Aug-Early Sept Update

Hey everyone!!

Well, I´m in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, and things are going well. Thank the Lord my trip went really smoothly, and I´m now in my second week of classes. I am living with a wonderful family and another American student from Nashville. My ¨family¨members´names are Romel and Angeles Garza and their two sons Jair (4) and Josue (2). I am really enjoying getting to know each of them. They have been such an encouragement and a blessing to both Sally and me in the last couple of weeks, and they are very easy folks to live with!

I am sorry it has taken so long to send out a decent update email, however, I´ve had issues getting into the internet cafe in order to do so. However, here I am, and here is the update!

Classes are going well, and I am beginning to slowly figure out this city'--orient myself, that is. It´s VERY large, and we use the buses, something I´m not used to, so it is taking some time for me to figure the whole thing out, but it´s all beginning to find a place in my mind, so that is good. I have been attending church at La Carpa with Romel and Angeles and their kids, and I really enjoy the services there. In fact, the pastor, Moises, is one of our teachers at language school! We also work with Awanas on Saturday mornings in Coli, on a different side of the city...some of the American Missionaries from La Carpa have started this program in Coli as an attempt to reach out to a different area. They have about 30 kids each saturday morning, and then on Wedensday nights, they have bible study for the kids AND their parents. It´s been pretty neat so far!

Between that and school and church, there´s not a whole lot of free time, but I´m enjoying every minute of all of it.

I will be visiting Cofradia this weekend, and I´m very excited to see everyone after about four months of absence! The girls right now do not know that I´m coming, so it will be fun surprising them. Faith is also going to talk to their mom to help me try and plan a pajama party without them knowing ahead of time! We have a free day at the school on Friday, so I will take a bus to Cofradia on Thursday after classes, which end at 12:30 each day, and arrive several hours later. This means that Friday I will be able to attend the new youth family group they have started up this year, as well as the youth activities on Saturday night, called El Reto. This is sort of like a combination of Survivor and Amazing Race that they have done with the youth last year and now this year. It seems to be very popular amongst the youth and effective in getting kids to attend youth events. I´m looking forward to being there this weekend and experiencing all this for myself! Please pray for a great time of visiting and catching up as well as safe travels...

Also, please keep my health in your prayers and today I have not felt well at all due to a cold starting up. The first couple of days are always the worst, with sore throat and low-grade fever and just all around feeling miserable. But the cold has been going around, so I guess it´s my turn. Please just pray for it to pass quickly and be my only health speed bump for quite some time.

I also wanted to give anupdate on my uncle. The reports I keep getting from my family go back and forth. Most of the doctors say that David is not doing well and there is nothing more they can really do for him; however, the one surgeon that has been holding out great hope this whole time is still hopeful that David can recover almost fully and wants to continue treatment. Please pray for miraculous healing in David´s brain as well as comfort, rest, peace, and wisdom for his wife (my aunt, Sharon) and his son (Michael). This has been very tough on them, obviously, and use all the support we can give them. David is still being medicated and kept in a coma. He has a catheter to try and drain fluid off his brain that continues to collect and cause increaded pressure in his skull, and there have been issues with infection and inflamation. This is still quite a rough road in the process to getting David to a stable condition. Please keep it all in your prayers. Thank you!

I wish I could post pictures, but I am not able to use internet on my own computer at this time. But I promise that as soon as I am able, I will post pictures as well.

Well, blessings to each of you and thank you for your prayers and support!

FACE TO FEET
ams :)