The Coult Family

In God We Truss

2012-01-28T18:46:00.000-07:00

I wish I could take credit for that title. A friend from Tucson actually said it first, and I really liked it. So, since she didn't use it in her update letter, I decided to use it. Thanks, Lisa!!! ;^)

Without further adieu, the long-awaited photos of the New Hope Conference Center.

We are still in awe of how quickly this building project came together. To God be the glory!!!

Aside from the occasional splinter and bump, there weren't any casualties either. Praise God!

Following are photos from beginning to end, more or less. Construction on the roof began on December 16 and ended on December 26. Amazing!!!

Brother Joaquin and Doug put the finishing touches on the endcaps and installed the doors a couple of days after the team left.

We can hardly wait to see how God will use this building!!! Thank you to everyone who prayed and gave and worked toward this project!

Our next big event, Master's Bible School, starts Monday and will last 10 days. Please be in prayer for this event!

We Love Mission Teams

2012-01-28T18:23:00.000-07:00

Mission teams from Arizona and Oregon converged on Las Glorias on December 16, 2011 and they immediately set to work.

During the very short two weeks that the Americans were here we did a LOT!!! Here are a multitude of photos...well, only a few actually, but enough to give you an idea of what we were up to during "Christmas break".

I know that you all want to see photos of the construction project, but first things first...

Couples' Dinner at Vida Nueva Tamazula:

The youth served a spaghetti dinner (with carrot cake for dessert) to couples from all of the different Vida Nueva churches. We ate some delicious food, played some hilarious games, and spent a wonderful time worshipping and singing together!

Christmas Party at the Migrant Camp:

Face painting, songs and games, piñata, candy and of course gifts for all the children. Amazing time.

Times of fellowship with our church family in Guasave...

...and also with our family in Las Glorias.

Time to play on the beach...

Time to take a few moments to relax and recuperate from the hustle of life...

Time to just enjoy the presence of God and admire His creation.

Next post: The Construction Project.

Tying it all Together

2011-12-09T09:44:00.004-07:00

I've learned a lot of new Spanish words while doing construction. Lots of times the word itself isn't really new, it's just being used in a way that I'd never heard of before. Cuchara, for example, means spoon. In construction, though, it's the trowel used to throw mescla (mortar).

Another example is the word cadena, which I've mentioned before. The cadena, which is literally translated "chain", runs horizontally along the top edge of the construction to strengthen the walls. Every few meters, vertical posts called castillos (castles) rise up from the piso (floor) to the techo (roof). The cadena is poured along the top of the tabique (bricks) and connects all the castillos. This process holds the structure together and makes the building incredibly strong.

Our goal was to get the building ready for a roof -- and by November 10, we were very close!!!

With the tabique laid, all the men could focus on preparing the wooden forms.

Doug's special assignment was to connect 4 inch bolts to the metal in the cadena which will be used to attach the roof.

Have I mentioned how hard our young men have worked? Every day, they are up with the dawn, getting their chores and schoolwork done early so that they can devote the rest of their day to hauling sand, gravel, tabique and bags of cement up to the back hill -- and delivering coffee and making runs to the store for Coke and potato chips, too! A couple of the boys were staying up till 10 or 11pm to finish Algebra homework and getting up at 5 to do chores. Dedication! I sure love and appreciate my teenagers!!!

Once all the wood was attached, secured and double-checked for level, it was time to pour the cement.

Bucketful by bucketful the concrete was moved from the mixer to the wheelbarrow to the scaffold to the top cadena.

On November 14, the wooden forms were removed, the site cleaned up and the very-important-basketball hoop was installed. The men celebrated the completion of the walls with a couple of games of 3 on 3.

Taking it to the Next Level

2011-12-09T08:53:00.000-07:00

With the lower 2 meters (about 6 feet) of walls finished and the cadena (in English it's literally "chain", it's similar to a header) poured, it was time to set the level of the top meter of wall. Although Julio really doesn't like heights, he took his place on top of the wall.

Here is Andrew helping Alfredo heft bricks to the andamio (scaffold). This picture was taken the day after a load of bricks toppled off the andamio, missing Andrew's head by only a few inches. From what I heard, no one had ever seen him jump so fast! You can see how the tabique (bricks) are piled on either end of the andamio. Somehow, one of those stacks toppled over. This is why we pray protection over the worksite and the workers every day!

Chuy and Joaquin stopped in several times during the past month to help with hauling and mixing and whatever else was needed. The walls grew quickly and by November 8th, the guys were almost ready to start pouring the top cadena.

The last of the brick work was completed November 11. Hurray!!!

The Slippery Slope, Part 2

2011-12-09T08:43:00.001-07:00

We finished the ramp a couple of weeks ago -- construction has continued at a very brisk pace, even though our internet came to an almost complete standstill. I kept taking pictures, though, so here are some pics of the last section of the access ramp!

Quite an improvement from the 2x12 board balance on the stack of bricks!!!

They Keep on Moving Along

2011-11-04T17:19:00.002-07:00

A few pics of the fellowship center construction. Today the guys poured the concrete "cadena" which ties the corners and walls together.

I don't know why, but pouring concrete always gets a bit tense. Whether it's something as small as a doorpost or as big as a roof, there is always a moment of "tension". Sometimes there's more than a moment.

In today's drama, there were two groups. One group was preparing the mold and wiring up the last sections of metal.

The other group was mixing the concrete and pouring the cadena.

The tension started when the pouring group caught up to the preparing group...and found a section of the mold that wasn't quite prepared.

All work stopped for a moment. Then everyone pitched in and helped get the mold shored up and ready to pour (keep in mind that the cement is mixed, wet and needing to pour).

It all came together without further problems. Evie and I were down at the house, praying!

After lunch, Doug and the guys decided to make the best use of the daylight left and started the last section of the access ramp. We had a couple of spills off the edge of the temporary wooden ramp today. Nothing serious -- just a couple of bruised prides and scraped knees. Glad that the kids' angels were on the job today!

End of the day pic:

Construction Continues!

2011-10-30T17:09:00.004-07:00

Not an overly-creative title, but I wanted to share pics of the center. The guys have made a lot of progress in a very short time!

Doug, Caleb, Jessee and Seth left last Wednesday on the mission trip to Quimichis. Knowing that Julio and Andrew would be by themselves all week (Joaquin can only help off-and-on), the guys wanted to haul as much brick, gravel and sand up to the back hill as possible before they left.

Jessee was up at the break of dawn on Monday and Tuesday. So were the gegenes (really awful biting gnats), which took some of the joy out of the otherwise beautiful morning.

The truck arrived carrying the last of the tabique, rebar and armex that will be needed for the walls. Here's Doug, tossing tabique to the driver.

After they finished unloading the truck, one of the boys ran down to the store for a bottle of Coke (tradition) and Jessee spent the next hour or so talking to the truck driver about Jesus. Pretty cool. We were able to give him a Bible and invited him to stop by again any time.

We got a call from Home Depot saying that the wood we'll need for the roof would be in on Wednesday. The only problem with that is that the van and the trailer would be in Nayarit on Wednesday. So, the manager agreed to hold it for us until Tuesday. Thank you, Lord!!! (Pray that it's there when we go on Tuesday!!!)

Wednesday morning, Julio arrived and he and Andrew worked all day...and into the night.

Thursday and Friday were more of the same, and Saturday was a half-day. The guys are moving right along!

By Friday night, they had finished pouring all the cement pillars and Saturday was spent putting the rebar and armex in for the header.

On Sunday, we all rested (pretty much!), and tomorrow they'll be back at it!!! Woot! Woot!

Quimichis Update

2011-10-28T22:25:00.001-07:00

The mission team from Vida Nueva Church left for Quimichis, Nayarit, on Wednesday morning. Via Facebook, I saw that they had arrived safely and then later got a message from Doug saying basically the same thing. Today I had a chance to talk to him briefly by phone. He said that the village where the team is ministering doesn’t have very good cell coverage, so this morning, when the team traveled into the city to share at the local prison, he took a moment to check in at home.

[Funny side note: I had left my cell phone at home while I ran to Boca for a moment. As I was driving home, our friend Esteban flagged me down on the boulevard and said, “Here, talk to your husband.” Unable to reach me on my phone, Doug had called Esteban to see if he could find me. I just love our town.]

So, the mission team is doing great. They have split up a bit and are staying with various brothers and sisters in the Church. Doug said that their time of sharing in the prison went very well. He did some teaching and the boys had a chance to share testimony. The conference being given in the evenings is going very well, also. The people are responsive and hungry to hear and learn from God’s word.

I’ll share more when I know more and will post photos too, Lord willing. (Jessee left without his camera, but I’m certain that someone else is taking pictures!)

Continue to pray for this mission and for the Church in Quimichis. The team will be returning on Monday.

The Slippery Slope

2011-10-21T10:22:00.000-07:00

The temporary ramp up the back hill, pictured here, was just too steep. Our desire was that the fellowship center be wheelchair accessible (thinking of you Rebecca and Ana Laura!!! :^) ) and also that we'd be able to move sound equipment, the pool table, air hockey table and etc. up the hill easily. The first ramp was just plain scary. The boys joked about BMX bikers and skateboarders on the hill -- it was that steep.

Because of the distances we were working with, the final project is still a bit more inclined than the "ideal", but it's very workable. I think that if you were in a wheelchair, you would want someone pushing behind, but at least you won't feel like you're going to tip over backwards!

With the form built, it was time to start mixing the concrete. Doug had a group huddle to explain to the boys how to mix and move the material and then they all got to work (not like they hadn't been working hard all day!). It was late afternoon by the time the ramp was ready to pour, but we knew that if we could push through and get it poured, it would be ready to use the next day. That was good enough incentive for everyone to work "just a little while longer".

As the wheelbarrows full of concrete came down that slope, I found myself praying -- frequently!

This part of the project went pretty smoothly. As they climbed the hill, though, there were some stressful moments. Everyone was growing tired, the tools were growing heavy and tempers seemed to be growing short. I wish that I could say that we all stopped working and prayed and then everything went fine. I think that if we HAD stopped working for just a moment and prayed, everything would have been great. We didn't. Sometimes it's just really hard to remember that we need to STOP and pray! Sometimes stopping just doesn't seem possible -- or it's not possible.

At any rate, we did make it to the top with only some slight mishaps -- including a toppled wheelbarrow full of concrete -- and moderate frustration. Andrew and Julio are still friends -- even though they were really picking on each other by the time they finished! :^)

I showed up just in time to get my picture taken. My job was to run the edger to make the edges smooth.

Then we used a broom to give a slight texture.

And in the morning:

No more slippery slope! Hurray!!!

And the Walls Go Up!

2011-10-21T09:11:00.001-07:00

Construction has begun on the Nueva Esperanza Centro de Convivio -- the New Hope Fellowship Center! I'll just post pics, since that's what everyone likes best, and add captions here and there as they seem appropriate!

First things first: we need a sidewalk and an access ramp.

Carting buckets of gravel and sand up that hill was getting really tedious, so a ramp needed to be built.

I'm not sure how much of an improvement this ramp was, especially when it came to moving the cement mixer.

That ramp was only temporary, though. The REAL ramp was still to come!

Baptism at the Beach

2011-10-21T07:53:00.000-07:00

A few days before our planned departure from Arizona, we sent emails to our friends in Mexico. We wanted to give them an idea of our return time -- everyone likes to show up to welcome you home if you've been gone a long time.

The note I got back from our friend and sister, Eugenia, was encouraging and funny at the same time -- and it was SO Mexico! "Hermanos," she said, "we are so happy that you'll be home soon!" She then shared all that had been going on in the Church since we left. She concluded with this sentence, "So we're having a baptism on Sunday afternoon at your house." I love it! Of course we were excited about the baptism; we were also touched that the people know us well enough to know that we would not have any problem with 80 people coming over to our house for a fish fry and baptism.

The youth all got together to play a little basket ball before lunch.

As it turned out, the fish fry happened in Alamito -- which I think worked out much better -- and folks only came over briefly to baptize one brother. It was a great time of fellowship! Having all three of the Vida Nueva churches together at once was really special. I love how these three congregations work together as a family.

It took a while to get the gas tank set up. It's always a challenge to get all the tools and parts necessary to complete a task!

With the gas working and a windblock set up, Brother Mailo started frying the fish. He fried a A LOT of fish!!!

On a Sunday afternoon, the beach at Ensenadita is generally pretty crowded. This Sunday was no exception. However, when we pulled out the guitar and began singing praise and worship music, people stepped back and let us have a little patch of beach to ourselves.

After baptizing 3 people at the beach, we piled back into the vehicles and headed over to our house. We even picked up a few new people, as some of the people at the beach wanted to come back to our house -- they were old friends we hadn't seen for quite a while.

It was fun to have such a big group at our house! We haven't done it for a while, and I realized how much I've missed big get-togethers. I'm thinking that we need to do this more often!!!

July Mission trip to Quimichis

2011-10-20T20:18:00.003-07:00

In July our family along with 9 other people from Vida Nueva Church piled into our van and headed south to Quimichis, Nayarit. I've been wanting to post photos ever since, but time just keeps getting away from me! Now, however, another team is preparing to travel to the village of Quimichis. I decided that I absolutely HAD to get the photos from the first trip posted -- before the team left on the second trip!

And so, here we are -- a bunch of pics from our time in the village of Quimichis. It was truly amazing. I'm not sure if the photos will convey everything I'd like to share, but maybe you'll get a feel for what the village is like and maybe some idea of what we did while we were there.

Crossing the state border from Sinaloa to Nayarit, vendors line the road. Every one of them is selling sliced mango and dried shrimp. Bet you can guess what fruit was in season!

When we arrived in Quimichis, I grabbed my camera and just started taking pictures. I just love this shot!

This is the house across the street from where we stayed.

While we waited to find out where we'd be sleeping, the kids pulled out a soccer ball and taught the neighborhood kids a new game: dodge ball! It was a hit!

This man has a huge basket on the back of his motorbike. He rides up and down the streets of Quimichis every day, selling bread -- and OH it was good bread!

This is the house where we stayed for the week. The family who lives here told us to make ourselves at home. They decided to take advantage of having someone to watch the place and went on a vacation!

Throughout the week, children stopped by. Several times we noticed that we had quite a group of youngsters hanging around, so Evie and Sister Eugenia did an impromptu kids' class.

Children weren't the only ones who stopped in to visit. Seeing that several of our team members played guitar, a couple of young men from the village stopped by to "jam".

It was decided that the outreaches would be held at the intersection. The men dug a hole -- yes, right in the middle of the street -- for a post to hold up a tarp so that the sun wouldn't be too strong and so we'd have a few moments to quickly pack up electronics, if it started to rain (which it didn't -- total miracle!!!).

Everyone pitched in to prepare meals. Shelling this many shrimp is definitely a team project!

Felipe and Yadira and their family share some traditional, ranchero-style music at the beginning of each of the 3 outreaches. (I took video, but our internet is WAY too slow to upload it. :^) )

Our drama teams shared a different drama each night. They were very impacting!

After the dramas, kids under 12 were dismissed for a kids' class which was hosted by Sister Blanca and the youth. If it looks like some of these kids are older than 12, that's because they are. We had about 40 kids the first night and as many as 60 the last night. It was wonderful! A bit stressful at times, but wonderful!

Every morning, our team gathered out in front of the house for group devotions. By the second or third morning, we had 5 or 6 people from the village join us. One woman walked all the way across town, just so she could join us to pray and read God's word.

We saw God work in so many ways during this trip!!! The whole trip was covered in much prayer and fasting, and we believe that this made all the difference. Looking at these pictures reminds me of so many stories! I do want to share one wonderful thing which happened...

In this photo, Pastor Misael is sharing Jesus with a man who lives a couple of doors down from where we were staying. The night before, the man and his wife had been sitting outside one their porch, enjoying the cool breeze, when Eugenia, Misael's wife walked by. She stopped to talk for a few minutes and learned that the woman, who was sitting very still, had suffered a stroke 12 years ago. Since that day she had not been able to talk coherently, only could walk with assistance and needed constant care. Eugenia told me later that she looked into the woman's eyes and saw confusion; when she tried to talk, she only babbled. Eugenia asked the man if she could pray for them. When he agreed, she laid her hand on the woman's shoulder and prayed for healing. Then she said goodnight and went "home".

The next evening, the man and woman were out on their porch again. This was the second night of the outreach, and the music was going strong. Eugenia caught my attention and told me to look at the man and the woman -- he was singing, and she was clapping. He reported later that she had awakened that morning in her right mind and talking normally.

God is so good, and His mercy is forever!!!!

Thank you again to each of you who supports us with prayer! We believe that we saw God work in so many powerful ways because of the amount of prayer being lifted on our behalf. I don't know how it works, but the Bible does say that the "fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much". I don't understand it, but I'll take it!!!

The Bread Store

2011-09-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

Hay pan! Hay pan! Bien rico y calientito!
Translation: Bread! Fresh, hot bread!

On the road as we drive from Tamazula to the church in El Serrano, we pass through several small villages. At the point where we turn off the road to begin driving through corn and potato fields, there is a bread store.

There are three giant, brick and mud ovens which are fired up almost daily to make the most amazing and wonderful white and whole wheat bread. Some of the breads are filled with Mexican raw sugar, piloncillo, and some are filled with sweetened squash, calabaza.

Whichever way you slice it, this bread is good eating!!! Every time we drive past, if there's bread on the table, we try to stop to buy a special treat for everyone in the car. The mid-day meal being the big meal of the day, supper, or cena, in our part of Mexico is often only a bread with juice or yogurt or maybe some fruit. We're always glad when we can "break bread" with our brothers and sisters in Christ!!!

Día del Niño

2011-08-22T07:42:00.007-07:00

Arriving home from furlough in April, we hit the ground running. Actually, it feels like we haven't stopped since!

The 30th of April in Mexico is "Día del Niño". We always celebrate with a children's party at the church -- piñata, cake, games, music. Iglesia Vida Nueva held their kids' party the first Saturday of May in the village of Tecomate, a suburb of Guasave.

This year, thanks to an amazing young lady in the US with a heart for children, we were able to give a baby doll to each little girl who attended the party. For the past year, families across the US have been sending baby dolls (new or gently used) to "Baby dolls for Mexico". We were even able to save some baby dolls for our planned Christmas outreach in the migrant camp! God is so good!

This little girl was so in love with her baby, she didn't put it down the whole day. I saw her a few days later and her grandma said she's been carrying her baby around all the time. What a joy!

We had a collection of wooden cars and trucks which another mission team had gifted us, so we were able to share with all the little boys who came. We're thinking, though, that maybe in addition to "Baby Dolls for Mexico", we might want to start "Hotwheels for Mexico". ;^)

Here are some more random shots of Kids' Day 2011 --

Hermana Eugenia leads the kids in a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the wonderful gifts He provided: the cake, the music, the sno-cones, the games, the clowns and of course the toys!

The ladies of the church really outdid themselves -- they even made sandwiches for each child!

We brought our handy-dandy sno-cone machine (a gift from a church in Tucson) with plans to make sno-cones for everyone. Arriving, we discovered that the power system (the church is powered by a car battery with a converter) wasn't strong enough to run the machine. So, we packed up the machine and buzzed over to the pastor's house where we were able to shave the ice and then cart it back over to the church. It was, most definitely, worth the effort!!!

Working with children here is totally rewarding! Yes, there are struggles -- just like in the US -- but the kids here are so ready to smile and they have such faith! Pray that God would be glorified in their lives and that He would care for them and provide for all their needs: physical as well as spiritual!

April Showers...or Not

2011-04-22T09:17:00.009-07:00

Spring in Las Glorias brings foggy mornings, sunny afternoons, cool evenings and starry skies at night. Paradise.

Except for the fact that we always seem to be struggling to get water to the house.

Our drinking water isn't a problem, since we purchase water in 5 gallon jugs from the purification station. The "house water", though, arrives to us via PVC pipes from the village water tank, falls into our 5000 liter cistern and is then pumped to the tinaco on the roof as needed. Usually. But not lately.

Since we got home, we've been basically out of water. Luz and Jorge, the water people in our village, have been wonderful about sending water trucks over once in a while, but it's been a bit stressful. Ah, life on the beach!

One really nice thing about a water shortage (I can only think of one) is that the cistern is totally empty. What a great opportunity for some spring cleaning!!!

Seth volunteered to help with this project. Actually, I think he was pressed into service, but he did his job heartily, as unto the Lord!

I was reminded of why we don't drink our tap water as I watched the guys haul up bucket after bucket of sludge from the bottom of the tank. Yucky!!!

With the arrival of semana santa (Holy Week), we were prepared to finally receive water -- our nice clean tank waiting expectantly. Yesterday, Thursday, the water began to fall and we all cheered and sent up a prayer of thanksgiving.

Why are we so overjoyed at the sound of water falling into the cistern?

I guess hardship and struggle are just a part of life. Honestly, I sometimes wonder if they aren't the better part -- without hardship and struggle, how can we truly appreciate abundance and peace?

Thank you, Lord, for the lessons you teach us during those dry, difficult times!!!

Home from Spring Furlough

2011-04-16T20:41:00.001-07:00

The original plan was to leave Arizona on Tuesday, but we were delayed and ended up heading south on Wednesday morning.

Our trip home was pretty good. We crossed the border with no problems, but got examined thoroughly at every place we could have. I gave out a lot of tracts.

After a good day of driving, we stopped in Ciudad Obregon for the night. The second day as we were coming through the last mountainous pass before Los Mochis, I threw my belt. It was a little scary since the steering and especially the brakes weren't too good without the power assist. Once again God gave us a great place to pull over. Good thing too because the heat skyrocketed almost instantly. The belt, although chewed up a little, was fine. The top idler pulley had lost its bearings and seized and kicked the belt off.

A couple of minutes after we pulled over, a patrol of federal officers stopped behind us. They we're extremely nice and helpful. After trying to help me rig it to limp along to Mochis (didn't work), they me drove to a junk yard twenty miles away where I found the part I needed for $10. Then they flagged down a bus to take me back to the van and my family. They even gave me their 18" inch screw driver to help get my belt back on. I offered to buy them a Coke, but the only thing they wanted was a thank you. I was really impressed. Where I come from, I don't think the police are allowed to help people in that way, even if they wanted to.

The bus driver dropped me off right on the highway where my van was and even gave me the water I needed to refill my radiator. We were able to witness to several people through the experience and from the time we broke down to the time we were on our way again was a only little under two hours.

As we pulled back onto the highway, we were reminded of how our God provides for us. We had been able to pull off the road almost immediately when the van began to overheat. That in itself is a miracle, since the highway has no shoulder and was very curvy and hilly. We rounded the next bend and once again praised God. The next several miles looked like this:

To God be the glory!
-- Doug

Fully Armored Kids

2010-11-06T10:36:00.003-07:00

Ephesians 6:10-11 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

That's the theme of the kids' class that Sarah and Caleb are doing for the kids of Iglesia Vida Nueva (New Life Church), in Tamazula. They started with a look at why and with whom we are at war and are now learning all about the various parts of our Christian armor.

While the parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles are at the church, all the kids are across the street at one of the church member's house. There have been some challenges. For instance the church doesn't have portable tables or chairs, so we had to transport the table from our house. The kids persevered, though, and the class has been a great blessing.

With the change in daylight saving time, we've had to adjust the class time to earlier in the day. The house where the kids meet doesn't have electricity, so Caleb sets up spotlights for game time and runs an extension cord across the street from the church. Not ideal, but it works!

The students do a craft project, listen to a story/lesson about the armor of God, play some games, sing songs and -- of course -- have a snack. The class has become such a success that even some of the neighbor kids whose parents don't attend the church have started coming. Sarah said that she doesn't want to exclude them, so as long as they're behaving well and not causing trouble, they're welcome. Great outreach, eh?!

Last week was supposed to be a lesson on the Belt of Truth, but a child in the village had a birthday. In Mexico, that means that every child in a 3 or 4 block radius, and everyone who is even remotely related by blood or marriage, is invited to celebrate. When the party ended, most of them came to the class, but they were so wired on sugar and red 40 that trying to rein them in for a Bible lesson seemed next to impossible. So, they just played some running games and sang songs. Flexibility is most definitely a key to children's ministry, no matter what country you live in!

Special thanks to the children of Saguaro Canyon Church in Tucson! They saved up to give an offering to our ministry. With it, we were able to purchase all the supplies necessary class: scissors, glue, paper, etc., as well as workbooks for each of the kids in the class. What a blessing!!!

Back in the swing of mission trips!

2010-10-25T21:10:00.013-07:00

It's been a while since we posted here! No excuses -- just a lack of internet and a lack of time! Now that we're back online, albeit buzzing along at a whopping 52kbps via a dial-up connection, we'll be able to share some of what we are up to now. It might take a while to catch up, but I think it can be done!

Rather than start back in August and then try to get current before the current becomes the past, I thought perhaps I should start with the "now" and then move backwards little by little until I fill in all the gaps. It should work. I mean, after all, this is a virtual scrapbook and you can always jump around in a scrapbook, right? Sure!!!

So here we go...the present!!! This is the end of October. The weather has shifted, and the days are now beautifully warm and the nights have a distinctly "autumnal" feel to them. We have entered into the Wonderful Time of Year, climate-wise, and are enjoying it fully!

Two weeks ago, a mission team from the state of Washington came down. We were invited by the hosting missionaries to tag along as interpreters and also to help with transportation. God worked it out so that our entire week was free to spend time with this team and with the body of believers in Guasave, Tamazula and Alomito. God is so good!

Here are some photos of the team and some of the things we did during the week. Some of the things not pictured are the outreach at the local prison, the pouring of the roof at the pastor's house in Guasave, the picnic afterward, several different excursions to the ocean, a fishing excursion with a bit of excitement, and a trip to the Guasave open-air market, to name a few. With so many hundreds of photos to choose from, one has to make some tough decisions, you know!

Friday night the alliance of churches in Guasave sponsored a youth concert at the church of Betesda. The team shared a powerful drama about mankind's need for a savior.

Saturday morning, the church of Tecumate (another section of the city) hosted a youth conference. Two of the visiting American missionaries were invited to speak and the youth were really encouraged. It was good to see a few new faces at this youth event! Sarah and Caleb joined up with Josh and Becca and another friend to lead the worship.

Sunday, we attended the church in Tamazula, which is where we do weekly parenting classes. Having the American team there for a Sunday service was a real treat -- I think as much for the Americans as for the local church! The Mexican brothers and sisters were encouraged by the team's presence -- that they came down, even though the whole world seemed to be warning them not to -- and by the love they showed. The American team members said that they were touched by the local church's love and acceptance of them and also by their passion for prayer and for the Word. It was a beautiful thing to see the Church working together as one in Christ!

At the end of the church service, the pastor invited anyone who wanted to pray or to be prayed for to come forward. Practically the entire congregation moved.
During the course of the week, we did a lot of running around and ended up exhausted by the end, but it was a very good sort of exhausted -- very fulfilling! We've missed having mission teams come down to work alongside of us. Now that we're back in "Mission Team Season", we're looking forward to being able to connect with more teams from the States.

Sunday night, we made the inevitable trip back to the Tufesa bus station to bid farewell to our brothers and sisters in Christ. That will never be the easy part of mission teams. Fortunately, we know that as Christians, our good byes are never permanent! They're just, "See you later!"

Not a Good Sound

2010-08-06T09:15:00.003-07:00

We like to have Spanish Bibles on hand to give to people who ask for them. You'd be surprised how many people in Mexico don't have a Bible in their house -- even Christians! Why? Well, reading is just not a popular pasttime here, for one. Many folks just don't read. Another reason, though, is that they're a little spendy. If you bring in a little over $200 in a month, it's hard to justify spending 10% of that to purchase a book -- any book! So, when we travel to the States or when teams come down, we try to get inexpensive, paperback Bibles which we can hand out.

That said, we had an opportunity to give a Bible away on Tuesday. The husband of a Christian sister in Reforma had asked Braulio if he could find a Bible. Braulio asked Doug, and Doug dropped it off for the man, Ernesto. Ernesto works at a local shrimp farm as a manager. On Monday, the shrimp in a couple of the tanks just started dying for no apparent reason. Not knowing what else to do, he drove a mile to the beach, got out of his truck and just cried out to God. He spent some time there, and when he returned, the shrimp had stopped dying and it looked like things were improving in the tanks. He praised God for the miracle and immediately went to Braulio to share what had happened and to ask for a Bible.

We left the Bible with Braulio on Tuesday, said a prayer for Ernesto and went on with our day.

Last night, Thursday, Doug and I headed into town for our weekly "date" (that's where a husband and wife go out and buy groceries together and do all the other errands that need to be done for the household). We got to go see a movie, too, so it was more "date-like" than usual! Driving home late, in the rain, we were enjoying each other's company and wondering if we would have electricity at the house when we got home, when suddenly we heard a funky clunky sound. It was not a good sound.

Our first thought was a popped tire, which would have been a bummer, but when the engine died and steam came up, we knew it wasn't a tire. Here's where God's provision over every part of our life became (once more) evident:

Along the last 10 mile stretch of road to our home there are exactly 3 places to pull off the road safely in the rain. The rest is all steep shoulder and 6 inch deep mud. The Bad Sound happened about 50 meters from one of these pull-outs.
Traffic along this road at night is scarce. People traveling from Las Glorias after 10pm are usually drunk and people traveling toward Las Glorias...well, you generally wouldn't want them to stop and help you.
There was a truck about 2 miles behind us which drove past and then pulled over when the driver saw us with our hood up.
As we stood in the pouring rain thinking, "Who is this guy, and do we trust him?", the man rolled down his window and said, "Douglas, right? I'm Braulio's friend. I'm from Reforma."
"You're Claudia's husband!" we said.
Ernesto's truck had 4 wheel drive, so he could pull us up the muddy hill and back onto the road and he even had rope to haul us with. His rope and Doug's chain gave us just enough distance to tow -- if not comfortably -- at least safely!

So, what was the bad sound? I have no idea. We're leaning toward blown engine. Esteban's coming over later and they're going to tow the van to a mechanic in Palos Verdes. Pray that the mechanic will be able to fix the problem, that parts will be available, that God would supply the funds necessary to fix it. Praise God for all the ways He's already supplied in this situation and praise Him that now we have a friendship with Ernesto. He said that he was wondering where we lived and tried to find our house to thank us for the Bible. Now he knows where we live!

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. -- Romans 8:28

Fun Fact Friday -- Cookies!!!!

2010-07-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

I've been negligent in my Fun Fact Friday posts, but I think I'm getting back in the swing of things!!! Here's this week's fact.

When I was a little girl, my mom took me to Brown's Bakery about once a week and let me buy one of these little guys:

I have fond memories of all the little Gingerbread men lined up hand to hand and toe to toe -- each with different colored frosting. Mrs. Brown used the leftover frosting from her cakes to decorate the cookies, so sometimes they were rainbow colored. I especially loved those!!! They were yummy, too!!!

Well, a while back I discovered a new Mexican cookie: the cochi.

Yes. It's a pig.

Just like every "man" cookie you see in the US will probably be a Gingerbread Man, every pig cookie you see in Mexico (or at least in Sinaloa!) will be...a Gingerbread Pig.

"I am the Gingerbread Pig, I am. I can grunt. I can, I can!"

Hmm. It doesn't have the same ring. But it was definitely tasty!!!

Do you have a fun fact to share? Link up below!!!

Wordless Wednesday -- Clowning Around!

2010-07-28T11:15:00.004-07:00

Well, it's pretty much wordless!

Here's us being clowns at a birthday party in Reforma last week. We did the "Jesus is the Key to Eternal Life" drama.

Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Reaching out to Families

2010-07-27T17:19:00.004-07:00

One of the ways our family has been reaching out to the families around us is by offering free parenting classes. We’ve recently started another session in a village about 30 minutes from our home. This is our 4th week of classes and the response has been wonderful!

Sarah, Caleb and the rest of the gang are in charge of “childcare” during the classes. The first week, they had about 25 kids show up. Afterward, Sarah asked the pastor’s wife how many kids should be there each week. Eugenia said that there should only be about 10. Apparently the neighbor kids saw a fun thing happening and wanted to be included. Sarah laughed and said that she’d have to work at keeping it interesting and fun, but not so fun that every kid in the village wants to come!

Originally, seventeen people signed up to take this class. It’s now grown to 21 – that’s almost half the church body! We’re excited about what God’s going to do in the lives and homes of these parents and grandparents as they put the Biblical principles into practice.

Rebecca’s started a pretty-much-weekly sum-up of the main points of the lessons. If you’d like to check it out, click here to visit her blog.

Pray for these families! We know that raising children isn’t easy. We can all use all the help we can get, right?! Also pray that God would open doors for another class in Las Glorias. Several couples have expressed interest, and several single moms, too. Pray that we would be able to find a day when all of those who are interested can attend the classes and that God would provide the materials needed!

New Kids on the Block

2010-07-22T07:55:00.002-07:00

Some friends in Los Mochis who run the deaf school (where Sarah volunteered last school year) were gracious enough to loan us a couple of kids for the summer! Meet Andrés and Juanito:

These boys are wonderful! It's been a while since we had "little ones" clomping around the house on a regular basis. I've certainly missed it!

To be sure, our house is seldom what you would call "quiet" and never "boring", but adding an eight and nine year old to the mix has given us some neat reminders of times past and some new experiences -- for our two youngest especially!

Observations:

Juanito goes everywhere at a run and talks 200 mph. Until he gets tired and then he just stops.
Andres is fascinated by the "nature" we have around here. He spent almost an hour the second day he was with us watching the male cardinal and searching for the female.
Having a younger sibling is a new experience for Evie -- she's stepping up!
Our Andrew loves being big brother to little brothers.
Caleb is the little boys' hero...especially after this incident:

That's a "culebra pollera" (chicken snake) going after our new baby ducklings. Caleb is holding the machete so I could take the picture.

I think Juanito and Andrés enjoy having 4 big brothers as much as the big brothers enjoy having two more little brothers to goof off with!!!

Cool Photo Thursday

2010-07-22T07:14:00.003-07:00

I see so many interesting sights here. Thought I'd share one today.

Wonderful old tree outside the church in Tamazula, Sinaloa, Mexico.

Preparing for Rain

2010-07-15T11:40:00.003-07:00

It's that time of year! Hurricane season is upon us, so we're battening down the hatches and trying to finish up some outdoor projects we've been putting off since last rainy season.

Here are some pics of Doug, Andrew and Sarah tearing down our tejaban (awning) and replacing the palm fronds and the old, shredded tarp.

Sarah pulled down all the old fronds -- including the buckets and buckets of concrete debris from all the construction we've done over the past two years.

Doug and Sarah hauled the old tarp away from the house -- you should have seen the dust cloud when they pulled that thing down!!! That's why Doug looks like this:

Doug Vader

The city workers had just trimmed the palms lining the boulevard, so Doug and the boys went out and gathered what we needed.
Then up went the new tarp.

Carefully.

And then they were done! Hopefully, this means that when the rains come we won't have a lake in front of the house. That is, at least, the plan!!!

Lord, bring the rain!!!

Attention Grabber

2010-07-08T07:59:00.003-07:00

We were in Home Depot a couple of weeks ago and I noticed this near the checkout...

I watched the crowd grow for a few moments and wondered what everyone was looking at. No one was moving...

Wanna guess???

Mexico vs. Italy

The World Cup is such a big thing here, the schools dismissed classes or brought TVs into the classroom so that the students (and, more importantly, the teachers) could watch the games. At least they have their priorities straight. :^)

Guasave Campaign

2010-06-03T08:04:00.003-07:00

Last night we went to a compaña in Guasave. The word compaña translated directly to English is “campaign”. It’s not, however, a campaign the way most Americans would think of a campaign. No politicians make speeches and no one passes out “VOTE” buttons. There were “campaign posters” around, since Sinaloa is preparing to elect a new governor, but the compaña was not a political meeting.

The Guasave Alliance of Pastors hosted a large prayer and praise outreach in downtown Guasave. And the city gave permission for them to block off one of the main boulevards to do it!

The banner says, “Guasave, Jesus is your answer!” You can tell by the speakers that the band came prepared to praise!

I’m not sure what the final head-count was by the end of the evening, but when the music started there were at least 200 people seated. The location was perfect. In addition to chairs and benches, the park next to the street was full of people who had wandered past and stopped to listen.

It was good to gather with believers from all around – many of whom we hadn’t seen for ages. It was also good to see many new faces, since church members were asked to invite non-believers to this event. We packed 18 people into our van (some from the church and a couple from the community, too).

The theme of the night was that Jesus Christ is the answer for all of our struggles. Only God has the power over despair, fear, loneliness, illness and whatever else is threatening to overtake you. It was a very timely message!

Like we shared in our last newsletter, the gospel message should never become old news to us! When we have an opportunity to hear it again, we should, and when we have a chance to share it, we should do that, too!

Doing Hard Things: 2010

2010-05-15T19:40:00.011-07:00

On January 3, 2010, a team of young adults came down on what we hope will become the "first annual Do Hard Things mission trip". Although this trip was not sponsored by the organization, the team was comprised of members of The Rebelution: a group which encourages young adults to rebel against the low expectations which our society has of them and to step out and do hard things for God. That was their goal and, in our opinion, they more than surpassed it!!!

I could write several pages about how this mission team came together. I'm not going to. It was just a God thing. God put the idea in the heart and mind of a couple of young people to travel down here and put a roof on the upstairs of our house. Then He laid it on the heart of several people to give toward that project. Along the way, He raised up a couple of young ladies who have a heart for children and who wanted to do something special for the kids down here. They put together duffel bags full of toys and candy for the children and sent them down with the team. It was amazing, and it was something that no person could have orchestrated. It was simply a God thing.

Youth from 6 different states met in Tucson to travel down by bus. Doug and Sarah traveled up to Tucson to meet them. After a long-and-not-terribly-comfy 16 hour bus ride from Tucson, the gang arrived at our house mid-day. This is what they saw:

We told them that we had planned to take it easy the first day so that they could get rested up, but they wanted none of that. They rolled up their sleeves (actually, I think most of them put on T-shirts!) and dove in!

The girls, not to be outdone, jumped in with as much enthusiasm.

Lest you think that all they did for a week was haul concrete...there was much planning to be done...

And one must eat!

And clothes must be washed...

...and gift bags made for the children's outreach...

and cookies!!! We really must have cookies!!! Lots of cookies!!!!!

God worked it out so that not only was the team able to take gifts to the 25 or so kids at the migrant camp, but they were also able to be present for Samaritan's Purse: Operation Christmas Child at the church in Boca. What a blessing!!! One of the young ladies is from Nebraska and was sitting next to a little girl whose shoebox was from...Lincoln!!! Wow! She was able to take a picture of the little girl and send it to the church who sent the box. Unexpected blessings!!!

Did I mention that we had to eat? Yes, we ate a lot.

At the migrant camp, the team shared a drama which Sarah taught them.

Jesus is the Key to Eternal Life!

At church, they shared their hearts and sang Amazing Grace...in 8 part harmony. Wow.
And on their last day, everyone mounted the ladder to stand on the roof to say..

By the power of God, we did hard things for Christ!!!!!

And then they left. And that was a really hard thing.

The Coult Family, The Powell Family and our Hard Things Family

Road Hazards

2010-05-15T12:18:00.004-07:00

Driving in Mexico is seldom boring. Over the past 4 years, the main interstate, Mexico 15, has been completely resurfaced from Nogales to Mazatlan. This makes the trip a little smoother and a little safer, too.

One still has to stay alert, though, since things aren’t quite as predictable here as they are in the US. Cars, trucks and buses share the road with tractors, bikes, pedestrians and from time to time with donkeys, goats and cows.

At times, and with little or no warning, the direction of traffic will change and the two-lane divided highway you’re on will become a two-way, single lane road. This can be a bit startling if you’re not paying attention!

Traffic can stop unexpectedly, too. Occasionally traffic stops are caused by accidents, but more often the road becomes blocked by…different things. Here’s an interesting shot I took a few weeks ago as we traveled Mexico Interstate 15.

This unfortunate (and apparently inexperienced) truck driver was trying to make a left turn across the oncoming two lanes of traffic onto a ranch road. I suppose he didn’t realize how heavy he was, nor how low that low-boy was riding. He was very stuck, very high-centered and was going nowhere. When we passed, the second semi had hooked up with a chain and was trying to pull him up and over the hump. I somehow don’t think that effort was successful.

Strangely enough, traffic barely slowed down. Cars, trucks and buses alike nonchalantly drove down into the median, around the stuck truck and back up onto the pavement.

I would imagine that most of the passing motorists’ sentiments were similar to ours as we passed: “Bummer.”

Furloughs in a Nutshell

2010-05-05T05:19:00.003-07:00

Well, we’re back in Mexico after a brief home-assignment in Arizona, California and Oregon. It’s good to NOT be on the road! Every six months, we travel a ridiculous amount of hours squashed into the van with a ridiculous amount of stuff. Every trip we tell ourselves, “This time we’re not coming back down with a bunch of stuff.” Every trip, however, God blesses us with so many things which are useful for our ministry in Mexico. How can we say no, simply because it makes us a little crowded?

I’ll post a few highlights of our furlough later, but for now I wanted to give you an idea of what it’s like to travel with a missionary family on furlough.

The Mexico leg of the trip is generally pretty relaxed. No seatbelt law means that we can utilize the space in the back of the van as a bed. Very nice…for the first 14 hours or so. Then we cross the border. Click it or ticket!!!

We found the piece of plastic bag tucked behind the Mexico side of the sign comical. You have to travel in Mexico a bit to understand why.

The first 10 to 12 hours of any trip are pretty easy. Sure, it’s a little uncomfortable, but hey – it’s just one day. Tonight you’ll get to stretch out and relax. But then, the next day comes, and it’s another 12 hours in the van, and last night every time you stretched out you kicked someone in the head. He then promptly, in his sleep, whacked you back. Plus, you forgot your foam mattress, so the cement floor just wasn’t as cushy as you would have liked. Tempers are short, bums are numb, backs are achy…and then there are the kids. ;^)

[Seriously, the kids seem to travel better than this grouchy old mom. I was such a whiner this trip!!! God was faithful though, as always. Remember 2 Corinthians 10:13 -- "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. But God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted above that which you can bear but will, with the temptation, provide a way of escape for you.” I just needed to stop my complaining and praise Him and suddenly the trip went much faster, the kids were kinder to each other …and I slept much better. Funny how it works like that!!!]

The third and fourth days are just a lot of this…

and this…

the kids see a lot of this…

I get to look at this handsome guy!

Some of the kids read.

Once in a while I pass back my camera and they do a lot of this…

It is, after all, what we’re doing. Driving. Of course, they also take tons of photos of each other’s nostrils and big toes. Whatever works to pass the time as we travel along, singin’ a song, side by side…by side…by side…by side. You get the picture.

Every once in a while we have to deal with this…

Or this…

…or maybe this…

For those not terribly familiar with wheels, that’s a blown bearing. Bummer. Fortunately, we didn’t have any of that this trip. Thank you, Lord!!!

So, there’s my peek into the travels of a missionary family. Yep, it’s pretty boring. We make our own fun playing the ABC game and doing “I spy” lists. We did discover that while the Mustang is one of the most ridiculously popular cars in the US, there aren’t very many in Mexico, so if you’re doing an “I spy” game and “Mustang” is on your list of things to find, you need to find it north of the border. On the other hand, “Herd of goats” will be harder to find in the US (at least until you get to Oregon!), so you should always check your list so that you know where you’ll look for each item. Also, you should specify, when putting “Moving Tractor” on your “I spy” list, whether or not it needs to be moving on its own power or if a tractor moving on a trailer counts. That’s assuming that you play “I spy” and that your family is as competitive as ours. ;^)

I’ll write a more interesting post later!!! I promise!!!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-22T20:08:00.005-07:00

What an incredibly full month we've had this month...and it's not over yet! Much as I'd like to post tons of photos and stories, there just isn't time right now. We have one mission team here, another arriving tomorrow night and a third coming in on Sunday. Two days after they leave, Doug and Sarah will be heading to Arizona to meet another team. Wow! We are so incredibly blessed by all these folks who have a heart to serve their God in Mexico! We're praying that we'll be a blessing to them as well!

Hopefully we'll have time to post some updates in the next few days. Until then, Sarah made an "e-card" to share with you all.

Have a blessed celebration of our Lord this week! Our prayer is that you'd have a few moments of quiet so you can listen to His still, small voice!

A Walk in the Park

2009-11-20T17:47:00.004-07:00

Parque Villa de Fañe in Guasave is absolutely gorgeous this time of year. The city has been renovating it, so it's very different from the park we used to visit when we first came here. A small railroad runs around the perimeter of the park, the city pool has been patched and painted and is now open to the public (for free, no less), the old and incredibly dangerous slippery slide and broken ferris wheel have been removed and the swings and monkey bars have been spiffed. Even the small "zoo" (I use that term loosely) has been cleaned up and the animals look to be in better shape (still makes me sad to see them in captivity, but at least their habitats are clean.) In short, it is a great place to spend the day!

Yesterday the Baginsky family left for their home in California. They spent about 3 weeks with us hanging out and experiencing our life and ministry here. Micah and Doug spent a lot of time planning our upstairs addition (keep praying about that!!!) and even got a couple of cool projects done. Emily and I spent a lot of time in the kitchen (by choice) and the kids mingled and meandered and just generally enjoyed each other's company. We just love when missionaries come to visit!

I have about 200 photos from our time in the park. Don't worry, I'm not posting them all here. You only get to see about a dozen.

I was really happy to see that they hadn't removed the carosel. It still isn't fixed, but it's so...quaint! Don't you agree?

The Baginskis and the Coults (minus Sarah)
Like the watermelon? More about that later!

This park is a favorite with the boys because of the great skateboard area. Mom, on the other hand, prays a lot when we go there!

A beautiful place for a picnic lunch or just a walk in the shade.

Proof that Doug and I were there!

We were sad to see our new friends leave, but so blessed that we were able to spend time with them praying, working and playing, too! God is so good to us!

Playing Baseball till the Cows Come Home

2009-11-17T05:48:00.005-07:00

About a month ago Joaquin, one of the brothers in the church, approached Doug about starting a baseball camp for the kids of the area. It didn't take a lot of persuasion to get all our boys interested!

The kids from Boca meet with kids from the local village of Alomito six days a week (two days for each of three age groups). Joaquin played semi-professional baseball for several years and is passionate about the sport. Joaquin's passion for baseball paired with Doug's passion for youth is making quite an impact on these young men!

The majority of these jovenes come from homes where the father is either absent or totally disinterested in the raising of the children. Along with instruction in baseball, Doug and Joaquin are hoping to instill in these boys a sense of accomplishment, personal responsibility and dependability. It's a big job!

Each day's training session starts with a time of warm-ups and a couple of laps around the cow/baseball field.

Most of the older boys have already been playing baseball for a few years, but have had little or no serious training. The biggest challenges in this group are breaking bad habits and overcoming bad attitudes. However, the men's consistency, along with their baseball ability, is winning the young men over. Even though several of the boys have found themselves running laps because of disrespect or lack of attention, they keep coming back and are improving with every training session -- both in skill and in attitude.

The men also struggle with the lack of equipment. We haven't had any serious injuries, but at least one black eye could have been avoided if we'd had batting helmets which fit all the kids. Of course, if the kids didn't horse around so much, there would probably not be as many fat lips and bruised knuckles, either, but better equipment won't solve that problem! We call that "self-correcting behavior". In the older group, Joaquin and Doug frequently have to tell the pitcher to slow down his pitches, since they don't have catcher's gear.

When Joaquin showed up at practice with a big piece of fishing net and a piece of rope, the younger boys wondered what he was up to. He tied the net into a nearby bush, but still the boys didn't see the purpose.

Only when he lined them up and demonstrated a proper batting stance, did they understand the point of the net. Pretty creative and worked like a charm!

I don't normally try to upload video, but I wanted to share this. Most of you won't understand what Joaquin is saying to the boys, but you'll definitely understand the boys' response to his demonstration.

The boys were obviously impressed!

Practice ends when the local cowboys herd their cows through the baseball field. That's the signal that the day is ending and it's time to wrap things up!

With the help of Doug's sister and brother-in-law in Oregon, we're making an effort to raise funds and gather equipment (new and used) for all the kids. If you're interested in helping with this project with either a financial contribution or the donation of used equipment, please send us an email at allcreationsings@hotmail.com !

Fishy Fellowship

2009-11-05T06:21:00.004-07:00

On Tuesday, Doug and Esteban took Andrew out fishing (early birthday present). They did well -- although they missed the tide on the way back in and ended up having to haul their nets a bit farther than they had intended! Oops!

They arrived home tired and dirty...and just in time to leave again for our Tuesday night Bible study. One of the wonderful things about the culture here is how flexible everyone is. That can be a frustrating thing when you're trying to actually get something done according to a time schedule, but generally it makes life flow a little more smoothly and less stressfully.

Instead of rushing around trying to eat supper before we left, we just left and took supper with us! When we arrived at Lupita's house, she had just gotten home from Guasave, so bringing supper along worked great for her, too!

I felt bad about her having to make all the tortillas for the group, but she insisted that #1 You can't eat fish with flour tortillas and #2 She'd much rather make corn tortillas than clean fish. I had to agree with that! We let the menfolk take care of the fish-cleaning while Basi and I chopped veggies.

A missionary family from Sacramento arrived on Sunday and it was great to be able to share our friends with them. Unfortunately, we're having to share them with the mosquitos, too. Ugh! Poor thing!

We're praying for a couple of cold nights and cloudy days so the mosquitos die down a bit. Meanwhile, we swat and put on repellant and stay indoors between 5 and 6 in the evening. To be honest, repellant doesn't work that well. The best way to keep the skeeters away is...smoke.

So, we have now celebrated Andrew's birthday twice this year -- and his actual birthday isn't until Saturday. Lucky kid! Tomorrow we're having a pizza party with the neighborhood kids. Of course, I'll take lots of pics of that, too! Now that the duck has moved out of the brick oven, we should be able to use it to cook in!

As we were leaving the get-together on Tuesday night, I heard Lupita say to Julio, "Parties that just 'happen' are always better than those that you have to plan." I'd never thought about it, but it's so true! How many times have I stressed over the preparations for a birthday party? Way too many! I'm learning from the people here to just let life "happen" a bit more and not try to regulate it so much. It's hard for me, but God is faithful!

Fall in Sinaloa

2009-10-27T18:06:00.003-07:00

Well, we haven't posted much lately, have we? You know it's been a long time when you can't remember your username and password! Sorry about that. With the cooler weather here, I should be able to find more energy and time to keep you all updated!

It's late October in Las Glorias and the heat has finally rolled out to sea. Hurricane Rick blew past us last week and it looks like he took all the humidity with him. Thank you, Lord!

Now we begin preparations for our winter mission teams who will be coming down soon. In fact, our first team should arrive next week. Keep them in your prayers! They are a family from Sacramento.

In the meantime, we've been doing some "yard beautification" during the past week. A friend gave us some laurel branches to plant. They say that all you do is plant them and water them and in a few months we'll have trees. We'll see what happens! It will certainly be nice to have shade on the house when summer comes back around.

You have no idea how wonderful it is to be able to work outside -- in long pants, no less -- without sweating...too much! The kids are still splashing around in the pool, but it's pretty chilly now when the breeze picks up. The evening temps inside the house now are in the upper 70s. Brrrrr! ;^)

Fishing season is in full swing. While the quantity of shrimp leaves a little to be desired, the quality is out of this world! One of the brothers brought these little beauties over last week. They hardly deserve to be called shrimp!

Continue to pray for the fishermen of our village. With the small amount of shrimp coming in, one would expect the prices to go up. This hasn't been the case, though. The selling price is lower than ever, which makes life very hard on these poor fishermen -- fewer shrimp and lower prices for the ones they do catch.

Sarah continues her work at the deaf school in Los Mochis. Practically the whole school came over last weekend for a day at the beach. We had a blast! It was so good to have Sarah home -- even if only for a couple of days! You can click over to her blog to read her weekly updates. She is adjusting well to life as Teacher and is excited to see what God will do in her next weeks there. She will be at the school full-time until Christmas. After that, well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there!

Meanwhile, kids' classes continue at the church in Boca del Rio. We started the new year in October with new teacher and a new system. God is growing our children's ministry. Hurrah! We've been averaging about 50 kids per week for the Saturday classes and many of these kids have been coming on Sunday morning and Wednesday afternoon church services, too. Wow! Last week, for example, we had 28 kids at the Wednesday prayer service...and only 14 adults showed up! Pastor Ricardo quickly adjusted his message to suit a younger audience. Flexibility is definitely a key to life in Mexico!

Please pray for the children of Boca del Rio. There is so much lack and despair in their lives. Pray that the church would be able to reach out to them and demonstrate God's love for them.

Well, it was a short update, but at least you know that we're still alive and kicking here in Sinaloa!!! More posts will follow -- and, Lord willing, with more regularity!

Que Dios les bendiga!!!

Still Building after all this Time

2009-07-25T18:32:00.004-07:00

We lived in our house in Oregon for nearly 10 years and only finally "finished" it a few weeks before we sold it and moved to Mexico. Maybe living with construction is just our lot in life. Perhaps we just became so accustomed to it that we can't imagine living in a house that's actually completed.

Living in a construction zone is a great way to train your boys...and your girls for that matter! Because of the time we spent readying the Oregon house to sell, Sarah is an excellent drywaller. All our kids know how to work with hand tools and aren't intimidated by power tools either.

It's great having our own work crew. When the last load of tabiques (bricks) showed up, the kids had them unloaded and onto the roof almost before I had a chance to grab the camera. While Ramon was working upstairs, Doug was free to work on his other projects as needed, since all 4 of the boys took turns hauling sand and gravel upstairs. (You parents of toddlers, take this to heart! Train them well now, and they'll be a blessing in due time!)

We received a gift last month which enabled us to build a little more on the upstairs of our house. We're excited to see the kids' rooms begin to take shape!

The custom in our part of Mexico is to save money until you have enough to purchase the materials you need for a section or room and then build the room. When you run out of materials, you're done with construction and you begin saving again. I guess we're building according to custom!

Our prayer is that we'll be able during the next year to work our way around the upstairs adding a wall or two at a time to complete the bedrooms. As each room is finished, we can build a temporary wooden roof with a steel frame, similar to the one we built over the first upstairs room.

Once all the walls are finished, either a concrete roof can be poured or possibly a more solid, permanent wooden or thatch roof. We are leaning toward a material other than concrete simply because of the amount of heat the concrete traps. There is a reason ovens are made of brick!

Lord willing, once all the rooms upstairs are walled and roofed, we'll finish the wall downstairs and divide the ground floor into two large rooms. One room will be the kitchen/dining room/homeschool/meeting room and the other will be Doug's taller (pronounced "tah YEHR" and means workshop). Then when the guys from around town show up with broken tools to weld, they can do it in the shop, rather than in the living room. Not that it really matters too much, but welding in the living room is a little distracting when you're trying to do a history lesson at the kitchen table only a few feet away.

God continues to teach us new lessons as we deal with unfinished floors, plastic tarp walls, holes without windows, temporary stairs and the seemingly incessant "tyrrany of the urgent" which comes from living life in a house in progress.

One thing we've discovered: by building our house slowly and living with it in its "rustic" state for the amount of time we have, we've proven that we're not rich, and we can more closely relate to the issues which face most of the families in our village. Issues such as leaky roofs, holes which let mosquitos and other unwanted visitors in and not having air conditioning, to name only a few. Not only can we understand our neighbors better, but they can understand us, too. It's all part of that missionary lesson called Cultural Adaptation 101.

Summer Mission Events 2009

2009-07-25T14:13:00.002-07:00

I always struggle when I post about the mission teams which come down to serve with us. Not because there's not much to share, but rather that the sheer number of photos, funny stories, spiritual applications, growing and stretching moments (for all involved!) is so great! How can I limit my posts to what will load quickly on the page and not bore or confuse readers beyond belief?

This summer we hosted two mission teams back-to-back. It was an absolutely wonderful time from the moment the first team arrived to the moment the last team left. After that, we were tired; it was a good tired, though!

The team which came from Sacramento, California, hosted a kids' festival the likes of which hasn't been seen in Boca del Rio since...well, since I don't know when! As usual, language wasn't much of a barrier to these missionaries!

Enjoy the snapshots!

June's Youth Prayer Meeting

2009-07-25T13:38:00.003-07:00

Each month the area churches' youth groups congregate to pray and fellowship together. Our turn to host this meeting came in June. We worried that since we are so far "off the beaten path", few churches would drive all the way out here. Boca del Rio is situated at the end of a 20 mile stretch of narrow, two-lane highway. We were sure that our neighbors in Alomito would come, but from as far as Guasave? We weren't sure.

We were pleasantly surprised! Approximately 50 youth from the area churches came to join us in prayer for our church, our village, our state, our nation, our world and all the authorities in it. A truly annointed time it was!

In addition to the visiting youth, eight missionaries arrived from Sacramento the same day. It was a blessing to be able to include them in our fellowship and prayer time.

During each monthly meeting, a special time is set aside for evangelism and intercession. Teams were formed to go into the streets of Boca del Rio to pray and hand out tracts. People were also invited to come to the meeting.

One benefit of having our church services outside now is that people don't have to actually "come in". You can hear the message just as clearly standing on the corner or sitting on the steps of the market next door.

After the time of prayer and a short teaching time led by Braulio, the American team led the youth in some fantastic ice-breaker games. What a blast! Unfortunately, since it was a Sunday night, the kids had to return home relatively early. The swine flu scare and the subsequent school closures forced the schools to extend classes another two weeks. Bummer. We were sad to see the night come to an end, but encouraged by the new friendships we had forged.

I have a feeling that youth groups all over Sinaloa will be playing Dog/Car/Tree for years to come!!! (You just had to be there!!!)

Tamales with a Purpose

2009-07-11T07:51:00.004-07:00

Here's another "picture-full post" about what the ladies of the church have been up to lately.

Maria and Pedro, one of the couples in the church, are going through a hard time right now. About a year and a half ago, Pedro started forgetting things. Silly things like the words to his favorite hymn and how to play a G chord. Faster than you could imagine, his memory faded and dementia began to set in. He was diagnosed with Alzheimers last fall and now needs 24 hour supervision. He wanders the streets with a bit of a lost look on his face. Once in a while he has clear moments, but they're becoming fewer and farther between. (You can read more about Maria and Pedro here.)

The medicine Pedro needs in order to stay coherent and to be able to sleep costs almost $100 a month. Maria's only income is from the small abarrotes (like a mini-mart) which she has in her house. She said that she averages about 30 pesos a day profit. That's about $3 US, so you can see the problem.

The women of the church decided to gather every Tuesday to make tamales to sell. The proceeds go to Maria to purchase the medicine Pedro needs. It's been a real blessing to their family, and it's a blessing to us as well. It gives us a great opportunity to get together and fellowship!

So, here are photos of the hermanas (sisters) and our tamale fest.

Sister Yesica separating and prepping the corn husks which will be used to wrap the tamales.

Sister Lina is the official masa mixer! Everyone tastes it as the mixing progresses, giving their opinion about the texture, saltiness, oiliness, dryness until everyone is satisfied. That sometimes takes an hour of mixing and testing!

Meanwhile, the other sisters are chopping the veggies and shredding the meat we'll use to fill the tamales.

Sister Armida is making the picadillo -- the meaty filling. The towel on her head is the "multi-purpose towel of Mexico". It's a sunshade in this photo. If you look closely at the pictures, you'll see that most of the ladies carry a towel or wash cloth around with them. In the States, everyone carries a cell phone. Here, we carry a hand towel.

Once all the ingredients are ready, the fun begins. Here you see one of our American missionaries, Rachel, trying her hand at pressing the masa into shape. She did very well!!!

When the tamale shaping begins, the fellowshipping really gets going. We tend to get a little silly! These are my dear friends Pily and Cris. I'm the white chick, obviously.

Once all the tamales are shaped and wrapped, they're placed in the really big pot and set over a fire to cook for a few hours. Here are Rachel and Armida with our day's work: 150+ tamales.

Fun Fact Friday -- Spanish Vocabulary

2009-07-09T12:07:00.014-07:00

This week's Fun Fact Friday is a Spanish vocabulary lesson.

Our topic is Mariscos!!! In English: Seafood!!!

Living in a fishing community, we've learned a lot of Spanish words and phrases that you wouldn't necessarily learn in your regular high school Spanish class.

Here are a few...with visuals!!!

Tiburón -- Shark

This one was a female!

Ostión -- Oyster

Caracol -- Snail

Camarón -- Shrimp

Pescado -- Fish

Pescado Frito -- Fried Fish

Almeja -- Clam

Almejas Asadas -- Roasted Clams (Bien ricas! Yummy!!!)

Jaiba -- Crab

And finally, here's a Spanish tongue twister:

Tengo un barco camaronero. Desencamarónemelo.

Translation: I have a shrimp boat. Take the shrimp off of it for me.

Hope you enjoyed this Fun Fact Friday! Thanks for stopping by!

Good, Clean Fun

2009-07-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

July in Sinaloa. Daytime temps well over 100. Humidity above 75%. Wherever there's water running, there you'll find children playing.

Fun Fact Friday -- The field mouse

2009-06-26T00:01:00.001-07:00

I haven't done Fun Fact Friday for a while. Frankly, I've been pretty busy and by the time I realize that it's Friday, it's actually Saturday. But this week I'm sharing, and I hope you enjoy!

Some time ago a bunch of us ladies went to the river for a picnic. When we were getting ready to leave, we lit a fire near an old tree stump to burn our garbage (not the best option for styrofoam, I know, but it beats throwing it in the river!).

Suddenly, a big mouse burst out of the tree stump and scuttled away into the bushes. Some of the ladies gasped and a few screamed. A couple of us trotted over to see what else was under there.

Huddling under the stump was a mama mouse and her two babies. When she saw us, she took off running...with her babies attached!

The mama mouse with her babies.

Both little ones were holding on for dear life to their mom's teats (mammary glands, if you prefer).

This little guy was holding on for dear life. Meanwhile, half the ladies were yelling, "Kill it! Kill it!", while the other half were pushing in for a closer look.

With all the jostling around trying to get a good picture, one of the babies ended up letting go. Gloria promptly picked it up and plopped it into a cup so I could get a close up. Isn't he cute??? I never knew that the mama mouse could carry her babies away in the event of an emergency. Just one more way that God looks out for His creatures, eh?

If you'd like to participate in Fun Fact Friday, leave a comment and be sure to include a link to your post. (I'm still working on getting the Mr. Linky thingy to worky!)

One Step Closer

2009-06-22T07:13:00.002-07:00

Karen and Mavil are two young ladies who have a very special place in our hearts! They are both Boca del Rio natives who graduated from the school of ministry last year and they both believe that God is calling them into full-time ministry in Africa.

They have been working and praying to raise the necessary funds (which are sizable!) and about a month ago they reached a milestone...(insert drumroll!)

Karen and Mavil finally got their passports!!! Hurrah!!! Praise God!!!

Be praying for these young missionaries. They are both serving here in the local church, but their hearts are already with the children at the orphanage in Africa. Pray that God would bless them abundantly and that His will would be done in their lives!!!

Church Service "al fresco"

2009-05-30T12:53:00.004-07:00

In January, a team came down from Southern California. Their main goal during their time here was to build a roof over the second story of the secondary building on the church campus.

The project turned out beautiful and the whole church was excited to imagine church services in this open, shaded area during the heat of summer. No one dreamed of how absolutely wonderful it would be!

The first wave of heat rolled in about a month ago and everyone in town pulled out their fans and dusted off the AC's. After a couple of weeks of sweating through Wednesday afternoon prayer meetings, the leadership decided to move the meetings to the "upper room". Last Sunday was our first Sunday morning service in the new location.

The breeze is fantastic and the view is spectacular. The added bonus is that anyone passing by is free to stop and listen...in fact, they don't have a lot of choice!

Ladies' Bible study met upstairs on Friday and the youth will be using it this evening.

What a blessing!!! A special thank you to CCRSM for their generous gift to CC Boca del Rio!!! Pastor Ricardo sends a special thanks to you guys!!!

Mother's Day Tradtion

2009-05-23T13:30:00.004-07:00

This is our 4th Mother's Day in Mexico. Wow! Time flies!!!

As we have each year, we ladies piled into our van and headed to the river for a "ladies' day out". This year's lunch was posole (a personal favorite!) and as usual we had a blast! Here are some photos of our day...

That's a serious pot of stew!!!

A special time of singing...

A time of teaching from the Word...

Prayer and fellowship...

Food, of course!

And of course time to just relax and have fun!

Yep. That's why I hate piñatas!!!

The water baloon toss!

We laughed and laughed and laughed...until we cried!!!

Here are the ladies of the church...plus a few! We managed to talk a few of the other moms from the village into coming along with us. A week or so later, Sister Virginia shared at Bible Study that her daughter, Myrna, had been really touched by her time with us. She hadn't really wanted to go, because she didn't think she'd have any fun -- and she didn't think she'd be accepted by the group because she's not a Christian. She was proven wrong on both counts!

Pray for these ladies and also pray that we would be able to reach out to other women of our village this summer. We're hoping to have a couple of women's "play days" in the next few months where we can invite more ladies from outside the church to participate.

Fun Fact Friday -- The Jumping Chollo Cactus

2009-05-22T07:02:00.006-07:00

The Chollo Cactus

(also referred to as the dreaded jumping cactus)

Native to Southern Arizona, California and of course Mexico, this cactus is near and dear to our hearts. Like most cacti, the Chollo requires very little water to live. This makes it the ideal garden plant for dry arid climates. NOT!

I've seen gardens in Arizona with this rather pretty cactus, but my first thought is always, "Why?" My second thought is usually, "They must not have kids or dogs."

The jumping chollo cactus received its reputation because of the ease with which the cactus spines detach from the "mother plant". Unlike the porcupine, which throws its quills out, the chollo detaches a small section of itself which is covered with quills. When the unsuspecting victim saunters past, lightly brushing the cactus, the section detaches and the quills implant in the victim. If the victim happens to be a long-haired collie with a bushy tail, the quills tangle mercilessly in the hair and must be cut out. Any attempt by a human to remove them is met with extremely sore fingers...even if wearing leather gloves.

So, why did God create the obnoxious chollo cactus? Well, the cowboys here make a tea from the spiny sections which, reportedly, is good for the kidneys and for the urinary tract. I prefer Hibiscus, myself -- it's a lot less painful to harvest!!!

Mister Linky is having trouble this week, so if you want to participate in this week's Fun Fact Friday, simply leave a comment below and be sure to include the link to your post!

Hope you learned something new today!!!

River Baptism

2009-05-19T05:47:00.006-07:00

Baptisms here are a really big deal! Our church was invited on Sunday to attend a baptism at our sister church in Compuertas, which is a small town near Los Mochis -- about an hour and a half away. Several believers had come forward to be baptized. Yeah!!!

Early Sunday morning, we piled people, chairs, ice chests and of course lots of food -- it was a picnic, afterall -- into our van, Pastor's station wagon and Braulio's car and headed for Calvary Chapel Compuertas.

Along the way, we were pulled over by a federal police officer. He just asked where we were from and where we were headed and then sent us on our way. We figured that he was making sure we weren't kidnapping American kids, since the van was full of Mexicans with a bunch of little white kids peeking out the back window. Ricardo and Braulio got a chuckle out of it. Anyway, we arrived at the church without further incident and then took off for the river which was a few miles north.

As we turned off the highway, we saw this mountain. It's hard to see in the picture, but it says, "Jesus te ama" -- Jesus loves you!

Here are some photos of our very full day...

Pastor Israel shared a message explaining the importance and significance of baptism.

The youth shared a skit depicting the things which stand in the way of our coming to Christ and His ability to overcome those things.

We took some time to pray for the 12 people who were to be baptized.

Pastor Israel talked a few moments with each person. While the baptisms were going on in the water, on the shore folks were singing and clapping.

This is Adrian. He's a phenomenal guitarist. Notice anything about his guitar? I didn't realize it until we got home and were talking about his amazing gift...the guitar's upside down. Adrian is left-handed and plays the guitar flipped over. And I was impressed before!

As soon as the baptism was over, the kids ran for the water. We had a huge group -- well over 100 people -- and pretty much had the river to ourselves most of the afternoon. We had grabbed the spot where an old rope swing dangled over the water. After we determined that there were no submerged rocks or logs and that the water was deep enough, the swing became the focal point of the kids' time.

Armida almost went off the rope swing. Just as she was about to jump, her foot slipped a bit and she said, "No puedo!"

Of course not everyone was really into the rope swing. Some people just splashed in the shallows, some played with the volleyball and everyone ate...a lot!

We headed home in the late afternoon -- tired and a bit sunburned, but praising God for a fantastic day and a great time of fellowship with our Christian brothers and sisters from Compuertas!

Fun Fact Friday -- the Bread Lady

2009-05-07T08:45:00.008-07:00

In the early afternoon in Boca del Rio, just after school lets out, the relative calm of village life is broken by the squawk of a loud speaker...Hay pan! Pan calientito! Bien rico y sabroso!

Victoria, the bread lady, is ready for business!

Most of you reading this post have an oven in your kitchen. That's not such a common thing in this part of the world! A small village, the size of Boca del Rio, might only have half a dozen ladies who have gas stoves. Some families have crudely constructed brick ovens in their yards, but an indoor gas oven is very uncommon! The majority of the family's meals are prepared over fire in an outdoor kitchen or perhaps over a small, table-top gas burner.

Fresh bread is something people don't get everyday...unless some dear lady in the village like Victoria decides to make some to sell.

There are a couple of different varieties which are common. White bread is called pan de harina while whole wheat is called pan integral. The most popular bread in our area is called pan de mujer, which literally means "bread by women". This bread is fairly flat and usually has a filling of piloncillo, which is similar to brown sugar. Victoria also makes bread with cooked squash -- like pumpkin -- inside. Yummy!

Some afternoons, she makes empanadas, too! We compare empanadas to PopTarts, but waaaaay better!!! If you'd like to try to make empanadas at home, you can check out this recipe with instructions and photos, too!

Victoria's bread is a "must try" when you come down here! It was definitely a hit with our friends from California who were down last month!!!

Swine Flu in Sinaloa

2009-05-05T18:58:00.004-07:00

First of all, let me say that...there isn't any. At last report, the flu H1N1 has been confirmed in 3 Mexican states, and Sinaloa is not one of them.

Our village, like every other village in Mexico, has been shut down for the past week and a half, but other than the usual coughs and colds, we are healthy. Schools were closed, church services cancelled, and our annual kids' day party was postponed. Bummer.

Lord willing, we'll be celebrating dia de los niños on Saturday. I'll post photos when we have them! Until then, do keep us in your prayers. The colds which have been circulating for the past month are bad enough. We certainly don't need a flu bug, too!

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,

but against principalities, against powers,

against the rulers of the darkness of this world,

against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Blanketing La Pitahaya with Love

2009-05-05T07:26:00.004-07:00

A team from Southern California came down for spring break and brought with them a neat gift for the ladies of the nearby village of La Pitahaya (pronounced La pit AH ya). Inmates of a prison in the States had made a collection of quilts and blankets to give. We had a fantastic time giving them!

La Pitahaya is one of the villages we were able to bless with the Samaritan's Purse shoeboxes this past Christmas. It was very special to be able to bless the moms this time!

The village is situated right on the river at the end of a dirt trail which bumps across the salt flats. They have no water, no electricity, no stores, no church. Once they had a small one-room schoolhouse, but they have been unable to find a teacher willing to stay here, so all the children must walk to Boca del Rio (about 2 miles) to go to school.

Fishing is the main -- and basically only -- industry. Doug's friend, Chabelo, rents his services as a guide to American and Canadian tourists and fishermen during the off-season.

We piled our family, Pastor Ricardo and his family, some youth from the church and the CCRSM team into the van and away we went.

Villagers listened attentively while Ricardo shared about Jesus' love and sacrifice for them. He shared powerfully and we had a great time of prayer afterward.

As we were preparing to leave, a few of the women of the village said that they would like to start a weekly Bible class. We were excited about that, since this village has been very closed in the past.

A week later though, when the day arrived for the study, the town was quiet. No one was home. Karen said that even the dogs were hiding. So, we continue to love them. We continue to pray for them and we will continue to visit and build relationships.

John 13:35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples:

if you have love for one another.

Cinco de Mayo -- Fun Fact Friday

2009-05-01T00:00:00.003-07:00

Time for Fun Fact Friday again. Yes, I know it's been "just me" for a while. That's OK, though. I'm having fun sharing interesting facts/stories about our life here. Someday, others may join in, but until then -- here we go with another fact about Mexico!!!

We had a few young men over today for Doug's discipleship class. Doug asked them what they celebrated on Cinco de Mayo. They were clueless. OK, time for a history lesson for all of us!

I got this great article about Cinco de Mayo from a site called "Viva! Cinco de Mayo! State Menudo Cookoff." I'll take a "pass" on the menudo but this is a great article!

The 5th of May is not Mexican Independence Day, but it should be! And Cinco de Mayo is not an American holiday, but it should be. Mexico declared its independence from mother Spain on midnight, the 15th of September, 1810. And it took 11 years before the first Spanish soldiers were told and forced to leave Mexico.

So, why Cinco de Mayo? And why should Americans savor this day as well? Because 4,000 Mexican soldiers smashed the French and traitor Mexican army of 8,000 at Puebla, Mexico, 100 miles east of Mexico City on the morning of May 5, 1862.

The French had landed in Mexico (along with Spanish and English troops) five months earlier on the pretext of collecting Mexican debts from the newly elected government of democratic President (and Indian) Benito Juarez. The English and Spanish quickly made deals and left. The French, however, had different ideas.

Under Emperor Napoleon III, who detested the United States, the French came to stay. They brought a Hapsburg prince with them to rule the new Mexican empire. His name was Maximilian; his wife, Carolota. Napoleon's French Army had not been defeated in 50 years, and it invaded Mexico with the finest modern equipment and with a newly reconstituted Foreign Legion. The French were not afraid of anyone, especially since the United States was embroiled in its own Civil War.

The French Army left the port of Vera Cruz to attack Mexico City to the west, as the French assumed that the Mexicans would give up should their capital fall to the enemy -- as European countries traditionally did.

Under the command of Texas-born General Zaragosa, (and the cavalry under the command of Colonel Porfirio Diaz, later to be Mexico's president and dictator), the Mexicans awaited. Brightly dressed French Dragoons led the enemy columns. The Mexican Army was less stylish.

General Zaragosa ordered Colonel Diaz to take his cavalry, the best in the world, out to the French flanks. In response, the French did a most stupid thing; they sent their cavalry off to chase Diaz and his men, who proceeded to butcher them. The remaining French infantrymen charged the Mexican defenders through sloppy mud from a thunderstorm and through hundreds of head of stampeding cattle stirred up by Indians armed only with machetes.

When the battle was over, many French were killed or wounded and their cavalry was being chased by Diaz' superb horsemen miles away. The Mexicans had won a great victory that kept Napoleon III from supplying the confederate rebels for another year, allowing the United States to build the greatest army the world had ever seen. This grand army smashed the Confederates at Gettysburg just 14 months after the battle of Puebla, essentially ending the Civil War.

Union forces were then rushed to the Texas/Mexican border under General Phil Sheridan, who made sure that the Mexicans got all the weapons and ammunition they needed to expel the French. American soldiers were discharged with their uniforms and rifles if they promised to join the Mexican Army to fight the French. The American Legion of Honor marched in the Victory Parade in Mexico, City.

It might be a historical stretch to credit the survival of the United States to those brave 4,000 Mexicans who faced an army twice as large in 1862. But who knows?

In gratitude, thousands of Mexicans crossed the border after Pearl Harbor to join the U.S. Armed Forces. As recently as the Persian Gulf War, Mexicans flooded American consulates with phone calls, trying to join up and fight another war for America.

Mexicans, you see, never forget who their friends are, and neither do Americans. That's why Cinco de Mayo is such a party -- A party that celebrates freedom and liberty. There are two ideals which Mexicans and Americans have fought shoulder to shoulder to protect, ever since the 5th of May, 1862. VIVA! el CINCO DE MAYO!!

Fun Fact Friday -- The Sinaloan Moving Van

2009-04-23T15:15:00.003-07:00

In the course of our 17 years of married life, we've moved a few times and each of those moves had its "memorable moments". There are a couple of pictures in my mind of very precarious loads -- one being the time we fastened the galvanized dog kennel to the flatbed trailer and piled all our earthly belongings into the "cage". I'm sure we were quite a sight, but we were nothing compared to this photo taken on Highway 15 in Mexico!

As far as I know, there are no "U-Haul" type places down here. If you want to move it, you just move it. Hey, you'll notice that this guy does have tail lights. Pretty snappy! Note: this is one of the reasons we recommend that you travel during daylight hours in Mexico. You don't want to miss these photo opportunities!!!

Thank you, Benjamin Franklin

2009-04-10T12:27:00.001-07:00

This week's Fun Fact Friday is about a funny cultural difference between Mexico and the US. Even things which look the same "on the outside" are sometimes very different here! Take, for instance, Daylight Savings Time.

Daylight savings time, which was first suggested by the famous inventor Benjamin Franklin, is not the same all over the world. We received a note some weeks ago from a friend in the States reminding folks to move their clocks forward. Unsure whether or not Mexico changed on the same date, we Googled. Sure enough, Mexico is different. In Mexico, clocks are changed on the first Sunday of April.

Funny thing is, no one really talks about it here. I remember in the States there were bulletins on the nightly news, blurbs on the radio and -- as mentioned before -- people sending out friendly reminders via internet the day before the time change. Do I need to say that we missed the time change?

We showed up an hour early on Sunday to prepare to lead the worship service and found Pastor Ricardo standing at the door. Almost immediately we knew what was up. "Did the time change today?" we asked. "Yes. Church is over and everyone's gone home." Liar. We laughed.

So what do churches do here when more than half the church doesn't show up on time? We postponed church to 11. After all, it's not like anyone really had any place else they had to be!!!

We are improving. Last year we didn't realize that the time had changed until the Monday after. Yes, life is a little more relaxed here!

Fantastic Fifteen

2009-04-08T13:30:00.003-07:00

The quince años, 15 year, birthday is a big deal in Mexico. Some families spend as much on the XV birthday as they would on a wedding...or maybe more. Even poor families sometimes borrow $1000 or more to be able to purchase a fancy dress, flowers, cake, etc., etc., etc. Plus the fact that you just can't have a XV party without a meal. We learned that when our daughter, Sarah, turned 15.

The XVaños ceremony symbolizes, in the Christian church, the coming-of-age of the young lady and celebrates the fact that she has reached womanhood and has dedicated herself to remain pure until marriage. One person described it as a wedding ceremony without the groom. That's not far from the truth! There is as much or more symbolism in the XV ceremony as there is in the wedding ceremony!

We went to a XV party on Saturday. True to the nature of small birthday parties here, most of the village showed up to help celebrate. Here are some photos to give you a "feel" for the atmosphere.

Here is the quinceñera with her ladies in waiting (15 of them) and their escorts.

The girls are always very excited to be included in the ceremony.

The boys, not usually so much!

The father of the quinceñera prays a blessing over his daughter.

Muy bonita!

One of the cutests things I saw, though, was this little princess. She and her cousin were in charge of the ring pillow, and they did their job well. Precious, eh?

I think the pink bubble gum adds the finishing touch to the ensemble, don't you?

Los Jovenes -- The Youth

2009-04-08T11:57:00.002-07:00

Our youth group continues to meet on Saturdays -- although last week we cancelled because of a quince años party, and this week we're cancelling because of semana santa. Next weekend, a local pastor is hosting a youth fellowship weekend, which the kids are looking forward to attending.

Two weeks ago, the Guasave Alliance of Churches sponsored a city-wide youth concert. Each church was invited to bring a "youth band" or worship team to share a few songs. Boca's youth band consists of Sarah on guitar and Caleb on drums and neither of them was really excited about getting up to perform in front of a couple of hundred youth. We're praying that God would be raising up a few more Christian instrumentalists in Boca!

We did, however, take a van full of kids to the concert. I think the final headcount was 25.

The concert was great. Several local churches have fantastic worship bands, some of which do tours and concerts of their own. Here are some shots of one of the groups.

It's been, well, awesome watching God work in the lives of a couple of the young men of Boca. When we arrived three years ago, there were no youth in the church. We believe that through our kids' example -- not that they are perfect, but rather that they are genuine -- God has been drawing some of the youth of Boca to Himself. Aby and Esteban stop by our house frequently, usually bringing friends with them, and we try to always be available for them...and to keep a little food on hand for their visits! Youth are, afterall, youth no matter what country you're in!

The guys are planning another "wilderness camping excursion" for next week before the boys go back to school. Pray that God would give Doug insight as he works and plays with these young men.

I noticed at the last youth meeting we had, that while there were about 15 young men and women inside listening to Luz's teaching, another 3 or 4 were standing just outside the church door listening. One young man sat on his bicycle for almost an hour just listening...not moving. I prayed that God would be speaking to this young man's heart.

We believe that God is preparing to do some mighty things in the lives of the youth of Boca del Rio and Las Glorias. It's a privelege to be here to witness it first hand!

Pray for the youth of Boca del Rio!

Fun Fact Friday -- Tope!

2009-04-03T00:00:00.001-07:00

Today's Fun Fact is one of the first things we learned when we visited Mexico years ago.

Anyone who has ever traveled by bus or car in Mexico has seen a sign which looks something like this:

What is a "tope"? Well, it's pronounced TOH-peh and the English equivalent is "speed bump". But you've never seen a speed bump like this in the States!

A tope is designed to slow down traffic. It definitely does its job! Who needs a policeman parked on the side of the road with a radar detector? Just put a 6 inch tall cement hump in the road!

People around here make topes wherever they want to slow people down. The highway department puts topes at the entrance and exit of every small town along the road. In the States you see "Speed Zone Ahead" signs. Here you see "Tope a 100m". If you don't slow down in the States, you might get a ticket. If you hit one of these things going more than about 15 miles per hour, you will be airborn. I would call that self-critiquing behaviour!

In small, rural villages, residents sometimes put topes in front of their houses to slow traffic down. Here's the one we made last week to try to slow down the weekenders who love to go "off-roading" near our house. What do you think your neighbors would say if you suddenly decided to dig a trench across the road in front of your house? In the States you might get sued because someone spilled their coffee when they hit it!

It has succeeded in slowing people down a bit, and some people are avoiding the road all together! Yeah!

Yes, we have acclimated.

Fun Fact Friday -- Family Vehicle

2009-03-27T13:33:00.006-07:00

I'm sure you've heard of a bicycle built for two, but have you ever seen one built for 3 or 4? Well, we have them here!!!

Ramon with his two grandsons in front of the tienda in Boca del Rio

Bicycles are very popular in our part of the country. They're economical and easy to maintain -- even with the corosive salt air. It's not unusual to see a parent with one or even two kids balanced on the bar in front or on the luggage carrier behind.

What's really funny, though, are the mopeds or bicycles with Dad driving, son on his lap, mom behind, baby in her lap and older son standing on wheel pegs. Someday I hope to capture that on film. It's just a matter of being in the right place at the right time...with a camera!!!

Raising the Roof in Mexico

2009-03-23T18:37:00.004-07:00

Well, we're building again! During our winter furlough, God provided the funds necessary to pour a roof on the upstairs section of the house. The boys, well, actually we all are very excited!!! Here's what the house looked like as of 2 weeks ago:

Last Friday the truck from the construction yard showed up...

The guys unloaded the bricks, blocks, steel and bags of concrete and then had a Coke. That's a bit of a tradition here in Mexico: share a Coke with someone!

Once the supplies were ready, it was time for Doug and Ramon to take off the old, wooden roof...

...and attach the forms for the pouring of the new roof.

These two steps needed to be done in one day, since taking off the old roof would leave the house open to the elements and, more importantly, to the mosquitos. Ack!!!

With the forms securely in place, it was time to haul the bricks and the steel to the roof. That was the boys' project for Tuesday. The losetas (flat, limestone bricks) were laid in their place and then the steel reinforcements were put in. This process took a couple of days, but on Wednesday night, the roof was ready to pour, with electrical conduits, light boxes and even a skylight in place (Thanks, Grandpa Tony!).

Thursday was the Day to Pour. Around 8 a.m. or so, we decided that it might be a good idea to move all the stuff under the stairs -- in the off chance that some gunk might come through the hole. Ha! Off chance! More like a sure bet!

Sure enough, one of the guys up top forgot to stuff paper in a couple of the cracks in the form boards.

Cement came pouring through where the daylight is shining in. Oops! Fortunately, there was nothing under the stairs!!! To be honest, when those pebbles and drips came falling in, those of us in the house thought the roof was caving in! Directly below the hole is the metal staircase and the rocks echoed throughout the house as they struck each step on the way down. It made me jump!

The crew of guys from Boca showed up about 8:30 a.m. and began pouring at 9. You could best describe the mood as "festive". I was reminded of the stories I've heard of the old-fashioned barn-raising parties of the pioneer days!

All together, there were over 200 photos from the event. Limiting the number of photos for this post was a challenge! Here are a few to give you an idea of what was going on:

Pastor Ricardo, Brother Aresteo, Caleb and a couple of other guys manned the cement machine.

Cement was mixed in the mixer and then poured into 5 gallon buckets (about half full).

These buckets were then carried to the house and lifted to the roof where they were dumped...

...and then thrown down to repeat the process.

Most of the guys switched places about half-way through so that no one had to carry or lift those 50 pound buckets for the whole time. One guy, though, simply amazed me! He took his stand on the first scaffold at the beginning of the morning and didn't leave. He did this for two hours straight...

All I could say was, "Wow!"

So, by about 11, the roof was poured and the gang took a break for cinnamon rolls and Coca-Cola. Ramon and José Luis spent a couple of hours smoothing the surface and then we called it a day. A very productive day.

The Cachora

2009-03-23T13:05:00.003-07:00

The cachora is called the zebra-tail lizard in English. This is how you can tell male and female cachoras apart. Males have a pair of black or blue blotches on the belly.
Females have no blue patches and their black bars are either faint or completely absent. They are diurnal (they like the daytime). They can even run on their
hind legs for a short distances. In summer 2 to 8 eggs are laid hatching anywhere from July to November.

Fun Fact Friday -- Birthday Traditions

2009-03-20T07:25:00.005-07:00

It's Friday again! Time for another Fun Fact!

Did you know...

In addition to the usual customs of singing a birthday song and hitting a piñata, the Mexican people have a couple of other fun traditions for birthday parties. One tradition is the sharing of a meal.

That's always a great thing! The other tradition is biting the cake.

The birthday boy (or girl) gets to take the first bite of cake. So, he gingerly bends over to take that first bite from the very edge of the cake...
and his good friends, who are stationed all around him, unceremoniously shove his whole face into the cake.

You've gotta love it...unless you're the birthday boy! Happy Birthday, Brother Tito!

Where do these traditions come from? I have no idea! But they're fun!

I can't wait to hear your Fun Fact for this Friday! Link up below!!!

-- Rebecca

Learning to Drive

2009-03-14T15:02:00.001-07:00

Just one more thing that Doug does with all those tools he brought down...

He makes the little kids smile!!!

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and don't forbid them!" Sometimes being a missionary just means having a half-inch wrench and being willing to install a set of training wheels.

Fun Fact Friday -- Fresas con crema

2009-03-13T12:43:00.000-07:00

To kick off this Fun Fact Friday, I thought I'd share a favorite dessert of the people of Sinaloa, Mexico...

strawberries and cream.

No frills, no bells or whistles. Just a little box of frozen strawberries and a little media crema drizzled over the top.

There's a guy who drives around town on the weekend in a beat-up old VW van playing obnoxious ice-cream-truck-music (that tinkly, almost-off-tune kind) and selling boxes of fresas con crema for 20 pesos (that's about $1.50).

It's the stuff memories are made of!

Hope you enjoyed this first Fun Fact Friday! Don't forget to leave your name and postlink below!

The Fun-Fact Friday Info Page

2009-03-10T13:15:00.004-07:00

Fun Fact Friday is a family friendly forum, featuring fun, family-friendly facts for the, er, family. Alright, enough aliteration. I'm sure everyone gets the idea!

This meme is all about learning new things. Every Friday, look for the Mr. Linky here at the The Coult Family's blog. Leave your name and a link to your Fun Fact post (not your main page) so everyone can hop over to your site and find your fact. After you've posted your link, click over to your fellow participants' blogs to learn something you never knew before.

We've made a button to use with this meme. Feel free to use it on your sidebar or in the text of your Fun Fact Friday post.

Fun Fact Friday will start officially on Friday, March 13th, so dig up a family-friendly fact and we'll see you then!

Puttin' on the Roof

2009-03-10T12:24:00.004-07:00

A team from Rancho Santa Margarita, California, came down just after Christmas. One of the projects they worked on was this addition to the School of Ministry campus...

Doug and a couple of the youth from Boca got in on the last days' work. Esteban (Lobito) and Abi got to learn how to use a power drill and a sawsall.

Seeing Doug leaning out over the eaves may not seem too scary...until you realize just how high up he really is. That's why we cover our family with prayer every day!!!

The congregation is so excited about this addition! During the summer months, this will make a great meeting area -- wide open to the ocean breeze, but shaded from the blazing sun. Thanks CCRSM for letting God work through you in this project!

Happy Purim!!!

2009-03-09T20:58:00.005-07:00

Today at sunset Purim officially began! Happy Purim!!!

No, Purim is not a Mexican holiday. I'm sure that some folks celebrate Purim here, afterall, Mexicans really love a good party! Purim is, however, a Jewish celebration.

No, we're not Jews. But Purim is one of the celebrations God told the Israelites to keep -- and it's a good holiday!

Purim -- the Feast of Lots -- from the ancient Persian word Pur meaning "lot". The king cast lots to see which day he would set for the destruction of the Jews. Hence the name.

You can read more about the celebration of Purim at this really neat website I found.

Here's an exerpt from the site:

Purim in a nutshell:
1) An ancient story of court intrigue
2) Deception
3) Miscommunication
4) Drunken parties
5) Assassinations plots
6) A foolish king
7) A delinquent queen
8) Villains
9) A strong hero
10) One beautiful heroine.

This is the stuff of which best-selling novels are made!

Interested? Go read the book of Esther! If you have kids, I highly recommend listening to the Paws and Tales version of the story of Esther (available for purchase here CD, cassette or MP3. Sorry; couldn't find a free version!)...and don't forget to boo Haman!

Let them Eat Corn

2009-03-07T14:11:00.005-07:00

The first harvest of corn is in and the #1 snack of the season is...elotes!

When we first arrived, seeing corn-on-the-cob in street vendors' stands made our mouths water for that luscious, sweet corn of Oregon summer...until we tried it.

This is not that kind of corn.

The corn of our area is a more hearty, starchy variety; more suitable for grinding into cornmeal or using as grain. However, as is pretty typical for the Mexican people, they have found many uses for it, and once you learn how the nationals prepare it, it really is a treat!

Braulio got to man the firepit last Saturday for Cristina (who was in charge of cutting the corn off the cob and seasoning it).

Doug gathered all the kids around for a time of teaching and worship.

Sarah and Caleb led few games which worked up everyone's appetites.

We all gathered 'round for our special snack.

Elotes - corn cooked in a broth of salt and jalepeños, cut from the cob and served with mayonaise, salsa guichol and lime. Yummy!!!

Christmas Shoeboxes

2009-01-23T15:19:00.008-07:00

Pastor Ricardo, Karen, Cheryl (from Oregon) and I drove to a neighboring city to pick up the Operation Christmas Child boxes. I just stood in awe of the sheer number of boxes there! What was so awe-inspiring, was not the boxes really, but rather the thought that each shoebox represented a Mexican boy or girl and an American family who was reaching out to that boy or girl in a very special, personal way.

Never in my life did I think I would be able to visit a distribution point for OCC. This was an absolutely wonderful experience! We saw pastors from every church in our area and from as far as 200 miles from the distribution point. WOW! The men and women who manned the storage building did their "job" with such joy! I didn't see any of the "frazzledness" that might accompany such a crazy project!!! God's Spirit was evident in the peace that permeated the warehouse and the parking lot, too!

So, we brought 300 boxes home to Boca and unloaded them "bucket brigade style" to the upper room of the church...

Then we waited until the appointed day! When the children arrived, the excitement level was high!!! Really high! In a town the size of Boca, nothing remains a secret for long. Even though we tried to bring the boxes in quietly, several of the youth saw us unloading (and a couple actually hopped in the line and helped!) so all the kids knew that this party was very special!

Each child held his gift aloft and followed Pastor Ricardo in a prayer of thanksgiving to Jesus for this special gift and for His great love for us -- that Jesus has given us the most precious gift...Himself!!!

You can read more about the party at Sarah's blog.

To me, though, the most precious time of the whole day came after the big party. We realized during the festivities that none of the children from La Pitaya had come. Why? The family in the village with a car was visiting family in Guasave, so no one came. OK. Now what? If the kids don't come to the party, let's take the party to the kids!!!

Doug ran over to La Pitaya, quickly wrote down all the kids' names and ages (there are only 20 or so) and then ran back to pick out boxes for each child. Then we loaded up with Pastor Ricardo, Cristina and a few others to head for the village.

La Pitaya is a tiny village. All the inhabitants are related in some way. All the men of the village are fishermen and all of them live in what most Americans would call abject poverty. No running water, no electricity, no grocery store, no school, no church, no prospects, no hope. Just a river and dirt. Small tar-paper huts with dirt floors. Outdoor firepits serve as kitchen and dining room.

Pastor Ricardo shared the gospel message, and while he spoke at first to the children about the meaning of the gifts and the gift of Jesus, soon he was speaking to the moms about the hope that Jesus can bring to our lives. Several of the women wiped away tears as Ricardo finished sharing.

Please pray for this village! We believe that God wants to do a mighty work in the hearts of the men and women of La Pitaya. Pray that hearts will be softened and that they would be open to hearing about Jesus' love and plan for their lives!

Here are photos from our time in La Pitaya...

The moms took the gifts for the two 14 year old boys who were out working with their fathers. Much like life in the States in the 1800s, young men of 13 or 14 are expected to pitch in to support the family. In a farming community, that means herding cows. In a fishing community, it means tending nets.

We stayed for a while to see the kids open their gifts. Talk about appreciation!!! This little boy said, "Wow! Gloves! They'll fit all year and next year, too!" The other little boy (red shirt above) had 4 or 5 Hotwheels cars in his box. He was so happy, he was almost crying. His mom was crying.

So we left and headed home -- singing worship songs and praising God. Spirits were high indeed!!!

Then suddenly...we got our van stuck really well in about 18 inches of silt. We prayed and some folks drove by who helped pull us out.

Why did God "allow" us to get stuck in the mud? Who knows!!! We don't believe in luck -- good or bad -- so we tend to believe that everything happens with a purpose. We may never know that purpose here on earth, but if we believe that God is truly working all things together for His glory, then we can rest in the fact that He really does know what He's doing! Maybe we were spared an accident or perhaps the car who stopped was spared. Maybe they needed to hear about the small village that we had visited or maybe they just needed to see that Christians get stuck in the mud, too. Whatever the reason, we were stuck firm and wouldn't have gotten free without help. These guys helped us out, heard a little about Jesus and then were on their way. Maybe we'll see them again someday?

Thanks again to everyone who participated in Samaritan's Purse -- Operation Christmas Child this year: the thousands who sent boxes, the thousands who shipped boxes, the thousands who distributed boxes and transported boxes and prayed for boxes. I don't know how many shoeboxes were shipped to Mexico, but these 300 found good homes...and Jesus came with them!!!

Feliz Navidad!

2009-01-15T20:10:00.003-07:00

Here are a few shots from the church Christmas party...

Tom brought these chairs as a gift from a church in California. Maybe they looked old where they came from, but boy-oh-boy are they pretty here!!!

This is Jasiel's newest cute trick: "Angry Eyes" (I think you have to see the old Toy Story for that to be funny.) We managed to get all the kids up front to sing "Away in a Manger" in Spanish, but since we were all up front, no one took pictures. We didn't warn the kids at all -- yeah, they were a little upset...especially since we made them do the hand motions!!!

The youth of the church (those that they could talk into it anyway) sang a couple of songs during the party.

Here's a good shot of a gift that was given recently -- a Korg keyboard. A family in Guasave had this sitting in a closet not being used and desired to donate it to a church which needed it. It's been such a blessing to have and is saving wear and tear on our piano, too. Bris and Sergio and a few others in the church are wanting to take piano lessons, now that the church has a piano accessible!

Damaris and Evie sang the Moses song, "Dame la Paz".

Does your church do the Secret Santa? It's a big hit here. Everyone is called forward one at a time to receive their gift, open it, ooh and ahh over it and then give the next gift. Pastor Ricardo drew Doug's name. It was a hilarious gag gift! (Sorry, not gonna describe it over the internet. Suffice to say that one of the older church members was a little offended!)

Hey, Annette! You said you wanted to see Damaris' face when she opened your gift? Here ya go!!!

Here's Aristeo: The Taco King

A great time was had by all and eveyone ate tacos! This was a very special party simply because most of the church was there and everyone brought their families. So often people stay home to be with their families at Christmas, or even on Sundays if family comes to visit, but this time the family came along as well.

CC Boca's Annual Couples' Dinner

2009-01-15T17:20:00.004-07:00

Although this annual event has been held on Valentine's Day a few times, it seems there is no hard and fast rule for the date. This year, it was held the weekend after Christmas.

The best part of the dinner is not the posole (although, that is a very good part!!!). The best part is seeing all the ladies of the church bring their husbands to dinner. A lot of these guys come to church exactly once per year -- the couple's dinner. So we took a bit of advantage and served them some spiritual food along with the physical.

Our friends Gary and Patrick shared a short testimony for the couples.

The young people from the CC -- Rancho Santa Margarita youth group served dinner.

Several music groups entertained the guests including a group from the American team from CCRSM.

All of us old married folk had a chance to just sit back and relax for the evening. (Sarah and Bethany volunteered -- or were volunteered -- to babysit at our house so Caleb and Christian could work with the kitchen crew.)

Here is a picture of our friend Annette when she found out that she was in charge of the kitchen and serving crew for the night!

A week later, Doug was talking to a guy at the hotel who had passed by the church during the dinner. As usual, the church doors had been left open, so the speaking and singing was easily heard from the street. This man said he had been interested when he heard someone speaking English (because he spoke English, too), so he had stopped to see what was up. He had stayed and listened and later told Doug that he was on a "search" to find what was really "real" in his life. We've invited him to come back to church or to stop by our house. Pray that God continues what He's started in this young man's life!

Guided Tours

2009-01-15T13:33:00.031-07:00

The fishing here in Boca del Rio is wonderful in November and December. The locals have been pulling in 10 pound red snapper, sea bass and a lot of others that I don't know the names of in English for the past couple of months. Pat and Gary, our friends from Oregon, like to fish as much as Doug does, so they managed to kidnap Esteban (who was pretty happy to be dragged along) and hired one of the men from La Pitaya to take them out fishing while they were here.

The guys got up early (twice, actually, but that's another story) and headed to the canal to catch some bait. The big fish only bite on live shrimp or small fish.

Esteban demonstrated the proper techniques for throwing the taralla (hope I spelled that correctly) and explained how to hold it...and why. He said that some guys tie the net onto their wrist or thumb, but the experienced person will tie it to the middle finger or pinky. Why? Well, many times a person will throw the net into the water from a boat. If the net happens to get caught in the propeller, the appendage tied to the net will get taken off. It's better to lose the pinky finger than the thumb or your whole hand. Pretty effective object lesson, I must say.

The guys then went to La Pitaya to meet up with Chabelo, who wasn't the only early morning fisherman out!

After being on the river a few hours, they then headed over to a place near the mouth of the river to fish from the shore. No pictures, sorrry! The photographer dropped the guys off at the boat!

At the end of the day, the guys had a 5 gallon bucket full of fish and were headed home. Since we women had the van, they were on foot. They met guy on the beach who looked like he could use some fish and asked if he'd like them. "I don't have any money, though," he said. Doug explained, "No!! We just want to give it to you!" He was happy then!

The younger boys went out with the dads the next day and did manage to bring in a few good-sized fish.

Lunch!!!

No, that's not a fish on Christian's plate. We served pigs-in-a-blanket for those who don't "do" fish.

So, they didn't catch as much as they wanted, but I think that's why they call it "fishing".

Oregonian Missionaries

2009-01-14T07:30:00.010-07:00

I'm finally getting 'round to posting about our friends who came down here over Christmas break. We had such a fantastic visit with them!

Proverbs 25:25 says...

As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country!

That's how we felt about our Oregonian company -- refreshed!!!

We had a great time of fellowship, and the days simply flew past. We had all made promises of blogging and emailing during their visit, but I don't think I sat down at the computer once and the other grown-ups might have accessed email once or twice. Of course, we had 4 youth vying for time on the computer, too, but to be honest none of us really wanted contact with the "real world". We were having too much fun!!!

Here are some photos of our time with the Lee and Logerstedt families from Oregon...

We were able to share both a Sunday service and a Wednesday service with our friends. Both times the church was packed. In addition to our friends from Oregon, another mission team of 22 people had come down from Southern California to do a construction project at the church. The more, the merrier!!! Pastor Tristan (CC-Rancho Santa Margarita) shared on Wednesday and then invited the leadership of the church to come forward for prayer. After that, Pastor Ricardo invited the American leaders to come forward. It was a really neat time of prayer. Since it was New Year's Eve, the church service turned into a celebration of praise and prayer.

Madai, Braulio's daughter, fell in love with Noelle and was always trying to drag her around places. Noelle didn't seem to mind too much!

While the CCRSM team worked on building a roof at the church, our menfolk were working on some unfinished projects at our house. Doug, Gary and Patrick finished laying brick in front of the house. What a blessing! We will be using this area a lot during the hot season. Our friend Ramon got in on the project when it came time to cement the bricks in.

An added blessing to having a cement patio in front of the front door is that it has cut down on the amount of sand and gunk tracked in. We live in the land of endless dust with a house full of people allergic to dust. The difference is noticable!

Sunday night we hosted the annual couple's dinner. You can read more about this event by clicking here (once I write the post --maybe Thursday afternoon?).

We have a lot of pictures of our group eating. Why is that? Well, for one, we have twelve kids all together and more than half are teens. Plus mealtimes were about the only time we quit running around and sat down!

Cheryl and I took a trip to pick up boxes for Samaritan's purse with Pastor Ricardo and Karen.

The menfolk went fishing with Esteban one day and with the kids another day.

The womanfolk took a tour of Guasave. We turned the "youth" loose with the camera, so we got some great shots of what they were up to! You can check out Sarah's blog to read more about that and other "stuff".

We love to have bonfires on the beach (How many beaches in the States still let you make a big fire and shoot off fireworks?) and an integral part of any bonfire is...the marshmallow! We have SERIOUS marshmallows here!

Then it was time to take them back to the Tufesa bus station. Very sad to see them go, but we took solace in knowing that, Lord willing, we'll see them in a month or so!

Party Favors

2009-01-13T07:08:00.005-07:00

I saw an old friend at a baby shower in November and she asked if our family would do a special favor for her. Her daughter was going to celebrate her 5th birthday (which is a big deal in Mexico) and the whole family would be turning out for the party. Since a lot of the family members are non-Christians, she and her husband wanted to share some sort of evangelical message at the party, but didn't think it would go over well to actually "preach".

She remembered that we used to do puppets and asked if we could do something for Perla's party. I thought we could pull something off. We no longer had access to the puppets and didn't have the stage anymore either, but I had an idea...

I bounced the idea off Doug and the kids and they all agreed. It was a go!!! Sarah made a quick trip to the church to pick up a couple bags of stuff and then we spent a couple of days turning this...
into this...

Most of these costumes were in such bad shape that the seams were blowing out before the kids even put them on. All the zippers were rusted and the elastic went "crunch" instead of "stretch". Thank you to those who have kept me supplied with sewing notions this past year! I certainly use them a lot here!!! We spent a couple of days putting outfits together.

Then we spent a day or two polishing up some skits we hadn't done in a LONG time.

Our friend, Ramon, rode by on his horse while we were practicing on the back hill. He just waved and smiled. Could it be that we didn't surprise him too much? Do we just seem like a family who dresses up like clowns and plays in the back yard? I guess so.

Then it was the big day!

We shared a skit entitled "One Key to Eternal Life" which the misson team used on their trip to Puebla. Special thanks to Pablo (Sergio's brother) who taught Sarah and I how to apply clown make up. Didn't Sarah do a great job???

We had a blast and everyone seemed attentive. The message was well-received and (from what folks said) understandable.

This is Doug and Perla, the cumpleañera!

After this engagement, we had several invitations to be clowns at church posadas. We decided that it would be a great idea...next year!!!

Anyone have any old clown costumes laying around???

Baby Shower

2009-01-12T07:36:00.005-07:00

Mexico culture lesson...

What do you call a baby shower in Mexico?

A Baby Shower, of course!!!

Philipe and Yadira, pastors of the church in Alomito, are expecting their first grandbaby. What a celebration! They invited the ladies of Boca del Rio, Tamazula, Guasave and Alomito to come join the festivities.

Baby showers here are a lot like ones we've gone to in the States -- funny games, gifts, prayers for the mom-to-be. All the women-folk chatting and catching up on the latest news and the men-folk hiding out and having some male-bonding time.

Any good Mexican celebration includes a meal! I found that out during Sarah's quinceaños party. Without a meal, it's just not a party!!!

Yadira invited Tito to come over and prepare a TON of fish. Some American missionaries from Washington state were able to come and enjoy the party, too. Sorry, my camera was acting up so the photo of dinner wasn't worth posting. Great food, though!!!

During the course of the evening, one of the ladies from Washington was able to share some verses with a woman from Alomito.

"Be ready always with an answer concerning the faith that is within you!!!"

1 Peter 3:15

Operation Christmas Child

2008-12-19T12:16:00.007-07:00

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!!

To everyone who has prayed and to everyone who has given over the past couple of days to meet this need we send a huge

THANK YOU!!!

We've reached our goal and will be able to distribute the gifts to the area children as we had prayed!!! We'll be sure to post lots of pictures here next week so you can see what we're up to!

I'd like to give a special thanks to Miss Jocelyn at A Pondering Heart and the Mom-Team over at 5 Minutes for Mom for their "boost" to this endeaver. (Even though I think they would probably rather not have the credit, I'd still like to say thank you for linking up!)

Once again, Merry Christmas everyone!!!

For the first time in the history of this small fishing village, Samaritan's Purse: Operation Christmas Child is coming!

Pastor Ricardo went to Guamuchil with a group of area pastors yesterday to find out what they needed to do to receive the shoeboxes. He stopped by this morning with a prayer request, which I'm passing on to my loyal blog readers! ;^)

Samaritan's Purse will make the shoeboxes available to the church at a cost of 7 pesos each. We did wonder, as I'm sure you are wondering, why there would be a charge to receive these gifts. The men at the distribution point said that the charge was to cover the transport of the boxes from the port of Mexico City to Guamuchil (20 hours away). At any rate, the cost works out to about $.50 each. Calvary Chapel -- Boca del Rio would like to be able to distribute the boxes to the children of Boca del Rio and Las Glorias and also to the villages of Las Pitayas and Carricitos (villages which suffer extreme poverty and have no Christian church). We've cancelled our children's Christmas party, which was scheduled for today, and are praying for enough funds to purchase 500 boxes. The day of distribution will be January 2, so there is still a week to raise the money needed. That date coincides with the national celebration of Three Kings Day -- which is another gift-giving holiday here.

I know that this time of year, you see someone with their hand out every time you turn around. The Salvation Army is ringing the bell to take your change, there's a homeless person in every parking lot asking for work or food, the youth group is raising money for this, the children's department needs that, and to top it off the kids' Sunday school class expects 2 dozen cookies by tomorrow.

Well, I don't want to add to the chaos and craziness, but if you do happen to have a couple of dollars extra and would like to send a very special gift to one of 500 kids who might not receive any other gift this Christmas, it would be a blessing. We are trusting God to provide the $250 needed.

If you find yourself unable to help financially, will you please pray? We know that the fervent prayers of a righteous man avail much! So pray fervently that God would provide and that the Church would be able to bless these children and that a door would be opened to share the Gospel in Las Pitayas and Carricitos!!!

Merry Christmas, everyone!!!

Agape Water War

2008-12-05T22:01:00.003-07:00

Our church has been meeting on the first Sunday of each month to celebrate the Lord's supper and share a comida agape (church potluck) since the middle of the summer. It's always a time of good food and great fellowship. At the beginning of November, Brother Tito brought his internationally renowned fish fryer and we had a cookout!

Church dinners here are so different from the potlucks at our home church in Oregon. In the States, a potluck is all about variety. Miss Hazel brings her potato salad and so does Miss Emma, but you should take a spoonful of both, 'cause they're totally different from each other. Miss Julia wows us with her fancy desserts and chocolates, the menfolk get together and make homemade ice cream...you get the picture. Something for everyone!

So what do the folks bring to a potluck in Boca del Rio? Fish.

Pastor Ricardo and Cristina wanted to make sure that we had "everything we needed" for the dinner, so we were recounting who was bringing what...one sister was bringing a couple of onions, I had a bunch of tomatoes, another sister had some chilis (peppers), two brothers were buying tortillas, Braulio and Tito were bringing a few kilos of fish. Yep. We had it all covered. Does that seem funny to anyone else?

After church, we started chopping vegetables for the salsa while Tito fired up the fryer. By the time the salsa was done and the tables were cleaned, the fish were ready and the church sat down to lunch.

As usual, good food and great conversation were the order of the day.

At some point, though, the mood of the afternoon began to change. I first noticed it when Brother Aristeo began giving Caleb a hard time about his Coke.

Then I began to notice other people acting a little...silly...

...or maybe they were acting guilty...

...the guy grabbing the bowl is Braulio. What's he doing with that bowl???

He's going to fill it with water and dump it over his wife's head! Happy birthday, Pily!!!

That was all the encouragement the rest of the yahoos needed. It was a water war...in love, of course!

As soon as the buckets came out and the hose turned on, the people scattered. Even the little old ladies of the church were tossing cups of water at each other. What a hoot!!! I had to laugh at Pastor Ricardo, though. He's been on a very strict diet for the past couple of months. He suffered a serious gall stone episode and was hospitalized for a few days while they were on vacation. Since August, Ricardo has not eaten anything fried or greasy, no chili, no soda pop. Those 3 things eliminate about 90% of the normal diet in Boca. Cristina gave him permission to enjoy this one meal with the church body (with soda, even). When the water started flying, Ricardo still hadn't finished his plate. He wouldn't budge for fear that his plate would be taken! He sat at the table being splashed and hosed until he finally finished his food.

Note: A week ago, Ricardo went in for an ultrasound to check his gallbladder. God has completely healed him!!! Aleluia!!! Not even one little stone -- and he hasn't passed them either! The doctors were amazed, but we serve a big God, right???!!!

Goin' on a Snake Hunt

2008-12-05T17:50:00.003-07:00

Goin' on a snake hunt.

Gonna catch a snake.

Is he over here? Nope.

Is he over there? Nope.

I don't know where he went, but I mean it, he was this big!

Felicidades!!!

2008-11-15T17:40:00.020-07:00

We were invited to our friend Basilia's birthday a couple of weeks ago. Mexican birthday parties are such fun! Basi didn't have a piñata, but she did have a fantastic cake!

Andrew asked if it was a "tres leches cake". Basi said, "No. It's just normal. We wanted quantity, not quality!"

Something funny we've noticed about a Mom's birthday here -- usually all the family and close friends come, there's a huge cake and a great meal...and Mom does all the work. What's up with that??? I was laughing about that with Basilia and she agreed that it didn't seem fair, but since she had to make it all, she got to decide on the menu. We had shrimp salad. Oh, yum!

Esteban kept getting calls from his various bosses, "Esteban! I need you!" "Esteban, help!" "Esteban, when are you coming by?" Esteban is care-taker for more than half the vacation homes in Las Glorias, so he's much in demand during tourist season. He did manage to spend a little time relaxing -- and of course he got a big piece of cake!

We sat around eating and talking all afternoon. Julio and Lupita are Basilia's mom and step-dad. Pedro and Luci and Jesús Israél are her brother and his family.

If those names seem familiar, they should!!! These are the couples from our Bible study. This is our extended family here in Mexico. It's great to be part of a big family!

The young man almost hidden by Andrew is Luis. Luis began working as Esteban's right-hand man a couple of years ago -- when he was 12. His dad died when he was very young and his mom has worked hard at whatever she could find to support herself and her two children. Esteban and Basilia have sort of adopted him as a son, or at least as a younger brother. The village is lacking male role-models and Vergin, Luis's mom, saw something worthy in Esteban. It's the Lord. Esteban gave his life to the Lord a little over 2 years ago and is trying to lead his family to Him.

Keep these families in your prayers!!!!

Last photo! Basilia has the most beautiful yard in all of Las Glorias. Yes, I'm biased. This girl has a major green thumb! The "blooming season" is just past and another will come in a few months, but all that green is so beautiful!

Gold

2008-11-15T12:51:00.006-07:00

A Poem Written by Doug in Memory of his Grandma Eva (Coult) McDonald

Gold

The time has come to say goodbye.

I'll hold my tears, try not to cry.

Grandma won't be with us now.

She has left this world -- she's looking down.

Her face is shining bright as snow,

But we can't see, nor can we know

The joy that she will know today

When she beholds the Savior's face.

He'll smile when He sees her come.

He'll say, "Come in and rest! Well done!

You fought the fight. You stood your ground.

You kept the love. Your faith was sound.

When I asked you to pray, you prayed.

When I told you to go, you obeyed.

When they asked you if you knew me,

You were not ashamed."

Jesus will draw close and He'll whisper her name.

She'll stand up straight and spin around

With strength and health newly found.

No pain, no sorrow, no suffering.

Pure joy and peace to see the King

Face to face with Him who bore;

Who stretched His arms from shore to shore.

He died for her; she knew that well.

To give her heaven, He went through hell.

Today what feels a loss to me is, to Grandma, victory!

No more death. The night is over.

No more weight upon her shoulders.

Now, I know that for a while

I'll have to wait to see her smile.

The tears are close, it must be told,

But what's sad to me, to her is gold.

Goodbye, Grandma!

Silent Sunday -- Life's a Beach

2008-11-02T09:17:00.005-07:00

I don't know if you had to "be there" to really feel this picture. Let me know what emotions you have when you see this photo, and I'll post on Monday the photo's background.

Alright, here's what I thought as I watched this little guy play in the waves...

The little boy is about 6 or 7 years old. Like most of us who live only a few blocks from the beach, he seldom plays in the ocean. He has no beach toys, no pail, no shovel. I don't know his home situation, but if he is like most small boys of the village, home is not a very happy place. Perhaps Dad is a drunk. Perhaps mom yells a lot. But right now, at this moment, he is flying above the waves. Soaring! Free! Can't you hear him squealing with delight as the waves rush past him? He's Superman!

Let the Turtles Loose!!!

2008-11-01T12:40:00.004-07:00

The university in Guasave harvested over 100 sea turtle eggs from the beach of Boca del Rio a few months ago. They hatched at the last full moon! Practically the whole town turned out to see these little miracles! In Spanish, their name is Tortuga Delfin. Anyone know what variety that is in English?

The teacher explained that in the wild, these baby turtles have about a 15% survival rate. Predators, including dogs who eat the eggs and seagulls who snatch the hatchlings as they are making their way to the water's edge, make the odds of baby sea turtles even reaching the sea very uneven! The students' goal was to even the odds a bit by assuring that as many turtles as hatched made it to the sea.

Children, both young and old, were in awe at these little creatures! One grandma was speechless as she held the little tortuga in her hand, "Mama! You need to put it back. It's for the kids to let go!" She just shook her head. It was so sweet. I knew how she felt! I wanted to hold one forever and just marvel that something so small could grow so big, but at the same time I wanted each and every one of these little babies to reach the open sea and live their lives...I'm such a hopeless romantic!

Esteban waded out into the waves to take some photos. "They're everywhere!" he shouted back to shore. The little guys kept bumping into his legs; he was afraid to take a step for fear of squashing one! Can you see them? I drew circles around a couple.

I like to think that most of them made it out into the open ocean. I just love living on the beach! This was one experience we never could have had living in the mountains of Oregon!!!

Hurricane Norbert Breezes on By Las Glorias

2008-10-16T23:19:00.000-07:00

We had a bit of tension over the weekend as Hurricane Norbert whooshed through our area. Praise God that Tropical Storm Odile gave him a little nudge and he passed us slightly to the north. Saturday, Doug and I and a few of the kids went down to the beach to see what was "up". The tide was. Where's the beach???

The kids found the wind to be pretty strong! The gusts were churning the waves into foam and that foam was blowing across the sand like bits of cotton fluff. At one point, a gust grabbed Doug's ballcap and took off with it. He, Andrew and Seth took off after it -- right into a sand storm!

Some of our neighbors were on their roofs taking pictures. I didn't go on the roof. Later Saturday evening, Doug did actually climb up on the roof to fix some roofing that was coming loose. He didn't tell me he was doing that. I probably would have said something like, "No way!!!" I realized where he was when the ladder blew off the roof and Jessee came downstairs to get it. No, he was not on the ladder when it blew over. Thank you, Lord.

We didn't get a lot of rain. We were actually praying that it would rain a little, because the wind was whipping the sand fiercely against the windows and doors. So much so that fine sand was coming in through cracks and creating a silty, gritty film on everything. We had to wipe every dish and every cup and every flat surface once the storm ended.

All things considered, though, we got off really easy. Our bike canopy blew away, the awning out front of the house was munched a little, we lost some roofing and the power was out for 3 days. Friends and missionaries a couple of hours north were not so fortunate.

Pray for the village of Alamos, Sonora, where Norbert hit hard. Villagers are still shovelling mud and muck out of their houses. Many families lost everything. Remember -- "everything" here is a lot less than "everything" in the States. If you lose "everything" in the States, State Farm will be by first thing Monday morning to take a report. Losing everything here means that you are looking for someone who has the same size feet, because you don't have any shoes.

You can read more about the storm damage in Alamos here.

Hurricane Norbert Blasts Alamos, Sonora

2008-10-16T21:20:00.013-07:00

Here are exerpts from an update letter we just received from fellow missionaries in Alamos, Sonora. Alamos is only about 150 miles north of us -- just east of a town called Navajoa. Please read their update and pray for this village. If you'd like to help in any way, let us know! You can also donate via Paypal through the "Make Donation" button on the left. Specify "Hurricane Relief" in the comment box.

From Daniel and Ana Jones, Rancho Maranatha, Sonora:

"He does great things past finding out, yes, wonders without number"
Job 9:10

Stories continue to be told, amazing ones that leave you totally speechless. My little sister in Mexicali keeps calling on the phone, she wants to hear them all. There are too many to tell...

This is like many, many, many homes in Alamos; and this the overwhelmed look on many, many, many people's faces. But I have to say that last evening, as I sat with my sister Elia outside her ruined house, the moon was shining so bright, the air was so clear and crispy and we were so, so, so thankful for the way the Lord spared the lives of every member of our extensive family involved in the disaster. Most things can be replaced, (well, not pictures, at least not the same ones), but lives can never be, and for not having lost any family members we don't cease to thank our merciful Father. We truly stand in awe of His wonders!

Aaliyah saw this today and exclaimed, 'oh, my goodness!' This picture is taken from my cousin Flora's back yard!

Thank you so much for all of you that are praying for us. Please do continue. We are hoping, and praying, our brothers and sisters from CC Alamos will be able to come to the fellowship day next Sunday. Many of them are so busy, either cleaning their own houses, or helping someone else. Thank God for all the help the government is sending. It is truly amazing to see all the helicopters, airplanes, fire trucks, ambulances, etc., just aiding people left and right. The CFE (electric co.), has done a remarkable work restoring electricity practically to the whole town already. Also the road that accesses Alamos was already working the second day of the hurricane, we were so thankfully amazed at how fast they did that.

Crissie is here with her friend Anabel cleaning the kitchen. Crissie, who lost everything, including her bed of course, has been spending the night at her friend's house. Uncle Pino, as you can tell, has lost one of his shoes, it was buried in the mud, he told me, and he is quite upset about it. (I think Daniel found it today!)That handsome guy above right, (you can't really tell by the picture that he is very good looking), has been shoveling mud these last two days even in his sleep.

Thank you so much for your prayers, for your concern, for your encouraging and kind words, for your help. In name of all the believers involved, THANK YOU!!!

We love you all very much,
Daniel & Ana

Fishermen of Boca del Rio

2008-10-11T18:52:00.009-07:00

Doug, Ladis and Ladis’s brother Guedo went out shrimping. They left at 5 a.m. At 9 p.m. I got a message that they were back at port and ready to come home.

I headed over to Boca to meet the boat, not knowing that the guys still had to empty the nets and descabezar (dehead) the shrimp. For the next hour, they guys plus all the wives pulled shrimp, crabs, small fish, starfish and debris from two 100 meter long nets. Then Mavil and I popped heads and separated the big shrimp from the little. The guys’ final tally was 90 kilos of shrimp – 200 pounds. Wow.

After the first few days, however, the shrimp count dropped drastically. Yesterday’s catch (an 8 hour day) was only 9 kilos for one of our friends. At $10 per kilo, that barely covers the cost of gas.

When he got home the first day, Doug was absolutely beat. Sixteen hours in the blazing sun in a small boat full of dead fish had taken its toll. Over the next week, Ladis and Guedo went out a couple more times, but they struggled with the boat motor a lot. Doug decided that a better (and MUCH less physically draining) use of his time was to do some work he’d been hired to do for an American family here in Las Glorias.

The life of a fisherman here in Boca del Rio is not an easy life. The pescador struggles against his flesh in the daily, back-breaking work of hauling in lines. He struggles with the equipment which is so quickly destroyed by the salt and the water. He struggles with corrupt authorities who steal his profit for their selfish gain. He struggles with the storms that roll in unexpectedly and fish which stray from their normal migration paths and tides which seek to capsize his boat and take his life. With these conflicts day after day, many men turn to alcohol and drugs as a sedative or a pain-reliever. Our prayer is that the men of Boca who are believers would be able to shine out and show a better way to deal with these struggles. Pray that they would not lose heart!

Boca del Rio Water Purification Station

2008-10-11T11:24:00.002-07:00

Water is often an issue in our part of Mexico. Being an agricultural hub, one would imagine that irrigation is a vital part of life. So very true! Irrigation canals run through most major cities and to the outlying towns and villages passing farmland and orchards along the way. The roads are lined on both sides by fields of corn, milo, tomatoes, peppers, beans and many other crops. It seems that the land here is in a constant state of either planting, growing or harvesting.

Villagers in outlying coastal areas rely on water which is pumped from inland, both for “tap water” and also for drinking water. Water purification systems in the larger cities are improving almost daily. Los Mochis now has tap water which runs all the time and is safe (and actually very tasty) for drinking. Guasave also has water which runs all day – but we’ve yet to actually drink it…old habits die hard!

The coastal villages, however, depend on a system of pipes and cisterns to move water to them from towns with good, freshwater wells. When we moved here 3 years ago, the nearest water purification plant was about 10 miles away in the village of Palos Verdes. About a year and a half ago, a woman in the church of Boca got a government grant to construct a water station in Boca del Rio. Hurrah!

For the first time in history, the people of Boca del Rio, Las Pitayas, Las Glorias and Rosales could purchase drinking water locally! This is very important in a culture where most families don’t own cars. Water at “Water of the Pines” costs $.80 for a 5 gallon garafón. Very reasonable…and delicious! So, here are some photos of Karen, a graduate of the school of ministry, working at the water station. She is working to earn money to go to Africa as a full-time missionary. Keep her and Mavil in your prayers! They earnestly desire to go and work at the orphanage in Uganda, but are lacking the funding. We know that God is faithful to complete the work He begins and are looking forward to His completing this work in these young ladies’ lives!!!

The only metal fab shop in Las Glorias

2008-10-04T11:57:00.004-07:00

...or "Why I Want to Finish Building the House" by Rebecca.

Not that I mind having the projects around, and I really don't mind the sound of tools buzzing all day, but I'd REALLY like to keep the metal shavings in the shop and not get flashed-burnt while trying to teach history. Ah, someday!!! ;^) I know that Doug would prefer to not have a couch in the middle of his shop, too, so we're on the same page!

Anyway, here's what Doug has been working on lately...

Esteban came over one morning to help paint the metal frames. Painting has never been Doug's favorite and with his asthma the way it is he avoids paint whenever possible. Plus, those two are always looking for an excuse to hang out. It was really neat listening to them, too. Since it was kind of a "one-man job", Doug pulled up a chair and read to Esteban while they worked. I was sitting inside working on the 'puter and heard Doug teaching out of the book of Matthew. I thought, "Who's here?" and then realized that he and Esteban were studying the Word together. Very cool.

Over the next days Caleb, Jessee and Andrew took turns helping install the gates. It's very handy to have all those extra hands and feet to hold things and fetch things. The boys are learning a lot in the process, too!

The finished products! There are actually 5 gates of varying sizes. Quite a project and beautifully done! (Yes, my bias is showing again!!!)

Not Exactly the "African Queen"

2008-09-27T10:09:00.006-07:00

I'm finally getting to posting the photos from our riverboat excursion. Sorry it took so long! Our boat trip was the day after Aristeo and Armida's wedding, so I guess you could say that the Restoration Life team and our family and a bunch of folks from the church went with the newlyweds on their honeymoon!

As soon as we arrived at our picnic spot, the Mexican guys started building an arbor for Rebecca and a ramada for the group to eat under. One thing we've noticed about the men here: they work hard and they play hard...and sometimes their work looks a lot like play!

Moo-ve Over!

2008-09-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken on the road to Guasave last Saturday. It's one of several reasons why people don't often drive at night in Mexico!

MkDollar's Hamburgers

2008-09-09T17:34:00.004-07:00

Move over McDonald's!

When the mission team from Restoration Life was here in June, we discovered a new hamburger joint. Mexican hamburgers in the past haven't really impressed us, but man-oh-man were these good!

Curbside restaurants are very common in our part of Mexico. It was a very "different" experience for our American team, but they were pretty hungry! The original plan had been to get fish tacos in Mazatlan, but that didn't work out (my bad!) so we ended up having a "late supper" in Culiacan.

Fortunately it was a good experiment. We had a nice time talking to the owners while we ate and had an opportunity to share Jesus. It was a great chance to let our lights shine a little.

Got Shrimp???

2008-09-09T16:56:00.008-07:00

"Were you in the boat when the boat tipped over?"

"'Course not, silly. I was in the water!"

Seriously, though, there is a reason why the National Hurricane Center issues small craft advisories. On Monday, shrimp season opened and all the local fishermen gathered nets, coolers and boats and rushed for the open sea.

One problem: Tropical storm Lowell. All we've seen of him so far has been some wind and a lot of rain. The ocean, however is really choppy!

Mid-morning Monday, Ladis's boat motor stalled, his boat flipped over and was pounded into the jetty by the waves. Fortunately neither of the men in the boat were seriously injured -- a few scrapes and scratches, but nothing more. Ladis told Doug that he was saved by a small cleft in the rocks where he hung on while the waves slammed his boat on top of him over and over.

Meantime, Doug was in Guasave taking care of some business. Otherwise he would have been in the boat with Ladis. Keep praying God's protection over our family and over the other men who are fishing. It's their way of life, but it still has its dangerous side.

Pray also that the men are able to repair the boat quickly. Doug and Ladis are talking with a man tonight about fixing the hole. This is Ladis' livelihood and the best shrimping only lasts a couple of weeks.

Well, here comes the rain again! I'd better post this before the power goes out! I'll try to get a photo of the boat. From what I've heard, it's pretty badly munched.

Cast-aways?

2008-09-09T16:42:00.004-07:00

Caleb has been taking "casting lessons" from his friend Abimael. He's gotten pretty good! Actually, he's gotten REALLY good! He and Abi are looking forward to shrimp season opening!

The net the boys are using is called a taralla (tah RYE ah). They wrap the net carefully into a bundle and then toss it with amazing finesse. When the net hits the water, it is a perfect circle -- weighted down to the ocean floor. Then they haul it in with the rope which is attached.

This net is perfect for bringing in shrimp and bait for larger fish. The boys are hoping to be able to catch bait and sell it to the tourists during tourist season. Should be quite the lucrative (and fun) business!

Caleb got a taralla of his own for his birthday, so I would expect to see more photos on his blog soon!

In the Lord's Army!

2008-09-09T14:40:00.004-07:00

Our family was invited to the closing ceremony of the VBS at Calvary Chapel -- Compuertas. What a great time!

The theme? You guessed it! Ephesians 6 -- The Armor of God

Our twins have made some great friends at Compuertas. Israel and Isael are 10 year old twins. It was funny hearing others refer to "the twins" all evening!

Doug shared from 2 Corinthians about giving over and above what we are able.

We had a great time of fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

After the service was a "traditional" potluck...yummy!

In Hot Water

2008-09-05T08:56:00.004-07:00

This is the temperature of our tap water at noon.
Water in the rural parts of Mexico only runs a few hours a day, so it is stored in an underground tank (cisterno) and then pumped to the roof to a black plastic holding tank (tinaco). From there it is gravity-fed through the pipes to the rest of the house.

In the winter time, showers in the evening or early morning can be brisk, but in the summer -- when the temperature is 100 and the humidity is 75% -- a lukewarm shower is hard to come by, nevermind "cool".

I've joked about burning yourself on the tap water here, but yesterday I thought I'd check the temp...just to know for sure. (Plus, I wanted to play around with the macro on my new camera ;^) )

Sure enough, it was hot: 104 degrees. That's why a shower in the afternoon just isn't very refreshing!

Goodbye, Julio!!!

2008-08-26T09:47:00.005-07:00

Tropical Storm Julio came to visit this past weekend. All we received from him was some wind and a lot of rain, but it was pretty exciting tracking his progress via the National Hurricane Center (when the power wasn't out, which happens quite frequently during rain storms here).

Anyway, yesterday Doug, Evie and I took a little stroll down to the beach to see what the waves looked like. Of course, it started pouring right after we left, so we were completely drenched when we came home...which made the walk more fun. Would you believe that even with a torrential downpour of rain, we still fought mosquitoes as we walked? They are just insane this time of year!!!

So, it drizzled and blew all day and then in the late afternoon, the sky began to clear. Here's Julio rolling away up the coast.
I went to work over at our neighbor's house and on my way home, the sky was incredible! When I walked into the house, I ran for my camera, but it wasn't where it was supposed to be. Frantically, I started tearing through the house searching for it. I did finally find it...on the roof in Evie's hands! She'd seen the sunset, too!!! She struggled with getting really clear shots, but the colors are still tremendous.

Enjoy!!!