NEW TEAM MEMBERS

These last couple of weeks we have been busy welcoming, getting to know, and helping our new team members settle in!

Angel and Blanca and their 4 kids moved to Guadalajara to join our church planting team. They've been living in Canada for almost 15 years where they were working in church planting as well, so we are excited to work with them and experience life together here in Mexico. It's been so enjoyable so far just getting together and visiting and beginning to share and dream together about the church plant.

The kids have also hit it off really well, as their 3 oldest will be in the same grade as our 3 oldest, and they have much the same life experiences with all having grown up in a culture other than their parent's original culture.

The summer months are always a little hit and miss with everyone being around for Bible studies but we are having Angel and Blanca meet the different people in our groups and they are out and about a lot in their neighborhood and on the streets meeting the neighbors.

Continue to pray for them and for ourselves as we form this team and for the people they will come into contact with that are looking for purpose in life, that as a church body we will together be that light in the darkness here in this city!

A WEDDING

Last weekend Dallas had the privilege of marrying Jesse and Paulina!

Paulina's family joined our church here in Guadalajara 6.5 years ago; they were the first family to become part of our church plant here. Several years ago she began expressing an interest in serving God through missions work and so made plans to attend Bible College, and after checking into a few, decided on Steinbach Bible College in Canada.

Just a few months before she left, we happened to have a Missions Intern, Jesse, come down for 9 months to work with our team, and long story short, Jesse and Paulina began dating and are now married!

As they are living in Canada right now, the wedding was there and Dallas flew up for the weekend to be part of the celebration. We would all have LOVED to have been able to go but it didn't work out and that's ok. My cousin, Faith, who was at the wedding, sent me picture throughout and I enjoyed seeing it from afar. 

Paulina's family are quite involved in our church plant and it's encouraging to see the way God works in growing people in faith and maturity, and we enjoy working with and enjoying life with them!

As a bonus, Dallas also got to see 3 of our brothers on this weekend! He landed in Calgary, Alberta and was picked up by and stayed with one brother and family for night. Then he borrowed their car and drove a few hours to stay with my other brother and family for a couple of nights. Then one night he discovered that his brother who lives in BC happened to be holidaying right where Dallas was and so he got to see him as well. So that was all bonus. Thanks, boys, for taking care of Dallas :)

9 days with our home church youth group!

For the week leading up to Easter, we hosted our youth group from our home church in Canada - Kleefeld EMC.

There were 9 youth and 5 leaders and we looked forward to it a lot as we know all of the leaders and knew it would be a great week together! The leaders include those that mentor us (our pastor) and that we have mentored (our previous youth) and that we currently mentor (Paulina, from our church here in Gdl but who is studying at Steinbach Bible College in Canada and attending our home church there, and who Dallas will be performing the wedding ceremony for in July!). It's neat to see the way different generations and groups of people can work together.

Our house was the central command station for all things food and debrief related ;) Our house is small but thankfully, youth don't care about cramming! 

We are so thankful also for those that helped us in planning and running the week, including those in our cell groups, we couldn't have done it without them! They helped drive the youth around, inviting their friends and people they're reaching out to to the different outreach event, and hosting with us. We are excited when we see the local believers working together.

The day they arrived, we did a bit of orientation and then spent some time in prayer for the upcoming week. That evening we put on a youth event, where we and our cell groups invited contacts to come out for a Cultural Event. Youth events here often mean anyone is welcome, and we had from little kids up until parents of the youth.

We did a bit of a talent show, music, played hockey, and had pizza together. Our prayer is that those that were invited will have come away with a positive view of Christians and that this can prompt conversations with those that invited them.

 

The next day was Palm Sunday and we took the group out to Los Chorros de Tala, which is a natural park with a waterfall, a creek, and a swimming pool. Some from our cell group went as well and we had a service there at the park and then spent the day together. 

For Monday we planned a Kid's Club here in our gated community and had a few of our kid's school friends come out, plus some from here in our community. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures as I was in charge and it went by quickly :) We also had some down time that afternoon and then spent some time in prayer looking over the city of Guadalajara from 2 high places. 

Tuesday they headed to downtown Guadalajara for our traditional Picture Scavenger Hunt that we do with teams that come! They split into groups and were given a list of things to find and to take pictures of. This included touring the Catholic Cathedral, visiting some historical buildings, and touring a typical market. 

Later in the evening we had one of Paulina's friends come and share about the traditional Catholic pilgrimage that is happening right now, that he took part of. This is a path that people walk for two days in order to spend time in prayer to the Virgin of Talpa, the town they walk to. 

After the first number of days in the city and exposure to urban life and ministry, we took the group to the Orphanage Ranchito Con Eperanza (Little Ranch with Hope), where they spent the next 4 days. I know this was a big highlight for many of them, as they were able to do several types of ministry. Some worked on the farm feeding cows and harvesting honey, some worked in pouring a cement floor, some helped with peeling and cutting tons of fruits and veggies, and some read and did activities with the kids. This is the Orphanage that Dallas and I and our cell groups volunteer at regularly and where our little girl is from.

 The orphanage is in a small town an hour out of the city and as the only Christian influence there, they periodically put on Kids Clubs and invite the town kids. One afternoon we did this with them and they had 30 kids come out in addition to the 23 they have at the orphanage. 

 And, one of the days while they were at the orphanage, Dallas and I skipped out and attended a wedding! We did pre-marital counseling with a young couple last summer and now they were getting married. Their parents are good friends of ours from our kid's school, as their younger son is in Carter's grade, so we had a table full of friends from school there to hang out with!

This is Karla, a mom friend who was one of the first I ever met here in Gdl almost 7 years ago! How time flies.

So, that was our week!! There are many stories to tell and I know that each person on the team would have different perspectives and stories. For us, we see the ministry opportunities and ways the team helped us with our ministry and reaching out to people. We see the ways people worked together and advanced God's kingdom.

It was also a tiring week for Dallas and I as along with the planning and running of the week, we had our 4 kids with us plus had Brady visit the hospital twice while they were here (he has a knee effusion, which we are still working on solving). But, we are thankful for the week and to God for working despite our weakness' and for giving us joy. Our prayer is that the week will be something the youth will look back on and remember the ways they were impacted and have this change them even in small ways, and that makes it all worth it!

Canada Part 2: Dallas, Tara, Ministry, Studying

The largest portion of what we do while we're in Canada is connect with our supporters as much as possible. This includes extended family, friends, and churches. We reported in churches on Sunday mornings, attended some mid-week church events, and met one-on-one with people throughout the week.

It's a chance for us to promote missions and promote Guadalajara, and also a chance to be mutually encouraged in our walks with God. We couldn't do what we do here without knowing we have the prayer support behind us. Perhaps we could. We have God with us no matter what. But we are in this together and being upheld in prayer and having people interested in our ministry and lives here gives so much strength as well.

Besides reporting and sharing, we had some great time with family and friends to just relax, be rejuvenated, and laugh together! We are so thankful for "our people". Sometimes I miss having "our people" so close by - those people we've known our whole lives or for more than 10 years at least that just know you. But we're working on that here ;)

We also had a lot of meetings that were ministry related and a lot of business to take care - banking, renewing paperwork...those kinds of things.

So, some pictures.

One weekend Dallas and I attended our EMC Conference's Ministerial Retreat. This was a great opportunity to connect with different pastors and ministerial in our Conference, from around Canada. It was also great to see so many people we knew and many that had come to Guadalajara on Prayer teams over the years were there as well.

Dallas had a chance to play in a curling tournament while we were there...a little R&R.

Since our boys were already being babysat while we were with the Ministerial, Dallas and I took advantage of this and headed to a cabin in the Whiteshell for a couple of nights longer. We rarely ever get away for night without our kids. I should really say never. So that was wonderful and we need those times as couples also.

Some pictures with friends. You know, I didn't realize how few pictures I took!! Our minds were quite full during our time in Canada and I just wasn't taking out my camera really at all. So if any of you have pictures that you took with us, please send them to me!!! This is all I have! So bad. I should have taken some everyday.

This is Dallas and his best friend since high school.

And these are friends of ours from College days and even earlier...her family and my family have known each other for eons, but we got to know each other more so in College days. And they are arriving here in Guadalajara in a couple of days to visit us!!!

And the boys with their life-long friends/second-cousins. They grew up together, moved to Texas and Mexico together, so now when we're in Canada they love to see each other again. They pick up right where they left off.

Studying - let's not forget that!

Dallas was in class and doing studies while we were there. He had to be there for part of a class all of November and then again in January, which was the reason for the timing of our trip. He started his Counseling Practicum, which he is now continuing here in Gdl this semester.

And, we did homeschooling with the boys. They missed 8 weeks of school! The school is so amazing to us and the teachers had prepped a lot of their work ahead of time for us to take. We did it each day and every Friday I sent pictures of all their work for the week so that they wouldn't get behind. We are so thankful for the school working with us in this way.

We even did projects and recorded video of the boys giving their "presentations" to the class.

Their cousins encouraged them along here and there ;)

Why do Missionaries go on Furlough (Home Assignment)?

I mentioned in my last post that we will be in Canada for a couple of months this winter. The purpose of this is for Furlough, or Home Assignment, as it's also often called.

We often get questions or just hear comments from people wondering what furlough is for, so I thought'd I'd just talk about a few of the purposes here to perhaps help clear up some questions you may have!

So, what is the purpose of Furlough?

1. Reconnect with Churches/Supporters

This has changed a lot in missions over the past 20 years or so. It used to be that there was no Internet - meaning no email, texting, Facebook, Skype, or any form of constant communication with people back in Canada. When I grew up in Paraguay even a basic phone call cost a fortune and I remember talking to our Grandparents for our birthdays and that was pretty much it.

These days we are in constant communication with people all over the world. This enables missionaries to be in more contact with their supporting churches which is very good. But it is still not the same as a personal, face-to-face conversation. When we're in Canada we share in different churches on weekends and during the week we take time to visit with individuals and families from our churches. We are responsible to our home churches and to the EMC Conference and so we need to be in communication.

We need people supporting us in prayer, financially, and emotionally, and there is nothing like being with someone in person to build that connection and friendship.

2. Reconnect with the Missions office

This basically means that we have meetings with our Board of Missions and this furlough we will also be attending a retreat for ministers. We also have a meeting with our home church's mission board as well as other connections and meetings with EMC personnel.

3. Rest & Renewal

It is always encouraging and renewing for Dallas and I to be able to spend time with people in Canada that support us - whether that be family, friends, or church people. It's an opportunity to be filled and supported in prayer and gives us fresh energy to return to the field. I wouldn't call this restful exactly as we fill our calendars pretty full with wanting to see everyone! Almost too much sometimes but we really love it and it is rejuvenating.

Allowing your brain a little break from another language and culture is also restful ;) Although we love Spanish and love Mexico it can be tiring to always be trying to figure out culture and language. This does go away to some extent over the years but can be present at different levels for different missionaries.

4. Reconnect with Family & Friends

Even though we are living away from all of our family, we love our family and it is so important to us to have good relationships with them and for our boys to know them. This requires visiting them. Again, in person!

This is what makes overseas missionaries different from those in ministry in their home country, as it means being away from ALL of your family (usually) and that is one of the more difficult aspects, no matter how old you are or what stage of life you're in.

Connecting with friends that "get" you is also very renewing and something Dallas and I both value very much. We connect with friends from years ago and with friends that we've made more recently in different ways as a result of teams, visitors, churches, etc.

5. Education

This is one that also has changed a lot with online studies! Dallas is so fortunate to be able to study most of his Masters online. However, he had to go to Canada for a week in October for an in-person class and he has portions of his class that he will be doing while we are there now in November and in January. This education is very helpful for our ministry while on the field.

6. Encouragement/Recruitment

Part of our job is also to encourage missions in churches and individuals, whether that be through financial giving, through helping churches become more interested in missions, or through encouraging others to consider overseas missions! This all falls under point #1 as well but it is more of a direct purpose in connecting in different places.

7. Taking care of Business

We take the opportunity to update any banking we need to do, take our driver's license pictures, have other financial meetings, buy items we can get cheaper there than here, doctor visits (although we do most of that in Mexico), any needed paperwork, etc. oh, and go to Ikea.

8. Culture learning ;)

I'll add this one for our boys. Going to Canada every few years helps the boys keep a connection with their "home" culture. They do not consider Canada their home, though. They have never lived there, besides Carter who lived there for just 1.5 years. To them, Canada is an awesome place to visit where they get to see Grandparents and cousins and everyone else! They love to visit.

And it's always a time of culture learning, especially now as they're getting older.

To be honest, it's always culture learning for Dallas and I too. Everytime you go back you have to remember what Canadian culture is...we especially struggle the first couple of weeks with wanting to hug and kiss everyone ;) as that's the Mexican greeting. So if we get a little too close to you for comfort just bear with us.

This picture is from 7 years ago, the last time we were in Canada in winter. Carter was 3, Logan was 1, and Brady was 3 months old. So they don't remember winter. They are super, super excited for snow. We'll see what they think of the cold!

All right, I will leave it at that for now! I hope this gives you a bit of an idea. As you can see, it serves several purposes which can make it seem a little ambiguous at times. 

See you soon Manitoba.

PARAGUAY 2017!!!!

A couple of weeks ago we had the chance to do something as a family that we never really thought would happen - we went to Paraguay for two weeks!!! 

Most of you, if you know us, probably know that I lived there for 8 years as a child, where my parents were church planters. It's where I learned to love the Latin culture and the Spanish language and where all of my first memories are from. I had an amazing time growing up there with my parents and brothers and also had amazing life-long friendships that were formed there. 

Dallas and I were able to go there twice shortly after we were first married, and it was fun to experience that together. But this was the first time we went for holidays (the 2 times were with missions teams) so it was much different. It was a bit of a two-fold trip - I wanted to have time to visit friends and see specific places (and eat specific foods), and we wanted to see where my brother Travis and his family are church planting right now, as they are in a city that we had never been to, and we wanted to be part of their life there for a bit. 

It was also a dream to go with the boys and they LOVED it. They have talked everyday since we've been back about it and keep asking if we'll get to go back sometime. 

I just wanted to post a bunch of pictures here and share about the trip for memory's sake!

First of all, the plane ride. Can't leave that out, as we do enjoy the traveling aspect as well. And I think the boys spent at least 20 minutes describing all the movies they watched on the plane to their poor Grandparents so I think that was a big deal ;) 

We flew Guadalajara - Mexico City - Sao Paulo, Brazil - Asunción, Paraguay. The boys are great travelers, and while flying overnight makes it hard to sleep, like I said, the movies kept them well entertained and quiet for their fellow passengers. 

15 hours or so later...we arrived in Asunción! While I haven't lived in Paraguay for 23 years (!), it's still the place that makes me super nostalgic and feels so familiar while so distant. 

My brother and sis-in-law, Trav & Rosey, and their kids were at the airport to meet us, as well as 2 of my childhood friends and their families!

My brother lives 6 hours from where we landed, so we all spent the first few days at Hannes and Gabi's house. Gabi was my best friend growing up, we were attached at the hip while we lived there, and we were so happy to spend a good amount of time with them!! Her sister Anja also lives there with her husband, and my other friend Wendy stopped in with her family. So there were 5 of us MK's there, including Trav.

It was sooo good to spend time visiting with them, we talked a lot about our lives and it was so refreshing to have that time together. 

The boys with their cousins and new friends. 

We then headed 6 hours east to Minga Guazú, which is were Trav & Rosey work. As we were 9 people in total, Rosey and I took the bus for the longer trips. Which meant lots of chip for me.....!!! It's a typical Paraguayan cheese bread that is sold everywhere. 

Below is a chipa stand, a little hard to see, but on top of the stool is a basket that is covered and that's where the chipa is. 

Our time in Minga with Trav & Rosey and their kids was so good! We did life with them, we went to their church for the different activities, and did some other activities together. 

Below is their church, with their car. The dirt there is very red and clay-like, and it rained several days while we were there making for some good mud. 

Good mud = scrubbing shoes

The boys with their cousins, Zippy and Moi. I feel like we didn't have to take care of the kids a lot, they were so busy playing together.

Trav & Rosey's backyard...just a small part of it.

Road to church.

 Brady and Moi...the troublemakers.....

Our boys like to tell everyone that they went for ice-cream 5 times while we were there. I guess that is important.

Besides all the food we love to eat there (although Logan wasn't the hugest fan of it all), Paraguay is known for tereré and mate. Tereré is with ice cold water, while mate is with hot water. Below you can see my niece Zippy drinking...Carter is saying "chug, chug, chug!".

My friend Wendy was in their town also for a couple of days to visit so they came over, and the boys made some new friends.

I think it was so nice that our boys know Spanish, as they weren't uncomfortable in Paraguay and had no problem playing with the other kids they met. We went to the wedding of a couple in the church and they had a good time with everyone.

Wedding food - bbq'd chicken with a rice salad, chipa guazú (corn & cheese dish), and sopa (corn dish like cornbread).

As it was raining for several days, we looked for something indoors to do, and went to an art museum. There are paintings covering the walls, floor, and ceilings that are 3D. 

One other activity we did was head into Brazil (just 1/2 hour from Minga as they live at the border) to the Iguazu Falls. It's a beautiful place. 

These 2 also love to be together, we would often find them lying in bed reading books together or just hanging out. It was often these 2, and then Logan, Moi, and Brady together.

There is also the Argentinian side of the falls, as the falls lie at the border. However, to get into Argentina we would have had to pay $75 US per person!

(Perhaps I should have broken this up into more than 1 post ;) onward we go though!)

Something I did not get any pictures of were the other missionaries we visited with. Several that worked there when we used to live there still live in Paraguay, and it was neat to say hi to all of them again and visit.

We also stopped in at Caaguazú, which was the city Trav and I lived in as kids, where we wanted to visit some of our Paraguayan friends. We said hi to Richard and Suni, who work with the church conference and who we had met on our previous trips. We also visited Nidia, who was one of my best friends a child also, and her sister and family.

We drove by the house we grew up in, we went to the cementary where another best friend is buried (she passed away when I was 8 years old but we spent a lot of time together), and we drove by the churches my parents worked in.

After that we headed back to Asunción where we spent another couple of days with our friends there, visiting and laughing and making food :)

Carter loves his cousin Zippy and his new friend Nadine...he has decided to save his money to visit them again one day ;) 

It was so special to spend this time with Trav & Rosey, as we love to hang out with them and their kids! And it was also special to re-live memories, spend the time with Dallas and the boys there, and see old friends again. While we love being in Paraguay, the people are what made the trip and we are so thankful for the opportunity to have gone. It was a bit of a last minute decision to go now when we did, but I'm so glad we did it.

Maybe after another 8 years of saving money we can go again?? ha!

💗💗💗💗

I am also so thankful to God for the peace he gave me in being able to return to Mexico. Just before we went, I became a little fearful that going back to Paraguay would make it hard to come back, as I spent many years coming to terms with not being there anymore and asking God for peace no matter where I was living. And He gave it to me! We have always been at peace with being in Mexico, but, I became nervous that going there would "un-do" that process. I am soooo thankful that we had an AMAZING time there and even more thankful to see that God has my heart and that I truly can love life where I am in the moment. Do I want to go back? For sure, I will always love it as one of my homes. But God has given me a measure of a home here in Mexico also and as that's where we live at the moment, I'm grateful. I believe the one thing I would ever wish for more than anything is peace and contentment with God and with life, than to have a "thing" that I wish for and always be looking for something more.