Mexico Mitchells

New School Year in Canada

2009-09-04T12:33:00.002-05:00

After the first week of school, I've all ready prepared 25 lunches. Our littlest is now a first grader. She wore her Mexican kindergarten sweater to school for the first two days; I guess it was a bit of familiarity for her. Two big sisters go to the same school with her and we are figuring out the bussing system here. You don't pay or even register your child, just show up for one of the three morning buses that goes by! All three little girls have new school friends and are loving their new teachers.
The two older girls are both in high school. They had a harder time making friends this week but after some smaller group projects, they have met some girls their age who weren't afraid to talk to the "new girls". In both schools, the girls have met girls who speak Spanish and are from Columbia.
Marcel preached for the first time this past Sunday and it went very well. He's done hospital visits all ready, I've gone to a bridal and a baby shower, and the church's fall programs will begin this next week (Awana, youth group, etc.). Marcel's off to the farm today to move the old truck so we can get at our coffee tables and dressers that are stored in the seacan behind the truck. We've had some things break after being frozen and thawed over three years while in storage: decorative tiles, plastic containers of motor oil, and some Rubbermaid totes.
Our latest adventure has been dental care. All the work we had done in Mexico needs to be replaced and then some (for the cavities that the Mexican dentist hadn't noticed). Our discount through work benefits at our new church won't apply for some time and we can't wait with broken temporary fillings that were put in in Mexico. It costs extra but we hope to have sedation to get a bunch of work done in one visit, first for the two little ones, then for our tin grin teenager, and finally the other two girls and mom and dad. After so many visits to the dentist in Mexico, the girls are getting good at being patients.
We're adjusting to a few other changes that come with living in the semi-desert area of our province: different weeds, snakes, ants, and spiders. Our year in Texas was good preparation for dealing with ants. I'm happy to report that when Marcel went looking for snakes, he only found bunny rabbits! Yesterday he went on a bike ride and was five feet away from a yearling deer, its mother, and her newborn fawn. Medicine Hat has a lot of deer right in town and we've been enjoying watching them.
Our continued thanks for all of your prayers for our family.

Settling Back in Canada

2009-08-18T14:37:00.003-05:00

To update those checking our blog, we have safely arrived in Canada. We left Mexico City on June 7. We nearly had an accident in San Antonio when we crested a hill and saw that all three lanes of the freeway were completely stopped. After looking for a good spot to pull off the freeway and check the tires, a tire on the cargo trailer blew so we had to stop at the side of the road where we were. We later met some nice Mexican Americans who had a tire shop open until 8pm. We were grateful for God's protection.
We headed to Canada via Phoenix, Arizona. We were able to spend four days in Arizona enjoying the vacation home that belongs to the moderator of our new church. We all saw the Grand Canyon except for Emma who was in Canada with her Grandmother. Our border crossing went smoothly which was another answer to prayers. We accidentally brought a scorpion to Canada from Arizona but were happy to have discovered it under our truck seat as we were cleaning up after the long drive.
July was spent camping in our new city of Medicine Hat, Alberta, house hunting, and our elementary aged daughters went to camp in Saskatchewan. Marcel drove 22 hours across the Canadian prairies to Winnipeg, Manitoba to attend our church denomination's triennial conference. The moving truck full of our furniture that had been stored near our previous church arrived. Furniture and boxes were moved into our house, Marcel spent one night with the girls and I, and then we awoke to receive a telephone call that Marcel's grandfather had passed away. We were planning to unpack our boxes and make a quick trip to see Marcel's grandparents before his new job began but God's timing was different.
We made a 3 hour trip just into Saskatchewan and back to pick up our two teenagers from their camp (after just one day being there). Marcel drove another 11 hours but this time, with the whole family and headed west to his hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia. We happened upon a heat wave and record temperatures for Vancouver of 34*C. We helped his Grandmother as much as we could over 10 days and attended the funeral before another 11 hours return trip back through the beautiful Rocky Mountains.
We've been enjoying sleeping in our own beds after two months of travelling. Brittany has completed a Drivers' Training program offered in our new city and the little girls have enjoyed a few sleepovers with new church girlfriends. I (Ingrid) was relieved to have a second ultrasound here in Canada and know that our littlest one is continuing to develop well. My tummy's growing and I'm feeling lots of kicks. We are expecting this little one to be born some time around Christmas. Our baby will be part of a baby boom at our new church as I am told 10 moms are expecting this year, just a couple more than last year's 8 new babies.
Marcel had his first official day on the job at the church yesterday and started right off with 5 hours of meetings. He is at an appointment right now to get his clergy parking pass to use at the hospital when he does visitation there. We've all ready been able to visit with six families at their homes and are beginning to get to know the new-to-us congregation at Temple Baptist Church in Medicine Hat, Alberta. On Marcel's way home from work yesterday, he saw a snake on the road a couple of blocks from our house. We've all ready talked to a local doctor who said that the rattlesnakes here are much less venemous than in Texas. Though Alberta has been our home for 19 years before we lived in Mexico, southern Alberta is semi-desert. We are about an hour north of the Canadian/American border and 5 1/2 hours to the south of where we used to live in Alberta.
Our immense thanks for your many prayers on our behalf during this transition in our ministry! Little Ahava hardly remembers Canada and is excitedly awaiting the snow to come. She didn't understand me when I said "icicle" and our older girls don't remember "kovasa" (koo-bah-saw) which is Ukrainian sausage - the local specialty.
We hope to meet some Spanish speaking people here in Medicine Hat as the city statistics report that 1% of the city listed Spanish as their first language. I've all ready seen one young woman at the store here who very much reminds me of a young woman at Christ Lives Bible Church in Ecatepec (NE Mexico City)!
Though we all ready miss Mexico very much, we are excited to be able to minister here as well.
Our brakes on the truck were locked up last week at 9pm so Marcel got to work on the driveway taking things apart to see what was wrong. A neighbor graciously came by to offer his help and three hours later, we headed to bed knowing that we have a new friend in this young man. He owns a distinctive truck and we have been told that he used to have a 666 decal on his back window. Marcel shares some other hobby interests with this young man besides fixing trucks. Please join us in praying that God would soften his heart to receive the gospel as our friendship develops and we spend more time with him.

Brit's ok and our stuff to sell

2009-05-25T19:38:00.002-05:00

Brittany returned safely from her two day class trip. She was strapped into the seats of the Batman ride with her legs dangling when the earthquake happened. Six Flags closed the ride for "Technical Difficulties". Brittany and her friends saw signs moving but thought it was the wind. Then they noticed other people stopped with confused looks on their faces. Six Flags made an PA announcement that all rides would be closed for 30 minutes because there was an earthquake. This happened a second time in the afternoon when an aftershock happened.
She seemed far more excited to have found a Rhino Bug with her classmates. They thought it was dead but then it began to slowly walk across the hotel room dresser. The dads who chaperoned both yelled and kicked the bug out the door. Another boy rescued his "science project" so that he could show the science teacher on Monday. The bug is dark brown, half the size of your fist, and really has a rhino-like horn.
Our lastest news is a completed "Items to Sell" list. Bookshelf $150, Fireproof document safe $150, blue dresser $350, pulpit $300, 2 metal shelving units $50 each,

Uneventful Earthquake

2009-05-23T09:22:00.002-05:00

Each year in August, Marcel gets a meteorite shower for his birthday. Yesterday, I got an earthquake for my birthday. Marcel was typing at the computer and felt his office chair slowly and rythmically move 6 inches, forward and back, forward and back. For a couple of seconds, he felt dizzy. Ahava was watching tv and felt the sofa move similarly. I was on the next lower floor of our house, the floor that is built against the side of the mountain. I didn't feel it but heard Marcel calling for me to come outside because we were having an earthquake.
Petra and Kirklyn were at school on a different nearby mountain. Petra was working in the computer lab and said she felt banging. Kirklyn's chair was moving as well.
Our neighbor's office is on a third floor of a university. He felt up and down movement although we are on the same mountain and his office is only about 10 blocks away from our house.
It sounded like our missionary friends SW of Mexico City felt this the most. Their bookshelf banged against the wall and they said it was quite a ride.
Still waiting to talk to Brittany briefly by cellphone. The lines went down right after the earthquake yesterday afternoon at 2:24pm. Brittany went to Six Flags Mexico City with her school class. The standard practise is for the rides to shut down immediately in the case of an earthquake. She may have had a short day at the amusement park but we trust that she is okay. I was just able to get through to her cellphone mailbox and left a message to please call Mom.
People here in Mexico City are still dealing with the trauma of having lived through the devastating earthquake of 1985. Downtown buildings were evacuated yesterday and many people were teary-eyed because of their fear and horrible memories from 24 years ago.

This afternoon we plan to attend the New Tribes Mission graduation of just one student here in Mexico City, their newest training center. The student, Diego, has been Marcel's Spanish tutor this year. In the fall he will move north to Chihuahua to complete his last two years of training before heading off to the mountains of Mexico to learn a new tribal language and share the gospel with an indigenous group within Mexico.
On Sunday we will be meeting in the "Park of the Deer" for a picnic day to enjoy with our friends as a goodbye party. Rainy season has begun so we aren't sure how long we will last before we get soaked.
The girls have only one more week of school left because they have an American school schedule and are very excited for Friday to arrive. Mexican children will have an extra two weeks of school in July to make up for missed time during the influenza outbreak when schools were closed.

Preparing for Our Return to Canada

2009-05-18T20:27:00.003-05:00

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:” Ecclesiastes 3:1

The above photo was taken on our return flight from Calgary, Alberta in April as we turn on to the final approach for Mexico City International Airport. Flying over the city is as amazing as being in it. The city seems to stretch into the horizon with endless houses and streets running in every direction. The green space seen at the wingtip is Chapultepec Park. At the leading edge of the wing is the castle of the Emperor Maxmilian and road stretching above is Reforma Avenue, the main road in downtown Mexico City. At the trailing edge of the wing is the National Anthropology Museum, a must see if ever visiting this great city. One may wonder why we were in an aircraft coming back from Calgary in April. We paid our Canadian taxes and visited a church in southern Alberta.
In February of 2004 Ingrid and I received a clear and compelling call to plant churches in one of the largest cities in the world. Our intention was to identify potential Mexican church leadership and invest in them from our training, knowledge and experience. When training was complete, we would send them out to minister and plant churches among their own people through home based cell churches. Our goal was that most Mexicans involved in these new church plants would never know there was a Canadian missionary ever involved in their church. We wanted it to be a Mexican ministry, through and through. Though this was the intent, numerous obstacles were before us that did not afford us such opportunities. Instead of using our spiritual gifts in this area, we were consigned to leading tours for visiting mission teams and participating in teaching English as a second language. Though these are admirable, enjoyable and good ministries much needed to grow the kingdom, they have not been our calling.
As a result of these issues and our desire to serve God through the use of our gifts, we allowed our names to stand as pastor of a church in Alberta, Canada. This past week we accepted the call to be Senior Pastor of Temple Baptist in Medicine Hat. The exact time of which we begin our ministry is unknown as we are still conferring with the church regarding a possible start date in August or the beginning of September. We are going to miss our friends that we have made here and this amazing city. When so many are fearful of the violence and influenza here, we continue to be enamored with Mexico City. To leave here will be painful yet we are looking forward to what God has in store for us at a church that shows great promise and has a desire to move forward in being a strong witness of God’s grace in their community. Mexico City will always have a profound part of our hearts and we will always be sensitive to the ministry needs of this city and the Latin people. We thank God for what He has done in our lives in our time here and trust that we will be fruitful in our next ministry.
From the bottom of our hearts, we thank all of you that have supported us these last four years in giving through prayer and through your financial support. Thank you also for those who were concerned and prayed for our safety during this time of escaladed violence in Mexico and the recent outbreak of influenza. We are still safe and healthy, looking forward to a new chapter in our lives.

Dios les bendiga (God bless you all),

Marcel and Ingrid Mitchell
Brittany, Petra, Emma, Kirklyn and Ahava

Mother's Day Postcards

2009-05-11T19:45:00.005-05:00

We're seeing less and less masks when we go out these days even though I noticed one lottery ticket kiosk advertising that they had masks available for sale. Santizing hand gel is becoming a bit more available. We still have plenty of soap!

We also have water. A month or so ago, there was a 5 day shut down of the water so that huge pipes could be repaired. The people of Mexico City are blessed that the repairs where completed when the influenza errupted. On the local news, we hear people asking the government what to do about the schools in Mexico who do not have water. Those schools cannot be properly scrubbed down with water, soap, and bleach like the majority of schools in Mexico. Those schools have dirt floors and do not even have small cisterns to supply some water. There were several cases of flu reported in this poor and densely populated area of Mexico City. The reporters say "How can we be surprised? The people in that area do not even have water available to wash their hands with." On another news report, one reporter began to laugh and said new situations are developing within families in Mexico City where one can hear "Mom, really, I'm not a drunk! This beer is full of alcohol and I am using it to santize my hands!" They are trying to have some fun in the midst of everything.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms. Mother's Day is the biggest holiday of the calendar year in Mexico. The pictures are of two postcards I received as a gift from the city of Ecatepec. A string of postcards with pictures from various parts of Ecatepec were given out to each mom who passed by on the sidewalk. The top postcard is of the City Hall and the bottom postcard is a photo of the Saint Peter Xalostoc Church and its gazebo. At the speedbump on the street where you have to slow your car down, a church handed out roses to each mom with her window rolled down for some cooler air. Lots of balloons, purses, and flower arrangements were sold from hatchbacks parked at various corners throughout the city.

Today our girls went back to school. The Mexican kindergarten principal told me that none of her students or staff had a single friend or relative affected by the flu. Even though cleaning the school was a lot of work, she said that it was worth it. At the older girls' international school, their new extra academic schedule began. One Korean student went back to Korea with his family so his final grade for the year will be based on his grades up until two weeks ago when school was postphoned. As each student arrived at the school gate, they were asked if they knew anyone who had the flu. Everyone got their squirt of hand sanitizer as they entered the school. The science teacher continued her rounds to each student with the pump during the whole day. They plan to continue with their mini-musical that is planned for this Friday. Practise today wasn't too good:)

Please Keep Praying

2009-05-07T12:39:00.003-05:00

To better see this photo, double click on it and then click "Back" when you want to return to our blog. This is a large billboard above the 12 lane freeway in northwest Mexico City. It says "We deserve jail? Legal abortion in all the country. Social democratic party. Think free." There are struggles here in Mexico, even on a normal day without the addition of the H1N1 flu virus.

Our family are still well. The girls will go to school on Monday. Their classes of art and phys ed have been cancelled so that they can have two math classes on Monday, two science classes on Tuesday, etc. in order to catch up by the end of May when their school year ends. Marcel and I went to a grocery store last night at 9 p.m. We saw one family wearing masks and one other mother/daughter with masks but the other people have all given up on the bother of this. Most of the masks available here are only effective in an antiviral way for 2 hours. Masks, hand sanitizing gel and gloves are all sold out. People are hoping that the worst has past.

Mexico City Shut Down

2009-05-01T19:37:00.004-05:00

Marcel and I safely arrived home from Canada the day before yesterday. We left Calgary at midnight, arrived at Toronto at 6:30 a.m., left Toronto at 9:30 a.m. and arrived in Mexico City at 1:30 p.m. Our trip home from the airport was an all time record inspite of having driving way to the south, past the downtown, and then doubling back up the main freeway. Thirty minutes! We only progressed slowly for about 10 blocks and then traffic sped up again.
Grandma had to stay an extra day in order to arrange her flight back home to Vancouver. Last night we were surprised to hear a live mariachi band outside on our street! They performed three serenade songs on the street before being invited into our neighbors' gated patio area. I didn't see a mask on anyone in the group but their music was beautiful.
We drove Grandma to the airport today. She and Emma were interviewed by one of the most popular daily newspapers in Mexico. We will check for the piece tomorrow. Something new at the airport today: thermal scanners for all outgoing passengers to check for fevers, various pamphlets about the influenza symptoms and ways to protect yourself and others, and a mobile clinic truck parked in front of the airport that was ready to assess people with presenting symptoms.
Antiviral face masks, latex gloves, and antiseptic hand gel are all sold out. We had bought a box of 20 masks in Canada for $65 Canadian dollars but they were the only masks we could find in Calgary as pharmacies were sold out there as well.
Today is the first day of a week long official shutdown of non-essential businesses. The streets are quiet. Grocery stores have employees sanatizing your shopping cart for you as you enter the store. The line ups of full shopping carts are long as people want to stock up while they are risking being out shopping.
Our family are feeling well so far. The girls spent a full week inside our house. We have since driven to the airport once and to the grocery store twice and very much enjoyed being out of the house briefly. We wear our masks, frequently wash our hands, use our antiseptic gel, and try to avoid areas with a lot of people. Then we head home as soon as possible.
We are contemplating if we should stay put in Mexico or head out. The news today says that things seem to be leveling off but who knows. We are concerned that the border may be closed and that we will then be forced to stay and who knows for what length of time. Our extended health care is for a very good if not the best hospital in the city, run by doctors from Britain and the United States. We are aware that it would likely be overwhelmed (if not all ready) as they do have the best facilities and anyone who can afford a private hospital would certainly chose that one. The girls attend an international Christian school. Like all schools in Mexico, it is cancelled until May 6th at which time they will reassess and decide what course of action to then take.
We are praying for wisdom as we think this through. Most of all, we are grateful to be together again as a family. The thought of our Canadian Grandma trying to navigate this megacity to potentially get to a hospital with one of our children or herself was concerning to say the least. We thank God for His protection so far. Grandma and Emma should be safely in Toronto and now on their way to Vancouver. The rest of us are back in our house and have enough food and water.
Mexico is a struggling country at the best of times and this health crisis will have serious long term effects. This especially applies to us as missionaries. Please pray that the many Mexicans who have heard the gospel from Christian friends, family, national pastors and missionaries will remember the hope that Christ offers and will consider submitting their lives to Him as they recognize their need of a Savior.

Recent News

2009-04-28T09:08:00.002-05:00

Thought we'd let you know a bit about what's happening with our family currently. Marcel and I are both in Canada for a short yearly trip to submit our taxes, renew our Canadian vehicle registration, etc. I came on Sunday and Marcel on Wednesday. Marcel's mom graciously agreed to watch our girls. Her plane arrived in Mexico City and I flew back to Canada on the very same plane.

When we left Mexico, we had not heard a thing about the outbreak of Swine Flu. We check Canadian and American news sources daily in addition to Mexican news and no one was mentioning anything about this situation. When Marcel arrived in Canada, it was the breaking news story and has continued that way ever since. Marcel and I have asked Oma (Grandma) and the girls to remain inside our house and to only use the intercom to speak with anyone who should ring our doorbell. We had a month's supply of food in our home in preparation for a possible earthquake as that is an ongoing possibility when you live in Mexico City. Our Mexican friends coming over for bible studies and English classes teased us that our kitchen looked like a dispensary with boxes of pasta stacked on one wall but we are very grateful for those preparations at this time. There is plenty of food for Grandma and the girls and they can remain inside the house.

We had the anguish of watching a Mexican press conference from our hotel room in Canada and saw them pause as the Mexican health official and his colleagues felt an earthquake. It seems to have passed with little effect apart from frightening two Canadian parents who are two countries away from their family.

If possible, we hope to both return to Mexico City later today.

We all feel well physically. Grandma and the girls are dreaming of going for a walk down our residential street but that will have to wait. :)

Please pray for wisdom as we decide how best to handle this situation with our children and Grandma. The Canadian embassy in Mexico sent an email and said that the choice to stay in Mexico or to leave is a personal one. They provided several links for us to check what is the most recent information about the outbreak. Pray also for the Ruiz family, our NAB missionary colleagues who live just 10 houses down our street in Mexico City. Of course, please also pray for all Mexicans in the megacity of Mexico City, that this frightening time would be a catalyst for them to consider spiritual things.

Bernal Queretaro

2009-04-01T16:38:00.003-06:00

Some more photos of the town of Bernal, Queretaro. We hope to take Marcel's mom there for a visit the next time that she comes to Mexico because we are sure that she will love it!

How Did They Get Up There?

2009-04-01T16:22:00.006-06:00

Where there's a will, there's a way. The main north-south road for Mexico City runs down the west side of the Valley of Mexico. It's a 12 lane road (3 lanes and 3 lateral lanes in each direction). Roadways in a mountainous area are more challenging as you can't simply use a grid pattern of nice and square streets and avenues. None the less, the city planning for all these people who live in this megacity was a little lacking and the traffic becomes increasingly congested as the years go by. Statistics say that 2,000 people move to Mexico City each day!

In anticipation of the 200th anniversary of Mexico's independence in 2010, a second level on this 12 lane road has been planned and they are beginning to build. This is also part of Mexico's economic stimulus plan - to upgrade and build new roads throughout Mexico. Deep holes are being dug in which to put the huge pillars that will support each section of upper deck roadway. Some pillars are in place and some sections of the upper deck have been put in place with some gigantic cranes! (Again, my slow draw with the camara caused me to miss a photo of the crane. Next time...) Most of the work is done between 10 pm and 6 am during the night with the use of flood lights. During the day, the boulevards where there used to be grass, trees, and flowers are now filled with cranes, rebar, and heavy equipment.

What really caught our attention in the midst of all this construction was the few upper deck sections of roadway that are in place. There are a few places where just one section is put up and in one area, four sections have been joined together. As we passed by among the slow traffic (we lost a lane for fencing barriers and materials), we saw GRAFFITTI on the brand new concrete sections, way up there. Of course the cranes are secured during the daytime when they are not being used which leaves us wondering, "How did they get up there?"

Pastor Francisco is Official

2009-03-31T23:29:00.004-06:00

Christ Lives Bible Church in Ecatepec celebrated the installation of their very first pastor, Pastor Francisco! He and his wife Adriana were prayed over and commissioned for their first pastorate as the first national pastor of Iglesia Biblica Cristo Vive. This church is now 12 years old and is still growing and maturing. Ecatepec is a suburb of 3 million people in the NE of Mexico City. For this special day, former NAB Mexico missionaries Royce and Sue Baron returned to join the congregation of the church that they had coplanted with Moises and Carolyn Ruiz. Angel and Leti also came as they were the first founding members of the church. Moises explained what an installation service is all about as it was the first time that the congregation had called a pastor. Angel and Royce both preached. At the end of the service, we enjoyed a taco potluck - yum! My new favorite tacos are filled with a cold nopal cactus salad. Surprisingly good. I also made a new friend on this Sunday - Sara, the little 7 yr old niece of my girlfriend Sandy. Sara couldn't believe that I actually know her Auntie Sandy. She happily chattered to me and I responded based on the few words that I caught as she sped along in Spanish, smiling the whole while.
Please remember Pastor Francisco and Adriana in your prayers. They have three young girls, one of whom had a new cast on her arm after slipping on their tiled stairs and breaking her arm. The church is located in a poor neighborhood and plan to pay Pastor Francisco $500 US dollars each month. His house rent is $200 and I am amazed at how they manage with just $300 each month for food and everything else they need. Also pray for Pastor Francisco's preaching skills. He has been attending a seminary in Mexico City to strengthen this weakness. His family have been involved in the church life for about 3 years so the congregation has all ready grown to love them for their wise and freely given pastoral counsel.

Love and Respect in Bernal Queretaro Mexico

2009-03-31T22:01:00.016-06:00

Marcel and I spent our first weekend away, without the kids, in about... four years! The girls were fine and enjoyed their time with a french-canadian young woman who teaches at their international school. Thank you Miss Julie!!
We went to Bernal, Queretaro, Mexico which is about two hours NE of our house. We have spent several months praying and asking/compelling/begging/nagging our church plant contacts to go on a marriage retreat weekend with us. Previous dates never worked out but finally, two couples could go! One wife became sick on the Friday but she and her husband set off from their home on the next morning at 6:30 am and arrived in time to join us for breakfast at 8 am!
The location was beautiful. Bernal is a little colonial town, full of charm and little shops. It is famous for a huge rock formation that Marcel thinks looks like a lava flow formation. It very much reminded me of Devil's Tower in Wyoming, the rock formation in the movie "Close Encounters". It was so hot that we passed on the 2 hour climb up and back down but we hope to return and enjoy the hike on another day.
Our hotel room exterior
and interior.

The theme of the weekend was "Love and Respect" with biblical teachings about men loving their wives and wives respecting their husbands. We also watched the movie "Fireproof" which fit perfectly with our theme. The two ladies that came with us really opened up. They and their husbands enjoyed the weekend and I believe that their marriages will improve as a result of having attended this retreat.
Before driving home on Sunday, we wandered through the little town. We saw a large graffitti mural of a famous former soccer player from Argentina snorting cocaine through a straw. Quite the subject matter but the artisty was impressive none the less.
We also saw a beautiful woven tapestry depicting a scene of Bernal but it cost $4,000 pesos so we admired it and continued on our way. Marcel bought a small bookstand and we bought 4 different crosses for wallart. The buildings' architecture and painted exteriors were beautiful. We also admired some colorful Mexican handcarved dining room chairs that filled a little restaurant.

On the drive back home, we passed a grain elevator complex and some tall green barley fields. For a few minutes, I felt a little at home again. (These pictures are for our grain farmer friends up north.)

Once we got on the main highway, one of the men began to ask questions, wonderful spiritual questions about salvation and various bible stories. He told us his spiritual background and explained his scepticism regarding a large "Christian" church in Mexico City where the pastor had published a book on tithing and seemed to teach nothing else. This experience had, obviously, put him off anything Christian yet God sent another professional Christian coworker into this man's life. Carolyn, Marcel, and I prayed while Moises was used by God to speak the words this man needed to hear. We've known his wife since September and he surprised us by coming to our Valentine's Banquet. We really enjoyed getting to know this man during this weekend and we had many fun times of laughter together.
We again invited him and his wife to our Sunday evening church services in our home. The other couple hugged us goodbye and invited us to their home for a BBQ next weekend. Please keep praying!

Mexico City Advertising

2009-03-31T21:53:00.005-06:00

Advertising in Mexico City can be a little different than back home. A favorite method is to decorate an entire vehicle like we do with city buses. The interesting part is that they cover three vehicles with the exact same advertisement and then drive the line up of the three vehicles down the road. Today, we saw 5 small cars decorated with a Hannah Montana advertisement for the new season of shows on the Disney Channel. I'm a slow draw with the camara so we only caught a photo of the two vehicles at the front of the procession. I guess the thinking is that if one vehicle with advertising is eyecatching, how much moreso are 5 vehicles all together! If you double click on the photo, you can have a closer look. The bus in front of these cars is also covered with an ad for Pizza Hut.

New Vehicle

2009-03-05T12:14:00.005-06:00

Tired of being pulled over by the police (40 times since we arrived here not including federal police and army check stops) we decided we needed to purchase a Mexican vehicle with Mexican plates that will not draw the unwanted attention of the Transito (Transit Police). The new minivan is a 2003 and we got a fairly good deal from some friends that have been helping us in the church plant. We also had a very special relative in Vancouver give us a very generous check toward the van's purchase...Thanks soooo much! It's nice to have a vehicle again that has automatic windows and air conditioning. We will continue to use the old Suburban that was originally a Telus telephone company truck but only we it's really necessary - like when we need to pull the mission trailer. The top picture is our licence plate from the State of Mexico where we live (there are 31 states in Mexico and one Federal District, kinda like Washington D.C.). The images on the plate are from the Heroes of the Revolution and are put on this year's licence plates to celebrate next year's 200th anniversary of Mexican revolution. I've got to say, Mexican plates have a lot more panache than the plates in the US or Canada.

The Day of Love and Friendship

2009-03-04T23:20:00.007-06:00

Our Valentine's dinner pictures have finally been recovered from the depths of our computer. (Thanks Brittany!) In Mexico, Valentine's Day is known as the "Day of Love and Friendship." By far, the most commonly sold Valentine's items were: yes, balloons. We sure couldn't afford them though! $8 for an 8 inch balloon and $14 or more for a larger one. Multiply that by five girls and we decided to pass on that idea. There were balloon vendors on every corner rather than just the usual spots on weekends in the parks and outside popular family restaurants.
We had oh so much fun with our neighbors during our "formal" dinner at our home! Our fancy dinner menu plans got scaled back considering the economy and though some unchurched people were surprised that we didn't serve alcohol, everyone was content with the homemade lemonade that Carolyn Ruiz made. The evening was a success. We haven't laughed that hard for a long time. We knew that some of our friends were teasers but wow. For example, while we were playing the "Newlywed Game", Marcel asked the question "What color are the sheets on your bed right now in your house today?" The wife would describe in detail the three color plaid while the husband would falter with "kinda bluish" sort of answers. Other husbands were yelling out possible answers to "help", things like "Just say that they're black because she never wants to do the laundry!" My, my!
The most difficult question to get a matching husband/wife answer for was "Where did you share your first kiss?" Surprisingly, only one couple had a matching answer! We were having so much fun that the atmosphere in the room was really happy. A few people were annoyed/embarrassed that their spouse didn't answer the same way but everyone turned it around into some sort of joke and we kept having fun. "Wrong" answers are completely what makes the game so entertaining! When people couldn't remember, we'd say, "Just make something up." They hadn't played this game before so they thought that suggestion was just ridiculous and it is but it's just a game.
We were grateful to have Angel come and speak. He and his wife began the Christ Lives Bible Church in Ecatepec along with the Barons and the Ruizes. They are now helping with another church plant in a different part of Mexico City but graciously helped us for the evening. Angel made a fill-in-the-blanks worksheet to go with his devotional. His topic was "A Love that Blossoms" and we learned how the Bible's teachings on forgiveness apply to a marriage. Angel is a very good speaker. He's animated and able to use Mexican examples and expressions to illustrate his points. People were interested and filled all their blanks in. One man folded his paper and tucked it into his shirt pocket to take home. Such are the small evidences that we are slowly getting through with our message.
Our next event: a marriage retreat at the end of March. We hear that the location is special in that it is a place in Mexico where there is a giant rock. Our neighbor was amused to have climbed all the way to the top to find: a pop/soda machine! The new mystery is not about the huge rock but how the machine was placed on top... Sounds like something interesting to check out.

Some Visitors

2009-03-04T16:05:00.005-06:00

We had a few visitors here in Mexico City. Chemo (pronounced Chay-mo) and Amanda along with their two children Estrella and Emmanuel. They are living at the retreat center helping with a little maintenance. Chemo is originally from the state of Vera Cruz on the east coast of Mexico and Amanda is from Wisconsin. They had to move to Mexico for a little while to help expedite his application for immigration. Our daughter Ahava and Estrella have become real buddies and play for hours on end. They are so cute to watch together.

Que Preciosa - How Precious

2009-02-11T22:59:00.004-06:00

We're having a great time waiting during our Bible studies here in Mexico City! The Mexicans who are studying aren't seasoned Christians who know their way around a Bible. They begin looking for Revelation at the front of the Bible and often locate the "wrong" book of John (there are four to choose from). We really don't mind waiting a bit while they search and with a little direction, eventually find the passage we're reading.

Yesterday, a new lady came to the ladies' Bible study. At the end of our study, she kindly offered to read aloud the closing passage of our study for the day, Psalm 139. "Psalm 139. One. O Lord, You have searched me and known me. Two. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thoughts from afar. Three. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways." I smiled as she carefully read each verse number as she went along. Verses 21 and 22 brought nervous giggles from several ladies. "Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies."

At the end of the chapter, various ladies all chattered, "Oooh, que preciosa! Que linda!" - "Oooh, how precious! How beautiful!" They loved this chapter! I was further amazed to see three ladies all start searching back in the passage and then one read, "This is my favorite: verse 14. 'I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.' Did you hear that? 'And that my SOUL knows very well.'" They were immediately drawn to the most famous verse of the chapter without the leaders pointing this out to them. It spoke to their souls.

Super Bowl XLIII Fun and Baby Jesus Dolls

2009-02-02T22:05:00.005-06:00

We hosted a small group of people in our home for a SuperBowl XLIII party yesterday. What an exciting game, right until the end! We had fewer men show up than we had hoped but the two who did come, we had really hoped would. Our large windows were a problem for the first hour so we borrowed extra blankets from the Ruizes and duct taped the blankets up to block the sunlight. The projector worked well and once the sun set behind the mountains, we could see even better. We had hamburgers, chips, olives, salsa, potato salad, and brisket. Marcel was the BBQ chef and the 8 pounds of brisket were quickly devoured. Yum!
We watched the first half of the game in English and the second half, in Spanish. I'm surprised at how many Mexicans like American football although soccer is definately their favorite sport.
On the streets today, we saw many people carrying their porcelin baby Jesus dolls. February 2 marks the mid point between winter solstice and spring equinox, Groundhog Day, when we "find out" how the weather will be for the rest of the winter. In Mexico, a clear day means cold is coming and clouds means it will get warmer. It's a tough call in Mexico City with the usual smog. This day is also 40 days after Jesus' birth when Mary and Joseph presented Jesus at the temple and Mary was purified according to Mosaic law.
In Mexico, if you found the tiny plastic baby Jesus doll inside your slice of Ring of the Kings Bread back on January 6th, it's your turn to host a party today. Our neighborhood had a block party like this for our local policemen. You are to serve atole (a thick cornmeal warm drink - vanilla, strawberry or chocolate flavor) and tamales (cornmeal, meat, raisins, and a bit of sauce wrapped in cornhusks). This is work and expensive so apparently, people used to hide the baby Jesus doll in their mouth or even swallow it to avoid this party hosting responsibility!
Often life-sized ceramic doll representations of Jesus are taken out of the nativity manger, dressed in special outfits and taken to the local Catholic church to receive a blessing. The dolls even have godparents. A special blessing is believed to be received by the entire household. The baby Jesus is often set on a chair to symbolize that he is no longer a newborn. My neighbor has a very humble home but during my first visit to her house, she proudly showed me her Nino Dios - God Boy. Shops have been advertising repairs of your Jesus dolls and the street market was selling new satin christening outfits for the dolls. Many children are also christened today in Mexico. Candles honoring the Virgin Guadalupe (Mexico's Mary figure) are blessed during mass and so the name Candlemas came to be given to February 2 or in Spanish, Dia de la Candelaria. Our camera battery needs charging so I don't have photos but this link has 18 very nice photos. http://gomexico.about.com/od/festivalsholidays/ig/Dia-de-la-Candelaria-Photos/Ni-os-Dioses.html
There is a lot of familiarity with scripture here in Mexico, in this case, with Jesus' life as a child. So much time and money is spent doing things to please God and receive his blessing. The right goal but the wrong method. Salvation is simple and free! I hope that during tomorrow's bible study, opportunity will arise to discuss this with the ladies in my neighborhood.

Volcano Popocatépetl is Active (Click Here to see live Volcano Cam)

2009-01-25T12:57:00.019-06:00

We have noticed over the past few days that the volcano on the other side of the Mexico City mountain basin, Popocatépetl, has been smoking very actively this past week. Perhaps this is the sign of a major eruption ready to happen; who knows? It is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. So for your interest, I have linked this post with a live cam of the volcano. The above picture is a still of the live cam. Click on the title of this post to see the live cam.
I, Marcel, saw an eruption three years ago and it was one of the most awesome sights that I have ever seen with ash being shot miles into the atmosphere.

The Shock of the Second Commandment

2009-01-23T23:57:00.004-06:00

Our ladies' Bible study group is going through a panorama of the Bible. This week, we got to the chapter that tells of the Ten Commandments. We have a beautiful study book with an accompanying workbook. There are also CDs with recordings of a man's dramatic readings of each chapter and some occasional sound effects. I'm particularly grateful for these CDs as they save me taking my turn and poorly reading out loud in Spanish. The ladies are all very kind and only laugh that I always get the long passages to read - "More opportunity to practise for me!"

We have happened upon a new witnessing technique. One day, we accidentally dropped the CDs off at the wrong house (correct house number but wrong street). It was several days before we realized the error. Then we were a little worried but burst out laughing at our mistake. Those people must have wondered where these CDs came from and they MUST have been curious and listened a bit, don't you think? This situation also provided opportunity to invite this family to our study.

So now that we are again listening to our lovely CDs, we paused at the end of a section to see if there were questions or comments. "Are the Ten Commandments the same in every Bible?" "Well, you have a Catholic Bible there. What does Exodus 20 say in your Bible?" We discovered that yes, each Bible said the same thing. Then the ladies looked at each other in silence for several seconds. "Why does the second commandment say not to bow before a false idol and yet our Catholic churches are full of statues and pictures? Come to think of it, our whole country is full of statues that we pray to. It says very clearly here that we are breaking God's law to do this! Haven't the priests read this?"

Three weeks ago, we were surprised to see the Martin Luther biography movie was being shown on Mexican television. Just as it came to the part where Martin Luther sent his letter to his bishop explaining his deep concerns with current Catholic practise, the movie abruptly stopped! There was a test pattern for 20 minutes and we decided that we'd have to find a DVD of this new movie of Luther's life and watch the rest another time. We flicked back to check if the test pattern remained. It did but then, we saw Luther once again. We watched and realized that they were playing the previous 5 minutes before the interuption of tranmission. We were delighted and watched the movie through to the end.

Like the ladies in our study group, Luther wondered if the other priests had read the Bible as well.

"Word of God speak. Fall down like rain. Causing my eyes to see Your majesty."

Mexico Team Meetings

2009-01-14T17:33:00.006-06:00

We've had a 14 hour trip, with stops, from our home in Mexico City to Puerto Vallarta where we had Mexico Team Meetings with fellow NAB Mexico missionaries, the Ruiz family. It was a bit of torture to have meetings indoors at a hotel beside the beach but we did it. We spent hours over several days writing and editting as a team and ended our meetings with a renewed vision regarding how we would serve in Mexico City.
As we arrived in Puerto Vallarta, we went to the store to buy bread and milk for breakfast. Our truck broke down but a kind Mexican mechanic helped us. He changed our fuel pump right in the parking lot! In the process, the gas tank slipped and fell on the pavement, splashing gasoline into the mechanic's eyes. The next day, we had further mechanical problems. Another mechanic discovered that a small seal was missing near our fuel filter. As I helped Marcel back the truck out of the narrow parking lot, the German Shepherd guard dog chained to the wall nudged the back of my leg with his nose. That was because he had lundged with his mouth open to bite me! God blessed me with a chain an inch shorter than what he needed to bite me.
Our two families spent a few hours at Punta de Mita, north of Puerto Vallarta. The pelicans were huge!
We listened to a sales pitch for whale watching or fishing trips. We had supper at a restaurant on the beach and ate a local fish specialty that is baked whole. After Marcel's offer of 10 pesos (1 dollar), Daniel offered to, for free, eat the fish eye. Not to be outdone by his little brother, David ate one, too. The things competition can drive you to do!

We especially enjoyed the last three hours of sunlight at the beach on the night before we drove back to the city. Dylan, Kirklyn, and Emma went bodysurfing. The older Ruiz boys played soccer on the sand, and everyone swam in the ocean. It was nice to spend a few smog free days at the warm coast.

The New Psycho In Our Yard

2009-01-14T16:01:00.006-06:00

Our new black labrador puppy is dealing with culture shock. His name is Psycho. Or rather, Saicou. He spent his first night at our house last night and it went quite well with just 10 minutes of crying and howling! Psycho came from a litter of 11 puppies from a white Canadian lab father and a black German lab mother. Where did the unusual name come from? It's Japanese! The Mexican family who have cared for 11tumbly labrador pups for two long months had lived in Japan for 6 years. Each puppy received a Japanese name. Our little Psycho's name means "awesome" in Japanese. We cracked up laughing at this falsely intimidating name! Then we had to explain that it is a slang word in English that means a psychotic person. Then the Mexican family joined in on the laughter:)
We were blessed to have spent New Year's Eve with this family and the Ruizes. Their daughter is Kirklyn's age and their son plays soccer with Dylan Ruiz. We had fun learning how to play a wooden table game that I can pronounce but don't know how to spell (crow-ken-al). We also enjoyed the end of the live broadcast from downtown Mexico City. We saw the fireworks out our window and then would watch them "up close" on the television broadcast. We learned about the Mexican tradition of "12 wishes, 12 grapes". As the countdown approached midnight, we realized that everyone else was frantically stuffing each person's 12 grapes into their mouths. Guess you're supposed to eat one grape for each of the last 12 seconds of the year as well as making 12 wishes. It was a "you had to be there" moment but us Canadians once again provided some laughs as we totally messed this up.
A couple months ago, Marcel and I had some fun visiting record counters where Marcel would sing part of a familiar romantic song that we hear all the time on the radio. We knew that the soloist was an older singer with a strong, rich voice and that it was a mariachi style song. We ended up buying a couple CDs that weren't the right ones but at the last store, all the youth who had gathered to listen to Marcel's mini-serenade unanimously agreed that the song was from Vincente Fernandez. The original writer of the song sang at the New Year's Eve celebration in downtown Mexico City but everyone in our livingroom agreed that Vincente Fernandez' version of the song was far better. Be prepared: Vincente Fernandez's mariachi suit on his album cover has inspired Marcel regarding the Mexican clothes Marcel will wear when we are on home assignment in 2011. Oooh la la!
Besides the 12 grapes, we had some other special food on New Year's Eve. The Mexican family who had lived in Japan brought "Japanese tacos" for us to enjoy. Seaweed wrap + sticky rice + slivered cucumbers + salmon (no tuna was available) + wasabi horseradish sauce (to disinfect the salmon and add flavor) + mashed plums = delicious! This is apparently a regular everyday lunch in Japan. It was interesting for us to hear how their children came back to Mexico with their parents and didn't like Mexican food. The parents make a special trip to a Japanese market downtown and load up on the special Japanese rice and other groceries that they need in order to have their children eat SOMETHING and stay alive here in Mexico:) I'm trying to think up a little gift for this boy and girl who have so generously given all those adorable puppies away to other families and are now feeling sad over the loss.

Our Second December in Mexico

2008-12-26T13:25:00.008-06:00

Feliz Navidad and Happy Boxing Day today! We have had a full month. The Camrose Alberta Team finished their time with us with a prayer walk around the Lago de Guadalupe (Lake Guadalupe), a subdivision where we hope to have our new church plant. The girls finished their semester of school and we were off to Texas to have some Mexico field meetings and do some Christmas shopping where the prices are much better.
After various trips to the border, I have finally captured some photos of an interesting sight that you see between Mexico City and the border: semi-trailer trucks without cabs being driven by Mexican men, often sitting on a wooden box! The cabs are available here in Mexico but the chassis are far more expensive. For this reason, it is economically worthwhile to drive these "vehicles" across the desert. The first truck we ever saw like this passed us near the Retreat Center in Acolman. The driver was wearing eye goggles and had a long scarf around his neck. As we gawked at him passing, he yelled, in English with his Mexican Spanish accent, "Look at me in my flying machine!" The guys we got pictures of this time had to pass through a half an hour of rain. We saw about 15 of these contraptions during our drive north to Texas.

During our meetings in Texas, the highlight was a morning spent with Paul and Roxanne Wilson. They are currently attending the language school we went to in South Texas and will be administering a camp in Cuernavaca, a city just SW of Mexico City. They have years of experience with Christian Camping in Wisconsin and were a wealth of information and an inspiration to us in regards to the Lily of the Valley Retreat Center. Since we've been back to Mexico City, we've been working on planning a campfire area at the Retreat Center that has seating.
Just after we returned from Texas, the Quinceanera of Frida arrived. Frida is the 15year old daughter of Jorge, our driver when missions teams come. Jorge invited us to this event over a year ago. A quinceanera celebrates the 15th birthday of a girl, symbolizing that she has now become a woman. We got a kick out of the invitation, an orange colored puzzle that said to come bathed, perfumed and on time for the party. Frida loves to dance and had been practising three special dances with her dance troupe for about two years. Jorge also practised dancing with Frida for his father/daughter waltz. Our girls told me that when Jorge was dressed up in his tuxedo, he looked like a Mexican James Bond. Jorge's wife, Lilia is wearing the teal gown and their younger daughter, Alexis was also all dressed up. Frida made a dramatic entrance from a stairway that lowered from the second floor. Two young men escorted her to the center of the room to join her parents. Besides Frida's dances, Jorge hired a live band and another female soloist. We recognized and knew one of the soloist's spanish songs "Como La Flor" from the "Selena" movie and of course, the Achy Breaky Heart line dance song. As it sped up at the end of the line dance, the singers had to work very hard to fit all the Spanish lyrics in!

Much Has Been Accomplished

2008-11-15T13:28:00.016-06:00

Our party last night went well. There were less people than we had for our Canadian Thanksgiving back in October (For Thanksgiving, Carolyn had counted 65 visitors + the 16 people from three missionary families.) The fellow we specifically asked you to pray for didn't come last night but another night when we would have more time to spend with him would be better anyways. We did have three new people come who we were pleased to met for the first time - contacts through a soccer club and our English classes. The Mexicans were gracious with their potluck dishes and prepared the food without chili spices "for the Canadians who aren't accustomed to that." We also had traditional Mexican homemade candies and a cake made with pinenuts. Interest was expressed to continue the English classes after Christmas. The Camrose Team arrived at our home a bit weary after all the hard work at the Retreat Center and the long van ride across the city. The Mexicans noticed that the Canadian group was tired and they headed home earlier than usual. For this reason, not everyone at the party is in our group photo but it gives you an idea. Jim, Dennis, and everyone: thank you for your prayers!

Now to show you all that has been happening at the Retreat Center. Each photo can be double-clicked to show it as a larger, full screen size. Then click the blue "back" arrow button to return to our blogpage. If you click the red "x" close button, the blog will close and you will have to start again.

The Camrose Team's main goal was to tile our two huge rooms on the second floor. This was finished days ago and since then, a lot of extra projects have been completed as well. WOW! The long room that also continues on around to the right - all tiled, grouted, scrubbed, and beautiful! I had posted a "before" picture a few days ago where you can see the concrete floor before the tiles were laid. I believe that Moises and Marcel said that 4 tons of tiles were installed! That will explain the sore backs :) In the same L-shaped room, another enormous project was finished - the ceiling paint. That is a lot of square footage to paint with an extention handle roller. Next to our chapel/dining hall, I imagine that these large rooms will be the next most used for indoor activities during the afternoon rains that come each summer. Thank you!!

You would think that they had had enough tiling but they just kept going and also tiled our large stairwell steps. These are the main stairs to access the second floor for the entire building. (We will be installing a metal spiral staircase to use for emergencies at the far end of the building.) This photo shows one of the two flights of stairs. Between visiting the pyramids and carrying tiles to the second floor, these Canadians have climbed a lot of stairs during their trip to Mexico!

All the "oatmeal" color trim work around the second store windows was painted. This, again, was on the exterior of the newly tiled rooms, two large rooms that form an L shape. It is the bottom left hand area of this map. (It can't be read without double-clicking to enlarge.)

Moises' sister, Olga, cooks for the team during the week and is helped by the Camrose ladies. They have had several Mexican dishes and also some familiar ones like hamburgers and fries.

On the first floor, each of our eight couples/families rooms had the plumbing secured to the wall and painted.

During this past week, a Mexican builder has been constructing some public washrooms. As they are so new, the washrooms aren't on my little map yet but are located between the archway in the wall and the dormitory building on the side of the yard that has the fountain. This will help us when there are Mexican construction workers that we have hired to install windows or build the cistern. Rather than using a washroom inside the house, they can use this separate washroom and we will have less cleaning to do. We will also use these washrooms when people are using the chapel/dining hall or playing games outside. Again, less feet walking in and out of the house. In the photo, I see new tiles on the washroom building roof. This is to prevent leaking through the concrete roof during rainy season.

The exterior of the one room "guest speaker" house was also painted. The cistern got a matching coat of terracota paint as well.

Finally, some special swimming pool paint was purchased, not for our swimming pool - we don't have one! - but to line the inside of our beautiful fountain.

Today the team has gone a few different directions. The Ruizes have taken some people to a local soccer game, I think played by teenaged boys. Sadly, the Ruiz boys did not have any soccer games scheduled this weekend. Unusual. Some other team members are spending the afternoon relaxing at the Ruiz's house and watching some English television with Spanish commercials. My girls and I have been cleaning up from the party and will go grocery shopping. The rest of the team went downtown with Marcel and Alejandro to visit the free zoo and the Anthropology Museum that are both located in a gigantic park. They may also visit a castle if they have time.

Please Pray for Effective Outreach

2008-11-13T22:25:00.004-06:00

Tomorrow night (Friday), the Mitchells will be hosting an "End-of-the-English-Class-Semester Party". At our last get-together to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving, we invited all of our contacts and ended up with a house full of 50 people! We are hoping for an equal number of people, if not more. Please pray especially for one person who is recently thinking about spiritual things and has questions. We are so grateful to have the Camrose Team coming to our home to help provide opportunities to practise English conversation. Many Mexicans in our area have studied English but don't have many chances to speak to English speakers. They want to hang on to everything that they have learned in English and are excited about this coming party and opportunity for conversation.
The photos I've posted are of the following: Photo 1) A beautiful building in a small alley near the Basilica of the Virgin Guadalupe. We are thinking of modeling our exterior paint color scheme at the Retreat Center after this handsome building. Photo 2) Our kitchen. It was renovated a few years ago and is beautiful but small when we are having a full camp during the summer. We have another kitchen in the new dormitory building but it is an empty room with plumbing roughed in. The cooks amaze me with how they prepare meals in our current kitchen with just this one regular sized fridge, a regular sized stove, and a couple extra burners outside the kitchen for the largest pots. The gentleman in the photo is Jim Crozier from Camp Caroline. He was here a couple weeks ago to advise us on how to run a camp/retreat center facility. Photo 3) I understand that tomorrow, the Camrose Team will be painting the exterior of this small building. It is a tiny house, just one bedroom with an attached bathroom. I believe that it was intended to be the maid's quarters when the Retreat Center had previously belonged to another owner. We have been using this room for our guest speakers to enjoy a bit of extra quiet a couple steps away from the main house. Photo 4) English classes on a night with only a few people attending. After the Spanish bible study, we finished the evening with a cake in celebration of one of the ladies' birthdays. These people and their friends and families will come to our Matthew Party tomorrow night. A Matthew Party is when Christian and non-Christians get together and God provides opportunities for the non-Christians to discuss spiritual things with the Christians in an informal way. This is an important part of church planting - building relationships with our neighbors. I'm especially hoping that my one neighbor brings her son again. At Thanksgiving, we were careful that he was included. He had lots of fun with the teens who were hanging out on our patio but was too shy to come into the house to get some food! We'll be watching for him so he won't be leaving hungry again:)

Where Are We?

2008-11-10T18:17:00.006-06:00

Ever been on a tour and wondered, "Where are we? I'd love to see where all these places we are visiting are located on a map!" Well, here you go! 1) In the northeast of Mexico City is where you will find "The Lily of the Valley Retreat Center" in the town of Acolman, Mexico State. Acolman is on the outskirts of Mexico City and about 15 minutes away from the pyramids. 2) The Pyramids of Teotihuacan (teh-oh-tee-whah-CAN) are also in the State of Mexico near the town of San Juan Teotihuacan. 3) Iglesia Biblica Cristo Vive (Christ Lives Bible Church) is in the northeast Mexico City suburb of Ecatepec. Population of this city suburb: 3 million. Christ Lives Bible Church just recently celebrated their 12th anniversary! 4) For our current church plant, we are targeting an area on the edge of the suburb city of Atizapan de Zaragoza located in the northwest of Mexico City. There are another 2 million people in this suburb. We are making contacts with families near the southwest side of the lake you can see on the map, the Lago de Guadalupe (Guadalupe Lake). This is the area where both the Ruizes and the Mitchells live.

This coming weekend, the Camrose Team will come across the north side of Mexico City to Atizapan de Zaragoza. The Retreat Center and our Church Plant appear close on the map but those 45 miles will take at least an hour and a half to drive:) Our plans for the coming weekend: 1) a Friday evening party with our English class students where they can practise their conversation skills with some Canadians 3) on Saturday, a prayer walk and either a day trip in this area or time to just relax 4) on Sunday, participation in our small church service in our home.

Monday morning, the group returns to Acolman to do some more construction projects at the Retreat Center.

Hosting the Camrose Alberta Canada Team

2008-11-10T16:44:00.007-06:00

The Century Meadows Baptist Church team from Camrose, Alberta, Canada have arrived safely and got right to work! After working extremely hard for three days, they set off on their two tourist days. Saturday was spent in El Centro: downtown Mexico City. They saw many things: the Bascilica of the Virgin Guadalupe (the large Catholic Church honoring Mexico's Virgin Mary figure), the Ciudadela de Artesanias (Artisans Craft Market), the Casa de Azulejos (House of Tiles), the Zocalo (the main square in downtown Mexico City), and the Metropolitan Cathedral. Rest was provided while waiting in traffic during the short-distance-but-long-time-spent trip back to the Retreat Center. Sunday brought shorter distances to travel. Igelsia Biblica Cristo Vive (Christ Lives Bible Church) was where the group worshipped with fellow Mexican Christians. Two members of the team shared their testimonies with the congregation. The preacher was animated and gave an empassioned hour and 10 minute long sermon, all in Spanish! Then we had tortas for lunch (similar to submarine sandwiches) and were off to spend the afternoon at the nearby Pyramids of Teotihuacan. The Pyramid of the Sun provides 248 steps of varying sizes to climb. The Pyramid of the Moon is built on a higher elevation and though it is smaller than the Pyramid of the Sun, the tops of both pyramids are the same altitude. What engineering! Today the group set back to work. The photos displayed above: 1) triumph on the Pyramid of the Moon with the Pyramid of the Sun in the background 2) group photo [one gentleman not in the photo] 3) admiring the Metropolitan Cathedral 4) the "before" photo of the enormous room that this team has applied 4 tons of tiles to. Today, they will apply the grout between the tiles. 5) the building where this large room is located in on the second floor. It will be our indoor games room which will be well used during the summer rainy season months! We are also delighted to have all of the toilet plumbing replaced. This coming summer, one faulty continuously filling toilet tank is NOT going to rob us of all our water in the cistern and leave us with 75 people and no water! We are so grateful and pleased by the quality and quantity of work that has all ready been accomplished. We are so blessed to have brothers and sisters in Christ from another country (in this case, Canada) who are so generous with their time, money, and hard work. The dream of a fruitful ministry at the Retreat Center grows as each construction project is completed!

2008-10-24T10:29:00.003-05:00

We have been joined this week by Pastor Larry of Calvary Baptist Church in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and Jim Crozier of Camp Caroline in Caroline, Alberta. These men have been a great blessing to us. Pastor Larry has the gift of evangelism. He and Marcel spent some time street evangelizing while they were downtown being tourists. As they gave a Bible to one man, another man who had been listening intently but off to the side came over to them and asked, "Do you have another Bible for me?" They did happen to have just one more and it was meant for this second man. Pastor Larry has also given us some timely wisdom and been an encouragement to us and the Ruiz family. Jim Crozier helped us think through some strategic planning regarding the Retreat Center in Acolman. His years of camp ministry experience where beneficial to us as well. Our thanks to their families and ministries for "sharing" their gifted leaders with us for a few days! The photos we share today are: 1) the edge of the garden at the Retreat Center 2) our new windows on the boys' dormitory 3) Pastor Larry visiting with our colleague, Moises and the Retreat Center caretaker, Carolina and 4) a rare, clear morning when we could see the volcanoes Itza and Popo from our house in the NW of Mexico City.

I Have A Headache

2008-10-16T20:26:00.005-05:00

Our new English as a Second Language classes have become quite popular. We get about 15 people every Wednesday and Friday night and there is still lots of interest about the class in the community. Another lady drove here tonight and said she is interested in the classes as are some of her friends and neighbours. As with all people who join our English classes, we tell them that it is followed by a Bible study and most of the people stay for that, too. Moises teaches the adults while Brittany teaches a small Bible study to the teens that come. I'm very proud of her for taking this study on. She is a real go getter and is craving to have an active youth ministry to be a part of.
At a recent lesson we were talking about going to the doctor and how to, in the most simple way, say that you are in pain. I said to them "Just say the body part and then say ache. For example, 'I have a stomach ache', 'I have a foot ache', etc." When the English and Bible study class finished, we enjoyed some coffee and cake and watched the last few minutes of the soccer game between Canada and Mexico that was played in Edmonton. In the closing minutes of the game here was a rush of Mexican players toward the Canadian goal, a kick was made, and the Canadian goalie came out, made a great save but elbowed a Canadian defender in the head. The defender went down hard! Just then one of our students, Oscar, said "I have a headache." We all burst out laughing. The pictures above show the teens that Brittany is leading, the second picture is of the hurting player and the third is a closeup of some of the kids. The game was a tie 2-2.

Canadian Thanksgiving with a Mexican Twist

2008-10-11T14:29:00.005-05:00

Last night we had 50 people in our home to help us celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving. Some people we had gotten to know through our English lessons, others we know through a ladies' bible study and still others, through the Ruiz boys' soccer club. We met husbands/wives and children of people we had met. We had an explanation of the history of Canadian Thanksgiving and we all sang "Give Thanks" in both Spanish and English. We ate a lot of turkey and also enjoyed poutine.
Poutine originates from Canada's French speaking province, Quebec. It is made with french fries, cheese curds, and hot beef gravy that is poured on top and partially melts the cheese. Yum! There is a new teacher at our girls' school here in Mexico City. She is from Quebec and was delighted to have some poutine. When we asked this francophone to tell us what poutine means, she simply told us to go and eat some. After a little research, we have discovered that it means "Mess." So true when you have melted cheese and gravy dripping from your fries.
Earlier in the day, Marcel gave a presentation about Canada to the elementary students at Mexico City Christian Academy on the occassion of their annual Cultural Day. As always, our potluck meal was delicious with a variety of Mexican, American, Canadian, and Korean food. The Korean girls wore their beautiful traditional dresses.
After such a full day, we were plenty tired but truly grateful for what God is doing here. Around midnight, the Ruizes, another missionary couple - the Williams, and our Christian neighbor gathered with us to pray and thank God at the end of the Thanksgiving party in our home.

Our First Mexican Birthday Piñata

2008-09-30T19:41:00.004-05:00

The big sisters are bitter. Little Ahava was the first one to have a piñata for her birthday though we've all celebrated a birthday (or two) here. Ahava is now 5 years old. She requested a piñata that looked like "a girl in a pink dress" so she ended up with a Boo piñata from Monsters Inc. Before taking the piñata outside, Ahava noticed the crack on the back of the girl piñata's head. "I didn't do anything Mommy - honest!" We had to explain that the candy needs to be put INSIDE the piñata by means of piñata head surgery. Then where to hang the piñata? Our lemon tree is all ready keeling over from the weight of the lemons so we couldn't tie a piñata up there. The solution was seen in the corner by the front door: hockey sticks. Daddy held the piñata up by a hockey stick and Ahava whacked the piñata with a hockey stick. "High sticking" I'd say! But the sheer joy...
Hey Petra: it's a bad idea to put a piñata head over your OWN head! She asked, "Do I need to smile?" Oh my.

Future Plans

2008-09-21T18:16:00.004-05:00

It took two days of praying and talking to determine what it is we sense God is leading us to do for the purpose of planting a church in this area of Mexico City. We pulled out our white boards and asked of ourselves "What are our core values?" By that I mean, "What is it that we understand the local church here is to be like?" We noted what God is all ready doing through us here and saw that it seems rather clear that God wants us to plant a short-cycle church in an area of Cuatitlan Izcalli in a colonia called Bosques del Lago. The goal is to have a first generation church up and running, with leaders developed out of the harvest by September of 2013. Currently we are all ready meeting on sunday evenings and that will form the seed of our new plant. Pray for us as we begin with intensity planting a church.

Dentist Day

2008-09-18T19:48:00.005-05:00

We were asked a little while ago from a supporter if we have a dental plan. We responded by saying, "Mexico IS our dental plan." We are very fortunate that we found a good Christian dentist in the area. Yolanda, has treated us very well and the costs of dental work are about half of what they are north of the border. Yolanda has expressed some interest in helping us in our work of church planting because we plan to plant a church close to where she lives in an area of Cuatilan Izcalli called Bosques de Lago. Things seem to be progressing on the field and we think we are close to having a major breakthrough in reaching out to the community. I'll post more about this tomorrow.

Mexican Independence Day

2008-09-17T00:06:00.005-05:00

Every night of September 15 into the wee hours of the 16th Mexicans celebrate their independence day when Father Miguel Hidalgo declaired Mexico's independence from Spain in 1810. The Celebration is called Noche Mexicana and it is a very fun time where friends and neighbours gather together for food and fellowship. Often people will wear traditional Mexican clothes for the celebration as you can see Emma did in picture #2. We were invited to a new friend's home to celebrate with his family. Alejandero (in the first picture with Ahava) is a lawyer that attends our English lessons with his wife Lulu and he seems to have really taken to us. We attended the celebration with Ruizs and we had a great time eating a traditional soup called Pozole (picture #3 Brittany and her friend Nicole) and chanting the Grito which is the declaration of independence. We also had strong opportunities to meet new people that are from the community where we plan to plant a church. I, Marcel, had a particularily legnthy dicussion with a man named Carlos who is a pilot for Mexicana Airlines. Since I have an aviation background I could "talk shop" with him but soon our coversation led to discussions of faith and religion. For about two hours I was an appologist as I answered his thoughtful objections to faith. Yet all was not lost. I gained a friend and his respect and he agreed to meet again with me soon to talk some more. Moises also spoke at length about faith issues with a man at the party who is a dentist and his wife. I did'nt get to bed until 3AM but it was a great time and we enjoyed every minute of this fun celebration. The final picture is of Ahava at school where they celebrated Independence Day at school wearing traditional clothes, singing songs and dancing traditional dances. It's so funny that our youngest girls is already so Mexicanized. She is unbelevably fluent in Spanish already and loves Mexican food.

So Much for Canadians Being Liked Around the World

2008-09-10T16:07:00.004-05:00

O.K...I hear it all the time. It's like the worst Canadian media driven propaganda. Canadians are well liked around the world. That possible is true except when it comes to playing the soccer team of another country. Tonight, Canada will be playing Mexico in a qualifying match for the World Cup. The game which is to be played in the state of Chiapas is very important as it will, if the Mexican team wins, bring them closer to advancing. So this morning's newspapers are covered with, dare I say, anti-Canadian headlines and comments. Some of it is rather humourous because it is suggesting the Canadians will have difficulty playing in the 33*C weather with 70% humidity. That reporter needs to visit Toronto or Edmonton in the summer! Perhaps he will get a chance to visit on October 15th when Canada plays Mexico in Edmonton when the average temperature is an average high of 10*C and an average low of 0*C. Either way, it's in all good fun. Hopefully, there will be a good game and Canada will win its first game on Mexican soil in 50 years of FIFA play. Let me explain the pictures above. The first one is of the Mexican coach, Sven Eriksson (a Swed) in a Mounties uniform with a headline that says the Canadians are going to melt in the hell of Chiapas. They second picture has a Mexican rooster with a maple leaf on its head. The third is an ad from Toyota showing a foozeball player having kicked the ball so hard that he broke off the legs of the Canadian foozeball player.

Coin Collectors Paradise

2008-09-02T14:45:00.006-05:00

I've been collecting coins since I celebrated my 12th birthday in Hamilton, Ontario when my Aunt Dora gave my $10 as a gift. I went though a Sears store in Hamilton later that week and happened upon a coin and stamp kiosk. I became fascinated by the old coins, how different they looked, and the history behind some of the coins, particularily Canadian nickels. With that $10 bill I bought several old nickels, an album to put my nickels into, and a book that gave prices and values of coins. Since then I have branched out and have found that this can be somewhat of a lucrative hobby. My oldest coin is 2,100 years old and is made of copper and is known as the "Widow's Mite". It is the same kind of coin that would have been spoken about in the Bible from Jesus' teaching on giving where the widow gave everything and it was her two small copper coins. I have since moved away from nickels and have begun collecting coins that have significance (like the Widow's Mite...though they are a dime a dozen; pardon the pun) or are made from bullion metals. The Mexican mint is the oldest mint in the Americas and they have a style and craftsmenship that is superior to many other mints. I have found several coin shops around here and frequent them every now and then but recently, when my friend Curtis was visiting here, we went to the mint and made some purchases directly. I was like a kid in a candy store and purchased some. Yet I saw others that I would like to get and will probably in the future. The coin above is a bullion coin. It is a type of coin purchased solely for the content of the precious metal (as opposed to coins purchased for their numismatic value or in other words, the quality and rarity of the coin), in this case, 1 ounce of pure silver. It is called a Libertad and they come in sizes as small as 1/20th of an ounce, go up to 1kg (2.2 pounds...which will put you out around $800). The coin has a famous statue on it that can be seen in the central part of this city and in the background are the volcanoes Popo and Itza. Also on the coin is a nopal cactus and a agave from which tequila is made. The reverse has several depictions of eagles which are Mexico's official bird and represent the nation. As long as I am here I will be pursuing this hobby since silver can be bought here at quite reasonable prices.

If You Can't move the Ball 10 Yards in Three Downs Then You Should Quit Playing the Game

2008-08-27T16:19:00.004-05:00

There are a few things I miss about home...and CFL football is one of them. This coming weekend is the Labour Day Classic. It's tradition, rivalry and many good memories. It's Canadian! Go Leos!
I heard about this CFL produced video a while ago and I think it is great.
Brittany says go Esks!

Reunion

2008-08-23T11:10:00.003-05:00

Last night we had a small reunion of parents and kids that had attended our English camp and presented them opportunities to do a English/Bible study and have a marriage retreat. We also talked about having a small Canadian Thanksgiving celebration on October 10th. We won't have a turkey supper, probably just small Canadian dishes like poutin (yes, we have been able to find the ingredients and make that here...yummy). We are quite happy that there is some interest in what we are doing and even a lady from our neighbourhood whom we met a while ago is keen to help. What is really cool is that her husband is the president of a very well known and advanced university (kinda like the M.I.T. of Mexico) near by our house where we would like to do some student ministries. God does answer prayer and hopefully soon we will start to see some fruition from our efforts.

More Visitors

2008-08-16T10:20:00.006-05:00

The last year and a bit that we have been here in Mexico City would have been a lot more difficult had it not been for friends and family visiting us. This last week we entertained my friend Curtis and his family who reside in Vancouver. Curtis was the best man at my wedding and has always remained in contact with us through the years. He spent a couple years himself in Germany as a missionary and knows the difficulties of living cross culturally. He drove with his family to Mexico City following a route determined by his handy little GPS. I was so intrigued by the GPS Curtis bought me one as well! Daily Curtis downloads the GPS track of his travels to his blogsite: http://fast5family.blogspot.com/ (You'll find the GPS travels in the upper left side of the screen and a very nice report from them). So now its impossible to get lost here Mexico with this cool little GPS gadget! We did the usual touristy things in Mexico City and I think they were rather surprised at the size and uniqueness of this city. In addition to visiting the pyramids we visited the Centro Historico where they bought a bit of silver jewelry for themselves, friends and family and I seemed to get Curtis into the fine and lucrative hobby of collecting silver coins. Mexico is coin collectors paradise! We spent some time at the House of Tiles where we had my birthday supper: I had the enchiladas suizas. Sadly their stay here was short but it was fun. They have a great family and we enjoy very much being around them. We share many things in common and we will miss them until the next visit.

The Big 40!

2008-08-14T14:52:00.005-05:00

I want to say thanks to everyone for the cards, emails and well wishes on my 40th birthday. We had a great time with friends that visited from British Columbia and enjoyed the first official day of turning middle-aged. Blessings all!

Canadian Road Trip Part 3

2008-08-08T15:08:00.003-05:00

Canadian Road Trip Part 2 Just a few more pictures

2008-08-05T21:02:00.003-05:00

Just a few more pics from the motherland...

Canadian Road Trip Part 2

2008-08-05T20:40:00.004-05:00

It's not quite heaven but it seems to be close to here. Vancouver...my town...cultural centre of the universe...lotus-land!!! It's good to be home. Since arriving here Saturday we have been quite busy visiting and doing all sorts of fun stuff. We began by visiting my Aunt and Uncle who took us out for supper to Whitespot on Kingsway in Burnaby. They also took us out to do some shopping and get some gifts for the kids that did not come with us. We visited my moms church in south Surrey and spent the afternoon looking at show homes. We also did some visiting of the beach area in Whiterock which is close to where my mom lives. That's when things got interesting after a Burlington Northern - Santa Fe train whisked by us on the promenade we heard sirens and saw that the fire department was putting out a fire at Dock's Fish and Chips. Then I'm not sure what happened but I saw two mounties run and detain then arrest a couple of young guys. I guess they won a free night at the Crowbar Motel, a colour portrait, food and drinks were included and of course one free local call. From there we went out onto the pier saw a couple seals swimming, kids crab fishing and others diving off the deck. Briefly, I relived my youth as I saw these things (but not the arrest...I've never been arrested!!!). They were part of my life having been raised here.

Canadian Road Trip Part 1

2008-08-05T00:02:00.004-05:00

I've been in travelling in Canada since last Wednesday with Petra and Emma. Mexicana Airlines is flying between Mexico City and Edmonton and we took advantage of the reasonably priced tickets to visit friends and relatives. We only spent 36 hours in Edmonton so we were a little rushed. I was fortunate that my former head deacon Ed picked me up at the airport and took me over to the car rental location. He's a guy with a servant's heart and has always been the guy I could lean on for the right advice in any situation. One time when Ed and his wife Deb spoke at a pastors' retreat on Deacon Leadership, a pastor asked me where I found this guy. I said, "in my church." The guy said to me he wished his deacons were as progressive and insightful as my deacon. He then, jokingly, offered me a quarter section of land for him. I un-jokingly declined the offer. The following morning we went to Ed and Deb's house for breakfast and a good talk and to cap it all off, we did a little gopher shooting. Oh how I miss my guns! From there we went to the family farm near Trochu, my wife's home town, where I did some repairs on our 40' sea container that has some of our earthly possessions. Oh how I miss the farm and its wide open spaces! I was then off to Lacombe where my sister lives and our kids had a great time playing with the Wii which is an interesting interactive video game unit. After a visit to the doctor we were off to the airport for our flight to the Mother - Land...Vancouver. Oh how I miss that city! Part 2 tomorrow.

Baptism

2008-07-28T13:08:00.005-05:00

While we await a time to start planting a church our family has been attending a church near our home. I must say that I am really impressed at how well organised they are. Clearly displayed at the front of the church are banners displaying the mission statement and vision statement. Sermons are expositional and designed to evoke a response. Worship is lively and Christ centred. They have three services every Sunday and they fill the 300 - 400 seat auditorium each time. They are also aggressively planting churches in other areas of the city. What was really cool this last Sunday was that there was a baptism. Nine people ranging in ages from teen to their seventies committed their lives to Jesus Christ. There testimonies were sincere and heart felt. When the pastor would ask questions like, "Do you believe that Jesus died for your sins?" or "Do you confess Jesus as Lord?" They would respond with words like, "How could I not?" or "Yes, of course, there is no other Savior." It was quite a moving service and gave me a little hope, during a low time for us, that God is working here. I hope we can be used in the same way.

Pilot Training

2008-07-26T23:35:00.006-05:00

As some of you know, I was at one time a pilot. Many years ago my desire was to be a commercial pilot. Tonight, I relived my past with a man that is becoming a friend. His daughter has been attending the youth meetings that we have organized since the english camp. We are enjoying getting to know their family. He likes planes, too and tonight we uploaded Flight Simulator X and started flying. I'm quite impressed with how realistic everything is. Before the "fake flying" by computer simulator, the group of youth had fun playing some games involving toilet paper (called "hygenic paper" here in Mexico). The bottom photo is of one of the girls being turned into a toilet paper mummy. It was supposed to be surprisingly constrictive if you wind enough layers but this girl broke free quite easily. We're learning more Spanish each day. Sometimes words just get tucked away in your brain and later roll off your tongue in the wrong place. We just realized that "consejo" and "conejo" sound very similar in Spanish but the first means "advice" and the second, "rabbit." Explaining the game of Chubby Bunny (adding one marshmallow at a time to your mouth until you can't say Chubby Bunny anymore) ended up sounding like Fat Advice. Oops! We're just going to celebrate that we could pronounce both of those words and enjoy having laughed with new friends.

Our First Youth Meeting

2008-07-20T13:50:00.003-05:00

Last night we had our first youth meeting following our English camp. It was sort of a success. By that I mean we only received seven kids plus our missionary kids. Our first night was called Duct Tape Night and we did some games and activities that used the "handy man's secret weapon." One game included wrapping two kids in a garbage bag an tape (sticky side out) and two teams take cotton swabs and blow them out straws and try to hit the other team's "sticky kid." We played other games as well, did a craft and had a devotion that I did in my pitiful Spanish and finished with a snack of nachos and cheese. What was really cool was that after the youth event stopped we invited the parents in for coffee and cake. We had three sets of parents in our house and they stayed till quite late in the evening. The parent meeting lasted longer than the youth meeting...cool eh? I really got along with one dad that was interested in my aviation background and we discussed at length planes. Yet like all conversations I have with Mexicans it always leads to the question, "why are you here?" We let them know that in the absence of worship is mission. Doors are open here.

Practice, Practice, Practice...

2008-07-19T10:29:00.004-05:00

No one likes being the object of a joke nor having people laugh at them. Yet when it comes to being a missionary, one must throw out such sensitivities. Every week or so Ingrid and I go to the retreat center to give Juan and Carolina a bible study called, Nueve Vida en Cristo: Pasos basicos de la vida cristiana (New Life in Christ: Basic Steps of the Christian Life). We both read the questions and the scripture verses and then answer the worksheet. After reading one verse, I asked Carolina how my accent was. She started smirking. How depressing never mind all the little things that when we translate too literally from English to Spanish can give a completely different meaning that can be really embarrassing at times. Juan and Carolina's sons Alejandro and Ismael will sometimes start smirking after I've said something. After I have compelled them to tell me, I realise that I've accidentally said something inappropriate and unbecoming a missionary. Such are the adventures in language learning.

Cleveland Team Departs

2008-07-17T15:36:00.004-05:00

The Cleveland team from Parma Heights Baptist Church departed for home this last Monday. It was an interesting end to the week. The English camp saw 35 kids attend and we are anticipating an event with some of these kids this weekend. Pray for good attendance. Our evening event for the parents saw a good attendance of both kids and parents and we all enjoyed a great time of getting to know one another while eating tacos. On Saturday we all went downtown to do the usual tour but this time I included a little time for some kids to go to an area that specializes in selling soccer jerseys. As we made our way to the Zocolo we were able to see the lowering of the flag which is performed daily at 6 pm by the Mexican Army. The next day it was off to the Christ Lives Bible Church where Pastor Dan preached and Moises interpreted. Following the service we went to the pyramids. Sadly, nobody was able to ascend the pyramids because as we were about to go up, an incredible storm of marable-sized hail, rain and wind came up and pounded our group. Several of us huddled under umbrellas and others ran for shelter. All in all, the group's time in Mexico turned out well. I want to say "thanks" to all you people from Cleveland for your nice gifts and the many emails of thanks that have been pouring in. Blessings all!!!

Pastor Dan...at the English Camp

2008-07-10T15:57:00.007-05:00

Pastor Dan, Senior Pastor of Parma Heights Baptist Church, arrived in Mexico City on Sunday night and spent the first three days at the retreat center in Acolman and at the VBS in Ecatepec. Now he is in the west side of the city and observing what the Parma Heights teams is doing at the English camp. He seems quite impressed with what has taken place and sees the potential of this ministry. The top picture shows Pastor Dan debriefing the kids following another intense camp today. Pastor Dan said how proud he knows the parents would be if they could just see their kids in action at the English camp. The video beneath the picture is of one of the games we play to encourage the Mexicans to speak English. The game is called, "Honey, If You Love Me." Everyone in the group sits in a circle. One person is chosen as "it" and must select another person and try to make them smile. The "it" person must go to another person that is seated and say (while making funny faces etc.) " Honey, if you love me, would you please, please smile?" The seated person must respond without smiling, "Honey, I love you but I won't smile." It is a great game to practice repetitive words, questions and statements. If the seated person begins to smile, they becomes "it". Click on the video above to hear Alex ask Esme and try to get her to smile.

We would like some prayer. Today, we invited all the young people to attend future youth meetings on Saturdays for the remainder of July and August and we opened our home to doing English tutoring for adults and youth. We would love a good response...and so far...it all sounds good! Who knows, as Moises said to me today, "Maybe our church plant will start out as a youth ministry?"

More from English Camp

2008-07-10T15:36:00.004-05:00

We are into day four of our English camp and neat things are happening. Besides the fact that the Mexican kids are learning English, they are building relationships with the kids from Cleveland. Daily, we have a time of icebreaker games, a group song, skit, a time of watching a small video clip and then a time of small groups where the Cleveland kids ask comprehension questions in English and the Mexican kids respond in English. We also have some time to eat (today it was a traditional Mexican dish called a corn dog...I'm being sarcastic) and do a craft. For three evenings we invited the kids to come back for what would amount to a youth group meeting. Last night, we went to an activity center called Funcentral. Some kids went ice-skating and others played paintball. Ingrid and I went bowling with some parents of the kids and we got to know Jose and Tere. There really seems to be an intrigue with what we are doing in Mexico. All the parents know we are missionaries and we are teaching the Bible with our English lessons. That does not seem to be scaring them. They seem to know that there is a difference that is positive between what we teach and live and what is traditional Mexican beliefs.

English Camp in Atizapan

2008-07-08T22:37:00.007-05:00

Hotdogs (often made of ground turkey) are enjoyed in Mexico with sliced jalepenos, ketchup, and mayonnaise as toppings. It tastes better than it sounds but the American youth generally stuck to the familiar ketchup and mustard :)
Thank you for your prayers! Our first ever English Camp in the northwest part of Mexico City is now in full swing with about 35 campers attending each day between 10 am and 2 pm. We have a sports theme and that has been well accepted. Yesterday was our first day and both Ohio youth leaders (in referee jerseys) and the local Mexican teenaged campers were all nervous. Today went much better with everyone having an idea as to what to expect. Two boys were extremely apprehensive to attend and their moms said that they weren't sure if the boys would get out of the car to come inside. They have both thoroughly enjoyed the camp and have come back for a second and third time. Some connections and friendships are being built with the families which was very much our goal. One of the mothers is a cousin of the principal at Ahava's kindergarten. As we walk with Ahava to kindergarten, we past by her house! Another father was visiting with Marcel. They were both practising their Spanish and English on one another. This father has invited Marcel and our family to his house for coffee sometime in the future after the camp is finished. Yesterday we all ready heard of 8 to 10 mothers who would like to participate in an informal time together where they could practise the English that they have studied. Marcel and I will offer English tutoring, both one-on-one but also in groups (the women seem to prefer this). Finally, we spent between 6 pm and 10 pm having a "sample" youth group event for the Mexican youth who attended our English daycamp. Nearly every one of the campers came back and had a fabulous time together. We offered this event in preparation for beginning a youth group in the area where we could not only have a blast together playing goofy games but also to study God's word. We will be inviting these campers to get together about once a month for similar youth nights and they now have an idea of what that would be like.

Pray for endurance during the next three days. The camp programs tires us, especially those from Ohio who are adjusting to the altitude as well, but we also have two more evening activities planned. We anticipated being tired but the evening events are when we have the opportunity to get to know the parents and build some trust. Wednesday evening we will go to a local mall to Fun Central, a place where they have a small ice rink with skate rentals, bowling, minigolf, rock climbing, bumper cars, and a carousel. On Thursday evening, the parents are invited back to the Williams home where everything has been hosted. A taquero (taco vendor) is going to bring his taco stand to set up at the Williams house rather than his usual spot on the sidewalk and we will all enjoy Tacos al Pastor (Shepherds' style tacos). Finally, please uphold these Mexican teenagers in prayer concerning spiritual things. The gospel is being presented in story format over the five days with the use of an Evangecube to show accompanying pictures. Three of the American youth have all ready given their testimonies, the gospel is being shared in song and our craft times include scripture. Pray that they will welcome the freedom found in Christ to save them without any works on their part.

Parma Heights Baptist Church Group Arrives

2008-07-06T21:15:00.005-05:00

We have been pleased to welcome a large group from Ohio to help us in various ways. The Parma Heights Baptist Church has sent a group of 27 people. We have split the group into three different areas of ministry: 1) Ecatepec, a "suburb" of 3 million people that are the NE corner of Mexico City -- This group will be helping the Iglesia Biblica Cristo Vive (Christ Lives Bible Church) with their VBS that begins tomorrow and will be held all week. They have had up to 300 children attend in the past!! Carolyn Ruiz is their missionary host. 2) Acolman, a small town just touching the extreme NE edge of Mexico City that is only 10 minutes away from the pyramids of Teotihuacan -- This group will do construction projects at the Lily of the Valley Retreat Center. We are excited for these physical labor contributions that will bring us ever closer to constant ministry use of the Retreat Center. Less people contact with local Mexicans but still a very valued ministry. Moises Ruiz is their missionary host. 3) Atizapan, another "suburb" of Mexico City that is located in the NW of the Mexico City metropolitan area -- This group will be putting on our first ever English camp for a target audience of middle school/junior high school to high school aged students of middle to upper class families in the area. Marcel and Ingrid Mitchell are the missionary hosts along with Craig and Denise Williams, CAM missionaries who live 10 minutes away and with whom we (Ruizes and Mitchells) hope to begin a new church plant. Much has all ready been accomplished at the Retreat Center and we are all ready enjoying fresh bright paint in the boys' dorm. Today the "VBS group" was busy all afternoon with decorating in preparation for the arrival of children aged 4 to 13 in the morning. The "English Camp group" has been preparing and practising music. Feedback from registering parents is that their children have had the English grammar lessons but lack opportunities to practise so we have all ready "tweaked" our new program for more emphasis in this regard.
Contacts made with family members through this English camp are how we hope to form a new church plant in our area. While our family, the Mitchells, were in Texas, the Ruizes and Williams hit the pavement and went door to door in many gated communities handing out fliers of invitation. We were hoping to have at least 50 teenagers attend. Our preregistrations have brought us 19 teens. Please pray for more attendees but most of all, pray for the connection of Mexican families who are searching for a life changing experience with Jesus.
A brief summary of our past weekend: We celebrated the 4th of July with our American friends with Mexican fireworks, purchased by our own local American fireworks expert, Craig Williams. We had a noisy time bothering our neighbors with fireworks for a change rather than the other way around while the whole group of 27 were at the Retreat Center for the weekend. This morning, each person was individually introduced to the congregation of Christ Lives Bible Church and some testimonies will be given next Sunday. Another big highlight was Richard and Sue's presentation of a new wheelchair to our Retreat Center caretaker, Juan. Posted is a picture of his old wheelchair with an added donut cushion to try and improve the comfort of the hard and narrow wheelchair seat. When Juan needs to put his wheelchair into his car, the wheels now remove with the push of a button rather than the previous butterfly nuts on his old wheelchair. The whole chair is lighter and more comfortable and Juan is very pleased and thankful.

Road Trip to Texas

2008-07-04T23:28:00.005-05:00

After taking a few weeks off from blogging to take a vacation, we are back and have the pictures of our time away. Texas has become a bit of a second home to us, particularly the Rio Grande Valley. After having lived there for a year, we have our favorite places to shop and eat and several friends we like to visit with. Sadly, the vacation did not start off well. The little baby that Ingrid was carrying is now in heaven. When we announced that Ingrid was pregnant with baby #6, we assumed that she was far enough along in the pregnancy to safely tell one and all. Unfortunately, as we travelled the little one entered eternal rest. Kirklyn said that God knew that Opa/Grandpa (my dad who died 4 years ago) needed one of us to be with him. So the first few days in Texas were consumed with visiting hospitals and doctors. My mom was with us so we were able to leave the kids with her as we made the many trips to the doctor. Thankfully, we do have insurance for all the doctors offices we visited! If you want to know how we are doing after this sad loss, my most honest answer is just O.K. This is a new experience for us and we are doing a lot of talking with each other and God. I think we both feel a little empty right now. After the very kind doctor in Edinburg gave us the green light to travel, we went north to San Antonio for one day. Brittany and I attended a WNBA basketball game. We were both very impressed with the quality of the game and the nail bitin' last minute that saw the San Antonio Silverstars beat the L.A. Sparks 77 - 75. From there we went to Dallas/Fort worth for a week. We visited Dealy Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum where President Kennedy was murdered and I am more convinced that ever there was a conspiracy. We all went to Six Flags for a day and there was nowhere near the crowds we have seen at other Six Flag parks where your day is wasted standing in lines. It was very hot that day and when evening came, the relative coolness was very welcome. Emma and I also had the opportunity to take in a baseball game between the Texas Rangers and The Philadelphia Phillies. It was an excellent game in which we saw a grand slam home run and the first ever home run of an up and coming star, Chris Davis. The game was excellent and the Rangers (my second favorite team...Go Twins!!!) won 8 - 7. Emma got to see her favorite player, Josh Hamilton, who is probably one of the top players today. What is really amazing is his testimony where he came from a life of addiction to become a baseball great. Read more about him here and you to will say his life is a God thing... http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2926447 . Finally, we did the Fort Worth Stockyards. It's like Alberta...but not as glitzy and a whole lot more longhorns. To all my American friends...have a great 4th of July!

A Busy Sort of Week

2008-06-14T20:22:00.003-05:00

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!

2008-06-06T20:03:00.003-05:00

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

2008-06-05T08:50:00.004-05:00

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.

Finally Got the Sweaters

2008-05-16T21:07:00.003-05:00

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

2008-05-14T14:14:00.003-05:00

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

2008-05-12T21:39:00.005-05:00

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

2008-05-10T11:09:00.003-05:00

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

2008-05-05T21:53:00.005-05:00

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.

End of an Era

2008-04-27T17:10:00.005-05:00

Today marked a sad day in the lives of so many. Royce and Sue Baron, retired from active missionary service for about two years now, are leaving the Christ Lives Bible Church and Mexico. They are moving to Houston, Texas to enjoy their retirement years and serve the Lord in Hispanic ministries in new ways. The service was very nice with several men preaching small sermons and then there was a special presentation to the Barons in thanks for all their work (first picture). The Barons' two daughters, Michelle (seen in the second picture with her husband Gabriel and their daughter) and Becky sang a couple songs in honour of their parents. After the service there was a fiesta, a Mexican pot-luck supper with many different kinds of food that can be put in tortillas. There were even clowns for the little ones. What I was amazed at today was how much Spanish little Ahava (seen in the third picture) already knows as she talked with other little kids during the supper. There was even a large cake for the Barons but what was interesting was a tradition that I had not previously seen here before. The Barons were seated in front of the cake for pictures, then after a couple of minutes of nice pictures, the crowd started chanting "mordida, mordida, mordida" which translates "little bite". The Barons then responded to the chants by eating right from the cake in front of them: no hands! Then the crowd chants "kiss, kiss, kiss" and again on cue the Barons responded with a icing-laced kiss for each other. It was all lots of fun. I know that the Barons will be missed by all here and our prayers are with them as they move to the Lone Star State in the first week of May.

On Their Way Home

2008-04-24T19:45:00.004-05:00

After spending about a week with us during a month long stay in Mexico, our friends Warren and Wanda, along with their daughter Shyla, are heading north to Texas and then on to Alberta as I write. Yes folks, they drove here. It can be done. They spent a few days with Ingrid and the girls at our home on the northwest side of the city while I was at the camp on the northeast side of the city. Then they all came to visit the camp last weekend. When the Manitoba team left, I took our friends on a tour of the historical centre of the city. We had a great time with them and they have become dear friends of ours. Though we are all from Alberta and actually lived close to each other, we only met each other two years ago when we became neighbours in Texas. They are using their Spanish acquisition to bridge a relationship between their church in Alberta and a church in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. We're going to miss them a lot but we will see them again soon I'm sure.

A Neat Kinda Guy

2008-04-24T12:54:00.005-05:00

While the Manitoba team was doing tiling, Moises had a man from our church, Adolfo, and his assistant, Miguel, make new windows for the boys' dormitory. Adolfo has done other aluminum work for Moises in the past and Moises has been quite satisfied with his past work. The new windows were installed in the dorm this past Saturday when the Manitoba team was here. They all had a supper together and the team was quite taken with Adolfo's pleasant personality and joyful spirit. Miguel was a great guy, too. He helped me speak Spanish and corrected my mistakes ever so well. You may notice from the above pictures that Adolfo is quite a small man. Jokingly he put the chair in the picture to be as tall as the Manitoba guys. He may be small in stature but he has a huge heart.

Manitoba Team

2008-04-24T12:23:00.004-05:00

Sorry about the lack of blogging this month. We have simple been overwhelmed with three sets of guests and two missions teams and all this in addition to our regular taking kids to school and doing other home duties. We had the team from Manitoba come and do some tile laying and they did a great job! They tiled the remaining six matrimonial dorm rooms and the stairs leading out of all eight rooms. They were very fast and did great quality work. We did the usual tourist days with them as well. Saturday, Moises took them to the artisans' market and the basilica. Sunday after church we all went to the pyramids along with our guests from Alberta; Warren, Wanda and their daughter Shyla. The team was efficient and each man was given a job to do. I took the opportunity to be with Moises to purchase materials and clean out the green storage shed that had been accumulating stuff for quite sometime. Since there is no garbage disposal network like in the U.S. or Canada, we burn what we can and then we call in a local business that has a truck to remove the rest. On the Saturday night the Ruizes and ourselves went to a married couples' supper at Christ Lives Bible Church. We had to leave the kids at the camp with the Manitoba team. We had the younger kids get into their pajamas early and put Brittany in charge to ensure that: 1. The kids were in bed at 8:30 p.m. and 2. that they would not be trouble for the men..."Give them lots of space." I said. When we came home at around midnight, the kids were in bed and sleeping. All looked well, but someone stole my camera and took a lot of pictures that night of the kids playing soccer and other games with the Manitoba team...according to the digital memory... long after they were to be in bed! They all had fun from the sound of it and we were grateful for the babysitting. The Manitoba team left here where the weather has been getting to 32*C everyday and returned, to my understanding, to cold and snow.

Give Up Already...Jesus is Taking Over

2008-04-15T10:26:00.005-05:00

Last night we received an email from a high school aged girl that had recently visited us on a Gateway team trip. She had experienced a class in her high school that blatantly tried to undermine her Christian faith. One could certainly sense the young student's frustration with a teacher that clearly tried to use sophomoric logic to denigrate Christianity. I (Marcel) wrote a rather lengthy apologetic response to the teacher's, frankly, strange deductive skills but also encouraged the student not to give up but take advantage of such opportunities to study reasonable answers to counter objections to Christianity. I have to be honest, I love playing the apologist. I cherish a challenge to Christianity and finding a strong defence of the faith and orthodoxy. I received a very gracious and thankful response from the student. Yet this incident had me think all the more about something. Why do people resist Christianity? We have the greatest message ever told. Jesus died on a cross taking upon himself our sin and shame, He extended His unmerited favour to us so that we can not suffer the effects of sin. To me it is a beautiful story, to others it's silly. It is like what it says in the Bible, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Cor. 1:18 Others want to find their own way to God but resist the way He communicated to them. To me, this is foolishness. Where there is resistance, there is the sense of fear that soon they will be taken over. Resistance is done by the weak toward the strong out of fear to the potential of change. Religion that takes up armed resistance in the name of their god does so because the followers do not believe their god is sufficient to defend himself or the system it created. Religion that defines itself by what it is not shows, it has few original thoughts but those of a charismatic yet not overly cerebral leader. Religion that blames Christianity for displacing indigenous religions fails to recognize that unlike indigenous religion, Christianity transcends cultural boundaries. There may be some last gasp efforts on the part of some to reintroduce ancient religions such as Egyptian worship of Isis, Celtic paganism or Aztec sun worship as seen in the pictures at the top of this page, but they could never be great religions because they are locked fast into their unique culture. As much as people want to make it seem that Christianity has been the aggressor of other religions, and though there is a measure of truth in this when it comes to Catholicism, was the displacement of indigenous religion all that bad? (see Mel Gibson's movie Apocalypto) When Hernan Cortez came from Spain to what is now Mexico City, he noted the large size of the city, beautiful buildings and a market that rivaled anything in Europe. Yet as he approached the center of the city, he came across the central pyramid when he could see blood that ran down the steps and the smell of human death in the air. It was the place of human sacrifice. Tens of thousands of people (and I'm being a tad conservative about that) were sacrificed to appease a pantheon of gods. Is this what people today want to go back to? People being sacrificed for gods! To it is amazing that people are willing to resist Christianity that has God sacrificing one person and that is His own Son - God Himself? God sacrificing Himself for people! This is the opposite of very other religion which is some way shape or form demands humans to be sacrificed. This aspect of Christianity is not only preferable but stands out about the loving and redeeming nature of the God of Christianity. Hence, if our God is willing to sacrifice Himself for us, ought not we follow and worship such a God? Our God need not be defended with the armed resistance because we are people that uses the strength of His Word to expand a kingdom that transcends cultures and resistance one heart at a time. As the Bible says, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ..." 2 Cor. 10:3-5

Informing the Leaders of Missionary Plans

2008-04-12T11:40:00.005-05:00

Last night we had a fairly normal leadership meeting at Christ Lives Bible Church. We prayed, went over the new constitution, discussed everyday issues and had the lights go out for a while. We even went to our favorite taco stand after the meeting. What was unique about this meeting was that the missionaries informed the leaders of their exit strategy and desires to do a new work in Atizapan and that this is going to happen sooner than later. With almost everyone present who needed to be there, the message was well received. I can't give exact dates or at this time until the entire congregation is informed first but I can say that we will soon be strategizing with other missionaries in the area to find the best short-cycle, cell-church movement for this unique area, an area that is both rich and poor and is the heart of Juan Diego country. He was born very close to here in Cuautitlan Izcalli (Juan Diego was the one that had the vision of the Virgin Guadalupe around which Mexican Catholicism centers). We are going to begin by building relationships which in some measure we have already been doing just by living here. This summer we have a team returning from the Cleveland, Ohio area that will be bringing a large group. Part of the group will be doing construction at the camp, part will be helping Christ Lives Bible Church with a Vacation Bible School and part will be helping with an English Camp in the Atizapan area of Mexico City. This week however we are anticipating a return from a Manitoba team that visited us last summer. It is a small team but skilled to do some good work at the camp. I'm also expecting Ingrid to arrive home from Alberta today...yeah!!!

Things are Certainly More Quiet

2008-04-09T12:25:00.004-05:00

To cap off having people visiting us for four weeks we thought we would have some childlike fun. Our family along with Brittany's friend visiting from Canada, Lauren, and her local school buddy, Nicole, went to Six Flags Mexico for the day (see first picture). This is the second Six Flags that we have visited the other being in San Antonio, Texas. We had a great time trying the rides but it was a very busy place and the wait for rides was at times too long. The next day we took Lauren and her mom to the airport for their flight back to Alberta. The next day I took Ingrid to the airport in the city of Toluca and she too was Alberta Bound for meetings with lawyers, accountants, bankers and to get a few visits in with friends. Thus I'm doing the mister mom thing. Dishes, laundry, getting kids ready for school etc. Though I'm glad not to be having all the meetings that Ingrid has and though I'm glad for the calling to be a missionary in Mexico City there are times I pine for home and wish I was Alberta Bound. So until I get an opportunity to head north for a few weeks I'll just have to appreciate Paul Brandt's beautiful anthem. Enjoy the vid.

Lots of Guests

2008-04-01T09:07:00.004-06:00

After the group from Chilliwack left we received more guests. This time it was our friends from Alberta, Lauren and her mom Shelley. We were neighbours to Lauren and Shelley several years ago when we lived in Beaumont, Alberta while we were attending college. Brittany always kept in contact with Lauren who is the same age, was similarily homeschooled and both are rather athletic. We have been showing them around much like we do when missions teams are here. Our first day we went to the anthropology museum. Then it was off to the retreat centre for the weekend where we took some time to visit the pyramids on what was a very hot day. We did get a chance to eat some rapidly melting ice cream as seen in picture two and during that brief moment, the clouds moved in and made the rest of the afternoon pleasant. The next day we went to church where we met Carolina's mom (with Shelley in picture three) and the some other members of Carolina's family that were visiting from Cuernavaca. We had a nice lunch with their family. We ate Pozole which is a type of corn soup with chicken and vegetables. Yesterday meant that our girls had to return to school so I (Marcel) took Shelley and Lauren to the basilica. Today, Lauren is with Brittany at school and the rest of us adults are just doing household chores. Later this week, we will spring Brittany from school to do some fun things with Lauren and we are hoping that on Saturday we can go to Six Flags.

Easter Sunday in Mexico City

2008-03-24T12:56:00.007-06:00

We had an 8 a.m. Sunrise Service at Igelsia Biblica Cristo Vive (Christ Lives Bible Church). Between 9 and 10 a.m., we enjoyed tamales that were prepared in the Vera Cruz style, wrapped in huge banana leaves instead of the usual corn husks. There were two flavors: one with a piece of chicken in the center and the other, with potatoes, vegetables and a bit of chicken. Both flavors were slightly spicy. The large banana leaves left everyones' hands messy from unfolding their tamale though the tamale in the centre was eaten with forks. We had guayaba or chocolate with a touch of cinnamon flavored hot atole to drink. This is a thick drink with a ground cornmeal base that is a bit sweet. It reminds me of how hot pudding would taste if you drank it rather than putting it into the fridge to set. At 10:30 a.m., our regular church service began. We enjoyed singing some Mexican Easter hymns with gentle Latin melodies as well as other Easter hymns that were familiar but sung in Spanish. Two Canadian youth shared their testimonies this Sunday and Moises Ruiz did a wonderful job translating. The whole Canadian group from Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada sang an English song for the congregation. Another highlight was to have Abi back home visiting his family during a break from his seminary studies in south Texas. Abi is a gifted guitar player and worship leader. We are always blessed by the musical gifting God has given him.

Youth Retreat with the Chilliwack Team

2008-03-24T12:36:00.004-06:00

On Friday and Saturday, the Retreat Centre was the location of a Youth Retreat. Though the Canadian youth from the Chilliwack team were a little nervous about being with the Mexican youth, in no time at all, everyone was having a blast together. They played a game where teams had to race to unfold a frozed t-shirt and someone had to put it on. They also built bridges out of popscicle sticks and then tested how much weight the bridge could bear. These bridges were surprisingly strong! We enjoyed milenesa, a thin piece of breaded chicken that is deep-fried, that was served with mashed potatoes. After trying many new Mexican dishes, I think that this one was a favorite and a bit of comfort food with the mashed potatoes instead of mashed beans! It was a successful weekend and injury free other than some skinned knees. The whole group posed for a final picture under the archway before everyone headed home.

What's the Panic for a Pen and Paper?

2008-03-17T17:57:00.004-06:00

We are hosting a Gateway Team from Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. They arrived on Friday and first thing the next morning, we headed off on their Tourist Day. First stop was the Basilica of the Virgin Guadalupe. In the large plaza in front of this famous church, our driver, Jorge, asked me for a pen and paper. He was very serious and had a sense of urgency in his tone of voice. Lloyd had a pen in his pocket but we didn't have any paper. Jorge quickly set off to find some. I began to wonder of something was wrong with Jorge's van but he left before I could ask.

The team heard the story of Juan Diego and the Virgin Guadalupe. We climbed the various stairways up the small mountain behind the large basilica to visit the smaller original basilica at the top. As the team enjoyed the magnificent view of downtown Mexico City (top photo), the "pen and paper panic" was solved. A famous soccer player, Leandro Augusto, happened to be visiting the Basilica and Jorge had recognized him and wanted his autograph. Jorge was delighted and the rest of us joined in. Leandro Augusto is a Brazilean player on one of the large university club teams in Mexico City, the Pumas. He is apparently a very versatile player and has a surprisingly strong left foot kick though he is right-handed. The Mexican girls find his blonde hair particularly attractive.

Now, had Leandro Augusto been a famous CFL football player or an NHL hockey player, our reaction would have been equal to Jorge's. Instead, we only stopped him for about 5 minutes, had a quiet group photo, and scrounged up a Sharpie marker for an autograph on the Pumas jersey that Emma happened to be wearing. Being way up the mountain, not many Mexicans were around to begin mobbing him and it was all very subtle. The "con cariño" before his signature means "with affection." Even though Jorge's favorite sport is American football, I bet you can find him in the group picture purely by his beaming smile.

The whole experience reminded me that while many people are mistakenly worshipping the Virgin Guadalupe instead of the true living God, others are drawn into a worship of sports or gifted athletes. The worship of sports or sports figures is something we are familiar with while the worship of the Virgin Guadalupe is foreign to us. We don't get a bit excited about the Virgin Guadalupe and wonder what all the fuss is about. Different cultures, different temptations. Our passions can led us to worship a variety of false gods and this has eternal consequences.

Isaiah 45:18- 23 (NIV) For this is what the LORD says— he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited— he says: "I am the LORD, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob's descendants, 'Seek me in vain.' I, the LORD, speak the truth; I declare what is right. "Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save. Declare what is to be, present it— let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD ? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me. "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.

Fixing What Was Broken

2008-03-14T09:04:00.006-06:00

Some people may recognize the top photo as that of our boys' dormitory and the dining hall. We had some problems with the roof as it was leaking during the rainy season. Thus, the decision was recently made to replace the hallway part of the roofing. To fix the problem we added more height to the outside wall, a slightly smaller incline on the roof, and just a generally thicker and better prepared roof. Francisco and his men began disassembling the roof this past Monday and as of yesterday, had put in place most of the concrete formers to receive the concrete on Monday. The second picture shows Moises looking down on one of the workers that is working perilously high off the ground. The third picture is in the hall of the boys' dorm. The young man standing there is Lucas who hails from near Ashville, North Carolina. We got to know Lucas while studying Spanish in Texas. He was writing a paper in Spanish on theology and came to our house for some help. We started talking and reworking his paper. Before we knew it, he was over every evening talking about Bible and theology with Marcel. He was really hungering and thirsting. He's wanting to be a missionary to Mexico and hopes to attend Liberty University in Virginia this coming fall in pursuit of that goal. He's very good at Spanish and will be very useful when the Gateway Team from Chilliwack, B.C. arrives later today.

Nervous Smiles

2008-03-10T17:40:00.003-06:00

We weren't up to anything - just nervously waiting for our turn to take an Oral Spanish Exam! This is my (Ingrid's) Spanish for Foreigners class at a university in Mexico City. There are seven levels in this Spanish program and our class is in the third level. In the photo, we are are missing two young women (one is from China and the other is from the Ukraine) who were coming and going from their exams. Other students are from Germany, Quebec (French-speaking province of Canada), and France.

For our test, we chose a card with a scenario written on it. Mine, for example, was about having an important job interview. "After fidgetting with your pen, it broke and spilled ink on all the documents of your presentation. What would you say or do next?" In Spanish, there is a special way to say "I would..." The exam wasn't too hard except that, being nervous, I did forget some of the exceptions to the rule that I had memorized but didn't apply correctly. My teacher was encouraging today, telling me that though the other girls chit-chat more, she knows that I know a lot of Spanish. After each essay style homework assignment, she hands back my corrections with a big smile and tells me that I should be a writer. It's an appealing idea after struggling to speak in Spanish at the level of even a preschool child.

Camp for the Kids

2008-03-02T19:26:00.009-06:00

Our children's school, Mexico City Christian Academy, is having a series of camps and retreats for the students. Kirklyn and Emma, pictured above, left yesterday to the city of Puebla for a elementary students' retreat. Brittany and Petra left this afternoon for a retreat near the city of Cuernavaca. The top picture of Cuernavaca is taken from a high mountain highway, the summit of which is over 10,000 feet above sea level and it takes you into the city. I took this picture from a drive that Moises and I took in January when we were shopping for a new mission vehicle. Let me just say, without kids in this house, it is really quiet :) [Ah hem - Marcel! The four-year old is quiet but she's still here!]

We are getting quite excited about events coming up this month. Ingrid and I are expecting a good friend from North Carolina, Lucas, to join us this month to do some missionary things. We met him at language school and became close. There will be plenty for him to do because we are expecting a team from Chilliwack, B.C. to join us and help with construction from the 14th of March to the 24th. Lucas speaks good Spanish and will help with translating as we get construction supplies at the ''ferreteria" (hardware store) and as we take the team out on the tourist day. We will have to take them on their tourist day (visit the Bascilica, Artisans Market, and the Zocolo) the very next day after their arrival. Normally, groups arrive on Mondays or Tuesdays and the next weekend is time to do tourist things. This time however the following weekend will have a youth retreat for them to participate in. Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing people from the motherland (a.k.a. lotus-land or British Columbia). It also appears we may be getting visitors from Alberta in April - our friends Warren and Wanda whom we also met in Texas at language school. We are thrilled to be hosting them. Pray for travelling mercies for each of our guests and our missions team.

One last thing, it has come to our attention that sanctioned Catholic persecution of evangelical Christians in some parts of Mexico is on the rise, particularly in the states of Guerrero and Chiapas. Pray for these people. Below I have posted a link that describes the situation and I encourage you to watch it. It's sobering...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-oGzG12XQI

A Warm Dry Winter and Aircraft Shop Talk

2008-02-24T18:57:00.006-06:00

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

2008-02-22T16:34:00.005-06:00

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!

2008-02-19T10:23:00.007-06:00

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

2008-02-14T14:42:00.005-06:00

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

2008-02-12T21:42:00.005-06:00

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

2008-02-08T16:35:00.000-06:00

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

2008-02-04T11:33:00.001-06:00

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

2008-02-03T16:41:00.000-06:00

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

2008-02-01T16:02:00.001-06:00

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.

How to Paint a House the Mexican Way

2008-01-29T18:09:00.000-06:00

This evening I was watering our new flowers that Javier, our gardener, planted in the flower boxes on our porch when I saw something that made me laugh and be angry at once. I saw a man painting a house a couple streets down from us. He was not painting in a way that I have ever seen before. He was being hung by a rope from the rooftop and the bucket of paint was hung by another rope. He's sitting on a board - it's quite the apparatus! (Click on the photo for a fullscreen look and then click the "Back" button to return to this text.) Ingenious? Dangerous? Or probably both! It did not seem like he was efficiently getting his work done and this looked like an overly labour intensive way of painting. There is such a large portion of the population here that is poor that it is not hard to find cheap labour that is willing to do the worst of jobs for next to nothing of a wage. My Christian compassion towards the poorest of people compels me to call this labour market among the poor "exploitation". There are many people here that will drum up work that may seem to us north of the border to be benign. For example, most every commercial parking lot has people that have whistles that will help you back out of your parking stall. All that is expected is maybe 2 or 3 pesos. Some people give it, many others do not. I usually give a little more than the average but what I do next shocks them every time. As I give the money I say, "Dios te bendiga." (God bless you). Their response is always a smile accompanied by words like "Igualmente" (to you as well), "Muy amable." (You are very kind.), or "Gracias: gloria a Dios." (Thank-you: glory to God). Jesus had a special heart for those who were society's poorest and it has been primarily among the poor that He did His greatest works. Our prayer is that we will be able to see God do a great work here among the poor, both physically and spiritually. Pray that we will be able to begin a church plant here soon and that we would see our first converts to the Saviour soon.

A Celebration of History

2008-01-28T16:28:00.000-06:00

The landscape in Mexico City is like a celebration of history. As we took our tour of this great city on Saturday, we could not help but notice that so much of the architecture, art and culture was a monument to great aspects of the Latin culture. There is a aura about this place that we really did not expect when we made plans to minister here. It's hard to describe but there is a feeling that this is a place of immense beauty. That is not to say that there are not problems here. There are and they are profound; crime, horrendous poverty, rude drivers and corrupt police. In some ways, the potpourri nature of this city is summed up in the Denzel Washington (my favorite actor) movie "Man on Fire." I understand the movie is based on a true story about a botched kidnapping here some years ago. The movie actually has a strong thread of Christianity running though it that compels people to consider the place of forgiveness, providence and the power of God's word. At the end of this very tragic movie, in the credits is a dedication of the film. "To Mexico City...A Very Special Place." Those are words in which, if you have ever been here, one can easily relate to. This is a special place and what a privilege it is to be called to serve here. We want to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the very special people in this very special place. Christ has come to save them from their sins.

Above are some of the celebrations of history in art and architecture. The first picture is of Plaza Madrid which is an plaza identical in size, shape and surroundings as a plaza in Madrid. It was built by the Spanish government to celebrate the close bond and affinity of Madrid and Mexico City. The second picture is of a metal sculpture depicting The Man of La Mancha, otherwise known as Don Quixote, the principal character in the famous Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. The third photo is of the Monument to the Revolution that brought about independence from European colonialism in Mexico. Just a footnote; I don't want to encourage everyone to watch the movie "Man on Fire" because of the language and violence.

Tourist Day

2008-01-26T21:39:00.000-06:00

After a busy week of university Spanish, homework, church meetings, hockey practice and other day to day things, we decided this Saturday would be a good day to do something touristy. We did not know what we were going to do so we thought we would take the bus from our house and head downtown and see what fancied our interest. At the Auditorio Metro Station, we saw a double decker bus called the Touribus. We had seen the bus before and knew we wanted to take the tour someday. Well, we checked how much money we had with us and decided today was that "someday". They offer a three hour tour of the central part of the city and we saw all sorts of places that we had not seen yet or did not realize existed. Mexico City is very much a city that has drawn its architecture and city planning from Europe. We constantly heard phrases like Parisian influence, or designed in Italy or Spanish architecture. This city does remind me of Europe. Earlier this week we were in the Polanco district to meet with our lawyer about our visa application and that area reminded me of Madrid. It's hard to believe that this gem of a city is so close to major U.S. and Canadian North American cities and yet is hardly visited by tourists north of the border in comparison to Mexico's resorts. The depth of history here surpasses that found most everywhere else on the continent. The day was a "shorts and t-shirt" kind of day and the cool breeze on the upper deck of the bus was welcome. Now that we know where there are a few more interesting places in this city, we will likely visit them in the near future. These days we are on the lookout for new things for our Gateway teams to do, teams that are visiting Mexico City for a second time. I never get tired of visiting the pyramids of Teotihuacan but we feel that maybe groups that are coming for a second time might want to experience a different aspect of the city on their tourist day. I think we have a few options now.

Her New School Uniform

2008-01-22T16:48:00.000-06:00

Here's a picture for Oma up in Vancouver B.C. Ahava is in her new school uniform which she received yesterday. Her school mascot/emblem is a hummingbird which is appropriate for a kindergarten school with children from 3 to 6 years of age. We really do have a lot of hummingbirds in our area! This morning we encountered a little problem with Ahava before she went to school. As Ingrid was packing Ahava's little lunchbox, Ahava asked, "Mommy, can I have a taco in my lunchbox?" Ingrid asked, "Why? Do all the other kids eat tacos for lunch?" Ahava put out her little lip as if ready to cry and, looking really sad, said, "Yes." (sniffle...sniffle) It just amazes us how quickly children become culturally acclimatized. She wants to be like all the other little kids at her school. We have been encouraged by other missionaries to read books about missionary kids. MK's, as they are known, are often called "third culture kids" because they are a citizen of one culture and growing up in a family from that culture, yet they are living in a different culture and adapt to certain aspects of that new culture (language, food, surroundings, etc.). The child is never fully from one's own culture nor fully from the culture in which they are raised. It's like they are from a third culture. In Ahava's case, not fully Canadian nor fully Mexican. Add to it that she lived in Texas she has experience from that culture, too. She can still recite the Pledge of Allegiance from memory, and on our recent trip to Texas she said, "We're home again!" Maybe she is a fourth culture kid!?

Mexican Art

2008-01-21T17:00:00.000-06:00

Mexico is a very artistic land and has been so for two millennia. One of the more famous modern artists is the muralist and cubist painter Diego Riviera. Born in Guanajato, Diego moved to Mexico City at the age of five. He took up painting early in life, studying in Mexico and Europe. He married another famous Mexican painter: Frieda Kahlo. They apparently fought like two Turks and though the marriage ended in divorce, they remarried. Despite the marriages, atheism and communistic leanings, one must admire his excellent murals. He was painfully honest about Mexican history which was the theme of his work as you may note in the above pictures. These pictures of his murals were taken at the National Palace at the Zocolo in downtown Mexico City. Diego died in November of 1957. It is fifty years since his death and there are many celebrations and exhibits around the country celebrating his artistic achievements. http://www.diegorivera.com/index.php

At Least the Day Started Nicely

2008-01-19T13:11:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, was a long day. We were up before the sun rose to get the kids ready for school. Ingrid had to go to university for Spanish classes and I was off with Moises to Acolman. As the sun rose, I took these photos of the volcanoes back lit by the sun. The volcanoe "Popo" is letting off a little steam. It had a huge day long explosion a few weeks ago when we were in Mazatlan. Today, Moises was showing me where to pay the taxes and the water bills for the Retreat Centre, where I was to stand in line, what to say and where and when to get photocopies of documents. From there it was off to the Centre to see the work that Celestino and his son had accomplished on the electrical system. Let me just say, when the sun goes down and the lights are turned on at the centre, it looks incredible in the courtyard! Moises and I changed some panes of glass on the workshop and I began taking an inventory of what jobs need to be done by Gateway teams this summer. Sadly, we have more work than teams for this summer. We need a minimum of four or five teams every summer but we only have two scheduled for this year. This is going to put us at a distinct disadvantage as we are a small team and highly dependent on missions teams (please pray for missions teams to join us this summer). From there it was off to the church to have a leadership meeting and hear if Fransisco and Adriana would accept the position of pastor of the church. They declined for several reasons. We can't tell you how devastated we are. We were all set to let the church be on its own and begin concentrating on church planting on the northwest side of the city. Those plans are delayed yet again...likely for months. What to do...What to do?

First Day at School

2008-01-15T13:39:00.001-06:00

Today, was Ahava's first day at school. It is a small private school called Jardin de Niños or Children's Garden, that speaks almost exclusively Spanish and is close to our home. Despite the look on her face that says, "I'm going to choose your nursing home", at the end of her three hour day, she said she had fun. Her teacher is Miss Gabriela and she looks young, like she just got out of teachers' college. She seems very nice and is a hip dresser. Classes are every weekday from 9 -1 but on the days we are at university, Ahava will be there till 2:30. She says that there are two little girls that are her good friends already. We hope that from this school experience there may be an opportunity to reach out to people with the gospel.

Tearing Down Walls...and Our First Shakedown

2008-01-14T16:48:00.000-06:00

The spread of evangelical Christianity must be having an impact. On several occasions I have seen the above poster on the doors of homes in our area and near the church. It says, "This home is Catholic. We do not accept protestant propaganda nor from other sects. King Jesus Lives!" The words are pro-Jesus, but note who the picture is of: The Virgin Guadalupe, sometimes known here as the Mother of Mexico. The worship of virgin Guadalupe takes a much greater preeminence than Jesus Christ in the lives of people. Sadly, she is considered to not only be a co-redeptrix with Jesus Christ, but she is the medium to speak to God in all aspects of worship. A Norwegian missionary to Argentina that we met here recently told us that she had no idea Mexico was so strongly Catholic. Even we can't believe it at times. Shrines and images are everywhere and there are so many skewed understandings of salvation. A neighbour told us that her husband, that died some years ago, died on the same day as a certain saint, therefore she said, "He is in heaven." The message that we must give these people is that we are not saved on the basis of our righteousness or that of another Christian but on the righteousness of Jesus Christ alone. Soli Deo Gloria.

On a different note, Ingrid and I faced our first shakedown by the local police. We often get pulled over by the police to check our documents; about 10-15 times since we arrived here in June. But we are usually released within a minute or two with a handshake from the officer. Not this past Saturday. We were driving out to the retreat centre to spend the night and practise our Spanish with Juan and Carolina when we were pulled over in heavy traffic in the suburb of Tultitlan (an area famous for corrupt police we are told). The officer wanted our documents and then told us that the tinted windows are illegal and that he was taking our licence away, going to impound our truck, and fine us 60 days wages. One must understand at this point that I am a libertarian; not a conservative, not a liberal or socialist (like a famous distant relative of mine, Tommy Douglas). I don't believe in government...I'm kinda like a right-wing hippy. So this shakedown rubbed me very wrong. After 10 or 15 minutes of politely arguing with the man, that, 1. As a tourist my vehicle comes under federal law, 2. My windows were tinted at the factory, not after market and 3. Securing my Canadian driver's licence would force me to call the Canadian embassy because the licence is the property of a Canadian government. I was forced to call my Mexican lawyer. She argued with him for about 10 minutes before she called his boss. Then Moises talked with the guy by cellphone for about 5 or 10 minutes. Nothing seemed to work. He said he wanted a deposit on the fine and then I could have my licence back but on Monday, I would have to pay the rest of the fine at the police station. I said to him, "I am a Christian, a man of integrity. I will pay a fine but not a mordida (lit. "bite" - a bribe) but I will fight this injustice. The bible says not to pay bribes." After another 5 minutes, he talked with his partner, who was much kinder to us, told us to put on our seat belts and go because it would soon be dark and it would be dangerous for us to be parked beside the road, giving us back our licence and going on his way with no handshake. It was an awful experience... actually kind of frightening. In the US and Canada, we pride ourselves on good policing but here, things are not the same. We are taking some advice from our somewhat charismatic dentist in Mexico, whom we've come to love. We're going to pray over our truck and hope that God limits our interactions with the police...unless it's for good, of course.

Spanish...The Eternal Language

2008-01-11T16:29:00.000-06:00

Spanish...The Eternal Language: it takes forever to learn. That was the joke around campus in Texas because there are aspects of it that are very difficult to apprehend. We remain students of the language though we are on the field. This week Ingrid and I began classes in Spanish at the Universidad Nacional Autonimo de Mexico. We went through two tests for ability in the language. Ingrid and I have been put in two different classes. We are the only native English speakers. There is another young lady from Canada but she is from Quebec and speaks only French. There is a large number of students from Korea, China and Germany. Other students come from Finland, Poland and France. So far the class is exceedingly simple but we are told it will get very hard by the end of the second month. The class is taught completely by immersion and there is no opportunity to speak English. At break time, we are all forced to talk with one another in Spanish with our native accents. Because the class is three days a week, we have had to place Ahava in a pre-kindergarten program. We hope she likes it. This weekend we are off the the retreat centre to practise our Spanish bible study skills on Juan and Carolina. This way they will learn the bible and we will learn how to converse in Spanish. This photo is of Ahava giving Carolina a kiss. Ahava has a little game going with Carolina's husband, Juan. Juan always opens his arms and calls Ahava to give him a hug. Ahava hids behind her mommy and often gives Carolina a quick hug and kiss as she smiles at Juan. What a teaser!

There is a Balance Between Anger Management and Time Management

2008-01-08T13:14:00.000-06:00

We've all been there. We set a time for a meeting and the other party does not show up. What to do? We can be diplomatic and show understanding as to why the other party did not show. We could graciously confront the other party and stress the need to strictly adhere to planned events if the other party is pathologically late. Or we could do what the famous Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa did. Shoot the clock. The top picture is of the Palacio de Gobierno (government palace) in downtown Guadalajara; Mexico's second largest city with a metropolitan area of around 5 million people. On the way to and from Mazatlan, we drove through this large historic city. A nephew of Moises that lives in Guadalajara gave us a small tour of the beautiful downtown core. He showed us the building above where Francisco "Pancho" Villa was to meet another revolutionary for a 5:30 meeting. Unfortunately, the other party was late and typical of a revolutionary that struggles with anger, he just had to shoot something. So he shot the clock under which he was to meet his comrade. He didn't leave a Post-it note or cellphone voice message saying "I was here but you must have been delayed. I did wait for two hours." He shot the clock to mark the hour! That bullet hole is still there today as seen in the second photo and the clock is stopped on the time at which it was shot. Another interesting historical fact about this building was that Padre Miguel Hidalgo declared the abolition of slavery in Mexico from the main balcony in 1810 which launched the nation into a war of independence.

We're Blogging Again

2008-01-08T12:24:00.000-06:00

We took a few weeks off from blogging to enjoy the Christmas holidays and to go to the City of Mazatlan for our annual team meeting. This was the third such meeting that I have had with the Mexico field. The first was in the town of Guaymas in the northern state of Sonora and the second meeting was in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. This trip, we and the Ruizes stayed at the Mayan Sea Garden and enjoyed the beautiful beach for at least a couple hours each day. This is only the second time that we have been to a Mexican resort town. This past summer, our family went to Puerto Vallarta. Here's the differences between the two towns: Mazatlan has the nicer beach, better food ("must go to" restaurants are The No Name Cafe...get the BBQ Ribs...Brasil...Brazilian rotisserie BBQ, roasted over an open fire on swords [see pic. above]... and Panamá...get the enchiladas.) and the town is generally cheaper. Puerto Vallarta has a much nicer resort (Mayan Palace) and nicer downtown tourist area but the place is much more expensive. The weather was sunny but according to several people we talked to, this has been Mazatlan's coldest winter in twenty years. (So much for global warming.) Everyday the high was about 22*c and "sweater weather" in the evenings. That might seem nice to our friends in the prairies and the Midwest but it has been unusually warm here in Mexico City this winter, getting up to 26* everyday. After having lived here and deep south Texas over the last two years, we went to a resort to cool off! Our bodies have certainly aclimatized to hot climates. While in Mazatlan we celebrated Kirklyn's 8th birthday. I can hardly believe she was born at the turn of the millennium and is eight already. Yes, we did get some work done and I can say that plans for church planting in Mexico City are coming along and soon we'll be able to put our plans into action.

Feliz Navidad Video Christmas Card

2007-12-23T16:14:00.001-06:00

We wish a very merry Christmas to all of our family, friends and supporters. An interesting link that you may want to see is NORAD Santa. The air forces of the US and Canada are tracking Santa as he delivers toys. Blessings all!!! http://www.noradsanta.org/en/home.htm

Christmas Program

2007-12-22T22:30:00.000-06:00

Like most churches at this time of year, we in Mexico City had a church Christmas program. It was as good as any that I have ever seen at churches in the US or Canada. There were Christmas carols sung by the choir and the congregation; tunes traditional to the ear but sung in Spanish. The words might not be translated identically (for example, "Silent Night" in Spanish is "Noche de Paz" or "Night of Peace") but beautifully sung and Christ centered. The children's skits were well done and, as the second picture indicated, contextualized to Mexico. The little shepherds look more like Mexican shepherds from years past than middle eastern shepherds. Jessie, pictured below with a little girl, played the part of Mary. She has tremendous dramatic talent and has great potential with this gift. Some of the Gateway teams that helped with the VBS program "Hecho A Mano" this last summer might remember her as the squeaky bird in the skits where she also did a great performance. After the program, the children received bags of candy (chili pepper/mango lollipops in the shape of a whole BBQ chicken, mini marshmallows, Japanese peanuts, fried onion ring type chips and Lunetas - candy coated chocolate drops similar to Canadian Smarties or American M&M's). We all had a hot drink called Ponche which is a tea vaguely like apple cider with pieces of mango, apple and sugar cane in each cup.

The Emperor Has Given Us Games

2007-12-20T10:30:00.001-06:00

Politicians will do anything to maintain or increase their popularity. The head of Distrito Federal is no exception. He put an ice rink right in the middle of the Zocolo to give Mexicans a chance to do some winter sports. I must say, it's quite a engineering feat to place an Olympic size outdoor rink in a open air plaza where the temperature has been 27*C or 80*F every afternoon for the last month. The evenings are also quite warm. Skating is free to everyone but the lineups to get on the ice were ridiculously long. The Ruizes and ourselves, along with Abi, Ivan and Abi's mom Gloria went to the rink to enjoy a little holiday fun. Only Ingrid, the girls, Dylan and Daniel went on the ice.
For many Mexicans this was clearly their first time on skates as they clung to the boards and others to keep from falling. There was a slow motion "congo" line around the boards of the rink. With hundreds of people skating during each assigned hour of time on the ice, some accidents are bound to occur. There were many staff on the ice. When someone fell and was significantly hurt, twelve staff would hold hands and form a ring around the injured person. Three people were taken off the ice in this manner, two in wheelchairs and one on a backboard. An ambulance was on standby near the rink for such injuries.
We were impressed with the other 50% of skaters who could skate fairly well! There are only five indoor ice rinks in this enormous city.
After the skating was done, it was off to the kiosks for some cafe con leche (coffee with milk), biscuits and churros. The evening reminded me of our times in Edmonton when we would go to the Silver Skate Festival http://www.silverskatefestival.org/ for a day of skating, eating Dutch food and drinking hot chocolate in the cold weather, only today had a unique Mexican twist. It is fun to watch the girls skate again. They really miss the speedskating they did back home http://www.edmontonspeedskating.ca/ . I was amazed at how well Emma and Kirklyn did after having been off skates for a year and a half. They never missed a beat. As for Dylan and Daniel, the girls helped them get their skating legs. They have skated a bit in Ontario when they have returned for home assignment but it has never been a big part of their lives. However, they did great and after an hour or so of practising, they looked like pros. They seemed to have enjoyed themselves greatly. It was a really nice evening out. To see a video of the skating, click on the bottom picture.