December 2007 Monthly Update

Well, this update is a little late, but here it is!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy New Year!!!

Welcome to 2008! And what a year this has already started to be! January has kicked off with a bang, and December was just as eventful! Between Christmas, church events, and my sister’s visit, I had no problem staying busy. But it was a precious Christmas celebration. And as the new year began, the Lord impressed yet a further call to closeness with him and to sit at His feet enjoying His presence daily! I pray that your new year has started off well and that 2008 will be a year of continued growth and celebration of God’s work in your life.

Deck the Halls

December started off with a lot of girl fun. On December 1, I hosted the second annual Youth Girls Christmas Tree Decorating party at my apartment. Last year four girls came to help me put it all up. This year, however, I NINE girls arrived!! We had some great goodies and Christmas music as well as a DVD fireplace to create the ambiance. Just as with the girls last year, most who came had never decorated a Christmas tree. So, they had an absolute blast! In the end, my tree turned out exquisitely!! I’m not sure I’ve ever had a tree so stunning, and I’ve enjoyed sitting under it’s light this Christmas season! When the decorating was over, the girls decided to watch The Chronicles of Narnia. They really enjoyed the food, fellowship, and fun, and in the end relationships between them were deepened. If you would like to read more and see more pictures, click here .

Family and Christmas

What a special gift I was given this Christmas with the visit of my sister, Heather, from Virginia! She arrived December 22, and although our travel plans didn’t go quite as we’d hoped, we still had a safe and wonderful trip back to Cofradía from Guadalajara where she arrived. The night she arrived, we enjoyed a fun Christmas celebration with La Carpa church in Guadalajara and my friend Erika and her family! We arrived back in Cofradía on Sunday, Dec 23, just as worship was ending! And from that point on it was a full week of fun and activity. Sandy, Mily, their family in Arrayanes, Ana, and many other of my good friends all had such a wonderful time getting to know Heather and being able to spend time with my family. They were all in agreement that we look nothing alike and that Heather is a ball of fun and joy! Her presence here added a special excitement and joy for me as I introduced her to my life and my loves here in Mexico! And what a special time of year to be able to do so! I couldn’t have imagined a better Christmas gift from the Lord! Now, I just need to get the rest of my family down here! :) To read more, click here and here.

The Christmas service was a precious time of remembering and honoring the Lord and His birth! I especially enjoyed the children’s presentations. They recited a poem and sang Away in a Manger as they did last year. However, this year they also presented a small “play” in which they shared about how we can live their lives and do our jobs for Jesus. It was truly precious and a wonderful reminder that we don’t need special gifts or talents to be able to honor and serve the Lord with all our hearts, souls, minds, body, and strength! Following the children’s presentation, the older kids (grades 4-6) recited a Christmas poem. On of our youth leaders has taken over this class in the last 6 months, and he did a wonderful job choosing their presentation and preparing them. They did a great job, and had a good time.

Finally, the youth presented their Christmas sketch. Julio and Mily were our two angel narrators, Cecilia and Fran played Mary and Joseph, and Ruben was the donkey who gave Mary a piggy-back ride to Bethlehem where Martin was the inn keeper who offered his stable! Ana, Gabriela, and Chuyito were our shepherds while Goyito and Roger were sheep. And Cintia, Cheche, and Pedro played our wisemen who followed the star, played by Aide, all the way to the manger. As the play ended, the youth stayed posed in a living nativity scene as Dave came forward and led the congregation in a simple rendition of Away in a Manger. Our sketch ended with the hope that all would find rest in the peace that was promised in Christ in the prophecy of his birth in Micah 5. That seemed to be the theme for our Christmas celebration this year, or at the very least for my own Christmas celebration: resting in the peace of Christ and His promises fulfilled. :) Take a peek at my blog entry about this service!

After the service was over, Heather and I enjoyed a “Family Christmas” with Mily, Sandy, Favi and her son Joan, and Lupe and her son Angel. We enjoyed some light finger foods and desserts as well as coffee and apple cider. Then we moved into the living room where Heather and I had prepared stockings for each girl as well as 2-3 gifts that were waiting for them under the tree. It was an indescribable joy to be able to share with them some of our Christmas traditions this year, especially as they were already sharing theirs with us, and to watch their eyes light up and listen to their exclamations of joy and excitement over the small gifts that they received. They all had such fun, and it was such a privilege for Heather and I to bless them in this way. Mily received some much-needed and totally fun school supplies; Favi and Lupe received clothes for the babies as well as some pampering items for themselves; and Sandy received a pocket Bible that she has been wanting for quite some time as carrying her heavy study Bible has become cumbersome with all the traveling she does between towns. It was so much fun, and words cannot describe how my heart felt to be able to pour out on these girls that I’ve come to love as my close friends…and to share this with my sister…well, my heart was overflowing from fullness! Praise the Lord for His goodness to us!

Togetherness

The day after Christmas we began our second annual Christmas Youth Soccer Tournament! This was a huge success last year, and this year it was a ton of fun as well. Chuy and Martin (two of our student leaders) were in charge of all the planning, preparation, and execution of the tournament. They did such an amazing job taking care of every detail, and the boys who participated seemed to really enjoy themselves. It was great to see new faces on some of the teams, and we’re hoping and praying that the friendships they made on their teams will bring them to youth group in the future where they can continue to hear about the Lord and His love for them! For more reading on this event, click here and here and here.

The men of the church also held a soccer tournament during December that culminated the same day as the youth finals. So, Pastor Goyo planned a whole-church potluck picnic day for December 29, which was the day of the men’s finals and the youth finals. It was such an added bonus of excitement and fun to have all the church there to watch the games and cheer on children and husbands and friends! The woman all took care of the food, and we enjoyed a wonderful lunch of birria and rice and veggies and jamaica (to drink). At the end, awards were presented for the winning teams as well as for the most goals made during the tournament and the best goalies!

Then on December 30, Sandy and I hosted a baby shower for Favi after church. We had planned some light food items and several really fun games, and we invited the whole church as well as family and friends of Favi's who don't attend. It was an added bonus that her sisters-in-law were in town from Tijuana visiting for the holidays, so they were able to attend as well! Our desire was to bless and encourage Favi after the baby was born during a time that can be difficult with adjustments and changes, and the Lord certainly did that! When it was all over, Favi was glowing with joy, and Sandy and I were filled to overflowing with the joy and blessing that comes from giving to others!

Happy New Year, 2008!!

On December 31, Heather and I headed back to Guadalajara to stay with my friend Erika for New Years Eve because her flight back to Virginia was the next day, January 1, 2008! Our trip was fairly uneventful and pleasant, and we had such a good time celebrating with Erika and her extended family on New Years Eve. We had a wonderful dinner of shrimp prepared several different ways with coffee and Jamaica, and we had a blast playing various kinds of card games with Erika, her brother and sister, and all her cousins! We rang in the new year with a time of prayer, and then Heather and I headed back to Erika’s house to sleep since we had to head to the airport at 5 am. On New Years Day I arrived back in Cofradía exhausted but content. This December was quite full of activity and fun and celebration, but more than that it was full of Jesus, of His joy, and of His peace! God made a promise long ago, and then He fulfilled it in Christ! Jesus lives and continues to reign on His throne. We are safe and secure in His hands, and that is cause enough for honor, celebration, and joy daily! I pray that as we continue into this new year of 2008, this will be true for you daily! Happy New Year!

FACE TO FEET
ams