Finally Got the Sweaters

Well it's the end of the hockey season and the girls finally received their hockey jerseys. Brittany requested #99 and Petra, #13. Yet like in an episode of the T.V. show "Everybody Hates Chris" where the younger brother orders a jersey like that of his favorite hockey player -- Wayne Gretzky #99 -- he received a jersey that said Gritzky #98. My daughters both got #7 and no name on the back! Ay!!! Either way, they are happy to have received the sweaters and are looking forward to next season. In the mean time the girls are facing final exams at school and I'm sure they will do well. Two weeks after that we're off to San Antonio and Dallas, Texas for a couple of weeks of vacation before we have a large Gateway team join us from Cleveland.

Planning Meeting for Summer Camp

Today, it was Planning Day for the summer. We have a large team from Cleveland arriving in July and we will split the team in three ways. Part of the team will do construction work at the retreat centre in Acolman, led by Moises. Another part of the team will help with the VBS at Christ Lives Bible Church in Ecatepec, led by Caroline. The last part of the team will be helping to put on an English camp near our house in the town of Cuatitlan Izcalli. The picture above is of our English camp planning session with Craig and Denise, missionaries with CAM International. It will be a five day camp similar to that of a VBS but with a dual emphasis: English and the Bible. We will be using a sports theme since Mexicans really like their sports. The plan will be to have the camp in a somewhat richer area where it is generally more difficult to reach people. Pray that we will see success with this new ministry effort.

Out and About

We were quite surprised when the embassy called us to let us know that Ahava's passport was ready. We only submitted it a week and a half before. I feel ashamed that I used to complain that Canadian government bureaucracy was slow and inefficient. After almost a year in Mexico, I feel quite differently. So it was off to the embassy (bottom picture) today to get the little one's passport with the words inside the passport saying "Issuing Office: Mexico City". We took the bus from our home since it is far less stressful than driving in this traffic and walked a small distance. The embassy is right beside Chapultapec Park and very close to the anthropology museum. From there it was back on the bus. We had a quick lunch at McDonald's (I really don't like that restaurant and that burger: I had called the McNasty A.K.A. McTasty). Just outside the McDonald's and slightly to the north is a building called Torre Arbol or Tree Tower (top picture). You may notice from the picture that half way up the building is a tree that is sticking out. The story I heard was that the Jewish man that had the building constructed instructed that upon his death, he should be buried in a tomb where the tree is. I have not verified this but I suppose it is plausible.

IBCV On Their Own

A few weeks ago Moises announced to the church that the church is ready to be on their own and without direct missionary involvement. The leaders of the church were introduced and a time frame was given. This weekend we, the Mitchells, will be begin attending different churches in an effort to see what is out there and how well they are doing and to glean any church planting knowledge that we can. The Ruizes will be doing the same starting next weekend. This summer will be outreach time and in the fall, the embryonic stages of cell-churches will have begun. We are excited about this new change and anticipate good things. Our missionary meetings have been quite electrifying as we plan and consider the possibilities before us.

Ted Nugent Wannabe

Sporting her little cowboy hat (which is on backwards) along with a cut out of an electric guitar, little Ahava decided to put on a concert for our dog, Scout, and I think she looked a like a 4 year old female version of the Motor City Madman. I don't think the dog was all that happy that her house became a stage for the concert but she knows her place; Scout is number eight in this family of seven. Things remain somewhat busy here. However, with the Ruizes taking a much needed break it is going to give me opportunity to get some reading done, a sermon worked on and some time in the gym. Today was a hot dry day in the city and Moises and I were at the Retreat Centre putting waterproof sealant on the new addition and the boys dorm. Fransisco and his men are putting tile in the eight bathrooms in the married dorms as well as putting in a new cistern for the girls dormitory.