September-October Update

I realized the other day that I forgot to post this update, so I’m posting it now so that you can catch up on the goings on! Enjoy the read! If you would like to receive my monthly email updates, just drop me an email and let me know!

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Greetings!!!

….from Cofradía, Mexico once again! Yes, I’m back “home” and back into the swing of things again. I’m sorry that did not get this update out sooner. September and October were hectic months full of fund-raising, visiting family, traveling, and adjusting to new schedules and new activity loads. But I’m pleased to take a moment and share some of this with you, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy each moment of living it!

Fund-Raising…

September and October were quite busy and very enjoyable. After returning from a visit with family in Minnesota, I spent several more weeks with my family in Richmond and then moved up to the Fredericksburg area until I returned to Mexico. This allowed me more opportunity to visit with friends and church family in the area where I had lived before moving to Mexico. I was also able to spend more time with people from church as well as see friends from college who are established in the Northern Virginia/DC Metro area. I enjoyed wedding dress shopping with Liz, MWC centennial activities and ice cream at Carl’s with Erica, a movie night with Chandra, dinner with the Kazmiers who had just returned from a year in Bosnia, breakfast with Christina-Sham, Disney on ice with my sister, numerous outings with Elena, and time with my nieces and nephews, just to name a few. My travels also took me to Charlottesville, Norfolk, and VA Beach to visit friends I met during my discipleship semester in New York as well as my mom, my grandmother, and my very dear friend Beth. It was relaxing and refreshing to be able to spend time with so many of my dear friends.

I also spent time trying to raise the rest of my monthly budget for living in Mexico. On September 21, I had the opportunity to share with the Spanish classes at Richmond Christian School in Chesterfield, VA about our ministry in Cofradía. I shared our promotional video in each class as well as general information about the area and specific information about our ministry vision and where I fit into that vision. The students ranged in Spanish skill from level 1 to level 3, and they were very responsive and interested. They were not only challenged in their Spanish (as I tried to share what I could in Spanish), but they were also challenged in their perspectives on poverty, on the immigration issues we face currently, and on what it means to be witnesses for Christ wherever we are. Their teacher, whom I met on the plane to Mexico after my brother’s funeral in June (a former missionary to Colombia), tells me that they continue to pray for the Cora Indians in this area, and their principle was interested in the possibility of a school missions trip within the next two years. I’m excited for this opportunity to build a connection with these students and to encourage them in a missional vision that matches the heart of Christ for the world!

Finally, I had the opportunity to share once again with my church family all that the Lord has been doing over the last year. In 2006, I introduced the church body to several of the young women I had come to know and love during my internship (Sandy, Mili, Lupe, Favi, & Brenda). This year, I gave them an update on three of those young women (Sandy, Mili, & Favi) and introduced them to three more (Ana, Aidé, and Gabriela). It was exciting to see their responses after the service, and it was humbling to see how the Lord touched hearts in a way that continues to provide for my needs. The Lord continues to be faithful to me in providing financially and, even greater than that, by providing emotionally and spiritually for the young ladies of Mexico as he builds a love for them in the hearts of those who can know them through me. It is a precious thing to witness, and I am thankful every time I am reminded of His goodness to us once again!

Homecoming…

I returned to Mexico on October 16, and I was blessed to receive the full extent of my tourist visa in airport customs! This means that there was no need to extend it, which saved money and allowed me to return to Cofradía two days earlier than I had anticipated!! The night I arrived in Guadalajara, I stayed with my dear friend Erika and her family, which was quite a joy and blessing despite my fatigue, and the next day I took the bus back to Cofradía. The last two weeks of October were spent unpacking and settling in. Much has changed in my daily routine, and yet not much has changed at all.

We continue to have our weekly youth group meetings (Vida Abundante, which means “Abundant Life”), our once-a-month youth rallies (Noche de Vida, or “Life Night”), and weekly band practices. However, due to the opening of a high school here in town whose classes last from 1:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., youth group and band practice are now taking place rather late in the evening or on weekends. While this has not been the ideal, it seems to be working, and I’m learning more about how to simply go with the flow.

We have also changed from two Sunday services to one joint service. This is a very welcome change. I’m enjoying the fullness and energy of having our various church bodies all together, and I’m reveling in the new-found ability to rest on Sunday afternoons. Even when we have student leader meetings during that time, I find that I am more rested and encouraged by the end of Sunday rather than drained and harried.

I continue to mentor Sandy; however, Ana (pictured left), who completed the Navigators 2:7 discipleship class this summer, has asked me to be her mentor as well. This was a pleasant surprise to me, and we are in the process of laying the foundation for our mentor relationship and deciding what direction of study to pursue: the book of Revelation or Stomping Out the Darkness by Neil T. Anderson and Dave Park. In addition, Mili has come to live with me during the week, and we will be beginning the Beth Moore study Living Beyond Yourself as soon as her study book arrives. Learning to walk the fine line between girlfriend, semi-mentor, and house-mom is proving to be very interesting. However, I’m very excited for the potential growth that this arrangement holds for the both of us.

In addition, I’m much more involved in some areas of teaching than I was before: English, Spanish, and Music! Several of the girls in the youth group are learning English in school and come to me for help and tutoring, I’ve been asked to teach our new staff-couple Spanish, and I’m translating for several different music classes (piano, voice, and bass)! This is proving a bit challenging and quite time-consuming, actually, but I am learning a ton as a result!

Youth Leadership

As I mentioned already, Steve and Geña are in the US until the middle of January, and they left our four student leaders in charge of running the youth activities during their absence (with me as a support and resource for them). So far they are doing a great job, which is what we expected! Jesús (nicknamed Chuy) has already led one Youth Group study and Julio is in charge of worship for those meetings. The four of them are finalizing plans for our November youth rally, LIFE NIGHT, on November 24. They are also putting together the youth Christmas gift exchange, and they decided to each take charge of one of the four studies in January. So, they are also praying for the Lord to reveal an overarching theme for that month in order to tie their studies together as a series. In addition, Chuy, Martin, and Julio will be taking charge of the Christmas soccer tournament from December 26-29, which is quite a large undertaking yet one they are quite capable of handling!

This has been Steve and Geña’s prayer and vision for the youth ministry for several years now: that the ministry would be led by the youth, while we the staff are there to oversee and act as support, guidance, and resources for them as the Lord fulfills His dreams for the ministry! We are so excited to see this vision finally start to take form and shape among our youth! PRAISE THE LORD!!

Mentor Gazette…

I’m excited about several developments with Sandy. First, she was donated a factory-refurbished Nikon D40 digital SLR camera this summer! She’s having a blast playing with it and learning its ins and outs. Her photography continues to improve, much to my daily astonishment! We have opened a bank account for her so that she may open a PayPal account and be able to therefore sell her photography online in the form of prints and other merchandise. We are still in the development stages for this endeavor, but we’ll keep you posted and let you know when her stuff is finally available for sale.

The other development that is particularly exciting concerns her leadership among the youth, specifically among the young girls. Now that Sandy is an official leader among the youth, I consider her a partner where girls’ ministry is concerned and continue to push and encourage her to identify needs or opportunities among the girls and seek ways to meet or take advantage of them. We have a very young group of girls this year in our youth group, but they are extremely receptive to the Word the Truth it offers about their identity and discipleship. However, we have also faced yet again the tragedy of a young girl running away from home to live with her boyfriend. This is always heartbreaking. It’s the fourth time in the last year, and Sandy is tired of seeing our girls fall to this!! As a result of this latest incident, she felt the call to develop a series of “Fireside Chats” that will deal with issues of Friendship, Dating, Sexuality, and other related topics from a practical standpoint. The goal is to teach them the Biblical principles that God has given us for living our lives but in a way that applies them to the practical and cultural issues that these girls face daily. The desire is that we not lose anymore of our girls! She has developed an outline for each of the major topics she feels need to be addressed, and she is in the process of doing the development of Biblical passages that apply and teach on each one. I’m extremely proud of her and excited for this passion that has been placed on her heart! Please keep her in your prayers as she continues to seek the Lord’s wisdom and power not only in the planning but in the execution of this vision!

Happy Thanksgiving!

As we approach this Thanksgiving holiday, I find myself thinking about all the blessings as well as all the challenges that the Lord has showered upon me since coming to Mexico and even just in the last few months. I can honestly admit that I would not trade this time for anything less than the physical presence of Christ. Paul said it best: “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” Amen! I pray that this Thanksgiving holiday will be filled with the peace and contentment in the Author and Perfector of our faith, because “He who promised is FAITHFUL”.