A Busy Sort of Week

As a family we have been at the camp this week helping a visiting family from Iowa, the DeBergs (top photo), that came to help do some construction. Today, we did the usual tourist day visiting the Basilica, the tourist market and the historic district. In five days of activity we were able get the new kitchen painted, the sundeck re-roofed (second photo) and some sealant put on the boys dorm roof. We also got the camp readied for a youth retreat. While at the camp we also celebrated Petra becoming a teenager (third photo). To help solve our water problems at the camp the cistern is being deepened and expanded to hold 33000 liters (bottom photo).

One Year in Mexico and Another Surprise!

Yeah...we've lasted here a whole year! Today, is our first anniversary of being in Mexico. Only recently did we receive our visa to be official residents of Mexico. It took a lot of time and the efforts of many people: our Mexican lawyer, friends at N.A.B. headquarters, leaders in our last church and government bureaucracies in three countries including two Canadian provinces, one U.S. state, and the federal government of Mexico - all to be able to get our paperwork together. Now we have the little green booklet document that says we are official!

On another note, this evening we told the girls to gather together for a pose. Instead of saying, "cheese" or "smile", Ingrid said, "Ahava, you're going to be a big sister!" Note the look on Brittany's face. I think it says, "stunned disbelief." Petra's face is saying, "What?" The rest of the girls took a minute to clue in. The girls are happy and all of them want a little sister. Dad has no preference but is happy. We're expecting the baby around Christmas. Imagine if it is a sixth girl! We could probably have our own t.v. show on the Discovery Channel.

A Long Update

The teenager is sleeping in till noon. The house is noisier and dirtier. There are constant demands for food. That's right...the kids are on summer vacation! While I (Marcel) was in Sioux Falls, South Dakota this last, week taking a course at Sioux Falls Seminary, the girls completed their last week of school be fore the summer break. It is nice to have them around the house but it is going to take a little while to adjust to the noise. It's been a unique last couple of weeks. We have had a nasty computer virus which wiped out most of our hard drive. I was able to recover much of what we lost but I have a long way to go. We've been pulled over by the police three more times for every excuse under the sun. I was driving with Royce Baron when he asked me if I had been pulled over by the police lately. I said yes Ingrid was two weeks ago and I last week. Just then a patrulla jumped in front of me to pull me over. I don't think he expected that this turista would be well armed with a copy of the traffic regulations, a card from the local government that says the top ten things cops pull people over for with the instructions not to pay bribes and numerous other letters and photo copies. I must admit I'm getting good at fighting corruption at the street level. Unfortunately, new rules come into effect this July that prevent foreign vehicles from driving from 5Am till 11Am everyday plus an additional day of no driving on weekends. For the most part we are cool with this since we like to take the bus if we head downtown but it is going to be impossible to take kids to school in the morning or go to the retreat centre. There maybe a chance we can get a special permission (sticker) that allows us to drive during these restricted hours. We have also faced some new problems in our home. The other day Ingrid called some plumbers that were recommended by fellow missionaries that are good at cleaning cisterns. As they walked by the water heater we were all overwhelmed by the smell of propane gas. We found a very dangerous leak so we shut off the gas and we are now waiting for permission of the landlady to fix the problem. Thus, we are going without hot showers and have to eat out everyday till this is done. This coming weekend we are off to the retreat center to spend some time with a family from Iowa. They are coming to do some work as a family to help the center progress a bit. During that week my mom is flying here and we will be heading on vacation to Texas; the land of barbecue! ( We dig brisket and ribs) The girls want to see some friends from when they lived in Edinburg, Texas and we will celebrate a couple birthdays (Brittany's and Petra's) with them. Then we are going to San Antonio for a couple days. Brittany and I are going to a WNBA basketball game. From there we are going to drive to Dallas for the bulk of our time to shop for things we can't get in Mexico, enjoy a Texas Rangers Baseball game and do the Six Flags thing. When we return from Texas we will be greeting a large mission team from Ohio that will helping with construction at the retreat center, a VBS and an English camp. Our summer seems to be quite full and we will be seeking new opportunities to reach out to the community in efforts to plant a church here. Hopefully, my Spanish will improve and will be of some greater use here soon.