Home for Christmas!

Dad and Comfort

Smith and Joia

Ax and his cousin Bowman workin' the keys

Giggly girls on the bathroom floor

Everyone loves the Nana

Happy Christmas!

Racy game of Scrabble

Uncle Dave and Zaisy

Charley, Zaisy, and Dillan

We had so much fun this Christmas visiting family and friends. Thank you all for all the help and support you've shown us. We couldn't do all this without you. Merry Christmas!

We plan on heading down to Colorado Springs for a few days before we make our trek back down to Mexico. This much needed break for our family has given us a lot to take with us as we head back into the field. Thank you all so much!

Surprise, Surprise!!

We’ll be home for Christmas! We didn’t think that we would be able to make a trip to the States over the holidays, but due to a change in circumstances, and a suggestion from the ministry we’re working with to go do some additional fund-raising, it looks like it is going to work out.
Our plan right now is to leave Tlaxiaco tomorrow at 1:00 in the morning and make a cannon-ball run up to the border. By my calculations, it is about a 40 hour drive to Colorado and we could use every prayer that you can send up for us. Pray that my eyes will stay wide-open and that I’ll make wise decisions on the road. Pray that all the Mexican authorities will be blind to us as we travel and not harass us in any way. Pray for the “Miracle Mobile” to run smoothly and efficiently.
We’re still trying to work out our schedule while we’re in Colorado, but we hope to see as many of you as possible while we are there.
We love you and look forward to wishing you a Merry Christmas in person!

P.S. If you or anyone you know have large amounts of money you'd like to give away before the end of the year...just let us know! ;)

My Birthday Blog

I wanted to take a few minutes to write one last blog in my 20’s. The last ten years of my life have been eventful to say the least. To focus on work I’ve done would be a shame. Like most everyone else I know or have read about, work is a blip, a small, insignificant part of life that is often talked about like this, “Well for 30 years I worked for so and so…” and that’s all there is to say about it. Well, for seven years I worked for HP…and that’s all there is to say about it.
On to more meaningful matters that will stand the test of time, even eternal time. Getting married to my beautiful Rachel at the age of 19 started a whirlwind spinning that I’ve yet to catch up with. I had my first son Smith when I was 20 years old. Ready or not, here he came. I’m still not sure if I’m ready for him, or deserve him, but I love him more than words can express.
22 saw the birth of my sweet and spunky little red-headed baby girl Zaisy. When I saw her for the first time and covered her whole torso with one hand to pray for her, I knew my life would never be the same.
I was happy with two children, but the Lord was not, and He would not drop the issue. So at the age of 26, we had the only child we’ve actually tried for so far. Davis. He lights up my life daily and I often reflect on how empty my life would have been if I would have settled for just two. Children indeed are a blessing and a gift from the Lord. Davis changed me and changes me daily. I loved him so much from his very first days on this earth that I immediately began to ask the Lord for another one just like him.
28 brought more changes in my life than I can bear to think about at times. I left HP and in the midst of starting an exciting, new career, I received a clear calling from the Lord to become a full-time missionary. Ouch! Oh yeah, a few months later, the Lord answered my prayer and my Ax-man came into the world. He was such a peaceful little guy at first. Now Davis and Ax have figured out how to team up against us. Can anyone say, “Red-tornado X 2?”
With the life we currently live in Mexico and the many adventures to come, I often wonder what kind of memories my little ones will escape child-hood with. Should be interesting.
As you can see, the last ten years of my life have been quite full to say the least. As I sit here and reflect, it’s not the moments of pain, fear, or worry that rise to the top. It’s an abounding sense of joy and gratefulness of the Lord’s provision in every aspect of my life. If the last ten years have been this full and exciting, God only know how exciting these next ten years will be. And I’m sure He has some great surprises up His sleeve.

One Year Anniversary

Today is a significant day for me. I’ve been looking forward to writing this blog for quite a while. Today marks the one year anniversary of me being completely healthy. This would be a huge thing anyway, but the fact that most of this year has been spent living in Mexico, makes it simply incredible. I decided when we moved down here that I would live by faith and not by fear…especially when it comes to food. So I’ve eaten every single funky thing set before me, and I’ve been just fine.
I use to play around with sickness and even use it to get sympathy or simply to have some time off from work. I knew going into this year that there would be no room for that kind of junk. All year long, I lived with a desire to beat my body and make it my slave. Some days it is hard to overcome my feelings, but honestly, if I live a life of trusting my feelings, I probably would never get out of bed in the morning.
A thought my mom shared with me earlier this year has helped me a lot and I meditate on it often. It’s the idea that when Jesus was on the cross, He literally bore all of our sicknesses and diseases upon Himself. It was such gruesome site that the sky had to turn black because no one could bear to look upon Him. Anytime I start to feel crummy, or anytime I pray for a sick person, I pray and thank God for already taking that sickness upon Himself, and I picture Him already conquering the specific sickness upon the cross. You see, Jesus accomplished more than just salvation upon the cross. He died and rose again that we would be SAVED, HEALED, and DELIVERED.
Thank you for a healthy year Jesus! You’re Awesome!

Catholic Confirmation

Gringos and Brenda


The girls love the Davis



feast

Brenda

We were honored to be invited to attend a private family party celebrating the confirmation of Chava's daughter, Brenda into the Catholic Church. This was the largest confirmation ceremony so far in Tlaxiaco. The priest delivered a stellar message that would put most youth group sermons to shame. That was totally unexpected. And afterward, our family was treated like honored guests at the celebration party. We were asked to use one of the only three parking spots available. The kids had a blast drinking Coke and Fanta from the seemingly unending bottles on the table. They just kept appearing! Wow! I felt so humbled and honored to be a part of this family's lives. This discipleship thing is rockin' my world!!!

Our Mailing Address

Here is our mailing address down here just in case you would like to send us a letter or a care-package (hint, hint). If you do send a package, make sure to mark the value of the contents low so we won't get taxed on it. Thank you!

Global Frontier Missions

Attn: Jon & Rachel Nagel

Apdo. 14

Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca 69800

Mexico

idol on wheels

"You see my cow?"


"Sol" beer samples

A funny thing happened the other day. Upon driving through the city we found our car caught in the middle of a parade. Sorry, actually that is not at all uncommon in Mexico. This particular parade, however, was celebrating the patron saint of our city. You see in Mexico, every city has a saint that is believed to watch over that particular city. If your saint is a powerful one, then your city will be well protected and prosper.

This particular celebration of the saint of Tlaxiaco was the most elaborate we'd seen yet. Lots of throwing candy and processions of flowers and framed saint pictures. There were many livestock trucks with cows being showcased. One driver that passed our window wanted to use his English and said, "You see my cow?" He was a proud bovine chauffeur.

Groovy Guys

Doctors Paul and Ken after finishing their mission

A couple of guys came down from the States to do a medical outreach to the villages around Tlaxiaco. Both of them eye specialists, they came to give exams and prescribe and distribute glasses to the people in the villages who otherwise would go without. They encountered a problem getting their cases containing 3,000 pairs of eyeglasses through customs. Down at GFM, we prayed and called on the power of God to overcome the opinions of the governing officials at the Mexican customs department in the Oaxaca City airport. Three days of being told, "No way, Jose" (actually it was Dan), and they suddenly released the glasses without reason. The two doctors were able to spend the remaining days of their trip meeting the needs of the village people in a practical way. We were told there was no way the government would let them get those glasses into the country. But as we all know, nothing is impossible for God. Nothing.

ps. please be praying for all of us here at GFM as we deal with immigration and try to get our long-term work Visas approved. Thank you!

Evangiball

Playing D
Sideliners

Chava’s cousin lives across the street from the carpentry shop where we work. He is renovating his home and we do a lot of work in his house. By Mexican standards he is quite wealthy and relationally he’s been a hard nut to crack.
This last weekend I convinced Chava to come and watch our gringo team play soccer. We tried to convince Chava to play on our team, but he would not. However, when we got to the field, his cousin was standing there watching. We asked if he would like to play on our team. Believe me any Mexican blood on your soccer team changes the whole dynamic. I was thrilled when he agreed and sent one of his sons home to get his gear.
As soon as I saw his bright yellow soccer shoes, I knew he was going to be good. And he was. He played defense with me and I found out that he does speak a little bit of English.
The highlight of my weekend was when he asked if he can play with us full-time. Praise God! Please pray for Chava and his cousin as we continue to build relationship with them.

Through the Eyes of a Carpenter

Catching some precious zzzzzz's with my two little bears.

I’m so behind on all the blogs that I’ve been meaning to write. I thought about trying to write a blog to catch you all up on everything, however, there are a couple problems with that idea. #1. It would be so long that no one would read the whole thing. #2. Every time I try to sit down and write this “catch-up blog”, there are at least ten other things vying for my time.
So I came up with an idea yesterday that I will just start blogging again and act like you have been with me every step of the way already. You may not like this idea…but you will just have to get over it!
MTS (Missionary Training School) has been incredible. Between all the reading, language learning, class time, and ministry time, it does prove to be a demanding schedule. In all my “free time” I like to squeeze in some sleep. Sleep is good. I could use some more right now. One of the most important things I’ve learned in MTS is that without training…missionaries will get eaten alive…sometimes, quite literally.
My favorite part of life right now is working with Chava in his carpentry shop. He’s helping to teach me Spanish as well as how to build furniture from the rough lumber available here in Mexico. On that note, we don’t have Home Depots or Lowes here…amazingly enough. When we go to the lumber yard to buy supplies, it’s always a crap shoot. For example, before we can even began building a table, we will spend hours cutting the wood down into 4X4’s, 2X4’s, and other common sizes that you can easily walk in and buy off the shelf in the States. Everything here is harder and more time-consuming.
As I work with the wood and watch the rough lumber become usable and then turn into a beautiful piece of furniture, I often think about what Jesus was thinking as he worked in the carpentry shop. Everything we do down here is in the hope that we can build solid relationships. In a society such as this, real change only comes about through relationship. That’s why I play on a soccer team, work in a carpentry shop, shop at the same fruit market every week, and eat every single funky thing set before me. Including the bowl of fried grasshoppers that was set before me night before last. It’s all about relationship.
On first appearance, many of the people here seem unapproachable. They sound different, look different, and often smell different. (Different is the P.C. way of saying “funny.”) Because of these differences, it’s easy to outright reject them as un-usable. But the more I learn to see through the eyes of Jesus, the more I began to judge them and accept them not for the rough lumber that they are, but the fine furniture that they will be.

Thank the Lord for Canada!

Yummy!

On Monday we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving with our north bordering neighbors--south of the border. We got to enjoy pumkin pie, mashed potatoes, yams, Nanimo bars,and all our favourite Canadian holiday foods. The tables at the base were decorated with seasonal flare so much so that you could forget where you were for a few moments. As much as we tease all our Canadian friends, we learned that we owe Canada a great deal for giving us great stars like William Shatner and Mike Meyers. We followed it up by going out to the soccer field and playing a little American/Canadian football.

Can you spot the white kids?

Sunday school outside

Playing a game

Davis wadered off after a while

We have been attending a local church for the past few Sundays. Being a very small building, and not having a nursery, I spend all but the first ten minutes outside with the two little boys. Last week, I got smart and brought snacks and books to read. This Sunday, I was walking around the car when I saw Smith and Zaisy's sunday school class go out into a field to play a game and sing some songs. I decided to follow at a distance with my camera. I watched my kids play along and make the other kids laugh (and the teacher). I was impressed at how different they obviously are, and yet they did a marvelous job of interacting and being a part of the group. Granted Smith goofed around so much that I think the teacher gave up on one game entirely, but wouldn't that have been the case anyway in a class at our own home church? He didn't act like the other shy, sheepish mexican children, but he didn't act hugely different. He was just himself. That's good missions right there.

Sorry Blog

Apparently I didn't know that Jon had already posted a birthday blog for Ax. I was enjoying some online catching up while Jon was gone camping last week. I checked email, did some facebooking, and apparently posted a superfluous blog. Sorry, dear readers.

But... while I was preparing for Jon's coming back, I found this moocher in my nice, clean, warm mop bucket water. He was totally enjoying himself.

Ax had a ball on his first birthday. No, really, we had a ball party. He has just a handful of words in his repitoire, but his favorite is: ball. So we showered him with balloons and bubbles and a green and blue ball for his birthday. It was a ball of fun.

Gooooooooooal!

The night before last, I played in my first soccer game since 6th grade. A bunch of us guys here on the base decided to put together a team to compete in one of the local leagues. About the only rule I remebered was that you can't touch the ball with your hands.

The Mexican players that we played against obviously had been playing since birth, maybe even came out of the womb with cleats on, and quite possibly had always be on the same team with eachother. They wove the ball in and out of us and made us look like we were standing still. Ouch!

Long story short...we got our butts kicked! The highlight for me, however, came early in second half of the game. I took a pass from our team captain and found myself in open field with nothing between me and the goalie. After a few dribbles to get the ball under control, I took a swing and scored my first goal EVER!!! Our bench erupted with joy and you would have thought that we just won the World Cup. I was the hero of night and all day yesterday. It felt great!

Over the next 7 months of Missionary Training School I will be reading at least 60 books. I just added a new gadget on the right bar of our blog to highlight one of the books I'm reading each week. You can read along if you like and see a glimpse of what we're learning. This week is "Death to Self" week. We're having our worlds turned upside down as we study "Me centered" theology vs. "God centered" theology. My favorite quote from the Piper book I just finished is, "God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him." To think that everything exists to glorify God and not me. What a concept. To God be ALL the glory!

Week In Review!

We made it back to Tlaxiaco just in time to attend our first day of Missionary Training School…which I will often refer to as MTS. What an amazing week it has been! Each day began with a 6:30 time of prayer for the nations. After that, all the families and single students got together at 8:00 for a time of praise and worship. 9:30-1:30 found me in class studying un-reached people groups of the world and being inspired as we discussed some of the amazing books that we have been reading. On that note, if you have never read, “Unveiled At Last” by Bob Sjogren, you must! If you have ever questioned why we’re doing what we’re doing, this book will answer all of your questions. At 1:30 we all get together for a communal lunch and then the real fun begins. They call it, “Worship”, but really it is chores and my job is to help sweep out and mop the lower level of the base each day. Good times!
The first day of class, one of the two pigs here on the base had to be put down due to injuries. Four of our Mexican neighbors came over with their tools of the trade and we all got to witness our first pig slaughter. It was pretty gruesome and I don’t recommend it to those with a weak stomach. For the next several days we all ate pork ‘til it was coming out our nose. It was good.

As we get to know the five other families and 9 single students here on the base, the thing I’m most amazed at is the quality of people the Lord has brought down here. These are not the rejects of society or people who don’t have anything else to do with their lives. These are people that would be successful at whatever they set their hand to. After the seven month training program, two of the girls will be going on to medical school. We have experts in construction, computer programming, accounting, and much, much more. Amazing people! People who have given up all to follow the Lord’s command to “Go”! It’s a pleasure to serve with each of them.
Sunday night we all got together for a time called “Upper Room” based on 1 Corinthians 14:26. “How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.” No one was in charge. No one was the leader. We each had a chance to share whatever the Lord was leading us to share. It was an amazing time and I look forward to next Sunday night. That’s the kind of church I’m talking about!
At this point, we’ve decided to home school the kids for a bit more. Rachel had her hands full this week as she tried to unpack, decorate our little concrete quarters, and teach the kids. Please keep her in your prayers.
Our little Ax-man turned 1 on Friday. He’s such a joy to our lives and it’s been so much fun to watch him take his first steps these last few weeks. He’s in love with balls, balloons, and brooms. All of our kids now have odd numbers for their ages. 9, 7, 3, and 1. I guess it’s just an odd year!
More exciting adventure to come!

And We're Back!

Gas money to drive over 2,000 miles in three days- $3,500 pesos

Clorex wipes to clean up all the puke and poop along the way- $24 pesos

Two nights in “interesting” motels along the way- $730 pesos

Being legal once again in the country of our choice…priceless!

Ps. Unlike other trips through Mexico, we were not harassed or even pulled over once by any of the authorities along the way. Amazing!

Our Crazy Life

Three sleepy guys after a long day of moving.

*Editors note: This particular post is not meant to elicit ooey-gooey, feel-good emotions. If you feel any stress about our current life situation, please discontinue reading this post and check back in on Sunday. Love you.

Life in general can be interesting…life on the mission field is down right crazy at times! I screwed up on my math and the number of days we had left on our 180 day visas. I spent all day Monday filling out a huge stack of paper work and yesterday we drove to Oaxaca City to get them renewed. Things were going pretty well until the immigration official realized our visas were 2 days expired. At that point he stopped rifling through our paperwork, looked up at me and said, “You must leave our country. You can take an airplane, an auto bus, or drive…but you must leave.”
I spent 10-15 minutes pleading with him and asking him if there was anything else we could do. I told him we would pay any fine, or do anything, but he just kept telling me the only thing we could do was leave.
At first I took it pretty well. But over the course of the 3 hour drive back to Tlaxiaco, the realization, and the gravity of the situation began to settle over me. Have you ever been punched in the stomach when you weren’t expecting it? It doesn’t feel good!
Long story short…tomorrow morning we will make a trek up to the border to simply renew our visas. We hope to make it to Harlingen, TX by Friday around noon, do some shopping at Walmart, and then be back here to Tlaxiaco by Saturday night. Please pray for us. We are just now getting to a point where we feel fully recovered from our previous trip and are not too excited about this one. Please pray for safety on the roads, grace for Rachel, me, and the kids over the long hours, and a lack of harassment by all the government officials along the way.

Seriously...?

I think of you often. I’ve been to London many times in my imagination. As I walked the streets of Tlaxiaco last night, the cold rain slowly soaked through my red “water-proof” jacket. I splashed through several muddy puddles in my attempt to locate a roasted chicken for our dinner. The chicken was not to be found but I did enjoy my time with you in Old England once again.
The line between need and want can be a fine one at times. However, when we really need something…it’s always there. I went through a bit of a depression this week when I found out our monthly support was at an all-time low. It sent me spiraling through all the same old questions. “Are we really supposed to be here?” “How am I going to provide for my family?” “What the heck was I thinking moving my wife and four children all the way down here?” And on and on. It was painful.
As I regained my focus, through prayer and reading the Word, I was reminded once again that God is good and that He promises to always take care of His children. But how…how would He come through this time?
After a great lunch with some of our fellow missionaries, he took me aside and stuffed a wad of bills in my hand. Later when I counted the bills I was shocked to see the amount that he gave us equaled the amount of support we had received. Wow! I was humbled. God had come through once again.

I love Lamp

Upon visiting my sister in the States, she let me haul a ton of awesome stuff out of her basement for our apartment here in Mexico. She had no idea how those things would make our place feel like a luxury resort. I recall her picking up a huge wicker basket (great for our need for organization stuff) and she said, “…but you probably don’t want this because it’s broken right here,” and pointed to this one small damaged spot. WHAT?! We have been blessed beyond our boarders with amazing gifts of sacrifice and love from our supporters back home. Some people apologized for not being able to give more, or feeling like their gift couldn’t really mean a whole lot. Let me tell you all something…It means a lot to us. We are so amazingly blessed that here I sit, writing this message of thanks so all of you who gave can know—We’re so grateful. Thank you so, so much.

Vacation at the base

Hang ten
Ahhh...and breathe.
dishes, dishes, Davis
candlelight dinner

Family hike
Can I get out now?
Hello gorgeous!

Our seasoned missionary friend says that going home for a vacation is not a real vacation--you still need a time for rest for your family. True, true. I thought we would not have time for that. But, as usual, God always gives us what we need.

We were asked to watch the ministry base while everyone else went on the staff retreat to the coast. At first this seemed like a chore--feed the turtles and the dogs, and turn on some lights every once in a while. It turned out to be the exact "vacation" we needed. We had time to reflect, connect, rest, laugh, play, sleep, listen, learn, soak, and pray. Thank you, Lord for this awesome time.

Memories were created that I'll enjoy forever! One time, the kids came running up the hill frantic with news that one of the pigs was loose. We had a fun time catching it and leading it back with an extention cord. Of course, the power going out created boundless non-movie-watching fun. The kids and I started reading an exciting book, which we're totally in to. Smith's birthday presents have been literally a bag of fun. We got to use this groovy candelabra for dinner every night (thanks Cammi!), and flashlights! It's been a smashing vacation. And we haven't even left the base.