House Hunting

Sandra and I have been out house hunting for some friends of ours, Dan and Carey Graf who are planning on coming down to Monterrey for their DTS this Fall. Click on the album below if you'd like to see what $750-$800 dollars can get you in Monterrey (keep in mind, the cost of living here is higher than any other city in Mexico).

Houses for Rent

Father's Day

Wow, what a morning. Our pastor at the little Nazarene church we attend had all the dad's in the church in tears at one point. He really delivered an awesome message. The church prayed a blessing over the fathers, recognized them and had a traditional Mexican dish (Pozole - pronounced po-zo-lay). I gave the children extra hugs and thanked them for blessing me with the priviledge of being their dad, the opportunity to disciple them and be close to them.

In the afternoon, nap time. Whenever Sandra asks what I want for Father's Day, I usually say, "A nap." I just want a day where I can take a nap, feel entitled to it and don't feel like a slacker (usually because there are other things to get done around the house). I have to say, I'm much less of a napper than I used to be, but it's nice on special days like today to lay back (in the air conditioning of course) put my arms behind my head and reflect on nothing, just drift off to sleep. Total naptime: 15mn. Oh well, must be a sign of my age. There was a time when I could pull off a 2 hour nap. Again, probably age related (both my age and the ages our children were at when we at one point had a 4, 2 and 2 month old).

Thank you God for being the best Father in the world!

Parque Espana

Last week we went to Parque Espana. It is one of Monterrey's city parks and this one is a large area with rides, pools, shows, inflatables, etc. I think it cost us about $7.00 to get in as a family. The kiddie pool was pretty dirty (the smallest one) so I quickly encouraged my children to go to the next one (also a zero entry pool with much clearer water. They had a blast and we had a blast watching them have a blast. Afterward we went for ice cream and then home. It was a great family day after a busy week of work.

Curve Balls

This week has been a week of curve balls. Yet, I've really sensed this overwhelming burden to just keep praising God in spite of it all. Perhaps it's related to my previous post (called Office Space) where I referred to prayers for revival in a specific community close by the base where I work. I'm not sure, but one thing's for sure, it never hurts to keep praising the Lord when faced with adversity, last minute changes and inconveniences.

This morning was spent cleaning the Quinta. It's our other property that is about 45 minutes from the base, has a swimming pool and is a large area to clean. I have to say, I don't always get fired up about cleaning, but God has really been using it lately.

On the way out we drove by a bank and there was a big heist in Mexico City this a.m. As we drove by this bank (12 hours away from Mexico City) we say two trucks full of Federal Police, all with weapons drawn running into the place. Afterward, we came to the conclusion that they were probably just demonstrating a show of force as a result of what happened in Mexico City. There has been a lot of violence in the city lately, many police and government officials have been threatened and killed (mostly related to drug-trafficking and the recent changes in the presidential office).

It's expected to hit 110 degrees next week. I'm sure I'll have something to write about it.

Office Space

Man, I love that movie. "Yeah...about those TPS Reports," says the boss to his indifferent employee. Anyway, that's not descriptive of my office environment here at the base, just loved the movie (maybe it reminded me of some long-ago times).

Anyway, yesterday was awesome!!! We mysteriously received 5 tickets for Plaza Sesamo (Sesame Street) amusement and water park. We spent the whole day there with the children and on several ocassions thanked the Lord for this much needed family day and prayed for whoever blessed us in such a special way. The children had a blast. I will post pics and link to them later.

On a previous post, I wrote about God's Light. While we were up at the mountain that day praying for the city of Monterrey, God also spoke something to me that I'm not sure if I wrote about. As I was looking over the hills at an area not too far from the base here, where we typically tell people not to go because it's a notoriously bad area, I sensed God say to me, "I want to bring revival to that area." The cool thing about it was as I shared this with our pastor at our church (not too far from this area) he informed me that he and several others from the church have been getting together at 6:00am every morning to pray specifically for revival in these areas. Keep in mind, I've only attended Sunday service 2x since coming back from MN and hadn't even heard this mentioned at all in church. Seems like God has something in store for this area.

I recently watched the Transformation video. It really excites me to think that perhaps God wants to go about transforming entire communities. I believe He's got something in store for this area and can't wait to see what it's going to be. I'm also super excited to be part of it. I feel like I've had a bounce in my step ever since I spoke with my pastor. Please pray for this community that desperately needs revival. Rumor has it that some areas are so bad the Police won't go in without heavy back-up. Anyway, we can't wait to see what's going to happen! Pray!

Puppet Soundtracks

Making soundtracks for puppet skits isn't all fun and games, but sometimes it is. Oby, Jerry and Pepe are putting the finishing touches on a new skit we'll be using for open-air services this summer.

Totally Spent

I'm on day 5 of 12-15 hours of work each day (in 100+ temperatures). Yesterday was a good tired. Today is just plain tired.

We went this morning to a boys orphanage where we've worked before. Tio Luis, one of the men that lives there is a great guy. He and his wife live at the home and work with 18 boys ages 4-19. We played soccer, basketball, saw the boys off to school, at sandwiches and then spent several hours cleaning, clearing out some rooms, rearranging, triming trees, etc.

I'm tired and can't wait for bedtime (which unfortunately doesn't come for another 5 hours).

A Day's Work

Today started out at 6:30am, up and out of bed and heading over to the base for a 7:30am team brief and prayer for the team visiting from Baton Rouge, LA. We have 2 great families here this week. It has been great serving them and experiencing having other families around.

At 9:30am we headed out to the Cerebral Paulsey orphanage where we played with the children, pushed them around in their wheelchairs and I was reminded once again, how the only difference between them and me is that you can see their handicap, but you can't see mine. Theirs is physical and obvious, mine is a sin issue and is easier for me to cover up, but it's there. It always touches my heart going there and I would speculate I've been there at least 8 times. While it gets easier, it's still far from easy.

The afternoon was spent out at the Quinta where the team swam and I learned how to play Phase 10. It was fun. I even won a couple rounds.

This evening we went down to the hospital for hospital ministry. Sandra and the children came too! It never ceases to amaze me the conditions people are facing when we go down there. I met a really nice couple from Guadalupe who were there supporting a friend whose son just had surgery. It's now 10:15pm and I'm heading home for a shower.

21 Years and Counting

Today, by God's grace, marks my 21st anniversary of abstaining from mood altering substances. One day at a time. Thank you God for being so faithful.

Families With A Mission

I know, I think I'll start an offshoot of YWAM called, "Families With A Mission." Not really, just that we kicked off our short-term missions Summer season with a bang. Our first team was made up of 2 families from Louisiana. It was a lot of fun having them and I think the children, theirs and ours, had a lot of fun in the process. Bianca made a new friend and pen pal (or should I say e-pal). There's a link to pics from our ministry this week by clicking on the title above, or the link below (they are two different albums).

We got a little bonus this week. As as volunteer missionaries that rely on support, a bonus to us is when someone does something unexpected, out of the ordinary. The pastor of the church where we were serving put together this little collage from the two days we spent in his community. Many of the pictures are of the team and many are of the people and children in the community.

A Community With No Church (yet)

The Week in Ministry

God's Light

Today we went up on the mountains to pray for Monterrey and our upcoming Short-term Missions season. It was really cool to be back in full-swing. It was also a beautiful morning. The sun was shining through the clouds and the top of Saddleback Mountain was bright and shining while everything else around the city was overcast. It had God's signature all over it.

Then I looked over at the bushes in front of the railing at the overlook where we were praying and they were thorn bushes. God was impressing upon my heart that He wore the crown of thorns for this city. Then, as I looked out at the city, God was telling me that it doesn't matter how far out the city reaches, how far out it spreads, how lost it is, that His love is there. Even in the darkest of places, farthest of places.

I'm impressed by how much God wants to speak to us and how much He has to say and how unfathomable His love is. I'm currently reading Making Jesus Lord by Loren Cunningham and the thesis of his book is basically, by surrenduring our rights, the dynamic power of Christ is made known. Or, we experience His dynamic power when we lay down our rights. What a theme! Not a very popular one in our day and age. I mean, who really gets excited about laying down our rights? Really. But isn't that what Jesus did?

I loved a line from the book where Loren Cunningham refers to the Great Commisssion and describes how we are all called to bring Christ to the world, unless we have a specific calling to stay at home. I bet another statement that would not be found to be popular in our society. We are all called to bring the Gospel to all the world unless our specific calling is to be at home. That challenges me.