A Warm Dry Winter and Aircraft Shop Talk

Right after church today, we took a minute to take a picture of the beautiful tree at the end of our street. It is huge and covered with purple blossoms. I'm almost convinced that it is called a Jacaranda tree. They are found from Malaysia to South Africa. Pretoria, South Africa is apparently called the Jacaranda City because there are so many of these trees there. This Canadian prairie girl from the second worst growing zone on the planet has a lot to learn! I've even discovered that there is a Spanish children's song that is common here in Mexico that is all about this tree. Who knew? It's a pretty little tune, especially with guitar accompaniment. If you care to listen, this video link provides the first verse and chorus. It's amateur video - not very slick to watch but beautiful to listen to. http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-5382676451796928782&q=Al+Este+y+al+Oeste+llueve+y+llover%C3%A1&total=1&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

This has been our second week of very warm afternoon temperatures. When we got in the house, Marcel went onto our little balcony to water the flowers and noticed several grass fires across the valley. The second picture was taken at twilight. About a half an hour ago the flames from this fire were taller than the street lights! Now it seems to be finally dying down after burning for five hours. With 97% of the homes being built of cement and so many people needing water for personal consumption, fire hydrants are not a part of the city planning. Rather, firefighters use tanker trucks to respond to their fire calls. I don't think I would have noticed this but Marcel, having formerly been a firefighter, sure did.
It has been fascinating to see how God prepared us in other ways to be here in Mexico City. Yesterday we were able to meet with our neighbors right across the street from us. Their son is studying English and asked for our help with one of his conversation assignments. As we got to know this family, we discovered that they used to have a small Mexican airline. The father brought out an aviation magazine. Marcel recognized the magazine because he has bought a few issues to read and improve his Spanish with vocabulary and familiar topics. Much to our surprise, the family's airline was the feature article of the magazine we were shown! The father showed Marcel photos of their various aircraft. There are few people in the world who would enjoy discussing various airplanes but Marcel is one of them. It was fun to watch this Mexican man's face light up as Marcel oohed and awed over his airplane photos.
It seems like a near impossible task to reach these extremely Catholic people here in Mexico. You even see it in their names, like the mother of this family: Maria de Jesus (Mary of Jesus). Maria and I had a little bonding moment when we realized that we both like airplanes but that our husbands are passionate about airplanes. Our family probably bother these people because our kids are too noisy when they play outside sometimes, acting like they are still on a farm with neighbors a mile or so away. This family across the street have children with a start-up rock band that practise outside on their patio and definately bother us back, yet I think we have just made some lasting friends. :) We are excited to see how God will yet use us, even at this stage of clutzy Spanish. I am convinced that these successes are the result of your prayers so please don't stop praying!

Cultural Day

The top picture is of my university Spanish class that went for a cultural field trip this past Wednesday. We were joined by Ingrid's class and a class of Mexicans studying the native Hamiti (ah-MEE-tee) language. There were about 30 of us in total. We drove north past the city of Pachuca and visited an old benedictine monastery for about an hour. It had some very beautiful and unique art forms (see bottom picture). From there, we were off to the town of Actopan in the state of Hidalgo. We went to the home of a native family whose primary language is not Spanish but Hamiti. We ate all sorts of foods that were more or less indigenous. We had lamb cooked in a earthen pit (see second picture), nopal (a type of cactus), various kinds of fruit you can't get north of the border, hand made tortillas, and many other foods. It was all very delicious. We then went to a town called Ixmiquilpan where we visited a craft shop (bottom picture) and the Convent of Arch Angel Michael. We did not get home until quite late at night yet had to be up early to take the kids to school and go to a church planting strategy meeting with the Ruizes and the Williams (from CAM International).

The more we plan, the more we get excited at the prospects for here! Everyday we are meeting new people that are potential new contacts to begin a church with. At the meeting, someone said "We have to be deliberate in getting into the community to meet contacts; they're not just going to arrive at our door." Oddly enough, a few hours later, we had a mom and teenage son whom we had not met before ring our doorbell to announce their arrival at our house! He has a school project in which he has to interview a native English speaker about a variety of things. God has a sense of humor.

Also, we ask for all of you to keep praying for us. We were pulled over by the police yet again today ( four of them) and they clearly were planning to do us wrong until I asked Ingrid to call our lawyer. I must say, these police really are wearing on me and this incident was particularly frightening for Ingrid. Pray for courage when under fire from the Evil One, integrity in all that we do, and a holy boldness to proclaim the truth of God's word.

Help...We need mission teams!

We seem to have some interest in what needs to be done at the Retreat Centre so I'm posting a few pictures to give some idea of projects for our visiting teams and those that are thinking about the Retreat Centre. We posted a drawing of the Layout of the Retreat Centre on our blog on September 5, 2007 - here's the link to see that page so you can get an overall idea of what the Retreat Centre looks like. http://mexicomitchells.blogspot.com/2007/09/this-is-very-not-to-scale-diagram-of.html This Top 10 List of projects is not exhaustive, it just seems that way:
1. The eight dorm rooms for married couples: we need to complete the bathrooms by either putting on durarock walls to cover the plumbing or just tile the walls. We need the floors tiled in all the sleeping areas and bathrooms. We need bathroom fixings installed including toilets, showers and sinks and banisters. We also have to install the bathroom doors, the outside doors and the windows. Finally, we need to furnish the rooms with a matrimonial bed, futon, lamp, night stand, night lamp, clock radio, chair and desk, etc. Four of the rooms need to be completely painted. We estimate to finish each room will cost about $3,000.
2. We need doors and windows installed on the large dining area. Remaining finishing on the new kitchen area includes plumbing in sinks and drainage, putting in gas stoves and ovens, and a fridge.
3. We need indoor painting and repairs done to the large house as well as the replacement of the poly-carbonate covering on the deck with new material. Also putting "impermeabilizante"(a waterproofing goop that is a rust color and covers every roof in Mexico City) on the roof to avoid leaks in rainy season. There is also a large repair to the ceiling needed in the north meeting area. We also need plumbers to repair leaky toilets and drains.
4. The boys dorm needs tiling to the floors and dividers put up enclosing the bathroom showers and between toilets. We also need tiling on the stairs leading up to the rooms.
5. Large windows need to be put in on top floor recreation area, painting of the walls and either tile on the floor or some sort of lino. It would also be great if we could get some games in there like foozeball tables, air hockey tables, etc. as this is where we will all congregate each summer afternoon when the afternoon downpours of rain come for a couple hours.
6. The two outside gates need to be pressure washed and painted.
7. We need the workshop developed, including a large workbench area and shelving to be constructed.
8. We need the outside of the building that houses the rec room and eight married dorms to be painted.
9. Windows need to be replaced on Juan and Carolina's home ( They are our caretakers and live on site at the retreat centre).
10. Believe it or not...there is a whole lot more to be done.
We are a small mission team of just two couples so we are really dependant on outside help to get things done here. If you can help, please e-mail myself or Moises and Caroline. You can contact us through our headquarters listed on the sidebar above.

Street Performers

Daily I am aghast at the gap between the rich and poor in Mexico City. On Sunday, we talked with a lady at the ice rink dressed in the finest of clothes that went home in a Cadillac Escalade and in the afternoon, we talked with people at a birthday party that can barely afford public transportation (60 cents a trip) whom I've seen wear the same clothes many days in a row. With so much poverty, there are many people that try to make ends meet by begging and others will find odd jobs to do. Then there is another category of the labouriously poor: the street performer. They will stand at stop lights and stand in front of your car with clown paint on their face and juggle three balls. Others will come aboard the bus and sing a song with a guitar or tell a story. Yet others will do things far more deleterious to their health. They are the fire breathers (see second picture). They will ingest copious amounts of diesel fuel into their system and blow huge flames in an effort to raise a few pesos. These people often look very unhealthy. I once asked (begged) a man not to do this because he had a little daughter near him. I said, "You should not do this! It's bad for your health and you have a daughter that needs you." My pitiful inability to understand Spanish and his slurred speech made it difficult to understand much of what he said but he pointed to a tattoo of a scorpion on his wrist and said, "I have to." Whether it was a drug or cult debt he had to pay, I don't know but it leaves me feeling sick that these people are so poor that they need to resort to such deadly enterprises. There are some street performers that are very good at their craft as seen in the first picture and I'm sure they make good money. This group was at the Zocolo (the huge public square in downtown Mexico City) and performed some of the most amazing gymnastic moves I've ever seen.

Open Doors Lead to Open Hearts

This past weekend, Ahava was invited to the birthday party of a little friend from her school, Gerardo. We were not sure what to expect as it was the first birthday party that we had been invited to. The party was scheduled for 4 pm and knowing that time means nothing here, we showed up at the party at 4:20. We were the first people and the mom was still decorating. Over the next hour or two others arrived. Parties are a big deal in México and despite the obvious poverty of our gracious hosts, they went all out to make sure their little boy had a nice party. We were so thankful that we were invited to their home. We had been hoping to build relations with more people in the area than just our immediate neighbours. God seems to be allowing us to talk more and more with people here. Today, I (Marcel) struck up a conversation in Spanish with a young dad named Andres who was picking up his son from school. When I walk Ahava to school, I often walk our dog as well. There seems to be two things that are great conversation starters here: dogs and children. So that's what we talked for about fifteen minutes and about a few other things. The door has been opened and I'm sure there will be further opportunity to speak with him. The other day, there was a man we met on the way to school. He was washing his car and began the conversation by mentioning how nice our German Shepherd looked. From there we went to talk about why we are here: to plant churches. When people ask "Where?", we say, "In people's homes." We are here to plant house churches in every colonia in Mexico City. They are intrigued by that. In Wal-Mart the other day we were walking through the store with the whole family of five girls and one of Brittany's friends when a mom sent her little girl to us and asked in English if we were Mormon. It's amazing how easily people will start conversations with us. It is our deep hope that at some point in the near future we will be able to have the opportunity to help someone become a follower of Jesus. The church is growing here at a phenomenal rate. Our dentist today told us that she has heard that the president of Mexico has recently become a Christian and is attending a church in our city and even named which church. We have not been able to confirm that story but we would pray that it is true. God is at work here and neat things are happening. Pray that these little conversations that we have with people will lead to conversions and house church plants.

The first picture above is of Ahava on a trampoline in the street at Gerardo's birthday party.

The second pictura is of Ahava getting a hug from her teacher Miss Gaby who attended the party.

The third picture is of some of the little party goers playing Musical Chairs.

Drive By Theology

The process of learning is fascinating. Ahava is quickly picking up Spanish by immersion in Mexican kindergarten. As her little 4-year-old brain assimilates new words with the ones she all ready knows, her two languages sometimes collide. This past week Ahava asked me to pick her up so that she could try to see the volcanoes "Pizza and Popo." Their real names are long words in the Nahuatl language: Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl. People refer to these volcanoes as simply "Izta and Popo." The English word "pizza" (without the p) sounds very much like the Nahuatl word "Izta". The letter p in Popo mixed with the Izta word and came out of Ahava's mouth as "Pizza".
Ever had a religious idea that you thought had come from the bible, only to discover that it isn't mentioned in the bible at all? I (Ingrid) used to dream of having angel wings once I got to heaven, an idea I piced up watching Laura Ingalls during a "Little House on the Prairie" episode. As we drive through the streets of this immense city, we are inundated with images that get captured in our minds. The top two photos are of a billboard with the slogan "Todos Somos Angeles" (All of Us Are Angels), an advertisement for the Garden of Rememberance Funeral Service.
The third photo is of a huge metal and cloth sculpture, about 3 or 4 stories tall. As it was being built, we saw a gigantic scaffolding draped with cloth tarps. This became the familiar silhouette of a hooded robe. A few weeks later, the the sculpture had new gold accents on the cloth and a week later, hands with palms facing heavenward were added. I was surprised but pleasantly surprised to watch the construction of this huge Jesus sculpture. Our next drive past this sculpture revealed its true identity: La Santa Muerte (the holy death). The face of the sculpture, to me, resembles a grime reaper. I didn't get a clear photo but that's probably just as well. "La santa muerte" is an occultic religion that venerates the dead and promises immediate results to problems in life if one submits to the teachings and potions that their religious leaders propose. They even have their own magazine that is sold on every street corner alongside the daily news and People en Español. The Catholic church doesn't seem to see anything wrong with this as long as their parishoners participate in Catholic sacraments. This blending can even be seen through the expression of jewlery. I saw a young woman wearing a pentagram necklace, a goat's head necklace, and a cross bracelet - all at the same time. We are surprised as how strong occult worship is here. Please pray for us as we encounter this and for the Mexican people who are being mislead.

Spring has Sprung

I'm not trying to rub it in to our friends on the prairies and plains. We know it has been a particularily cold winter thus far. Here however, the cold(ish) season is over. Spring is in the air. Trees are adding new growth, buds are forming and flowers are blooming. Javier was over and trimmed our grass, lemon tree and palm. He's a good gardener and very polite, always calling me "patron" or boss. Our neighbour gave us a grapefruit tree and we are going to plant it soon. It's hard not to be a good gardener in this climate. Back in Alberta, nobody starts planting gardens until the May long weekend and even then, we have seen it snow after that on a few occasions. We must admit we really enjoy the weather here. Today, we need to study for our Spanish mid-term exams at university after we come back from the market and the Christian book store.

The Parents are Here

We had a nice day today at church. Royce and Sue's daughter, Michelle, sang a song in church from Christian Latin recording artist, Jesus Adrian Romero, whose music Ingrid and I enjoy very much. http://www.vastago.com/jesusadrian/mainmenu/index3.html (Link to the site, turn up the sound, and enjoy). Gabriel, Royce and Sue's son-in-law, preached from the book of Jonah. After the service we spent a little time visiting with the parents of Caroline Ruiz who are with the grandchildren for the next couple weeks. They are real nice folks and remind us of the people at First Baptist - Leduc, probably because Caroline's parents are dairy farmers. The question of the day that people were asking me, as if I were a football prophet, was "Who is going to win the Super Bowl?" Here's the prediction: Patriots...23-21.

Lots of Little Things to Do

Yesterday was a tad of a busy day. We began with a breakfast meeting with missionaries friends with CAM Ministries and with our fellow NAB missionary colleagues, Moises and Carolyn, to see how we might be able to work with each other in church planting efforts. There was alot of free flowing ideas and we all came away from the meeting pleased. Doctrinally and in terms of personalities, I'm quite sure we will work well together and that we share many of the same ideas of how to effectively church plant. I'm really getting excited about our plans and goals. I've added a few new links on the sidebar that deal with church planting movements and house churches. From that meeting, Moises and I were off to the retreat centre to see the work that our electrician, Celestino, had been doing. He wired what is likely going to become our Centre's workshop and he added large outdoor lights to the "campo" (field) where the kids play soccer. When the sun went down", the lights went on and we joked around that it was like a stadium! These lights will provide greater opportunity to use the grounds and expand our programming during kids' camps in the summer. From there we went to have a small taco break and then went to the church where Moises and Celestino's son attached our new signs to the church. There is a large sign on the west wall with all the activities displayed and on the north wall above the door is a smaller sign that just says the name of the church. We finished quite late and had to rush back to the northwest side of the city to drop me off at home and pickup Caroline so they could meet her parents at the airport around midnight. They arived here safely and already have visited our house to see the mountain top view from our porch of the world's largest city.