Every month men from the Vida Nueva congregations gather for a time of fellowship. April's meeting was held at our house. About 40 men of all ages gathered for a time of food, fellowship and worship.
Having a pool table, foosball table and a basketball hoop are all great draws for youth ministry...and men's ministry, too! Our friend Julio was happy that we got the pool table set up again.
It was great to have some of the youth from Boca del Rio attend the meeting. Several of these young men, including the one playing basketball with Doug, have been hanging out at our house for almost 7 years. We pray that we can make a positive impact on their lives!
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!!!
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!!!
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
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!!!
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!!!
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. :^)
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.”
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!
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!
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 !
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:
