Happy Autumn to you!! November has been quite a full and exciting month, so much so that I just have to share pictures with you along with the stories. Normally, November and December are my two favorite months of the year; they are full of holidays and festivities that we celebrate with dear friends and family, and for that reason I look forward to this season all year.
As November was approaching, I found myself dealing with sadness and homesickness, praying that the Lord would find some way of making these months just as special as ever, although I don't think I really believed it was possible. Despite my lack of faith, He has continued to reveal His endless faithfulness to me, and He managed to make these two months more special than I could have ever imagined! The first joy of November was a double delight because Dave and Kathy Elias (Dave is our area director) returned from furlough in Canada on the very day of my 27th birthday, November 16. Now, many of you know that I LOVE to celebrate birthdays and usually plan some kind of get-together for mine each year. However, in Mexico, if you plan something for your own birthday you can pretty much be sure that more people than you invited will show up (since it's ok for those you invite to invite anyone else they want), and it's expected that you will serve a meal that will feed anyone and everyone that shows up. It is extremely shameful if you run out of food. And if you don't invite someone who thinks they should
have been invited, they get offended. Well being part of the ministry/churches here, I would have had to invite at least half of three different towns, and since I live by myself and have very little space for such an event and don't know how to cook, throwing my own party was simply out of the question. However, Mili and Sandy's mom, Flavia, decided she wanted to do something for me; so she made a wonderful dinner of posole (pronounced "po-SO-lay") and invited her sisters and their families. It was such a wonderful time for me and truly special beyond the power of words to describe! Since my birthday was on a Thursday, I invited the girls to spend the night on Friday, at which time we ate "cake" (lacking at the dinner) and they sang both the Mexican and American birthday songs to me. We also opened the presents I'd received the night before, since it is not customary to open presents at the party.
The following week we spent several days as a staff planning for the upcoming year and for more long-term dreams and ideas. It was really n eat to be part of such planning, to sit with a grop of people and dream and share visions and get back to the heart of what we do here. That week was also Thanksgiving, and Jay and Faith spearheaded the first Thanksgiving festivities for this area. Mexico does not have a Thanksgiving holiday, so the fourth Thursday of November is just a normal day usually. However, this year, in the church in Arrayanes, we gathered together for a dinner feast of turkey, ham, potatoes, refried beans and home-made corn tortillas, jamaica (pronounced ha-MY-ka), flan, and lots of great fellowship. We then went into the church for a short time of worship and a short video that Jay put together of recorded testimonies from two 
years ago and still photos from when they started building that building five years ago. As we all watched htose videos and the pictures and remembered all that God has done in our lives and in this place, you could see the joy and thanksgiving in everyone's eyes. At that point we took some time, for those who felt led, to share what we were thankful for. Every person that shared said they hoped we continued to celebrate Thanksgiving like that because it is so good for us to remember. We do in fact have plans to do such a thing each year, but to do so with all the churches together! What a great joy that will be!One story I wanted to share with you from Thanksgiving has to do with the family of Mili and Sandy. Sandy was the first Christian in her immediate family. A few years later her mother, Flavia, and sisters (Mili and Aide) and little brother (Juan Diego) followed suit. I cannot tell you if her father, Benito, has made a committment to Christ or not; however, he has not had much interest in the church or its activities, and when he is unhappy withthe girls or something going on in the church,
his first threat is to keep them from going to church. It has been the prayer of many people for quite some time that the Lord would do a changing work in Benito's heart. Just before Thanksgiving, Benito pulled Jay aside one day and told him he wanted to find a time to talk with Jay because he felt it was time he began to get serious about God and church. Well, the first person to share at our Thanksgiving gathering was Flavia, and her praise report was that her husband was seated right next to her, smiling and having a good time in church!!! Since then, he has come to services several times, and Sandy has shared with me various ways in which her father is treating them differently, acting differently, even praying out loud over meals--evidence of something changing inside of him!!! Please continue to keep their family, especially Benito, in your prayers.The Lord is certainly doing amazing things here in Cofradia, Arrayanes, and Santa Fe, and we are excited as we anticipate all that He still has in store and the amazing ways He will be continuing to reveal Himself and bring in His harvest. Thank you for your continued partnership in our ministry, whether through prayer support, financial support, or words of encouragement! This Thanksgiving, I thank my God each time I remember YOU!
Grace, Peace, and Blessings to you and to your holiday season!!
PS: If you'd like to see more pics, make sure you check out my Online Photo Album (link on the right under Personal Links).
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