Ten years ago today, I made empanadas from scratch for the regular customers and also a special guest – Shari’s sister Amy (visit Amy and her husband Nate here)! So here they are enjoying (I hope!) the empanadas in our apartment in Calgary.
And please notice the Herdez brand salsa, a Mexican brand we still have on hand here.
I actually haven’t posted any substantial news since last month! So let me give you a quick update on what’s been going on.
First of all, the weather has been a topic of conversation this month. Before the end of February, the weather changed – it wasn’t getting so cool at night, and felt warmer. This brief reprieve was replaced by rain, and howling winds, and snow at higher elevations. One day the entire state closed the schools because of the cold.
I’ve concluded it’s virtually impossible to explain the impact of this kind of cold to a Canadian, who has survived -20C but can always go inside to warm up. No sun, and no heat in the cement block houses simply means some very miserable days. And whatever explanation you care to give (I have a few), it’s very hard to stay healthy in that kind of weather.
Since the season had already changed, when the cold front disappeared it was instantly replaced by summer. Our thermometer was up to 30C yesterday, and the memories of wearing four layers, and gloves, in the house, are quickly replaced by concerns about drinking enough water and using sunscreen. At the same time, pollution levels rose to their highest in 11 years, which means unusual restrictions on vehicle circulation this week.
My bones haven’t quite thawed out from last week. Once they do, maybe I’ll start to complain about the heat. Maybe. Until then, I’m thankful!
Between the weather and the school cycle here and other factors, attendance at the community centre has been down, but not quite non-existent. Shari is looking forward to her last baking class of the semester on Thursday – fruit pizza – who would want to miss that?! Plus, the closing program is on Thursday – fun times! Oh – AND we have a soccer tournament coming up on Monday. 🙂
On the 5th we connected with David Radlowsky, who is here from Canada for a couple of weeks. We went site seeing at the beginning of last week, doing some orientation along the way. And eating, of course. (By the way, I have a good restaurant in Mexico City to recommend when you come visit…)
Laying sod at the church’s propertyDavid has been joining all of us at various times, visiting – what has he visited? A nearby rehab centre – I think an orphanage and senior’s shelter. He helped put clean the church property and put sod down. Yesterday we visited some friends in various parts of Ixtapaluca. Last night he was a guest teacher at my English class. Today we’re heading to Puebla to join our friends Chalo and Beth in their ministry there.
On Sunday we had our 6th anniversary service at the Path of Life Bible Church of Jesús MarÃa (Iglesia BÃblica Sendero de Vida Jesús MarÃa), which was a real blessing. Lots of people were involved in the service, the temporary sanctuary was full with lots of poor people stuck outside, but we enjoyed good times of fellowship afterwards. Nathanael and Shari were both in two different choirs.
Our family has been struggling with some health issues – all four of us – which has made things a little interesting. As always we appreciate your prayers in that department.
In other news, I’ve been working with our Coordinating Team to update and clarify some of our orientation requirements and tips for new missionaries. How in the world do you introduce new missionaries to Mexico and ministry here? Big topic! But I think we’re making progress.
The kids are busy with projects and things as they finish up another section of school. And we’re getting ready for their big birthday parties coming up in April and May. I’m organizing some of the delegation of funds to the ongoing construction on the church property (almost done that project – help us finish!).
Well, I could go on and on. Busy days!
But if you want to pray over the next few days, we would appreciate your prayer for health issues, for wisdom as we share with many people in various ways, and strength as we try to get so many very different things accomplished.
Some of you have also been praying for Alan, a fellow Camino Global missionary (working north of Mexico City) who had a heart attack. God graciously spared him, and he is home. However, his recovery is being hampered by a lack of sleep right now – I know he would appreciate your prayers. He has a long road to travel still.
You made it to the end of this post! 10 points for you! Have a great day. I’m off to Puebla…
Ah, ponche. A Mexican Christmas season tradition. Shari made some today – her second batch, just to use up what we hadn’t used over the holidays.
Kindly enough, she took some pictures so that you could see, step by step, how she did it. Shari may not have the years of experience some Mexican women have, and everyone makes it differently, but this is a good representative recipe. And I can attest that it turned out great!
Ponche, or Christmas Fruit Ponche (say pone-chay) is something often served at a special event or a community Christmas party. It’s a hot drink.
Tejocote
First, she boiled some tejocote for 5 minutes, to make them easy to peel. Tejocote is a type of hawthorn fruit, that look a little like crab-apples. The tejocotes were peeled and then added to the other fruit.
Other Ingredients
Here you can see the other ingredients that were used in the ponche. On the bottom right is sugar cane, which is cut up so that a few people can have a stick in their mug of ponche. On the left you can see cinnamon sticks and dried tamarind pods. The red at the bottom is dried hibiscus flowers. The sliced yellow fruit is guava. The big brown cone is unrefined cane sugar, known in Mexico as piloncillo. You could get a similar effect using brown sugar. Shari put everything except the apples in to boil, leaving it for about half an hour to forty minutes. The apples were added in the last ten or fifteen minutes. Add a little sugar if it’s still too tart.
The Finished Ponche
Keep it hot on the stove as you serve! Here is the finished product. You serve the liquid, and if preferred some fruit and a bit of sugar cane (usually it is preferred!).
First, she boiled some tejocote for 5 minutes, to make them easy to peel. Tejocote is a type of hawthorn fruit, that look a little like crab-apples. The tejocotes were peeled and then added to the other fruit.
Here you can see the other ingredients that were used in the ponche. On the bottom right is sugar cane, which is cut up so that a few people can have a stick in their mug of ponche. On the left you can see cinnamon sticks and dried tamarind pods. The red at the bottom is dried hibiscus flowers. The sliced yellow fruit is guava. The big brown cone is unrefined cane sugar, known in Mexico as piloncillo. You could get a similar effect using brown sugar.
