Both good memories and frustrating memories accompany this picture of the family.
We were at First Evangelical Free Church in Calgary (good memories), and we asked the pastor to take a few pictures for us, so that we could use them for a prayer card (still, so far so good).
He was kind enough to take a whole lot of pictures (I think it was with my phone), and we finally got some that were half decent (thanks, Barry!).
Later we discovered – yes, somehow we had the phone set to low resolution photos. And knowing how hard it was in those days to get a good family picture (not to mention any names), we weren’t about to go through the ordeal again.
We still used one of the photos for a little while, but let’s just say it wasn’t our greatest prayer card of all time.
I don’t think this is the actual picture we used, just one of many … so here it is, published for the first time ever, from 10 years ago today!
I hope you like the picture. If you want me to send you a hi-res version, tough luck!! 😀
I haven’t stopped by for a while, and the common excuse is that things have been very busy. And it’s true!
Part of the reason is that we’re preparing for some big events. One of them is the 5th Anniversary of the Path of Life Bible Church Las Palmas! Pretty exciting!
Biblical Doctrine Class Promo
Lord willing we’ll be celebrating on the 7th of November. We’re going to get out of Ixtapaluca and go to a park/ranch/forest out near our two famous volcanoes. We’ll have our Sunday service out there, some yummy food, some games, and who knows what. Which is why we still have work to do – to make sure we can get everyone there, make sure everyone is fed, make sure there are people to lead activities, and so on.
But most of all, we’ll be celebrating God’s faithfulness over the past 5 years!
Also very exciting is the fact that, Lord willing, Rod and Mayra Fry will be there! Our coworkers have been in the USA for over a year, so we’re looking forward to seeing them. And Rod will be speaking for our anniversary celebration.
I probably haven’t specifically mentioned that Nathanael had two of his wisdom teeth out. 🙂 Well, he did! He’s mostly recovered now, but we still have one dentist appointment yet to check things out.
Now he has a lot of catching up to do with school, so you could pray for him if you think of it.
Also coming up the day before the anniversary service is the last Bible Doctrine class of the semester. We’re ending on a light, non-controversial note, talking about the end-times. I’m sure that we’ll all agree that Jesus is coming back soon, and then they’ll hand out our diplomas, and we’ll be done.
I’m also getting ready for the next Biblical Anthropology study, which will be the week after the anniversary service. It will be especially relevant to current news, focusing on the environment. It’s the last topic (lesson #10), and then in December we’ll be pulling everything together in our last study.
As my friend Ezequiel mentioned once, it’s often been a surprise what we end up talking about, even when we know the topic beforehand. It’s a surprise to the teacher as well (well, I mean, as I prepare)! And it looks like this one is going to be no exception. I think we have a common bland evangelical response to environmentalism sometimes, and I’ve been learning a lot about what the Bible actually says. It’s all the more interesting because this follows 9 other studies, and a lot of other topics and issues seem to converge around this one. No doubt partly just because we’re covering it last.
But anyway, let’s just say I have special reason to keep my eyes on COP26. 🙂
And on the homefront, we’ve been gutting pumpkins to make purée. Buying canned pumpkin is a rarity here, so we buy pumpkins and freeze the purée to use all year long. But especially in December for pumpkin pies. Just sayin’. Anyway, Shari’s been doing most of the work on that, but Nathanael and I helped a bit and I roasted up some seeds on Monday. It is a lot of work, but it pays off all year in pies, cheesecake, muffins………
Thanks to those of you who prayed for our trip and for Nathanael’s visa renewal this past week.
It was a stormy, rainy day when we set off for the immigration office, which made the roads a bit of an adventure. However, we were already in the city of Toluca – otherwise we would have been traversing Mexico City early in the morning, which would have been – well, perhaps a disaster.
But we arrived on time.
The immigration office is now a strange mix of strict security, and strict security due to COVID-19 restrictions. Usually, only one person would be allowed to enter the property. However, because I had to sign for Nathanael’s renewal, and because we had a lawyer, all three of us could enter – but poor Shari was left behind. (Well, maybe not so poor, as you’ll see…)
Except, that only got us onto the property. Next, only one person was allowed to enter the building, and that was our lawyer. So, for the next two or three hours, Nathanael and I were out in the cold (yes, it was cold – especially for Nathanael, who was only wearing a sweater). And for the first part, we were literally out in the rain, but thankfully it went to a drizzle and then stopped.
After the lawyer gave all the paperwork to the officials, we were all out in the cold (there were a whole bunch of nice, warm comfy seats inside, just — empty. Poor seats, with no one to sit in them…).
Did I mention that there was no bathroom that we could use – on the property or in the building? No worries. Just walk back to the front gate, and talk to the security guard. Explain that you’re just going to the bathroom (so that you don’t have to sign out, and then sign back in). Go across the muddy street, and through the big gate. Walk through the field, around the non-descript building. You’ll find a little hole-in-the-wall office in a back room. On the side of the office is an outhouse-quality bathroom (well, a flush toilet. But no sink or anything). After you’re done, you can pay someone in the office room about 30 cents for the use of the facilities.
Then, out of the little office, around the building through the field through the gate across the muddy street – hope the security guard remembers you – and back onto the property, where you still have to wait outside in the cold, because they’re not ready for you yet.
Finally, it was our turn. Everything is fancy electronic inside. No ink-pad for fingerprints, just an electronic pad (back in my day…..). Then this screen rooooooollls down from the ceiling behind you, and a picture is taken. Wait a couple of minutes – and your visa is ready right there. So all that part was actually a lot more efficient than it was in “my day”.
So thanks for your prayers! We had a safe (but precarious due to more rain) ride home, with a shiny new visa. Which can be turned into a permanent visa when Nathanael turns 18.
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.
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.
