Happy 4th of July!!

One of the funny things about living in Mexico is that there are seemingly no laws or codes regarding noise. At any given hour of any given day, music, firecrackers, or giant speakers strapped to the roofs of cars advertising this or that, can be heard from all over our city. I do like the tradition, here in Tlaxiaco, of playing “Ave Maria” on the radio every day to announce the noon hour. I get frustrated with the music the young people listen to. So many of them long to be “cool” like their American counter-parts and end up listening to music with English lyrics, which in my opinion, is terrible. I feel bad for them that they don’t really understand what they’re listening to.
Walking the same streets every day, saying hello to the same people over and over again, at times can seem pointless. What I’ve noticed though is that out on the streets, in the market place, in the stores where we shop, and here in our apartment complex, a gradual wearing down of resistance and fear is beginning to take place. As the people of this fine city see us day in and day out living with them and doing life the same way they do, it’s as if they realize, we may talk funny and look different, but we’re really just people. Maybe not the kind of white people they’re use to seeing on TV and movies their whole lives…but I think that’s a good thing.
Ax and I went for a walk through the town square this afternoon. In this macho society I don’t think it’s very common for the men to carry babies on their backs. Wow, did we get stared at. I did get more smiles than I usually do when I’m by myself. For some reason, man with baby is more approachable than big-bald-white-man-with-big-red-beard by himself. Go figure.
Many of the outward walls of buildings and houses here are deteriorating or covered with graffiti. Not very attractive! However, right inside many of the walls, are beautiful gardens and courtyards. It does not cease to amaze me. Each time I get to see past the outer wall, I’m blown away. The same can be said for our relationships here. As the walls of fear and prejudice are broken down, bit-by-bit, and we’re able to see each other eye to eye, it’s a beautiful thing.
With those thoughts in mind, Rachel and I were talking with the kids over dinner about our upcoming visit to the States. I was reading today about “Reentry” and “Reverse Culture Shock” and how it can be especially hard on your children. From this end of the microscope it’s hard to imagine that we’ve changed that much. I hope like chameleons we will blend in easily and smoothly…but we’ll see.
This is the second time Rachel and I have celebrated the 4th of July out of the country. The first time, we were on a mission trip to Thailand and to celebrate all the members of our team bunched together in our little hotel room in Bangkok and said the Pledge of Allegiance to a post card with an American flag on it. Hopefully, we’ll come up with something a little more exciting this time. Hope you have a fun day!

Time For A Break!

Thanks to all our generous supporters this month, we are coming home! Halleluiah!!! We had been hoping to visit the States over the month of August. We recently found out that some of our best friends, Jim & Shiloh Nowlin, will be gone the whole month of August serving on a short term team in China. Of course we had to change our plans!
New plans: We will be leaving here on the 12th of July and will be in the States through the 1st week of August. School is supposed to start here for Smith and Zaisy on August 20th and this will give us about another month in Mexico to work on our language skills before our official training starts with Global Frontier Missions in September.
To say we’re excited about a visit to the States would be an understatement. Simply thinking about visiting family and friends, shopping at our favorite stores, and eating at our favorite restaurants is already refueling our tanks. Besides that…drinking from the tap, using toilet seats, and feeling soft luxurious carpet between our toes, is a thrilling thought.
I used to think that missionaries that took furloughs were just wimps. I guess I’m a wimp. By the time we pull out of here, we will have been in country for 4 ½ months. Wow! Where does time go? It will be strange to be able to walk into stores and banks and be able to communicate effectively and smoothly. It will be strange to not be gawked at everywhere we go. Don’t get me wrong, we love being here and the relationships we have already begun to develop here in Tlaxiaco will forever be priceless, but…we could sure use a break.
We did meet a girl at the fruit market near our apartment named Laura. Like so many families here in Tlaxiaco, her husband left her and their son 5 years ago to pursue a better life for them in America. She hasn’t seen him since, yet has contact information for him in Colorado Springs. We were blown away to find out he lives very close to where our old house is located. We told her we would try to look him up while we’re there. Should be interesting.
One funny thing is that on July 25th Rachel and I will celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary. I had always hoped to be able to take her to Mexico or somewhere exotic to celebrate. Now she’s excited that I’m taking her to the States to celebrate. We’ll also be able to celebrate both Smith and Davis’ birthdays while we are there. Fun!
We went out to the base the other day to do some laundry and take the Miracle Mobile for a drive. It was good to remember what it feels like to drive. When we first got to Tlaxiaco, after bottoming out on countless speed-bumps, I decided to take the running boards off our van. I’ve been quite pleased with that choice as it gives us a good extra six inches of clearance. One of our friends here named Mario saw us driving and now keeps offering to buy it from me. I told him I won’t take anything less than 5 milking cows. He’s trying to talk me down to 4, but I’m not budging. Not sure what I will do if he actually shows up with 5 cows at my door.
We look forward to being able to see as many of you as possible. If you plan on being out of town from July 12th-Aug. 10th…can you please change your plans? Just kidding. No I’m not.

Rambling Thoughts Late At Night

I prefer the evening hours of the day much more than the morning. I read a funny quote in Readers Digest that said, “If God would have wanted us to enjoy the sunrise, it wouldn’t happen any earlier than 10am.” So true. Rachel’s more of a morning person…probably more out of necessity with the kids than anything else. Actually, Rachel’s more of an all day person…friendly and joyful at all hours of the day. Amazing!
It’s raining hard tonight. I’ve always said that I would take 30 days of rain over a single day of snow. It seems that my wish has come true. It makes life interesting without a vehicle. We plan our trips to the market and when to hang our laundry out to dry around the amount of clouds in the sky.
Our landlord, Jose Luis, is becoming a fast friend. It turns out he is an amazing artist, a prodigy from his youth. He gets hired quite often to design and construct elaborate floats for the many fiestas and parades here in Tlaxiaco. His latest project is a giant replica of Noah’s Ark. When I told him I was going to be building some book shelves for our room he got really excited and suggested we could share a workspace right in the courtyard of our building. The shelves went together quickly so I offered my assistance with the Ark.
We’re having great fun working side by side. He’s very patient with my Spanish and when I get frustrated he can often be heard encouraging me by saying, “Poco a poco.” Which means, “Little by little.”
He also loves to break away from work in the late afternoon for a late lunch. He’s taken me out to some amazing hole-in-the-wall restaurants here that I probably would have never tried on my own. The other day he and his wife invited me in for a meal. Turns out, though he and his wife are about twice my age, in many ways they are young in their Christian walk. We ended up with a Spanish Bible on the table between us, and we had our first Bible study together. I shared some of my favorite passages with him, and he with me. It was a good reminder of why I’m here in Mexico. It’s not just to force myself and my family to live a hard life. It’s to build up my brothers and sisters in the Lord and share my love for Jesus and His Word.
I’ve come to realize that one of my biggest difficulties with the Spanish language is the accent. It usually takes me about 10 minutes of warm up each day to really focus and understand what Jose Luis is talking about. It reminds me a lot of those puzzles that were real popular in the late ‘90’s. The ones that you had to stare at for a long time before the hidden pictures would come into view. If you lost focus at all, you were out of luck. I was only ever able to see one of the pictures. A dolphin I think. Anyways, that’s what Spanish is like to me right now. In and out of focus, but getting clearer each day.
Zaisy woke up sick this morning. We prayed for her and trusted the Lord to heal her. It was a long frustrating day. The Bible tells us that when we pray for the sick, they should be healed. So often they’re not. Frustrating! This evening, however, she rose up and said she was going to start dancing and praising the Lord. Boom! Sickness gone and done with and she was fine. What if the healing from the Lord is always available but for one reason or another, the sick person chooses to hold on to it? Like an evil pet monkey on their back that they like to feed snacks to. Not doctrine, just something I’m thinking and praying through right now.
I best be ascending the three flights of slippery stairs to brush my teeth at the outdoor sink and get in bed so I can be of some help to Rachel in the morning.

It Was A Great Father's Day!

To help celebrate Father’s Day, my friend/landlord, Jose Luis and I got up early, loaded up in his little VW Bug and drove up into the hills to go fishing. It was so beautiful watching the sun come up as we stood on top of a little dam. We cast our lines in and could actually see some fish swimming in the water down below us. For bait he mixed up a ball of flour and water, and we broke little pieces off and put them on our hooks. He assured me that the fish would like it, however, after two hours and only having caught one fish a piece, I think we’ll try something different next time.
On the way home, he asked me if I would like to go eat. Never one to turn down a meal, he was excited to take me to one his favorite spots. It was a little family run place only open on Sundays, and the food was great. This place doesn’t advertise at all, and I think it may have been a while since they had a gringo in there. Oh well, I’ve always liked to stand out in a crowd!
For lunch, Rachel, the kids and I went walking to find something fun to eat. On Sundays, there is not much open here in Tlaxiaco. After exploring our options, I decided on a double scoop, chocolate ice cream cone from the Nestle store. It was hot out and we all enjoyed our dripping treats in the central park.
Rachel made me some real Mexican food for dinner and the kids spoiled me with a really cool hand-made poster. They each bought me one of my favorite treats to eat and Smith bought me new sun glasses.
The fishing was poor, but the fellowship was rich. The weather was hot, but the ice cream was cold. It was a great day and I felt like a king.

We Have Work To Do!

The other night I was standing on the roof of our building praying for the people of Tlaxiaco, Mexico. Our apartment is located near the center of town and the third story roof provides a beautiful vista of the city’s shops, homes and people. I stood there watching young people in their school uniforms walking home with their friends. My attention fell on a couple of young men walking and laughing together in a way typical of American teens, but not commonly seen among Mexicans. I then realized that one of the guys was a missionary I’ve seen around town—a Mormon missionary.

The way to learn the language here, so they say, is to learn a few sentences and repeat them over and over to as many locals as you can in a day, making relationships and learning culture and local phrases, thus becoming part of the people you want to minister to. I’ve been doing my best, but it’s hard to walk around town saying, “I’m from the United States. I like Mexico. I would like to learn Spanish, little by little.” You feel like an idiot. I’ve had many people just stare and sheepishly smile as the crazy gringo says random things and then leaves.

But, as I watched how accepted that young Mormon missionary was by the young people, I got angry and suddenly decided that I wasn’t about to let the Mormons have this town. They can’t have it…it belongs to the Lord. And if I have to be a little uncomfortable for a few weeks so people will notice how friendly and humble Christian people are, it is a small price to pay.

Davis has been asking the last few days to go to the “Blue Park”. For those of you who live in Colorado Springs, that is what we call the “America the Beautiful” park. When he says that it makes me long to grant his wish for many reasons. But I have to tell him and myself: We have work to do.

Prayer...Our Greatest Weapon

As the Rave down the street grew louder and louder, the steady rhythmic beat seemed to shake the walls of our building. After three or four attempts, Rachel had gotten all the kids to go to sleep at the same time. We brushed our teeth at our outdoor sink and then fell into bed exhausted. The sky seemed to be darker than usual and as I glanced at the clock before I dozed off I realized it was just before midnight.
At 1:30 in the morning I was startled awake by the sound of Davis’ vomit splattering across the concrete floor. Ax also woke up and was standing in his crib screaming. I grabbed Ax and began to walk him and soothe him back to sleep as Rachel comforted Davis and tried to clean up the mess in the dark without waking the others. The beat of the music continued to wash over us, almost like a rhythmic war cry from days of old.
I’ve been having a great week, hearing a lot of things clearly from the Lord, and entering into some great times of prayer and worship. We have seen it time and time again that when Satan can’t get through to Rachel and I, he goes after our children. Do not be fooled, the enemy of our souls is not a cute little cartoon figure that goes around dressed in a tight little red outfit with a pitch-fork in hand, poking us and giggling with pleasure. He is cruel and merciless and is always ready and willing to exploit our weaknesses. He goes around like a roaming lion seeking whom he may devour.
The good news is that the One that lives in us is much, much greater than the one that lives in the world. As soon as we began to pray and rebuke Satan and his satanic forces, Davis immediately began to feel better and quickly fell back to sleep.
I read a quote from Oswald Chambers this last week that said something like, “Many think prayer will take them to the higher level. In actuality, prayer is the higher level.” Money is great and we need it to buy food and meet our basic needs. However, we need your prayers much more than we’ll ever need your financial support. We find ourselves on the front lines of a dark spiritual battle and without the divine intervention and protection from the Lord…we will be crushed. We will be crushed spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Please pray long, pray hard, and pray consistently. This is the greatest support you can offer us at this time.
I woke up to a bright sunny morning. I could hear the birds singing and the sound of Davis’ rambunctious laughter as he ran across the courtyard as good as new and as happy as can be. Thank You Jesus for Your life in us!

Our 5th Home In Mexico

View from our bedroom

Courtyard Jungle

Door to extra rented room

Our Street, Jose Domingo (tight squeeze for our van)

View of the city of Tlaxiaco from our roof

It had been a couple of weeks since I had been afforded the luxury of a long hot shower. As I stood there this morning letting steam rise up around me and the water relax the tension in my shoulders, I thought, “I think I’m really going to like our new home.”
When we got into Tlaxiaco we landed at the GFM (Global Frontier Missions) Base. This is the ministry where we will receive our training come September, and possibly stay on to work full-time. We had a wonderful time getting to know all of our fellow missionaries. I got to help paint the roof of the married housing building and I also got to go out on a team to help drill a well. It was great fun!
During our time at the base, I spent a few days going into town looking for a place for our family to live so we could acculturate and work on our Spanish language skills. Unfortunately, in this beautiful little city, you can’t run down to the corner and pick up an “Apartment Finder” guide. You have to beat the pavement and ask as many people as you can if they know of any place to rent. It was quite the job however I did get to meet a lot of great people.
I decided on a quaint little room with a beautiful gardened courtyard and shared bathroom two-stories up from us. When I took Rachel to see it she more-or-less said, “Say what?” She wasn’t thrilled, but I really felt it was the right place for us.
When we went to negotiate the monthly price, the landlord asked us if we would like to see another room that might also be for rent. He took us across the courtyard to a room with two huge wooden doors. It was clearly used as his storage room but he said he’d be glad to clean it out for us. We ended up renting both rooms and this seemed to make Rachel feel better.
Having to go outside and up two flights of stairs to use the bathroom does make it feel a bit like we’ll be camping for the next few months. But it also forces us out into the courtyard where we can establish relationships with many Mexicans and practice our Spanish.
We parked our van out at the base for the next few months and will be hoofing it or using taxis to get a better insight on how the locals live. It’s amazing how many miles we’ve put in already. It’s also amazing how much time the Mexican people spend just waiting for a taxi.
As the water washed me clean this morning I remembered the living water that scrubs my internal stains away. If you’re reading this blog and you’ve never asked Jesus to wash away your sin…I invite you to today. It will cut through the thickest grease and grime!