This past week...

 This morning I am at home...and not going out. This is a miracle, people! Now don't get me wrong, I love being with people and if I didn't, well it would be hard to work here in this social culture as well as be a church planter.

But we all need our down time. This morning I should be having English class, but as it is the end of the school year, the mothers that attend had school events and one had surgery this week, so instead I will clean up the massive mess in my kitchen from baking a cake yesterday for a friend! And it is indeed a massive mess of fondant, icing sugar, leftover cake bits, dishes and dishes...

Anyway, this past week was really awesome in terms of connecting with people. We really are thankful that so many people that we "connect" with for ministry and that we reach out to in church planting truly become our friends!

Some obviously you become closer with than others, some are more like acquaintances and you don't really click but you keep up the connection with them anyways, but all in all, we are so thankful for that aspect of life here. Or really no matter where you are or what you're doing, having friends near helps you feel "at home".

In no particular order...some of our friends here in Gdl. Keep us in your prayers as we spend time with these groups!

Neighbor friends at a house warming party....10 pm-2:30 am (and some stayed till 4 am!)

A group of missionary that I meet with every Thursday morning for Bible study & fellowship

On Sunday morning we went to support one of our cell group members - Mario - as he did his exam for the Black Belt! Mario is in the back middle. It was all ages, from about age 7 to adult.

Celebrating Ivan's birthday last night! Ivan is Dallas' buddy that he bikes with often and we also get together with them as a couple often. Pictured here with his girlfriend Paulina and his mom.

Ivan had asked me to make him a fondant cake. 

This bike on this cake was my nemesis!! It was supposed to stand up on it's own...in the end I stuck it to the cake so it wouldn't fall over.

I do enjoy making cakes, more so the decorating aspect than the actual baking of it. But his girlfriend said he liked mocha, so I looked up a recipe for mocha filling. oh my....so good!! I will be using that recipe again. So if anyone asks me for a cake...you had better like coffee ;)

 And a group of moms and kids from the school that we spent a day with on Saturday.

I love it how even the kids just sit and chat. Mostly the girls, as the boys run around like made stealing the soccer ball from each other and shooting each other with water guns.

The one on the left, in the blue, is my dear friend from since we moved here! She was one of my first friends here and still is one I am closest to. The other 2 attend my English class.

ok we normally don't do these kinds of things. Usually we are nice and formal, sitting around a table and visiting all afternoon. Which we did. But we were all really tired that day so I finally convinced them to jump with me :-)

And then the kids joined in

 And one more...Dallas and some of his biking buddies! They call themselves "the Vultures". 

Late Night Biker

 It's Thursday night and I sit here alone...

This happens two nights a week, as Dallas is part of a group of guys that go biking at 9:00 pm till about midnight! Every Tuesday and Thursday night, they bike all over the city, doing more km's than I would choose to do in several times of biking, but Dallas as we all know, loves biking.

The Tuesday night one is a group that is organized by a biking organization here. They also do one on Thursday nights, but that one is a slower ride and more of a leisurely bike ride. So Dallas started going to the Tuesday night one, which is a group of about 30-50 people that go at a faster pace.

Out of this Tuesday night group, a group of them decided to also start a group for Thursday nights. So there are about 12 of them in this group, and this is third week they've gone out together. This group goes at a faster pace than the Tuesday one yet.

This is one way that Dallas gets to know new people and it has been a good way for him! It's late at night, but it's when guys are free from work and can be out and about, so it's when he goes out with them also.

He was happy to become part of the smaller group on Thursdays also because it's easier to get to know people in a smaller group and you can get deeper in your conversations over time that way. So we will see how it goes and who we all meet through this! So far he likes it....and they stop at OXXO {like a 7-11} most nights and he gets his weekly dose of magnum ice-cream bar so all is good.

Me? Well, I really don't mind a couple late evenings alone! ha. I am a bit of a night owl and Dallas generally likes to go to bed earlier, but this way since he is out till almost midnight I get my late nights :-) Although it does run me down over time getting to bed late several weeks in a row, as despite not being a morning person, I must be up to get my kids off to school and do everything else that happens here in the mornings.

And Tuesday nights I generally spend prepping my English class for Wednesday morning, so that's a good time for me to {try to} focus on that.

So right now I will get out a book, clean up the kitchen a little, and relax! I do have a bit of a flu today so you never know, I may end up in bed before Dallas even gets home...

To be or not to be...

In about 20 minutes the ladies for my English class will be arriving.

 My coffee is ready to brew and the cookies are ready to be put out on the plate. My lesson is printed off (with the help of Brady who likes to grab the papers out of the printer) and my whiteboard is set to go.

A picture from last year's class

Is my brain ready to think and explain things in English?? That is another question :-) Sometimes when the ladies ask me WHY we say things a certain way in English, I say...I don't know! We just do! But I know that is not a good answer! So then I write down the questions and study them up in the week to be ready for the next class with some sort of answer.

The good thing is that most of the ladies that come have a good enough English that they can have a decent conversation already. They have all studied it in school (much the same way we would have studied French in school back in Canada) but feel like they need help with certain grammar aspects and mostly just need practice having conversations. So we have a lot of conversation time! I generally pick a topic for each lesson and then we do games, grammar studies, or take turns having conversations about specific topics.

Brady and his friend playing in the backyard while the moms learn English

I would have to say that I do not enjoy the prep part of teaching, as I have never learned how to teach English. I often don't know what I should be teaching or what they need to learn, and I often call up my mom who is a professional and ask her!! It helped a lot that when she was here visiting last month, she did a test on all of them to see what level they were at, which helps me know what they need to learn yet. And it has also helped that I studied Spanish grammar so I have somewhat of a handle on how grammar works, even though in another language.

But I do enjoy the actual class time so that is good. The class is made up of a neighbour, moms from our kid's school, and another friend of a friend. Even though they didn't all know each other before, we have a lot of fun together

So why am I teaching English though?? Well, we look for ways to connect with people and get to know more people, as I said in the last post. And guess what, soooo many people here want to know English! It's not just for fun, but it really is something that gives them advancements in schools and work, as there are many American business' here in Guadalajara. It is a big advantage to people to know English here. So I keep at it because it's a need that people ask me for - I haven't advertised or said I wanted to start a class, but rather they have all asked if I could teach them, and it also is a good way of building relationships in a smaller group, which we pray will lead towards sharing with them God's plan of salvation!

All right, 10 more minutes...time to heat my own coffee in the microwave left from this morning :-)

Life in Mexico....

 The other day I was walking with Brady around in our coto (gated community where we live) and all of a sudden the thought came to me...."We live in Mexico."

Obviously we live in Mexico, but for some reason I saw things through "new" eyes, of someone who maybe was visiting for the first time, and smiled at the things that feel so at home to me but that are not everyday sights in Canada.

This picture was taken right in front of our house, our house is to the left of the big bump on the road. The things I pick out that are different than you would see in Canada are...
...the big bump in the road, called a tope (speed bump, but not your regular speed bumps!)
...palm trees everywhere
...construction of the road (this is not a major road, those are highways)
...houses all close together with barely any yards. You can't see that but most houses have barely any yard. Think deck size in total!
Well that's all that I notice! Maybe there are more I don't realize :-)

It's amazing how you can adapt to a place while at the same time feeling like you haven't adapted, or always feeling you should adapt more. It's an interesting feeling to feel at home and not at home, but I really do like it that we love both countries and that our boys also love both countries.I know we will always be learning more and more about Mexican culture and the language.....it's never ending, the learning!!! I'm teaching an English class in my house once a week and it's a bonus for me since they are also helping me with my Spanish through it :-)

This afternoon Carter had a friend over, these two get along so well! They were doing their homework together and here are doing their English reading.

We LOVE hearing Carter jabber away in Spanish with his friends....something he has adapted to really well. Except he barely ever will speak Spanish to Dallas and I!! It embarrasses him, but if he has a Spanish friend over then he will talk to us in Spanish.

And Logan has also learned a ton more Spanish this year at school...he also jabbers with his friends and is getting more fluent as the year goes on. At this point he understands everything but doesn't quite know how to say everything he wants to say yet.

And well Brady, he sure understands also! He talks mostly in English though but will respond to people in Spanish with short word answers and it's so cute!!

2 more weeks...

....till we will be flying through the air headed north. So surreal in a way, this life seems normal and it's hard to imagine "that" life. It really is different. And then once you're there, in Canada, "that" life seems normal and this life is hard to imagine. It's hard to explain. If you've lived somewhere else, with another culture...you may know what I mean.

These next 2 weeks though, are busy! With good things, but still busy. We feel pretty relaxed though with what we need to get done before we go, in terms of being ready to go, for the most part. I think we will be working more evenings at home doing prep since our days are full but such is life as it is right now. At least after the boys are in bed.

 We have coming up, between Dallas and I...
...times with our team...breakfast meeting and other meeting.
...times with families from the boys school...lunch date and whole day convivio/get together to say good-bye to Carter and Logan
...baptism on Sunday...2 are getting baptized!
...final English class to prep and teach this week.
...ladies Bible study to attend.
...physio appointments for me a couple of times a week.
...parent/teacher interviews.
...counseling with a friend.
...Bible study prep and Bible studies.
...church community outreach on Wed (it's a holiday here!).
...babysitting LeRoy & Faith's kids so they can have a date before we go....we like to trade off and help each other out that way.
...packing.
...prep for Abundant Springs youth convention which will be the first weekend we are back in Canada.
...and other things thrown in there...

Good stuff to do and great people to be with.

So thankful that our boys are flexible and that they accept our life here and see the value in it, and it's important also that we take the time to spend just with them!

It's also important to take the time to rest and be with God even when you feel busier...that is sometimes harder to do...but you can't just go, go, go, without pausing. Sometimes people say, well once this season of busy-ness is over, then I'll pause and be able to breathe. Well, I think you need to learn to pause and breathe during the times of busy-ness. Take bits of time to be with God, go outside, or to do whatever it is that allows you that time.

I really may not be so great at that :-) I have a hard time turning my mind off, if nothing else, but try to as it keeps you focused on the reason you do the things that make you busy in the first place.

I'm teaching some English

Out for my birthday, but some of these ladies are in the class.

And this is the first time teaching English for me and it's a challenge!

Some of our neighbour ladies had asked if I would teach them a weekly class so we've had 2 classes now. I'm finding in the beginning stages it's quite a bit of work. Well, maybe later on it will still be just as much work :-) who knows. But trying to figure out how to teach and what you teach first, etc.

Lucky for me my mom is an ESL teacher back in Manitoba so I can go to her for help. I'm realizing I should do more so topical or conversational English than as much grammar paperwork so we'll do more of that.

And some of these are also in the class.

It's been some good times so far though. Faith is coming also to help out and by this point of knowing these ladies for over a year we know each other well enough to be able to have fun with the language and the class.

It is hard to some extent though correcting your peers. But they tell me to...so...I do.

They all do have a bit of English already so that helps.
Praying for deeper friendships and connections though this class!





Back to it

The Mission X team left early this morning, Dallas and LeRoy took them to the airport. It was so funny...Dallas had to get up at 5 am to take them, so in my groggy sleep I see him dressed and picking up his cell from the nightstand.

 

As he does so he says....oh nooo....it's only 1 am.

I laughed and went back to sleep as he climbed back into bed. No idea what happened there!

 

So anyway, we said good-bye to the team last night, and to Trevor and Rebecca who were the ones staying in our home. They were married this summer and it was so much fun laughing and visiting with them during their time here!! The boys loved them too.

 

 

Now it's back to the groove of "regular" life!

 

Tomorrow starts the beginning of my teaching English classes. I think it'll be good. I think. I've never taught English before.

 

But 6 or 7 neighbour ladies are coming over and want to learn...most of their husbands speak good English and their kids are all learning English at school so they want to be able to keep up with their husbands and kids. I think it'll be a fun time! Faith is coming also to help out.

 

I'll let you know how it goes after tomorrow morning.