We Made It

Estamos aqui! We are here! Our border crossing that so many of you were praying about, it went very well. No taxes, no inspections, no fines, no "fines" (bribes)! At the second inspection point 20 km inland, we were directed to the inspection area. The state police officer read our letter of invitation that explained that we would be using our items in the trailer for our personal use and for ministry. He had a brief look in our trailer and sent us on. Our new little guard dog, Scout (9 wk old German Shepard), our tools, piano, clothing, books, and family of seven were all permitted into Mexico! Thank you for all of your prayers! We made some stops on the way in at Saltillo, Matahuala for the night, and San Luis Potosi on the second day of driving. The trailer was heavy (piano, tools, and theology books!) so we were often in the slow lane with the big trucks while going up the mountain roads.

We think that we have found a house to rent in the suburb of Mexico City that is called Atizapan. It is very close to Moises and Carolyn Ruiz. They live near a corner. Our house isn't on their street but on the one around the corner and about 10 houses down. The house is built on a hillside and has the bonus of an amazing view of downtown Mexico City off in the distance. You could likely see for miles if it weren't for the smog! The house needs a fair amount of work to be done on it. It also has been unoccupied for some time as there was an inch of dust on the floors. The yard is tiny, smaller than many master bedrooms in Canada or the United States. They have all ready cleaned up the dusty floors and tore out the weed "garden", leaving nothing but a small lemon tree. Wonder of wonders for us: another house on the flight path to the airport though Marcel doesn't mind a bit! The neighbourhood is close to a large technical university and on Mondays, a market is set up on a street just 3 blocks away. There are many community and kindergarten programs available in this area that should provide us plenty of opportunities to connect with our neighbours aside from being a family with a bunch of blondes walking down the street.

The girls are doing very well so far with the change from living in Texas to Mexico. Three of us have had a couple nosebleeds from living high up in the mountains. Carolyn told me that spaghetti noodles take 15 minutes to cook at this height rather than the usual 7 minutes. Marcel saw an airplane altimeter last year that said that the airport is 7,800 feet above sea level. Our home is well above that. We hope to calculate just how high in the mountains we really are.

Having visited here two years ago really helped us. The traffic is not nearly as scarey as it was our first day two years ago. The trip from our Christ Lives Bible Church in the northeast of Mexico City to our area in the northwest of Mexico City takes one hour. We were able to drive back home on our own without following the Ruizes. We didn't get lost and things are beginning to look a bit familiar. Another exciting new thing for us: we can better read the Spanish road signs!

There are not enough words...

Hi everybody!!! I thought I would give you all a brief update to let you know how we are doing.
First, the girls finished their first year in public school today here in the great state of Texas but they do so with mixed feelings of happiness and sadness. Happy, because they can be home with Mom and Dad and they are looking forward to the move to Mexico City and to be helping at the camp this summer. Sad, because they made good friends in school and they all really liked...I mean, loved... their teachers and the school nurse. They were all so very supportive and encouraging. So to remind the teachers of the little blonde Canadian girls that were in their classes, we gave the teachers a gift: the book Anne of Green Gables, a classic in Canadian literature. One teacher even had a special birthday party/going away party in her class for Petra! We like Texas but our calling is elsewhere and despite the pleasantries of being here, God has placed a desire in our heart to go to the mission field.
Second, we have been packing and cleaning for the last couple days in anticipation of the move and the temperature has been hovering around 100* F. I don't know what that is in Celsius but when its combined with humidity its real hot!!! What is worse is that for two days our air conditioner was not working!
We thank all of you for your prayers and support but please don't let up...we are anticipating crossing the border this coming Sunday. Pray that we will not be hassled by the guards or charged any "fines". Pray that we and the Ruizes will have a safe drive and arrive in Mexico City in good time. Finally, pray that we will quickly find housing in Mexico City.
Until next time...adios!

"Film at Eleven..."

Hi everyone!
Sorry, but we don't have a picture this time. We are temporarily in NeverNeverLand between our internet connection in Texas and our internet connection in Mexico. (When our neighbours, also The Mitchells, moved for the summer, the school campus here in Texas accidentally disconnected the wrong Mitchells' internet.) We will just save up a bunch of photos for a couple of weeks in the future!

What's new with us?

• We graduated!!! We think... Grades and diplomas are to follow provided all is in order.
• We've had two weeks off and have still been getting up every day at 6:30 a.m. to get the girls off to their schools.
• We enjoyed a day in San Antonio at Six Flags Fiesta Texas -- along with about 15 choral and band middle school groups.
• We were able to visit our NAB church in Crawford, Texas and during the drive back south, saw the actual Texas state flower growing wild on some beautiful Texas pasture land.
• Marcel has rediscovered rollerhockey and has the injuries to prove it.
• All four girls have received academic awards at their schools. This was such a blessing after wondering how they would transition from homeschooling to public schools.
• Petra and Emma both auditioned and got solos in their school concerts.
• Our prayers have been partially answered with the purchase of a 6 X 12' trailer that we will use to move our household things to Mexico City. Please keep praying that our license plates and registration will arrive quickly.
• We celebrated our 17th anniversary on the 19th of May!!
• On May 22 Ingrid experienced her first birthday celebration in 90% Spanish.

Anticipated moving days: June 5th and 6th.

Please pray for ease crossing the border. Six more days of classes for the girls so it's pretty much packing and cleaning for these last days in Texas.

Ahava sings at Chapel

Thursday, we had our final day of chapel for the year and it was a special day of music where people from around the latin world, the US, and Canada used their talents to praise our Lord. Our three year old, Ahava, sang with her preschool class. Accompanied by The Accordian Man, they sang a medley of songs including one in Spanish.

B.T.W.: Have a happy "Cinco de Mayo"

The Perfect Storm

Last night a warm, moist storm came in from the Gulf of Mexico and mixed with a cool, dry storm that came in from the Texas hill country. The two storms collided right over Edinburg. The result was four hours of tornado warnings. Such powerful thunderstorms are infrequent in our area of deep south Texas. Most storms occur north of San Antonio. This storm did remind us of summers back in Alberta, Canada.

We awoke after a tremendous clap of thunder. Within a minute, heavy rain began, the lightning flashed and thunder roared with great frequency. Our new alarm for our truck was activated when the concussion from the thunder rattled our windows. A bolt of lightning hit the tree you see here, a tree that is right behind our house.

A Day at the Orphanage

Today we went as a family to Casa Hogar San Francisco, an orphanage, in Reynosa, T.F., México. This orphanage has about 80 children from 2 months of age to 17 years, some of which are mentally and physically handicapped. To our surprise, there are many children at this orphanage who do have parents. These children live in the orphanage because both of their parents are working and trying to make a living. On the weekends, some of the children are picked up by their parents and taken home. Of course, there are children without parents as well. This weekend, about 40 children had not been picked up by anyone and they were still at the orphanage.

Our daughter, Petra, was enlisted to be one of the clowns. It was hot wearing that costume in the sun but she enjoyed her new role as "Lulu". Five students and two women on staff from Rio Grande Bible Institute and Language School did a terrific program for the children. They did action songs, two puppet plays, a skit, a memory verse, and a strong evangelistic message. The theme of the program was being spiritually prepared because people of all ages die, sometimes even children. The children were so well-behaved and attentive. We finished with two piñatas, cupcakes, and soda pop (pineapple flavor). Not a bit of pushing or grabbing, just politely waiting in line for their turn. I let about 5 little girls take a few pictures with our camera. It was a little risky but were they thrilled! When it was time for us to go, only a couple of the children said goodbye and gave us a hug. The majority became sad, looked at the ground, and slowly walked away.

Driving back across the bridge to the United States, we remembered the statistic for Mexico City: 600,000 street children. Even if that is inaccurate by 100,000 or 200,000, there are still more street children in Mexico City than there are people populating various large cities. Please pray for the children in all parts of Mexico. About 25-30 accepted Christ today in Reynosa! Their discipleship will continue through the ministry of RGBI in the coming school year.

Mexican Prison Ministry and Prison Tatts

Today, I (Marcel) went to a large prison in Reynosa, T.F., México to do some outreach with others from RGBI. It was an eye opening experience. Most of the people in the prison are there for crimes of violence and drugs. It was nothing like a prison in Canada where the prisons are known as "Club Fed." I had to render photo ID, go through a frisk and then receive a series of stamps on my arms (temporary prison tattoos) that allowed me to go through different areas of security. The guards carried large semi-automatic AR type rifles which can be a little intimidating. When I got into the general population area of the prison where some, so I was told, 2,000 men live, I was surprised to see that it was like a small Mexican town. Scattered among the large prison housing complexes were taco stands, artisan shops, trade shops and even a few churches. Visitors, most of whom are spouses and their children, are all allowed to mingle freely in the complex. I went to one wood working shop where a very rough looking man was making children's highchairs. There was no problem for him to have a chisel that could have easily been taken into the population without an additional search. We handed out Gospels of John and gospel tracks. There are a sizable number of people that have become Christians in the prison there and they are making attempts to repent from drug and alcohol addiction. There were gang members as well, clearly seen by their large tattoos done in indigenous artistic designs. It's not somewhere anybody wants to go but it was an interesting experience. Sorry about the pictures but that was the closest I could go with my camera without potentially causing a stir. The other picture is of my temporary "prison tattoo", one of the three stamps I received on my forearms in order to enter the prison.

The Latest Family Photo

Here is what the family is looking like after a year of Spanish language school.

El "Secuestro" (The "Kidnapping")

We have come to discover that our Spanish language school has a strange tradition, a privledge granted to the students in the second semester who are about to complete the program: a skip day. As a graduating class, we scheme together and choose a day to "kidnap" our professors and have a "forced field trip" in Mexico for the day. Twenty of our classmates were able to come with us today as we enjoyed shopping in the tourist town of Progresso. Our classmates bought some neat things: a hand-painted tortilla warmer, some little purses, Mexican soccer jerseys, candy-coated almonds, and a 5' long rainstick.

Top photo: Our Manitoban friend having Mexican braids done for $10! Warning: stylist holds sections of hair in her mouth as she vigorously braids with both hands. Aaaayy! Hey, what does that green sign say on the back wall of the salon? -- eyelash perm. Yikes!

Bottom photo: Our first stop: La Panaderia (The Bakery).

Thrill Ride

Who needs Six Flags when you have Mr. Willams and his cherry picker? Today, when the school day was over and the all the kids from our apartment block (all 19 of them) were outside enjoying some playtime, Mr. Williams gave the kids a cool ride.

By the way, you can click on all these photos on this blog to get a larger and higher reolution picture.

Why We Are Enduring Language School

Here's a hilarious example of our motivation for enduring language school instead of learning "on the job." Don't be deterred by the first few seconds in a foreign language. It switches to English and the download is worth the wait! Enjoy.


http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6077326441742307086

Best Friends Forever

This is our daughter Emma and her older friend Jeny Torres. Jeny is from Distrito Federal in Mexico. Her family is part of our church plant, Iglesia Biblical Cristo Vive in Ecatepec. Her parents are attending Rio Grande Bible Institute in preparation for pastoral ministry. They have become friends to our family but Jeny and Emma have a very special friendship.

Texas Track and Field

They are serious about their sports here in Texas. Brittany cleaned up in three more events this past weekend in the district Junior Varsity Finals. Normally she runs in the freshman events but her times have been quite good and so she was moved up to J.V. She's really been having fun and the medals are just bonus!

What I think is really cool are the high school sports stadiums here. The stadium where Brittany competed this past weekend as well as her own school stadium are both huge! My guess would be that they hold 15-20 thousand people each and there are a lot of school stadiums here! Well, track season is over for this year. I'm not sure what we are going to do for this budding young athlete when we get to Mexico City. I'm sure there will be good athletic clubs there.

Friday Night Lights

"Friday Night Lights" is the name of a movie about highschool football in Texas. Yet for us in deep south Texas, Friday Night Lights is when the Bible students, language school students, and missionary kids at RGBI go to the outdoor multi-purpose sports facility and play soccer. Sometimes we will also play street hockey and basketball. Many nights the latin students will bring out guitars and drums and just sing. Petra (the one in the middle looking exhausted) is wearing the jersey of the UNAM Pumas, a favorite soccer team of many Mexicans. Only 26 more days of language school and soon after we'll be moving to Mexico City. Pray for us as we find the best way to bring our things to Mexico and that all of us in our family will finish our time at our various schools well.

Rainy Day in Reynosa, Tamaulipas Fronteras, Mexico

We spent the afternoon in Reynosa today, the Mexican border city just across from McAllen, Texas. This picture was taken on the first street in Reynosa that parallels the Rio Grande River. We had lunch at McDonalds, drove around the perimeter of Reynosa, and visited two small shopping malls. The one shopping mall was very modern and spotless. Its anchor stores were Sanborn's and H-E-B. Sanborn's is a famous restaurant in Mexico that has an attached department store. H-E-B (pronounced one letter at a time, not "Heb") is a large grocery store chain that we also have in Texas. The Soriana's in Reynosa (like a Mexican WalMart with a grocery section) features several areas where you can sample food such as yogurt or our favorite, freshly grilled tortillas filled with -- a mildly spicy chicken stew. Sounds a bit odd but we really like these full-sized samples. It turned out to be Ahava's lunch because she was too distracted by her toy, the playground, and other Mexican children at the McDonalds who had earlier "prevented" her from eating her little hamburger.

Our two little girls had a ride on the carousel at the mall - it wasn't West Edmonton Mall but they still enjoyed the ride. Marcel sat on a bench with little Ahava to wait while the big girls went into a costume jewlery store. Another dad with a toddler sat beside Marcel and struck up a conversation in Spanish. The other dad is from Veracruz but is currently working in Reynosa. The older girls offered to "help" their dad practise Spanish using this wait-on-the-bench-while-we-shop-for-jewlery technique but Daddy declined their gracious offer.